The verse affirms that the purpose of the bema seat is to reveal the true heart of each believer. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. The criteria of judgment are most specifically defined in 2 Corinthians 5:10, where Paul states, 5:8), He can judge with perfect sympathy. 2:7–8), and learned “obedience by the things which he suffered” (Heb. And because of whom He chose to become when He emptied Himself, became obedient to the point of death (Phil. Because He was God from eternity, He can judge with perfect authority. Indeed, He alone is perfectly qualified to sit in judgment. 4:8), “ordained by God to be the Judge of living and dead” (Acts 10:42) “without respect of persons” (1 Pet. The apostles acknowledged Jesus as “the righteous judge” (2 Tim. The Lord Jesus asserted that the Father had committed all judgment to Him (Jn. No doubt, they will be “ashamed before him at his coming” (1 Jn. 3:15, suggesting a narrow escape from the flames). Some people will “suffer loss,” but they themselves “shall be saved, yet as by fire” (1 Cor. Indeed, our individual works will be the basis of our judgment (1 Cor. The issue at the Judgment Seat of Christ will be the awarding or withholding of believers’ rewards (Mt. Jude asserted that God is able to present us “ faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24, emphasis added). Such faith results in a standing of perfect righteousness before a thrice holy God (Rom. 3:5) but on personal faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. All will be believers who came to God, not based on their works (Eph. Thus the issue at the Judgment Seat of Christ will not be the eternal destiny of those being judged. The seat usually was not a judicial bench but a prominent elevation from which honor was awarded or withheld. In the Grecian games, the umpire or referee sat on a bema seat from that seat, he rewarded the contestants who had run well enough to obtain prizes (cf. In the world of the New Testament, the bema was a raised platform, usually mounted by steps, and used to make public pronouncements and to award prizes. This fact also appears in the allusion to the bema seat. The New Testament is explicit that the “judgment (bema) seat of Christ” is exclusively for believers (1 Cor. 4:13–18) and the descent of the Lord Jesus in glory (Rev. Thus the Judgment Seat occurs in the heavenlies during the interim between the Rapture of the saints (1 Th. The reference is not to imputed righteousness but to those elements of believers’ lives and service that God has tested in the fire and found acceptable-those elements with which the Bride adorns herself in the triumphal march to the marriage banquet. In the phrase righteousnesses of saints, the noun righteousnesses is plural, indicating the righteous acts of the saints. More specifically, Revelation 19:8 indicates that when the Lord Jesus descends in glory at the close of the Tribulation period, His Bride (the church) already will have received her reward. Christ will judge the living and dead “at his appearing” (2 Tim. Thus it behooves believers to contemplate carefully all God’s Word has to say about the Judgment Seat of Christ. Indeed, Daniel Webster, a famous 19th-century American statesman and orator, once said, “The greatest thought that has ever entered my mind is that I will have to stand before a holy God and give an account of my life.” Scripture often appeals to the reality of that day as an incentive to godliness and growth and as a warning against carelessness and spiritual sloth. There could hardly be a more sobering reality. The New Testament is explicit that a day is coming when believers “must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor.
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