He was speaking at a week-long conference in California where, every time he spoke, a certain man would fall asleep after twenty minutes. You see, “if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him,” but if we are ashamed of Christ due to the fear of men, “He also will deny us,” that is, a higher position and greater degree of authority. For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. For example, Ted Haggard, the head of the National Association of Evangelicals, was recently forced to resign his position with the organization as well as from his church in November of 2006 because a homosexual affair became public knowledge. Based on the novel, The Bema: A Story About the Judgement Seat of Christ, by Tim Stevenson, The BEMA Drama was initially performed by Pete Briscoe as part of a sermon series in 1999. Believers will be judged and recompensed according to their deeds, “whether good or bad.”. Second, even if the correct reading is phaulon, it still means bad in this context (indeed, as we shall see, in every NT use). Visit the store. Gallio judged Paul and found him not guilty. There really are no secrets with God. Only those things done for Christ of a permanent nature will endure this Divine review. Well, relaxing is one thing. For ye are our glory and joy” (I Thes. Ciampa and Rosner write, “The judgment that will accompany that ‘revelation’ (1:7) will be far more searching than any human could ever hope to achieve.”8 And it is those things which He will “bring to light.” Paul is warning the believers in Corinth, and ultimately all believers. This particular passage seems to indicate that these are not literal crowns that will be handed out; rather they will be honors bestowed upon those who have earned them. Disapproval can only result from sinful things that were done. Why would these events be recorded forever in Scripture, yet not be considered in the judgment? Matthew 25:14-30 is not as clear and is not as simple. As we have seen, one of the symbols of the Word of God is fire. The Judgment Seat of Christ will definitely occur shortly after the Rapture of the Church. Or David for committing immorality with Bathsheba. He may think he’s gotten away with it, but at that day his evil deed will be exposed. Clearly God was aware of the sin of the believers in Corinth. I hope to complete more. No past or even future failures can change that. According to 1 John 1:9, only if we, as born-again believers, confess our sins do we receive forgiveness for those sins and cleansing from all unrighteousness (including sins which we are not aware of). Bear in mind, there will be no room for advancement in eternity since our position will be fixed by what transpires at the Bema Seat. Similarly David K. Lowery says, “Their good deeds will evoke one response (cf. 6:8) and the, will evoke another (1 Cor. By so doing we will make the Judgment Seat of Christ an easier experience than it will be for Christians who are harsh, judgmental and unkind to their fellow human beings. Phaulos describes those mundane things that inherently are neither of eternal value nor sinful, such as taking a walk, going shopping, taking a drive in the country, pursuing an advanced degree, moving up the corporate ladder, painting pictures, or writing poetry. Go, tell Jeroboam…You have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger (1 Kgs 14:7, 9). Paul feared this very thing: “But I discipline, others, I myself should become disqualified [, “contemplates evil under another aspect, not. Allow me to illustrate: Charles Swindoll one time related an experience he had in his own life. out of blue and white marble. Salvation is by faith (Eph. The platform could be either public or private . On the other hand, there are good reasons to see this man as a believer. the king to reign over them (Luke 19:14). Verse 7 is a powerful statement on accountability: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. The Jews bring Paul before the bema for judgment by Gallio, the proconsul of Achaia. The word is also translated court or tribunal. Not only do the majority of manuscripts read kakon, but so do leading Critical Text manuscripts B and p46. Clearly the fact he confessed the sin to God would not eliminate accountability now. Anytime that everlasting life is spoken of as a possible future experience, then eternal rewards, that is, fullness of everlasting life, is in view (compare Matt 19:29). “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us: If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (II Tim. 5.) Perhaps we need to follow the motto of the Army, “To be all that you can be,” but in this case for the Lord. That would be unjust of God. For example, John Martin writes concerning the third servant in Luke 19:20-26: Matthew related that the third servant was thrown out of the kingdom (Matt. For example, P. E. Hughes says that worthless is “the proper meaning of phaulon.”17. The Bema Seat The judgment seat is known as the "bema." 15:39-41). And, contra Martin’s suggestion, he is contrasted with “those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them” (v 27). He ended by saying: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”. The emotion at times is going to be overwhelming. 2:8-9), but deeds issuing from that faith (1 Thess 1:3) will be evaluated.”. 15:42). Or, some might say that believers will receive disapproval and shame because of an abundance of morally neutral deeds that result in the person having a paucity of good works. However, the Bible is a unique book. by Tony Warren. He is increasingly frustrated because he’s unable to number them. It is good to know that God cares. 4:5). We'd like to help. The Christian leader, in effect, stole the property from the Christian organization, expelled its leadership, and put the church and newly built apartments in his name. This teaching is also available for immediate download There are two major problems with this view. He did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Astronomers tell us that stars vary in size—some are much larger than others. I learned to live in private as though my parents saw all I did. He [Nadab] did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father [Jeroboam], and in his sin by which he made Israel sin (1 Kgs 15:26). And he [Jehoshaphat] walked in all the ways of his father Asa. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory” (I Cor. Sadly, most believers have little interest or concern regarding the Judgment Seat of Christ. Concerning the latter he wrote: “For he who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption” (v 8a). The outer darkness is the darkness outside the brightly lit wedding festivities. Don’t people need to have time when they can relax? Pastor David E. Thompson was a radio personality in Kalamazoo, Michigan back in the early to mid 70's. This is the believer’s time when they receive rewards and judgment as well, though there is no punishment as that was dealt with at the cross. Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for the people offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places (1 Kgs 22:43). May we live moment by moment in such a way that we will hear Him say, “Well done, good servant.”, 1 Thomas R. Shreiner in Four Views on the Role of Works in the Final Judgment, ed. The Judgment Seat of Christ ends the administration of Grace. The suggestion is sometimes made that the Greek word used here, phaulon, does not mean bad, but instead worthless. He says. We are beyond the reach of God’s judgment as far as condemnation is concerned. 5 A few years after graduating from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1982, I learned of a number of DTS graduates who were in prison in Huntsville, TX for major crimes. For example, while our recreational activities may have limited eternal value, too much time spent golfing, hunting, skiing, fishing, watching television, and so forth can be rightly seen as worthless, but not bad. Even though a believer may suffer the devastating loss of eternal reward, according to the Word of God he will still be saved, for God has promised eternal life to all who believe (Rom. It refers to all which is hidden. But at the Bema these deeds are not evaluated as sins. However, three points can be summarized. In the NT, the Greek word, for a believer is to receive the Lord’s, ). In that day, the Lord is going to publicly acknowledge Paul and all those who had a burden for lost souls. Second, those who persevere in their Christian profession without disqualifying themselves with the sins of the vice lists (e.g., Gal 5:19-21), will rule with Christ forever (2 Tim 2:12). I have divided the evidence into seven categories: 1) All things which have been done will be exposed, not just some; 2) The fact that some will experience negative emotions and a bad “grade” at the Bema could only be true if our sins were considered; 3) Warnings not to sin because the Bema is coming soon prove all our sins will be considered; 4) The fact that many sins are reported forever and publicly in Scripture proves that sins will be evaluated; 5) The nature of a bema, or judgment seat, proves that our sins will be considered; 6) The fact that everything we have done, “whether good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10), shows that our bad deeds will be considered; 7) The sowing and reaping principle requires that whatever we sow, that we will also reap (Gal 6:7). For example, we are at liberty to judge or discern the things that differ in God’s Word; however, we have no right to judge others. The light of the moon which graces the night sky has a greater glory than the stars. Since the third servant is judged with them, so much so that his mina can be given to the first servant standing nearby, he too is at the Bema and is a believer. Greed, jealousy, envy, covetousness, and the like are all motivating factors and all are sin. See also p. 60 where Schreiner specifically says that “the Great White Throne [Judgment] of God” and “the judgment seat of Christ” are “one judgment” and “both clearly have in view the judgment of believers.”. Zane Hodges comments: Mercy, of course, is equally important for the believer today. Until then the readers were to stop judging Paul, Apollos, and Peter. 2:19,20). Failure to invest one’s life for Christ at a minimum involves lots of sins of omission. But the greatest regret of all will be when we see the sorrow on our Savior’s face for how we mistreated one another as members of the Body of Christ. “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? That is true. What would happen? Past failures don’t rule them out either (though they can diminish the degree of rulership and other rewards; compare Luke 19:17, ten cities, and 19:19, five cities). (Your Eternal Reward by Erwin W. Lutzer, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, pg. Brett then emailed in... Will the Bad Deeds of Believers be Considered at the Judgement Seat of Christ? Accountability is psychologically refreshing. One is sown in corruption and eventually will perish, but the other is raised in incorruption never to perish again. Alan Johnson comments, “So the Corinthians are to stop judging their leaders and comparing them to one another, boasting in one and despising another.”7. This might be compared to the Olympic ceremonies where various medals are awarded to athletes. But in the end, it will be worthwhile when we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. But then he was arrested by the police for the crime. While all hell breaks loose on earth leading up to the 2nd Coming of Christ, Christians will be with the Lord giving an account of … Jesus’ Bema won’t merely be a time of rejoicing. However, it is misleading to think of it only in that light. If phaulon means worthless in 2 Cor 5:10, why is it that none of the major English translations have that translation in that passage, or in any of the passages where phaulos is used in contrast to agathos? Notice in the above passage that it is when the Lord comes, “who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.” We are to understand that this is the Lord’s Secret Coming for the Body of Christ, which of course, includes the Judgment Seat of Christ. Only those who persevered all the way to 26.2 miles received the perseverance prizes. If the only consequences at the Bema were positive, then it might be possible that our bad deeds would not be considered. They are convinced that no Christian will be judged to determine his eternal destiny as the Lord promised in John 5:24: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”3 Three promises are made here using three verb tenses. A pastor, for example, can work hard to prepare a good sermon because he is jealous of another pastor in town whose church is a bit larger. The Bema Seat Judgment of Christ takes place in Heaven right after the Rapture and is to award crowns to Church Age believers for the things we’ve done while on Earth. od makes an amazing promise to anyone who believes in the, And most are convinced that at that judgment, which they call, , everyone will be judged according to their works and, those whose works are good enough will obtain what they call. Rom 1:16; 6:21; 2 Tim 1:8, 12, 16; Heb 2:11; 11:16). As sure as the sun rises in the morning, you can count on it! Take for example the pastor who embezzles the savings of a godly widow under the pretext that she’s helping the work of the ministry. It is wonderful to realize that “He remembers our sins no more” and that “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps 103:12). Apparently, the degree we are going to be glorified in the resurrection is also determined by our current conduct and service. If there was enough evidence to prove he did it, then he’d be off to prison, even though he might well be in fellowship with God.5. In this view bad deeds will not be considered. In fact some, like the North Star, are brighter while others form constellations such as the Big Dipper. 2:12,13). The concept of the Bema Seat comes from the ancient Olympics, where a judge would sit on the Bema Seat at the finish line. First John 1:9 is widely recognized as a key progressive sanctification verse. Jer 31:34). There are no secrets with God. Thankfully these tears will be wiped away at the close of this judgment—there will be no more sorrow or crying. Bad does not translate kakos or ponēros, the words for moral evil, but phaulos, which means “worthless,” or “useless.” Richard C. Trench writes that phaulos “contemplates 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 coming forth from it” (Synonyms of the New Testament [Reprint; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983], 317). As Paul made clear in Eph 2:8-9, no one has everlasting life (as a present possession, Eph 2:5) as a result of works, that is, as a result of sowing. The believers in Corinth were judging Paul, Apollos, and Peter. If our bad deeds won’t be brought up at the Bema, then why are the bad deeds of some believers recorded in Scripture? The story is told of the American missionary organization that raised money for property, including buildings, in a country in Europe. However, that position, while appealing, lacks sufficient Biblical support. The best he could do would be to prove that he didn’t yell at her on a particular date when he was out of town and away from any phone. Therefore take heed how you hear. The Apostle Paul writes about it in (2 Corinithians Ch. It sustains life upon the earth. God highly rewards perseverance. How, for example, can a man prove that he never yelled at his wife? It can easily be seen that none of the other uses of phaulos in the NT is translated worthless. The first proof is quite powerful. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be judged. We will only reap something for the good things we have done. that is the Lord’s job. Even general observations in life are usually an inaccurate assessment of the actual circumstances.
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