If you are a Christian, you have been judged, are being judged, and will be judged.

1. Judgment.

John 5:22–23 “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

As much as people try to ignore it or eliminate it, judgment by Jesus Christ is part of God’s eternal program, and it is Jesus Christ who is worthy to judge.

As a Christian, there are three kinds of judgments that we will face, are facing, and have faced. Let’s look at each one.

A. Judged as sinners.

If you are saved, God has already judged your sin.

Romans 5:6–8 “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

In the past, all of your sins, if you are saved, were judged at Calvary. God cannot let any sin slip by. When Christ was nailed to Calvary, He was nailed there to die for every sin that ever has been, is being, or will be committed. When you got saved, you accepted the judgment of your sins through Jesus Christ, and as we talked about this morning, that justifies you before God.

Dear friend, that is why it is absolutely essential to understand what Jesus Christ did. The Bible calls Him the Way because only He could die for my sins in a way that satisfied God. If you are saved, your sins were judged at Calvary, and you were judged through Jesus Christ.

B. Judged as sons and daughters.

Today, if you are saved, you are being judged. As I said we do not want to think of being judged as Christians, but that does not change the fact that we are being judged.

1. Jesus Christ is judging local churches.

Revelation 2:1 ““To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:”

Revelation 2:16 “Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.”

Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”

Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation deal with the entire Church Age, and without a doubt, it is Jesus Christ judging the churches.

Just as He did by sending letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor, Jesus Christ is judging the modern-day church. You might want to think about that the next time you are distracted by a sermon, the next time you come to church with sin in your life, the next time you fail to honor a commitment that you make to the church.

Some of the things Christ for which Christ judges the church are found in the letters to the churches including:

Dismissing Christ’s position (Leaving our first love)

Teaching false doctrine

Allowing sexual immorality

Being spiritually dead

Being content

I have been really frustrated lately. I will be honest. I see the eagerness in the Philippines for God’s Word, but I do not sense it among some of us. I grow frustrated over commitments made but not followed through, and I know Jesus Christ is judging those things, and ultimately, I will be held responsible, and often I wonder what Jesus Christ is saying about Beech Grove?

The potential for greatness in the Lord is here, but that greatness is not going to magically happen. We have too much strife, too much disagreement., and I know that does not come from Jesus Christ. We can disagree without getting angry at one another and without holding a grudge.

We commit to doing things, but our commitments do not last. Many Bible scholars will tell you that the current church is the Laodicean Church. Does that tag apply to us? Are we just content with going about business as usual?

I am telling you Jesus Christ is judging this church, and we need to get in gear. I have said it until I do not even want to say it anymore, but this church will not be what it can be until all truly saved members are completely sold out for the Lord and not sold out for themselves.

We committed to children’s church, and I am frustrated with it, and I know others are, but how do we know what it can be if people are not bringing their kids to church, and if people keep backing out of their commitment to teach and lead it? Bruce has volunteered to do it every week, but I do not want him to do that.

I know Marty Goff would do it, but it was a church commitment, and I am telling you, whether you want to believe me or not, that Jesus Christ is judging us for that as I speak, and we need to get serious about doing the children’s church or stop it because Jesus Christ is not satisfied with us doing a half a job at anything in serving Him.

2. Individual believers should be judging themselves.

1 Corinthians 11:31 “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

What does it mean to judge ourselves?

It does not mean to pray, “Father, forgive me of my sins.” That is a good prayer for a church service because I do not know what sins Billy has committed, so I can pray, “Father forgives us of our sins.” In my personal life, however, I know what sins I commit, and I am to judge myself and confess those individual sins by name to God.

Let me show you what I mean.

Daniel 9:4–8 “And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.

Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.

O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.”

Daniel confessed specific sins. If we judge ourselves, we can do the same. Now, Daniel claimed those sins as his own even though he did not commit them. Those sins were committed by Judah, but Daniel still confessed specific sins.

Do you do that? If you get mad at a brother or sister, do you specifically confess that sin to God? Do you make it right with that brother or sister? Well, if you don’t, I do not want to hear you say, “I am just not getting anything out of church.” The reason you are not getting anything out of it is because you have confessed your specific sin, and you have not taken care of it before God.

3. If an individual does not judge himself, God will step in.

1 Corinthians 11:30 “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”

Let me ask you a serious question.

Could your health or other issues be the result of not judging yourself causing God to step in and do it for you?

1 Peter 4:17 “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Hebrews 12:6 “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.””

In First Corinthians Chap. 11, Paul is referring specifically to those in Corinth who did not judge themselves prior to the partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Because they had not judged themselves, many were sick, and some had died.

Do you think God still operates that way? Well, you better.

Galatians 6:7–8 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

Dear friend, if you just go through the motions serving Christ and just go through the motions at church, you are asking God to step in if you do not judge yourself, and when God steps in, He will get your attention, but we dismiss that today. Well, I am telling if God did that in the Corinthian Church, He will do it in Beech Grove. We all better start judging ourselves.

C. Judged as saints.

Romans 14:10 “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

All Christians will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ.

If you are saved, you have a subpoena to appear before Jesus Christ.

1. The purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

The purpose of the JSOC is not to determine whether a particular individual enters into heaven or not. Every man’s eternal destiny is determined before he leaves this earth.

The purpose of the JSOC is not to punish believers for sins committed after salvation.

Isaiah 44:22 “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.””

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

The purpose of the JSOC is for believers to stand before Jesus Christ and give an account of the way they have used their privileges and responsibilities from the moment of conversion through the rest of their lives.

After your salvation, God expects certain things from you; at the JSOC, you will be judged according to how you used what God gave you to meet His expectations.

2. The timing of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

The JSOC occurs immediately after the Rapture.

Let me give you some reasons why.

Rewards are associated with the resurrection.

Luke 14:14 “And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.””

In 1st Thess. Chap 4 verses 14-17, Paul makes it clear that the resurrection of the dead is an integral part of the translation of the saints, reward must be part of that program.

When the Lord returns to earth with His bride, the bride has already been rewarded.

Revelation 19:8 “And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

Notice something very important. The Bible says the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. It is not the imputed righteousness of Christ. When we return with Christ at His Second Coming, our righteousness will have survived examination and will have been rewarded.

In several New Testament passages, the reward is associated with “that day.” That day is the day in which Christ comes for His own.

1 Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”

2 Timothy 4:8 “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Revelation 22:12 ““And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”

The JSOC occurs after the Rapture and before the Second Coming. I do not have a clue how long it will take within that period of time, and no one can know.

3. The materials (acts) to be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.

If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

Now, there are certain principles that must be understood.

a. At the moment of salvation, a repenting sinner is placed firmly on the foundation of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

b. After a person is saved, his works or acts are divided into six areas:

gold

silver

precious stones

hay

wood

stubble

Those six things can be further divided into two categories:

Indestructible and worthy acts which will survive in the fire of Christ’s judgment. (Gold, silver, & precious stones)

Destructible and worthy acts which will be totally consumed by the fire of Christ’s judgment. (Wood, hay, & stubble)

Simply put, there are things that a Christian does that will be rewarded, and there are things that a Christian does that he should not do that will be consumed by the fire.

It is difficult to know just what exactly makes up a “golden work” or a “stubble work”, but God gives us some direction in His Word.

Golden works:

(1) How we treat other believers.

Should a Christian ever not like a brother or sister in Christ? A Christian should never dislike another Christian. It is hard to dislike someone if you are supposed to love everyone. Tragically, some of the worst treatment suffered by believers comes from other believers. That is wood, hay, and stubble.

Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”

Matthew 10:41–42 “He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.””

(2) How we exercise authority over others.

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”

James 3:1 “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

At one time or another all of us have had a measure of authority as either a parent, a teacher, an employer etc. How have you exercised that authority? Have you exercised it in a golden way, or have you exercised in a “stubbly” way? It has been said that while some grow under authority, others simply swell.

(3) How we use our Spiritual gifts.

1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

We talked about this not too long ago, but at the moment of salvation, a person is given at least one spiritual gift to use in serving the body of Christ. YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR HOW YOU EMPLOYED THAT OR THOSE SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

I, personally, believe that Christ will judge each Christian severely for how they used what He gave them at the moment of salvation.

(4) How we use our money.

What is your relationship with your money? Is money your little precious? All of your money belongs to God because we are His purchased by an awesome price. At the JSOC, I will not only be judged for how I gave to the church, but I will also be judged by how I spent the rest of my money. Are you one of those people that like to go through money like Sherman through Georgia during the Civil War? Are you one of those people that are so tight you squeak when you walk? Your attitude and actions toward money will be either judged as gold, silver, and precious stones, or as wood, hay, and stubble.

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

(5) How we spend our time.

How many hours of your 168 weekly hours do you spend serving Christ? We are only at church 4 hours a week. Is that all the time you spend serving the one who died for you?

1 Peter 1:17 “And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;”

(6) How we run the race God has chosen for us.

1 Corinthians 9:24 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”

We do not all run the same race. My race is different from Marty Goff’s race. How Marty and I run the race we have been entered into will either be rewarded or judged.

(7) How effectively we control the old nature.

1 Timothy 2:15 “Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.”

Philippians 1:10 “that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,”

Paul desired above all to keep his old nature in check because he knew he would be judged for that at the JSOC. Many of us cherish bringing out our old natures from time-to-time, don’t we? Remember, the next time you want to bring that old rascal out, you are going to be judged for how you controlled that old nature.

(8) How many souls we witness to and win to Christ.

Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.”

Daniel 12:3 “Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.”

Have you ever won someone to Christ? Have you ever tried to win someone to Christ? Whether or not you ever lead someone to Christ, you are to be witnessing for Christ. If you do not witness, you have no chance to win souls. Are you going to be rejected? Yes, more times than you will be accepted, but we are to witness and leave the results to God, and you do not know what God might do with the seed you plant, but you have to plant the seed.

(9) How we react to temptation.

James 1:2–3 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

Revelation 2:10 “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

(10) How faithful we are to the doctrine of the Rapture.

2 Timothy 4:8 “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

As a Christian, you will be judged for how much you were looking for the return of Jesus Christ. The reason is that expecting the Rapture is supposed to be within us a boldness to serve Christ and to live more Christlike. I, personally, believe that is why so many Christians just carelessly sin. They are not expect Christ’s return, and they just do what they want to do.

(11) How faithful we are to the Word of God.

1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;”

Could you through the Word of God show someone the reason for the hope within you? Well, dear friend, you will be judged as a Christian for what you did with the Word of God.

Now, this list could be broken down into subcategories, but you get the picture. Based on this list, how do you think you will be judged?

4. The rewards to be given at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Jesus Christ wants to reward you, and He will reward you liberally, but He demands that you earn those rewards. There are five rewards mentioned in the Bible.

a. The Incorruptible Crown

This crown is given to those who master their old natures. (1 Cor. 9:25-27)

b. The Crown of Rejoicing

This crown is given to soul-winners. (First Thess 2:19-20)

c. The Crown of Life

This crown is given to those who successfully endure temptation. (Rev. 2:10).

d. The Crown of Righteousness

This crown is given to those who especially who love the doctrine of the Rapture. Second Timothy 4:8.

e. The Crown of Glory

This crown is given to faithful preachers and teachers. (1st Pet. 5:2-4).

What is the significance of these rewards? Well, I think it could be talents and abilities with which to glorify Jesus Christ. The greater the reward the greater the ability and responsibility during the Millennium and throughout eternity.

Have you ever wanted to sing gospel music like Elvis Presley? Well, one of these days you might be able to do that.

5. The loss of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ

Now, I often wondered what this passage means.

1 Corinthians 3:15 “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

And it is still a question of just exactly what suffering loss means, but there are some passages in the New Testament that might help us understand what suffering loss means.

Colossians 2:18 “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,”

2 John 8 “Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.”

Revelation 3:11 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”

When I tell you I have spent a lot of time studying this subject, I really mean I have spent a lot time studying the loss of rewards, and here is the conclusion that I have come to as of this very moment.

The loss that we could suffer is the loss of potential rewards we could have won if we had remained faithful.

For example, the Bible says this.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

When a Christian worries, that Christian robs himself of potential rewards because God has promised this in Romans.

Do you see what I mean?

Take my preaching as an example.

I can preach a sermon that the Holy Spirit uses to convict a sinner or to exhort a saint. The message can be theologically correct, but I could suffer loss because maybe I preached the sermon with an attitude to impress someone. God’s Word will not return void, but I will suffer loss because my motive was not godly. Now, I reserve the opportunity to change my thoughts on what suffering loss means as I progress on my spiritual journey.

The point is this.

If you are saved, you were judged at Calvary.

If you are saved, you are being judged daily either by yourself or by God.

If you are saved, you are going to appear before Christ in judgment at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

The idea of facing judgment is supposed to have an effect on our daily lives, but when we deny judgment and focus on love, we lessen the expectations God has for us.