The Judgment Seat of Christ (2)

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ."

Said Albert Barnes:

Appear - ( φανερωθῆναι phanerōthēnai). This word properly means, to make apparent, manifest, known; to show openly, etc. Here it means that we must be manifest, or openly shown; that is, we must be seen there, and be publicly tried. We must not only stand there, but our character will be seen, our desert will be known, our trial will be public.

Vincent's Word Studies says this about "Appear" (φανερωθῆναι):

"Rev., better, be made manifest. Appear is not strong enough, since it implies only presence at the judgment-seat. The important fact is our being revealed as we are."

Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary says:

"must be made manifest (not merely ‘appear’ = παραστῆναι [which is a most unfortunate rendering of the E. V., giving to the reader merely the idea of “appearing before” as when summoned to a magistrate], but ‘appear in our true light,’ appear as we have never done before, as in reff., where the word is used of our Lord Himself: see also 1 Corinthians 4:5."

That revelation of our characters, together with all our thoughts, words, and deeds, will all be revealed in open court before the literal "judgment seat" of the Lord Jesus. He is the one who is appointed Judge by the three in one God. This cannot be said now of any present judgment upon either the individual Christian or the church as a group. Therefore, the "appearing" before the judgment seat yet awaits fulfillment, no matter what Hardshell heretics say.

The "day of judgment" is connected with "the Lord's day," the day of Christ's return, the "day of redemption" and the "resurrection day," and especially is it a day of "revelation" and "light." Remember that "whatever makes manifest is light." (Eph. 5:13) It is the day of Christ's own epiphany and personal presence, when he is manifest to all eyes, but it is also a day for "the manifestation of the sons of God." (Rom. 8:19) It is also a day when the light of it discloses all that was previously dark and hidden. Recall the words of Paul:

"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God." (1 Corinthians 4:5)

Paul here condemns 1) all premature, rash, or precipitate judging or condemning, and 2) certainly the judging of things outside our authority from Christ and his word. He asserts that the return of the Lord Jesus Christ will be a day when all is revealed, when all the thoughts, words, and deeds of every man is laid bare, yea, "the counsels of the hearts." Men will receive either praise or blame at the day of judgment for activities done while in the body.

Other Scriptures On This Judgment

"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." (Matt. 12:36)

“The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and will then recompense every person according to his deeds.” (Matthew 16:27)

"God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world by that man whom he hath ordained." (Acts 17:31)

"We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God." (Romans 14:10)

"It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this, judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to every person according to what he has done.” (Revelation 22:12)

"Clearly" the way you live is not unimportant and has consequences beyond the grave.

So, why should we limit the judgment of II Cor. 5:10 to believers only?

When Paul says "we must all appear" he could mean

1) "all we believers must appear" or
2) "all we humans must appear."

Based upon the words of Jesus just cited, why would we exempt non-believers from the bema judgment?

Further, if Paul had intended that only believers be understood as the ones to be judged, then why did he say "knowing this" (the divine "terror" associated with the day of judgment) we persuade men" instead of "knowing this we persuade believers"? If this judgment respects only believers, then why say that this coming terrible judgment is impetus for persuading men in general?

Not only does it seem quite clear to me that the judgment seat of Christ is not, as many suppose, a judgment for believers only, but I also do not believe that the judgment is for mere rewards (above and beyond a common salvation) and that salvation is unconnected or not at issue in the judgment. Dr. John Piper (see here) in answer to the question "What Is the Aim of This Judgment?" said (highlighting mine):

"Now the more difficult question: Why is it important? Why are the deeds done in the body the evidence in this courtroom? Is the aim of this judgment to declare who is lost and who is saved, according to the works done in the body? Or is the aim of this judgment to declare the measure of your reward in the age to come according to the works done in the body?

I think the answer of the New Testament is both. Our deeds will reveal who enters the age to come, and our deeds will reveal the measure of our reward in the age to come. I will show you in just a moment why I think this, but let me mention the biggest problem for many Christians in saying this. It sounds to many like a contradiction of salvation by grace through faith.

Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God — not of works lest anyone should boast.” Salvation is not “of works.” That is, works do not earn salvation. Works do not put God in our debt so that he must pay wages. That would contradict grace. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 6:23). Grace gives salvation as a free gift to be received by faith, not earned by works.

How then can I say that the judgment of believers will not only be the public declaration of the measure of our reward in the kingdom of God according to our deeds, but will also be the public declaration of our salvation — our entering the kingdom — according to our deeds?

The answer in a couple sentences is that our deeds will be the public evidence brought forth in Christ’s courtroom to demonstrate that our faith is real. (If we are put on trial for being Christian, will there be enough evidence to convict us? We will see - SG) And our deeds will be the public evidence brought forth to demonstrate the varying measures of our obedience of faith (see Romans 12:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:11). In other words, salvation is by faith, and rewards are by faith, but the evidence of invisible faith in the judgment hall of Christ will be a transformed life. Our deeds are not the basis of our salvation, they are the evidence of our salvation. They are not foundation, they are demonstration.

In Paul’s Writings For example, in 1 Corinthians 3:8 Paul says, “He who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” And in Ephesians 6:8 Paul says, “Whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord.” The Parable of the Talents And most of us remember the parable of the talents (or pounds) in Luke 19:12–27. Jesus compares his going to heaven and returning to a nobleman who went away and gave to ten of his servants one pound each with the command to trade with them so that his estate would be advanced in his absence. When he returns, one had traded so as to turn his pound into ten. And the nobleman says that his reward will be to have authority over ten cities. Another had turned his pound into five. And the nobleman said that his reward would be to have authority over five cities. Another had just kept the pound and done nothing with it. To this one the nobleman said, “I will condemn you from your own mouth.” And he took the one pound from him.

Now what this parable teaches is the same thing Paul taught, namely, that there are varying degrees of reward for the faithfulness of our lives. But it also moves beyond that and also teaches that there is a loss not only of reward but of eternity for those who claim to be faithful but do nothing to show that they prize God’s gifts and love the Giver.

That’s the point of the third servant who did nothing with his gift. He did not just lose his reward, he lost his life. Jesus says in Matthew 25:30, “Cast out that slave into outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Salvation Demonstrated by Deeds

That leads us to the second purpose of the judgment. The first was that the judgment makes a public demonstration of the varying degrees of reward that Christians receive for the exercise of their faith in obedience. The second purpose of the judgment is to declare openly the reality of the faith and the salvation of God’s people by the evidence of their deeds. Salvation is owned by faith. Salvation is shown by deeds. So when Paul says (in verse 10) we “will be recompensed . . . according to what we have done,” he not only means that our rewards will accord with our deeds, but also our salvation will accord with our deeds. Why do I think this?

Romans

There are numerous texts that point in this direction. One is in Paul’s letter to the Romans (2:5–7) where he refers to “The revelation of the righteous judgment of God,” and then says (in verses 6–8), “[God] will render to every man according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality [he will render] eternal life; but to those who . . . do not obey the truth . . . [he will render] wrath and indignation.” In other words, just as our text says, the judgment is “according to what a person has done.” But here the issue is eternal life versus wrath.

“Faith Without Works Is Dead”

Several times Paul listed certain kinds of deeds and said, “those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10). In other words, when these deeds are exposed at the judgment as a person’s way of life, they will be the evidence that their faith is dead and they will not be saved. As James said in James 2:26, “Faith without works is dead.” That is what will be shown at the judgment.

Jesus’s Words

Jesus put it like this — and he used exactly the same words for good and evil deeds that we have here in 2 Corinthians 5:10. He said in John 5:28–29, “An hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” In other words, the way one lived will be the evidence whether one passes through judgment to life or whether one experiences judgment as condemnation."

I agree completely with Piper.

In the next posting we will try to conclude this short series on this most important subject.