The Judgement Seat of Christ

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. From His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, He was thrown into the lake of fire.” –Revelation 20:11-15

Many Christians, whether it be unintentional or not, practically treat their relationship with Jesus as simply “fire insurance.” They have recognized that we are all accountable for our sin to the holy and righteous Judge over all, knowing that He will render right judgment against every person. So, they “believe in Jesus” to escape from the wrath of God, lest they be judged by Him and sent to Hell for all of eternity.

That final verdict that many fear is written about in these verses from Revelation 20. God sits enthroned, all must come before Him and be assessed, “according to what they had done”, the “books” of our deeds will be read out, and then the sentence given: eternal, everlasting death, in the lake of fire. This is the just due for all of humanity; this is what we deserve. But thank God that there is a second book: the book of life.

The genuine Christian will never face the ultimate consequence for our sin, because the penalty has already been paid. As the Apostle Paul says, speaking of Jesus, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…” (Ephesians 1:7) In and through Jesus—through His perfect life, sacrificial death and glorious resurrection—we have received forgiveness for our sin against God. The price has been paid by Jesus, the payment has been accepted by the Father, and the Holy Spirit has applied redemption to all who have believed.

Every person has a “book” of deeds that record every sin we have and will ever commit, but for all who have repented of their sin and responded to the Savior in trust and submission, we have received salvation (Romans 10:9-13). And we rest in the salvation that we have been freely and fully given. However, there is still a judgment that we will all face, the judgment seat of Christ:

“For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” –2 Corinthians 5:10

This is what scholars refer to as the Bema Seat judgment (taken from the Greek word for ‘judgment’). What the Apostle Paul is referring to here is the place where every believer will be judged by how they lived their life, after believing in Jesus. For some, it will be the place of eternal reward, but for others it may turn out to be a time of reprimand.

Though there is some mystery on exactly what this will mean and look like in eternity, the fact of the matter is that every Christian needs to seriously consider that we will all one day have to give account for our lives. God has expectations for His people (He always has) and He will hold all accountable. God expects His people to live and act a certain way because we know Jesus and are going to heaven when we die, and not to spurn our responsibility because we are banking on “fire insurance.” But how do we do that?

I believe that the reality of Revelation 20 is meant to help the believer keep in mind the reality of 2 Corinthians 5.

If you are a genuine believer (you understand your accountability before God, you have repented of your sin and put your faith in Jesus as Savior, and if you have committed your life to following Him), then you and I never have to fear the Great White Throne judgment, for our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Praise God for that!

But if you are a genuine believer, and if you know that you deserve eternal death, but have been given eternal life, then you should desire to, as the Apostle Paul says, “…make it our aim to please Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:9) The Christian life is a grateful life—a life that responds to the grace of God through Jesus, by living our lives now for the sake of Jesus, to please Him in all that we do.

As Christians, we have been freed from sin, but freed to serve Jesus. He is still King, He still sits enthroned, and we will still give an account of our lives to Him. The genuine Christian understands that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ”, and we desire that when that day comes, that we would hear our King say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”