2 Corinthians 5:9-10 | Review and Rewards

Today we conclude our sermon series, “Eternal Perspective: Investing with the End in Mind.

Life is short. Eternity is long. Don’t waste your life!

We must elevate being in the presence of Jesus before doing work for Jesus.

You can't bring your wealth and possessions with you into eternity, but you can invest them in what lasts forever.

Today I want to talk to you about a very important topic. For some of you, it’s going to be a reminder. For others, it’s going to be new information (how come I’ve never heard of this before?)

For those who follow Jesus, after death comes a very important (the most important?) event that will take place in eternity: We will appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ. For some, this is a reason for joy and excitement. For others, it’s the opposite. They feel dread and fear. Why such different responses?

Here’s how the Apostle Paul puts it (ask congregation to stand and read it together).

2 Corinthians 5:9–10 “9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

Pray

Here’s the main idea that comes from the passage: The Judgement Seat of Christ is a future event where followers of Jesus will receive a final review to determine rewards.

Four things to know about the Judgment Seat of Christ;

The Judgment Seat of Christ is not to be confused with The Great White Throne Judgment.

Jesus said that there are two types of people in this world:

“ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18)

The Judgment Seat of Christ: Believers receive evaluation and rewards.

“For we must all appear before the judgment 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)

To be be clear, The Judgment Seat of Christ is a future event for believers, not unbelievers. When Paul says, “we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ,” is a reference to believers.

The Great White Throne Judgment: Unbelievers receive condemnation.

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. 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)

Great news: You can be saved today! Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

“Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)

Acknowledge. Believe. Confess

The Judgment Seat of Christ is better understood by the word Bema.

Bema is translated as judgment seat.

Bema is a raised platform (reached by steps) where political speeches or judicial decisions are announced in NT times.

[Bema 1] Jesus was tried by Pilate at Jerusalem’s bema (Matthew 27:19)

[Bema 2] Paul was tried a Corinth’s bema (Acts 18:12-17)

[Bema 3] 1st-century bema in a Greco-Roman city in NT times.

[Bema 4] But the bema seat was used for more than just judicial matters. During the Olympic Games, the winner would appear before the Bema to receive his laurel crown.

The Apostle Paul makes this well known use of bema when he writes:

[Laurel Wreath] “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25)

With that background in mind, let’s take a look

The Judgment Seat of Christ is a future event where our works will be reviewed.

There are two passages that mentions the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Romans 14:10,12 “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

And

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

The Bible is very clear: The Judgment Seat of Christ is a place of evaluation, not condemnation. Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Again, the Judgement Seat of Christis is not for the purpose of condemning you, but for the purpose of evaluating your life of service to Jesus during your time on earth. This is called, Eternal Perspective: Investing with the End in Mind.

It’s a time of commendation, not condemnation. It’s a judgement of stewardship not salvation.

At the JSC, we will receive evaluation to see whether our works were good or evil (worthless, HCSB)

“But there are words in most languages, and φαῦλος is one of them, which contemplate evil under another aspect, not so much that either of active or passive malignity, but that rather of its good-for-nothingness, the impossibility of any true gain ever coming forth from it. This notion of worthlessness is the central notion of φαῦλος” Richard Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament.

Look closely at the following passage that helps us understand this a little further.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15, 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

In addition, the JSC, will reveal the intentions of our heart.

1 Corinthians 4:4–5 “4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.”

A contractor built a lovely house for a rich friend. But while building the house, the contractor threw his friendship to the wind in favor of cutting corners. Skimping in quality wherever it wouldn’t be noticed, he put cheap materials into the foundation, knowing that it would not be revealed for many years. The house looked imposing, but it was unstable and unsafe.

You can imagine the contractor’s disappointed face when he finished the house and the rich friend handed it over to him as a gift, with the one stipulation that the contractor had to live in it for the rest of his life! This foolish builder had inherited the fruit of his own unfaithfulness. Actually, in robbing his rich friend, he had robbed himself.

The JCS will be a place where the quality of our works and the intention of our hearts behind our works will be evaluated.

“Have you ever as a Christian stopped to think of what a solemn thing it will be when your life’s work is ended, when all further opportunity for witnessing for Christ on earth will have gone by forever, when you stand in your glorified body before His judgment seat, and He will go back over all the way you have come, and will give His own estimate of all your service, of everything you have ever attempted to do for Him? Will He have to say at such a time, “You had a very wonderful opportunity to glorify Me, but you failed because you were so self-occupied, you were so much concerned about what people would think of you, instead of being concerned about pleasing Me; I will have to blot all that out, I cannot reward you for that, for there was too much self in that service”? And then He will point to something else, maybe something you had forgotten altogether, and He will say, “There! You thought you failed in that; didn’t you? You really thought you blundered so dreadfully that your whole testimony amounted to nothing, but I was listening and observing, and I knew that in that hour of weakness your one desire was to glorify Me, and though nobody applauded you I took note of it and will reward you for it.” What a joy it will be to receive His approval in that day. If we learn to live as Paul did with the judgment seat of Christ before us, we will not be men-pleasers, but we will be Christ-pleasers.” H.A. Ironside

The Judgment Seat of Christ is a future event where our works will be rewarded.

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

1 Corinthians 3:14 “14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.” 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

New Testament passages that speak about future rewards:

Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 6:4 “[Give] in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Mark 9:41 “41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.”

Luke 14:14 “and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.””

Ephesians 6:8 “8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.”

The Judgement Seat of Christ is a future event where followers of Jesus will receive a final review to determine rewards.

"Only one life,’twill soon be past,

Only what’s done for Christ will last." -C.T. Studd

Application: Invest, Invest, Invest.

Address the volunteer crisis.

Living in Light of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Perhaps you can identity with the story of an old missionary couple who had been working in Africa for years and were returning to New York to retire. Henry C. Morrison and his wife had serve the Lord in obscurity for forty years. Age had caught up with them, and it was time to come home to the United States. They had no retirement funds, no insurance; they were defeated, discouraged, and afraid. They wondered if anyone would even be there to greet them. But when the ship steamed into New York harbor, they couldn't believe their eyes.

Thousands of people were there cheering. Bands were playing. There were signs, banners, and billboards everywhere saying, "Welcome Home." But the [excitment] was not for the Morrisons. President Teddy Roosevelt was also a passenger on the ship. He was returning from a big game hunt in Africa. The signs, the cheering crowds, and the [excitment] were all for him.

No one was there to meet this missionary couple. No one greeted them. No one noticed them. They quietly slipped off the ship and found a cheap [place to live] on the East Side, hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living in the city. That night the lack of appreciation got to Henry. He said to his wife, "I can't take this; God is not treating us fairly," His wife replied, "Why don't you go in the bedroom and tell that to the Lord?"

A short time later he came out of the bedroom with a completely different countenance. When his wife asked what happened, Morrison said, "The Lord settled it with me. I told him how bitter I was that the president received this tremendous homecoming, when no one met us as we returned home. It seemed as though the Lord put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'But Henry, you're not home yet!"

“With condemnation behind us and eternity ahead of us, the judgment seat of Christ is not something to be dreaded. It is something to be anticipated.” Woodrow Kroll, Facing Your Final Job Review