By: Rigoberto Gomez
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST AND THE GREAT WHITE THRONE
The Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne: Eternal Judgment
The Certainty of Judgment…Both the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment
The apostle Paul also declares to us the certainty of eternal judgment in Hebrews 9:27 (both from the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment) “And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment”, that is, there is a certainty of God’s judgment for us in the scriptures.
Jesus Christ, our God, who appeared in the flesh to save humanity, will one day sit on the throne to judge, for he is the judge of humanity. Acts 10:42 says that “…he is the one whom God has appointed as judge of the living and the dead” and Paul confirms this by saying “in the day that God will judge by Jesus Christ the secrets of men the secrets of men according to my gospel” (Romans 2:16). We will all have a judgment, either at the judgment seat of Christ or on the great white throne.
One day we will stand before God to be judged, either at the judgment seat of Christ or the great white throne.
If something is certain in scripture, it is that everyone, without exception, one day will be before God, that day is the day of judgment. No matter what generation or dispensation the individual is from, we will all stand before God to be judged. One day we will be at the judgment seat of Christ and if not at the great white throne judgment.
We should not think that the eternal judgment is to determine if we have been lost or if we are saved, because God knows this, and from the moment we die we have already decided our destiny, be it salvation or perdition of our soul.
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST IN THE BIBLE WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?
We will all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ
When we speak of eternal judgment, we have to refer to the Judgment Seat of Christ and also to the Great White Throne Judgment. First we will address the subject of the judgment seat of Christ and then continue with the white throne judgment.
Believers will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ
Believers will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, therefore, it is not determined in this judgment whether one is saved or not, but rather in this judgment of the Judgment Seat of Christ, the eternal rewards and the scope they have for believers are declared. .
The Judgment Seat of Christ according to Romans 14:10-12
Again Romans 14:10-12 says: “…For we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow before me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So that each one of us will give an account of himself to God”
The word tribunal used in 2 Corinthians 5:10 comes from the Greek Bema which means tribune or tribunal, a step, throne. The Judgment Seat of Christ indicates a judgment of believers after the rapture of the church. The judge in this court is Jesus Christ and he is the one who determines the rewards for each one of the believers.
At the judgment seat of Christ the lives of believers will be evaluated
Court then is a metaphorical allusion to the place in which our Lord Jesus Christ will sit down to evaluate the life of each one of the believers, the court of Christ, but with the purpose of rewarding each one according to their works.
Bema was a raised platform where the victorious athletes were placed to receive their crown or award. It is used as a place of judgment in Matthew 27:19, but in Corinthians it uses the analogy of athletes on a platform. The Corinthians had these platforms, both to reward their athletes and also to dispense justice (Acts 18:12-16), in such a way that they perfectly understood Paul’s words about the judgment seat of Christ.
Rewards to be Received at the Judgment Seat of Christ
In 2 Corinthians 5:10 where the judgment seat of Christ is mentioned, we are also told that “…each one shall receive according to what he did while in the body…” referring to the actions or works in life of the believers in his ministry on earth; however, it must be kept in mind that this never includes sins since the judgment of sin was executed on the cross of Calvary where we reached “…redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7)
Everything that the believer does in the temporary body will have eternal repercussions, and when we are told that what the believer does is good or bad, it does not refer to a moral sense since sin, as mentioned above, has already been a matter resolved by our Savior, but we refer to works of eternal value and that will receive a reward at the judgment seat of Christ.
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST: WORKS WORTHY OF REWARD AND BURNED WORKS
Tried Works at the Judgment Seat of Christ
1 Corinthians 3:14-15 says: “If anyone’s work that he built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work burns up, he will suffer loss…”. In this Chapter, the apostle Paul is talking about how the believer can build on the foundation, which is Christ. Works will be tested at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
It also mentions that the fire will test the works of men and will separate each of these works by quality, shape, and type. Hence, there are two types of material, one is combustible and the other non-combustible, that is, one can be burned and the other cannot.
Jesus will determine at the judgment seat of Christ the works worthy of reward
The materials with which the believer can build are gold, silver and precious stones (non-combustible materials), they can also build with wood, hay and stubble (combustible materials). Jesus will determine at the judgment seat of Christ the works worthy of reward and the works that will be burned.
All works that result from our union with Christ through His Holy Spirit are incombustible and will be manifested at the judgment seat of Christ, these are the following:
GOLD, SILVER AND PRECIOUS STONES MANIFESTED IN THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
Silver has to do with the purification of the believer as a result of the refinement that God does in our life. Precious stones are those values that have taken root in the Christian through decisions under pressure. Situations that have formed the character in the midst of suffering, afflictions, adversities.
Gold, silver and precious stones are works made by the believers who are purified in the fire of the trial, grow, become stronger and remain, shine, adorn the house of God, with talents from God, and who under the anointing of the Spirit enables them to work in his work.
WOOD, HAY, LEAF LITTER MANIFESTED IN THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
The wood is the work of our hands, many of us have natural talents, which is different from the works under the anointing of the Holy Spirit of God. You can have a natural talent to do things, but without the help of the Holy Spirit we can be tempted to idolize our own creativity, ability, talent.
Hay or straw are works to impress, there is a certain appearance in what we do, but God looks at the heart, and soon that external appearance that we have formed will vanish. In the same way, leaf litter is something that must be removed to bear fruit in our lives.
Despite the foregoing, even if these works of wood, hay and stubble are burned, the believer will be saved, because his saved or lost condition is not being judged, but rather the works he did as a believer in Christ.
Therefore, the scripture says, “Take heed to yourselves, lest you lose the fruit of your labor, but receive a full reward” (2 John 1:8).
THE JUDGMENT OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE, WHAT IS THE JUDGMENT OF THE WHITE THRONE?
In addition to the Judgment Seat of Christ, we are told of the great white throne judgment
The great white throne judgment is mentioned in Revelation 20:11 “And I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them.”
It is important to mention that there are some who have been saved during the millennium and therefore it is said that their name is written in the book of life and they will receive their reward. When Revelation 20: 15 says that “…to him who was not found written in the book of life…”, it also means that it refers to those who were saved during the millennium.
The judgment of the great white throne… Each one will be judged according to his time
In this judgment, the judgment of the great white throne, each one will be judged according to the time in which he lived, that is, the judgment will be based on the works and the truth revealed in his time. Cain lived before the law of Moses, Nebuchadnezzar before the church age, therefore each one will be judged according to the dispensation or age in which he lived. Equity and justice will be imparted in the judgment according to each period of time (Romans 2:11-15)