The Rewards

I love to watch cop shows. When the bad guys get arrested, and the judge declares them guilty, I feel a sense of justice has been served. We know that in TV shows, they don’t always get it right. Sometimes, the bad guy gets away, or the judge releases them due to lack of evidence. We know that the same thing happens in the real world too.

Today, we will look at a few scenes in scripture that show us God as the judge giving out His sentence to those who stand before Him. The truth is that all of us will have to stand before God and give an account for all that we have done in this life. Some will stand before the Great White Throne, and some will stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ. In each case, there are degrees of rewards and punishment based on our actions in this world.

The question that we need to ask ourselves today is this: Which judgment will we stand before to give an account?

The Judgement of All the Dead (11-13)

Revelation 20:11–13 CSB

Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works.

On the Throne

The first thing that John sees is God on His throne. We need to hear this truth daily with the craziness in our world.

God is on His throne. He has always been there, and He will always be there. There is never a time when God is not in charge. This alone gives us hope and peace.

As God is seen on this throne, heaven and earth flee before Him.

The end of time is here, Judgement has come, and heaven and earth as we know them flee before the LORD.

This will prepare the way for the new heaven and earth that we will look at next week as we conclude the 5 R’s of the End Times

God is so great and powerful that even earth and heaven flee from Him.

This image of the throne shows us who is in charge and who has the right to judge.

God is the One who can judge.

This is a reminder to us that we should not judge each other.

We don’t always have all the facts; God does.

Who is this Judgement for?

Next, we need to ask who is this judgment for?

The text helps us to see that this judgment is for those who are lost and do not know Jesus.

Last week, we saw that Revelation 20:5 “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.” The rest, that is those who did not know Christ, come back to life now to stand judgement.

We know these are the lost because John sees the dead.

Vs 12 John says, “I saw the dead.”

The use of the word dead in this text is critical to us.

We are told that when we give our lives to Jesus, we have eternal life. John 3:16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus says in Matthew 22:32 “I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.””

So those in Christ are not dead but alive. We have already been set apart for eternal life.

Thus, we can know that the dead here are those who do not know Christ. They now stand at the Great White Throne for final judgement.

At the Great White Throne, all those who do not know Jesus will stand and give an account for what they have done.

Death and Hades delivered up their dead. Death claims the body, and Hades claims the soul.

Some believe that Hades is a holding cell that has two parts. There was a good part and a bad part.

The good part was for those who died believing in Jesus before He went to the cross. At His death, He descended into the depths, declared victory over the enemy, and took all in the good section with Him, and so today, it is empty.

The bad section is where the souls of those who die without Jesus go to be held in torment until the final judgment, in which case Hades will give up its dead, they will be judged, and will then be cast into the lake of fire, as we see here in this text, along with death and Hades.

At the Great White Throne, non-believers are judged by their righteousness (works), not the righteousness of Jesus that is imputed on believers. (explain)

This text helps us to see just how real and serious Hell is. If we do not know Jesus, we will be cast into the lake of fire known as the second death.

The books

We see books will be opened, and they will be judged by their works.

This does not mean that works save us. Their works judge them because they did not accept the work of Jesus upon the cross.

Entry into God's kingdom is not based on what is written in the Book of Deeds.

It is based on if our name is in the Book of Life. To be in the Book of Life, we must have given our lives to Jesus.

The books of deeds include all the good and bad that every person has done.

There is no work that we can do to earn heaven. If judged by our works, you and I would also be doomed. However, we are not judged by our works but by the work of Jesus on the cross.

The Book of Life is where the names of those who have given their lives to Jesus are written.

Understanding that all people will stand before God and give an account is essential.

Things we put our hope and stock in on this earth, such as riches, fame, and power, will not benefit us as we stand before God.

The only thing that counts is our relationship with Jesus.

If we do not know Jesus, then we will be judged by our deeds, condemned by our deeds, and spend eternity in the lake of fire.

The End of Sin (14-15)

Revelation 20:14–15 CSB

Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The great hope that those in Christ see in this text is the end of sin.

The beast and the false prophet have been dealt with and cast into the lake of fire (The Return); Satan has been dealt with and cast into the lake of fire (The Reign), and now sin is removed as death, Hades, and all those who rejected Jesus are cast into the lake of fire, which will bring about the New Heaven and Earth.

This throne deals with sin before the new heaven and earth are ushered in.

At the cross, the penalty and power of sin were defeated for those who chose Jesus. At the great white throne, the presence of sin will be removed.

Here, we see that all those who do not know Jesus are thrown into the lake of fire with Satan, the beast, and the false prophet.

This is the second death, which is eternal death and punishment for those who do not know Christ.

You and I must give our hearts to Jesus before it is too late.

God is not cruel in issuing the sentence. He has given people the chance to escape this sentence through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross.

They have chosen to reject God's grace in life so they do not get His grace in the next.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Eleven: The King and His Kingdom (Revelation 19–20)

Hell is a witness to the righteous character of God. He must judge sin. Hell is also a witness to man’s responsibility, the fact that he is not a robot or a helpless victim, but a creature able to make choices. God does not “send people to hell”; they send themselves by rejecting the Saviour

That leads us to the next question. Where do Christians go to be judge?

The Judgement Seat of Christ (2 Co 5:10)

What is the Judgement Seat

If the Great White Throne is for those who do not know Christ, what about those who do?

We find that answer in Romans 14:10-12 and 2 Co 5:10.

Romans 14:10–12 CSB

But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

2 Corinthians 5:10 CSB

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

In 2 Co 5 Paul is teaching that the moment we die, we are with Jesus.

In verse 8, we learn that to be absent from the Body is to be with the Lord.

As he continues to verse 10, he says that we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

The context of 2 Co 5 is Paul speaking to the church.

Thus, those in Christ will appear at Christ's "Bema" or judgment seat.

Paul tells us that we will be repaid for what we have done good or bad. We cannot lose our salvation, but we can lose our rewards. This helps us to see that even in Christ, what we do on this earth matters.

Paul teaches this in Romans as well.

He asks why they Judge their brothers, again writing to the church and reminding them that we all will stand at the "bema."

We should not focus on others' sins but on our own.

When we stand before Jesus, we will be judged for our sins, not theirs.

When we see our sins, we are more inclined to show them grace.

Here is some excellent information about the “Bema” from some commentaries:

NIV Study Bible: Notes (Fully Revised Edition) Chapter 5

appear before the judgment seat of Christ. To give an accounting of what we have done with our lives as Christians (cf. 1 Co 3:11–15 and note on 3:13). things done while in the body. Although the body is wasting away, we are responsible for our actions while in it.

Life Application New Testament Commentary New Bodies / 5:1–10

Instead, at this judgment, Christ will reward Christians for how they have lived on earth. God’s gracious gift of salvation does not free Christians from the requirement of faithful obedience to Christ. All Christians must give an account for how they have lived in this body

Once again, we see how we live on this earth matters. We will account for all we have done, no matter our judgment.

I want to share a chart from the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary that contrasts the two judgments.

Persons Judged

Bema - Believers only who have the imputed righteousness of Christ

Great White Throne - Unbelievers only who have only their own righteousness

Key Scriptures

Bema - Romans 14:10 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 2 Corinthians 5:10

Great White Throne - Revelation 20:11–15

Basis of the Judgment

Bema - Faithfulness in Christ and resultant good works (even to the motivations)

Great White Throne - Rejection of Christ and thus one’s own righteousness

Results

Bema - Rewards or loss of rewards, but not loss of salvation, which is secure

Great White Throne - Eternity in hell, the “lake of fire”

Our goal is to be able to say what Paul says at the end of his life. 2 Timothy 4:7–8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.”

Here, we see that based on our lives on earth, we can earn or lose crowns that will be given to us.

The Crowns

As we end, I want to talk about the crowns we can receive at the Bema for our obedience to Jesus. Paul said we have crowns laid up for us. Here are a few other verses that help us see crowns waiting for us based on our lives on this earth.

James 1:12 “Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

Revelation 3:11 “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown.”

What crowns will be waiting on you when you stand before Jesus based on your life on this earth?

Conclusion

The way we live our lives today determines the rewards we will have in the new heaven and earth.

As we look at these two judgments, we see that all people will stand before God and give an account.

Those who do not know Him will be cast into Hell.

Those who know Him will be judged and rewarded based on the life they live on earth.

What is God saying to you today?

Do you know Jesus?

Are you living for Jesus?

Invitation