HOW IS YOUR ACCOUNTING?

This last week I had a conversation with a friend of mine regarding the Judgement Seat of Christ. It is one of those subjects that comes up occasionally in Bible centred sermons and an excellent topic as it is relevant to our practical daily walk with the Lord. The reality is that how we allow God to shape our lives and how we invested in godly pursuits will be accounted for at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Before we get into the specifics of what the Judgment Seat of Christ is, we should mention when it will occur. This will take place immediately following the rapture. The rapture is a future event, an imminent event, when all born again believers will be caught up in the air by Jesus and taken home, by Him, to Heaven. The timing of the Judgment Seat of Christ is given in the following scriptures:

" In Luke 14:12-14, reward is associated with the resurrection

and the rapture is when the church is resurrected. The term Church refers to believers.

" In Revelation 19:8, when the Lord returns with His bride at the

end of the tribulation, she is seen already rewarded. Her reward is described as fine linen, the righteous acts of the saints undoubtedly the result of rewards.

" In 2 Timothy 4:8 and 1 Corinthians 4:5, rewards are associated

with "that day" and with the Lord's coming. Again, for the church this means the event of the rapture.

Two verses specifically refer to this coming event and as always, our basis should begin in the Word of God. In Romans 14:10-12 two specific phrases are mentioned; “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat” in the end of verse 10, and in verse 12 it says “so then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” In another portion of Scripture found in 2 Corinthians 5:10 it says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” From the context, we can see it is clear that both scriptures are referring to Christians, not unbelievers. The judgment seat of Christ, therefore involves believers giving an account of their lives to Christ. It does not determine salvation; that was taken care by Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf as 1 John 2:2 states “The life appeared; that we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.” In John 3:16 it also determines this through our faith in Him. All our sins are forgiven, and we will never be condemned for them as it states in Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

The word Judgment often causes us to think in a very negative way as we consider this. We should not look at the Judgment Seat of Christ as God judging our sins, but rather as God rewarding us for our lives.

Certainly in areas of our lives where we have allowed sin to flourish in or we have not followed the Lord’s instructions; those are things we will be held accountable for. The Bible says, we will have to give an account of ourselves and believers will be rewarded based on how faithfully they have served the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians

9:4-27 a lengthy explanation is given by the Apostle Paul, but it is more succinctly stated in 2 Timothy 2:5 “If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.”

Some of the things we might be judged on are as follows:

1. How well we obeyed and fulfilled the Great Commission - Matthew 28:18-20 2. How victorious were we over sin - Romans 6:1-4 3. How well we were able to control our tongues - James 3:1-9

I believe a verse in the of book James 1:12 summarizes what we should think about the judgment seat of Christ: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”

How is your accounting?

By: Pastor David Jones