The judgment seat of Christ
2 Corinthians 5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
We will ALL appear before the judgement seat of Christ, this shall occur after the rapture of the saint. It will be a judgement without partiality; a judgement for our labours,
The judgment seat of Christ is something exclusively for believers, as Christ's evaluation of our works on earth. This refers to an assessment of what each saved, heaven-bound Christian has done "in the body" since coming to faith in Christ.
How has he or she used this life in Christ? What have they done, for good or for evil? Paul wrote in Romans 14:12 that each believer will "give an account of himself to God."
We will be judged, however, for how we deal with the flesh, this judgement will bring to light the counsels of the heart
What is our motive for doing what we do? Are we doing it because we want to or are we being Spirit led? - 1 Cor. 1:29; Luke 14:11-14.
Works of the flesh may look good outwardly but will be burned.
Areas to be taken into consideration at this judgement Includes the following...
- What have we done with what the Lord has given us?, Our money, our Gifts and abilities, our ministries
- How have we treated others? Our own brothers and sisters in the Lord, How have we treated others,
- What have we done with our time? Have we been using our time to pray others into the kingdom or have we been sitting in front of the TV?
- Have we been witnessing to others or are we too busy doing our own thing?
- Are we longing for His coming or are we hoping he’d delay for our own selfish reasons? - 1 Tim. 4:8-9.
- Are we willing to suffer for our Lord or do we compromise in times of testing? - Matt. 5:11-12; Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Pe
Every good action will be rewarded. Christians will receive those efforts "back from the Lord" (Ephesians 6:8). The works of those who have lived only for themselves, however, will be "burned up" or shown to be worthless. "If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:15).
Paul is motivated by the awareness of this coming judgment, and he wants us to be motivated by it, as well. God's grace to us in forgiving sin does not mean He's careless about how we Christians live our earthly lives.
We will stand before Him and be held to account for our choices. That accountability does not affect our eternal destiny. It declares our time as spent well or foolishly, courageously or cowardly, in faith or in spiritual blindness and selfishness. The consequences of reward or reprimand in that moment will be genuinely pleasurable and/or painful, based on the choices we have made in our bodies on this side of eternity.
Check your works, and verify, if it will burn in fire or it will stand the test. You still have enough time to make amends
God bless you.
Prayer key:
1. Lord, thank you for the blessing of today in Jesus Christ name.
2. Lord, forgive me for misusing the time and resources you have given me for personal gain and not for the kingdom.
3. Lord, help me to do your will till the end of my life in Jesus Christ name.
4. Lord, thank you for answer prayers in Jesus Christ name.