Yes, You'll Be There – Part 1 of 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. More and more these days, taking personal responsibility for what we do is passé.

Many people blame almost anyone else for their actions. This won't work with God. For the Christian, a day of judgment is coming in which all we've done will be evaluated.

Each of us has an appointment we won't miss. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, this life is but a blip on the radar compared to how long eternity will be.

Dave, you're absolutely right, and I can imagine that there are some people who have listened to your intro who are confused. They say to themselves, I'm a Christian, and you're saying that I am going to be at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ? The answer is, yes, you will be there. And that's to be distinguished from the great white throne judgment that is referred to in the book of Revelation. That judgment is for unbelievers only. But we, as believers, will give an account to God. In fact, the key verse that I like to refer to is 2 Corinthians 5 verse 10, for we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive that which is due us for the deeds done in the body, whether good or evil, sobering. I've written a book entitled Your Eternal Reward, Triumph and Tears at the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ. This book explains what Jesus Christ will be looking for, the fact that this is a judgment that we cannot avoid, and the implications are eternal. For a gift of any amount, this book can be yours. Here's what you do.

Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. And yes, my friend, if you're a believer, you will be at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. Well, just imagine being one on one with Jesus Christ.

You're looking into his eyes and everything that you have ever done, your whole life is present before you. You can't hide. You can't plead special mercy. You can't put your own twist on what really happened. You can't hire an attorney to represent you so that he can say it better.

It's just all there. And that is exactly what's going to happen. Take your Bibles and turn to 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, where the Apostle Paul makes an astounding statement. And in order to understand this passage of scripture, we must see it in context. So 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, I should really begin at verse 9.

He's been talking about dying and living and saying that whether we die or whether we live, it doesn't really matter, our ambition should be to be pleasing to him. That's verse 9 of 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 10, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one of us may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. But we are made manifest to God, and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. The judgment seat of Jesus Christ, sometimes referred to as the Bema because that word is the Greek word for judgment seat.

It's the tribunal where cases were tried and the place where the judge stood. Those of you who have been to Corinth know that you can actually go today to the Bema, where the Bible says the Apostle Paul came to when he visited Corinth. And now Paul says that we shall all stand there. Now, don't confuse the judgment seat of Christ, which is the topic of our message and of messages. Don't confuse that with the great white throne judgment of Revelation chapter 20. The great white throne judgment is the place where all unbelievers of all ages shall appear before God. And they shall be judged on the basis of their works, and the reason for that judgment is to determine the degree of their eternal punishment.

The fact that they are there means that they will be banished by God, but the question is how much punishment is commensurate with what they did with what they knew. That's where the small and great stand before God and the books are opened because hell will not be the same for everyone. The judgment seat of Christ or the Bema is the place where all believers in Jesus Christ, those who have trusted him as Savior, it is the judgment to which they shall appear and before whom they shall be judged.

That's known as the Bema seat of Christ. Neither of these judgments determines whether you go to heaven or hell. That decision is made in this life and it is already made based on where you appear, which of the judgments you are at. Because while it is true that hell will not be the same for everyone, heaven will not be the same for everyone either because we shall all be judged by Christ. Now there are some similarities between these two judgments. For one thing, both of them are based on works. Both of them are based on works. The wicked in the great white throne judgment are judged, I should say, based on the deeds that they have done, the scripture says, and here in this judgment, the judgment for Christians, it also is based on the deeds done in the body whether good or bad. Now salvation is not by works at all, not by works lest any man should boast, but our rewards are by works. So one of the similarities is that both of them are based on works, but there is another similarity and that is that attendance, attendance is compulsory. You can't get out of it. Sometimes we went to school, our parents thought we went to school, and some of us didn't go to school.

We did something else. I tell you what, at the judgment seat of Christ, notice what the text says and if you like to underline your Bibles, look at that little word must, chapter 5 verse 10, for we must, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And those who do not know Christ as savior, they must appear at the great white throne judgment. There is no escape because no matter where you run, God will find you and you will be there.

You will be there. Now I find it interesting that something that motivated the Apostle Paul so often has received so little attention in evangelical circles and in our churches. The other day I was at the Moody Bible Institute library thinking well surely there are lots of books written on the judgment seat of Christ, books written on everything else, so many different books you don't even know which ones to read, though if you're looking for some suggestions I might give them to you. But I go there and discover that there are only about four and I already had those four.

I couldn't believe it. Here the Apostle Paul, who frequently in his letters always pointed to that day when we shall be judged and when he wanted to do well, it receives scant attention. And I myself have been thinking about this series of messages, conceptually at least, for five or six years and I just have not had the courage to preach it.

So here we are at the beginning of a series of six messages. Let me first of all clear up some misconceptions. Maybe that's why we hear so few sermons about this is because of some misconceptions that are deeply embedded in the minds of many people and we need to do away with them so that we can clear the underbrush and get to the heart of the issue. First misconception is that our failures and our sins can never return to haunt us. Our failures and our sins can never return to haunt us.

The argument goes like this. I thought that when Jesus forgave me the sins he cast them into the depths of the sea. He doesn't remember them anymore and consequently there's no way that my failures and my sins can have any impact on the judgment seat of Christ.

Well what does the text say? You'll be recompensed for the deeds done in the body whether good or bad. Now there is some truth in what I've just said. So far as your eternal condemnation is concerned there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. It is quite true that God has put away your sins.

It is also true however that you can suffer loss, serious loss. As a matter of fact one of my messages is entitled what we can gain at the judgment seat of Christ and another one is going to be entitled what we can lose at the judgment seat of Christ. Oh yes in heaven everyone will be happy especially when God comes and wipes away all tears from their eyes and I do think that those are tears of regret that will be wiped away. Everyone in heaven will be happy but not everyone will have the same position of responsibility because this is a training ground so that God knows where to slot you in the coming kingdom. I want you to know that there is a way in which God is going to evaluate us totally and even our failures and our sins will impact will impact the final evaluation. Let me give you a second misconception and that is that rewards are not proper motivation.

Now this is this is ingrained in in many people's minds. People will say now why should you even preach about that? Because actually shouldn't we just serve God because we love him? You really think that we should serve God because of rewards?

That's selfish. Furthermore aren't we just going to take our crowns and cast them before the Lord anyway? You know the implication being it's no big deal whether you have done well or poorly because you give all your rewards back to Jesus and ten minutes into eternity everybody forgets how you did and and what's the big deal anyway and furthermore rewards aren't supposed to be our motivation. Well I want you to know today that there are many reasons that we should be motivated to serve God. Certainly we should be motivated by love. The Apostle Paul 2 Corinthians chapter 5 your Bibles are open right there he says in verse 14 for the love of Christ controls us.

That's a wonderful motivation and it is absolutely true that God would be worthy of worship and adoration and service even if we receive no rewards. There's no question about that. But did you know that there are other motivations that are biblical and very legitimate and one is fear of the judgment seat.

You say where is that? Well my dear friends we just read it in the text. Remember keep your Bible open keep your finger on the text. You'll notice Paul says we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ verse 10 verse 11 therefore knowing the fear of the Lord. King James says knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men. Knowing the terror of the Lord I persuade you today to live for Jesus Christ because we know the fear of the Lord.

Perfectly legitimate motivation. Listen it's not wrong to be motivated by a desire to please Christ in that day. You'll notice Paul says in verse 9 therefore also we have as our ambition whether at home or absent to be pleasing to him. Is that really a selfish motivation to want to please Christ? And he says for notice the connective there for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

It is not wrong to want to hear well done. In fact it is unbiblical and wrong if you don't care whether you hear well done from the lips of Christ. And I am absolutely astounded as I've begun thinking about this now I pick up the Bible and I seem to see it everywhere that Paul refers to the fact that he wants to do well at the judgment seat. He says in the second chapter of Philippians very clearly he says I want to preach the word of God.

I want to do it so that I will not have run in vain so that I might have glory or joy rather at the glory of Christ at the glorious appearing of Christ. Moses was not ashamed to reveal the fact at least the Bible reveals it on it that his major motivation was the reward that he was going to get. He said no to the treasures of Egypt Hebrews chapter 11 because he looked forward to the recompense of the reward. He says when I stand to think about eternity and thinking of living with God forever I know that God will make up to me whatever it is that I endure and I am willing to believe that God's reward will compensate me for all the things that I am turning my back on in this life.

You begin to read the Bible read the writings of Paul you will see it cropping up all over Paul is always motivated by how he will do when he sees Jesus. It's not wrong it's not unbiblical to want to have rewards because Jesus is pleased with you. A final misconception and that is that our works can't be rewarded by God. Our works can't be rewarded by God because he gave us the ability to do them.

This is the way this argument goes. Somebody says if you've believed in Jesus Christ that is a gift of God because faith is a gift of God. And therefore it's not of works lest any man should boast.

The Bible is very clear. We can't boast about it and say well I get credit for it because I believed. It was granted to you by God. And therefore since works are essentially the same God works in us both too willing to do of his own good pleasure and to achieve certain results and he grants us the ability to do good works and the desire to do good works. How can we be rewarded in light of the fact that it's not really us who's doing it is just God in us.

Well that has a good point too. Of course faith is a gift of God. Of course the ability to do works and the desire to is God given. But what you need to take into account is the incredible generosity of God. He's more generous than he really should be. For something that he gives us namely the gift of faith he gives us the reward of eternal life. For the gift of works for the ability to serve him he gives us the gift of eternal privilege. It's just that God is generous. Don't tell me we don't deserve rewards.

I know we don't. But God is good. God is good. He works in our hearts gives us the desire to do good things and then he rewards us for that which he did in us. Isn't he generous?

Isn't he generous? Well now all that is just by way of introduction. Let me give you five characteristics of the judgment seat of Christ. Five characteristics of the judgment seat of Christ. Number one it will be fair will be judged fairly fairly. How do you know that?

Is that in the text? Well implicitly so because it is the judgment seat of Christ. Who is the one who is going to judge us? It is the one who redeemed us. He came as savior. He died on the cross for our sins. He reconciled us to God. He loves us with an everlasting love and when he returns he comes now as judge. He switches roles.

Now that's very important to understand. He comes and he switches roles even for unbelievers. He comes for them in flaming judgment taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So for those who are headed for the great white throne he comes as a judge but for us also he comes as a judge and I take it that this will happen at the resurrection when we are raised at the rapture and it is then that our bodies and our souls will be united and it is then that we will stand before God but we will be judged by Christ. We're judged by somebody that loves us and that gives us hope. I believe that because this judgment is fair and for what we know what we can infer from scriptures it will be a judgment that will only include how we lived since we came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. The reason I believe that is because the Apostle Paul expected to do well in the judgment even though he was a murderer before he came to faith in Christ. God is not going to deal with those areas but rather how we behaved as his children, how we behaved after we came to understand that he did so much for us.

Now the question is what is it that we are willing to do for him in light of his mercy and his grace? So it will be a fair judgment. It will be a judgment that is tempered with mercy because the one who judges me is the one who loves me and redeemed me.

Let me give you a second characteristic. It will be a thorough, thorough judgment. Notice the text again, for the deeds done in the body according to what he has done whether good or bad, whether helpful or worthless it will encompass everything. Now you know what the text really says is when we must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

You know what the Greek word really means? We will be manifest. It doesn't mean simply to show up at the judgment.

Yeah, we're going to show up but we're going to be manifest. We're going to be revealed at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. The deeds done in the body whether good or bad, all those good deeds that you did that you've forgotten about, the cup of cold water that was given in the name of Christ, the card that was written, the meal that you had for people who could never repay you.

Jesus is very clear that that's one way to especially get reward. The things that we did that were good that had long since been forgotten, they're all going to be there. But the bad will also be there and all things are naked and open onto the eyes of whom we have to do.

It will be a thorough, thorough evaluation. God keeps records. God knows. God knows. You know those of you who are into computers.

I read an article some time ago. Did you know that all the sites that you visited are recorded somewhere, someplace somebody could find every site that you see? You know that on the internet there are many good things and then there are many bad things, many bad things that we should never see. And you may think, well, nobody knows what I'm watching and somewhere, someplace there's a record of the sites that you visit. God knows. God knows the sites that we have visited. He knows and we will be judged whether good or bad. You say, well, do you mean to say that we'll actually see our sins? Well, don't ask so many questions on this first message. All right, I'm going to be preaching on what it means to suffer loss and we're going to deal with that issue. But I do know this. It is going to be a very, very thorough, thorough judgment.

It includes what was good and what was bad. All right, let me be very clear. The point of view that I take regarding the judgment seat of Jesus Christ is different than some other theologians. They will want to say that because we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, this evaluation is entirely painless. It is really a non-event. I disagree. As a matter of fact, I take the point of view that not all Christians are going to hear, well done, thou good and faithful servant. It's very sobering.

And perhaps I am somewhat of a minority, though there are many others who would agree with me. The fact is that the judgment seat of Jesus Christ is a very critical event. And you and I must recognize that we must live every single day for eternity because there will be an evaluation and all of us will have some wood, hay and stubble along with hopefully some gold, silver and precious stones. But what are those precious stones? What survives the fire? These are the kinds of questions I answer in the book, Your Eternal Reward.

For a gift of any amount, it can be yours. Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. You know, as I stop to recognize the importance of the judgment seat of Jesus Christ for Christians, I recognize that so often we fall short.

But our desire, our motivation, and we should live our lives with eternity in view, laying up treasures in heaven, as Jesus put it. Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Remember the name of the book, Your Eternal Reward, Triumph and Tears at the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ.

You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Pastor Erwin Lutzer has brought part one of Yes, You'll Be There, the first of six messages in his series, Your Eternal Reward. Next time, more about the appointments all Christians face at the judgment seat of Christ. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.