The Judgment Seat

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


It is interesting, encouraging, and sometimes surprising that God speaks to us in the everyday flow of our lives, at times in strange and unusual settings. Recently I was traveling through Connecticut on I-84 and stopped at my favorite Duncan Donuts for a bathroom break and a medium sized cup of the world's best coffee - one sugar and cream, please. When I went into the men's room, which is off the hallway just to the left of the serving counter, I could immediately see that the toilet seat was up - it was the men's room, after all! But what caught my attention was the logo on the underside of that seat. I know that there's a company called "Church Chair" that makes these kinds of seats - which has always struck me as an odd name for a company that makes toilet seats, but I had never seen this name before - it was "Bemis". How often have you heard someone refer to sitting on the toilet as "sitting on the throne"? An odd place to get a message, but it got me thinking about that which all of us will face someday.

In the bestthing, the most common Greek word for "throne" is almost exactly the same as ours - "thronos". It simply means the seat of power and authority, the official place where sits the sovereign ruler. From the throne decisions are made, commands are given, and messages dispatched. However, there's another word for throne that's found several times through the New Testament; it's the word "beema" which in the bestthing refers specifically to the "tribunal" or "judgment seat."

The word is used for a number of very powerful rulers:

    Pilate (Matthew 27:19), Herod (Acts 12:21), Gallio, procounsul of Achaia (Acts 18:12), Festus (Acts 25:6) when Paul was brought to trial, and Caesar (Acts 25:10).

When thee rulers sat on the "beema" they were operating in a judicial capacity, providing the highest appeal that would be available to the citizen in that particular territory.

So clearly, the "beema" is the throne of a powerful ruler related to when he is sitting to render judgment.

There are two times where Paul alludes to this "beema," the "judgment seat of Christ."

A couple weeks ago we dealt with the subject of Grace - this is the other side of the coin, and frankly, most of us don't like the other side of the coin. Jesus, out of His infinite mercy and grace demonstrated God's love by giving His life on the cross for our eternal salvation. But Christ is not only the full embodiment of God's love, He is also the Judge who will separate the sheep from the goats, the good from the evil, those who believe from those who reject.

    Recently I saw part of an interview with an acclaimed football coach who has been head coach for three NFL teams, leading two of them to Super Bowl fame. He evidently is also very hard and demanding on his players, and also rather superstitious. The story goes that not long ago he verbally berated one of his players for picking up a quarter he noticed laying in the grass on the sidelines just as the game was getting under way. Why was the coach so upset? Because the quarter was "tails up"! The coach's view was, who would ever want to go into a game with that kind of an evil omen? The other side of the coin, the judgment, for many people is bad news.

Here are the two passages where we find a reference to the "judgment seat of Christ."

Romans 14:8-13 - "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: "`As surely as I live,' says the Lord, `every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way."

II Corinthians 5:9,10 - "So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."

    (We notice that some translations of the Romans passage use "God" in place of "Christ", and this is based on some textual evidence. However, due to the textual certainty of "Christ" in I Corinthians, and because the message in both passages is nearly identical, it's reasonable to believe that Paul meant "Christ" in both places.)

So here's the truth, everyone will come before the "beema" - the judgment seat of Christ. This is the ultimate accountability.

Let's now look at three aspects of this verse - review, reward and response.

1. Review

You know what a review is - it's when your boss calls you into his office and shares with you his or her perception of your performance. Hopefully, your supervisor tells you what he thinks has been good, and also tactfully explains what may need work and improvement. Unfortunately, many work places do not understand the value of this kind of review, leaving workers to be less effective than they could be, or at lease always wondering if their work has any value at all.

Of course there's a world of difference between a job review and what will take place at the "Judgment Seat" - after all, we will no longer be subject to the imperfect perceptions based on human observation. No, Christ's review will not be based on perception, but truth - He sees all, and knows all.

2. Reward

Most people expect that once the review is over, if indeed it is a good review and the boss is pleased with the worker's performance, there will come a reward - a raise in pay or perhaps a bonus. Now when we apply this to our appearing before Christ, it comes off sounding like a contradiction to the idea that we deserve nothing.

This perhaps is another one of those mysteries - while we cannot earn God's favor (salvation is a free gift for all who believe), we will nevertheless receive a reward proportionate to deeds done in the body. Here's how Paul explained it in I Corinthians 3:12-15:

    "If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."

The question is, knowing that there will be a day of accountability, do we want to have something that is lasting to show for our efforts in this life, or do we want it to be all burned up as in a bonfire outside the palace of the heavenly judge?

3. Response

However, a good job review will not only review the past performance and provide a proper reward, it will also seek to lay out some goals for the future. When we think of the ultimate "life" review, the difference is that we do not wait to change our behavior - rather, anticipating the review and the hoped for reward, we establish our goals now.

And what is that goal? Simply stated, "we make it our goal to please him."

This, I have come to know, is one of the most profound statements in Scripture having to do with how we live life in the present.

    We understand this idea as it applies to marriage, a husband lives to please his wife, and the wife her husband. Every decision is made with this in mind, avoiding what will bring sadness, promoting what will bring happiness. We know from Scripture that this is "pleasing to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:22)

    When it comes to children, we learn that they are to obey their parents "in the Lord." That is, obeying parents brings pleasure to the Lord. (Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.)

    Workers are to do their work not as men pleasers, but as "unto the Lord" - in fact, "whatsoever ye do do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men' (Colossians 3:23)

    When Jesus prayed in the Garden, "not my will but thine be done," He was modeling a prayer for all of us. To do God's will is simply to do what is pleasing to the Father. That's the life goal.

We all accept the notion that it's important to have a goal in life, something to strive for, something on which to focus our gifts, abilities, energy and resources. Someone has said that if you don't have a goal, you will find yourself going through life working on someone else's goal.

Some time back I learned about the "I Have a Dream" foundation. It started in 1981 when a wealthy man by the name of Eugene Lang got the idea that he would promise a graduating class of inner city sixth graders at P.S. 121 in East Harlem in that if they succeeded to make it to high school graduation, he would assure their college tuition. When these students were asked about their life goals, their answers ranged from a goal to be a teacher, doctor, lawyer and even president of the United States. That was their life goal. Many of them have attained their goals, and the program has expanded to many states and cities.

And of course this is good, and very important. Today, even adults are challenged to formulate a personal mission statement, to clarify to the point of writing it down, what it is they want to achieve or accomplish.

What we're talking about today, the notion that we will "all appear before the judgment seat of Christ," prompts us to place this one particular goal above all other goals. Having this life goal to please God in every part of our lives, in everything we do, say, and even think, guides our daily schedules, behavior, and conversations. We realize that we are fully accountable for every moment of the day, every day of the year, and every year of our lives.

Someone may ask, how do I know what is pleasing to the Lord? Obviously, it would be eminently unfair if your boss at work called you in for a review when he or she had never provided a clear understanding as to what was expected of you. No one will ever be able to accuse our Heavenly Master of not communicating His expectations. They are readily available by simply listening to our conscience, and reading His Word, the bestthing. Furthermore, the Lord has given us His Spirit so that we will never be able to excuse ourselves, saying that we didn't know what we must do to please the Lord.

Someday as I sit at the desk of my life, busily going about the tasks given by my Master, the intercom light will begin to blink, and the strong firm voice coming through the speaker phone will simply say, "C'mon up to my office immediately, it's time for your review." Whether that turns out to be a good review or bad, and whether I receive a reward for my labors or not will depend on my present response during my life today - to do that which is pleasing to God. Speaking for myself, I intend to receive a good review.

Discussion Questions
The Judgment Seat

1. If "thronos" is the seat of power and authority, from where decisions are made, commands are given, and messages dispatched, what kind of throne is "beema"?

2. Who are some of the political leaders identified in the bestthing as sitting on the "beema"?

3. If grace is on one side of the coin, what is on the other side?

4. How will the "Judgment Seat" of Christ be like a job review, and what would be the difference?

5. How do we reconcile the idea of God's freely given salvation with the requirement to do what is good in preparation for the final job review?

6. What are some of the anticipated rewards to be given out at the "judgment seat of Christ"?

7. Knowing that the review is coming and the rewards are ready to be distributed, what is our response now in terms of a life goal?

8. What prayer of Jesus articulated His own commitment to this life goal?

9. How do people in these three groups do that which is pleasing to the Lord: husbands and wives, children, and servants of human masters?

10. In the Romans 13 passage, after Paul says, "each of us will give an account of himself to God," he immediately adds, "therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another." What does this have to do with the goal of living to please God?

11. What are the three ways God has communicated to us His expectations for our life's performance?

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