It's In The Books

Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; Revelation 20:11-15
Related Sunday School Lesson, Family Bible Series, Aug. 21

R. G. Lee, a great Southern Baptist preacher of yesteryear, had a famous sermon called "Payday Someday." He preached it hundreds, if not thousands, of times to remind people that someday we will face a day of reckoning, a life audit.

Many people live only for today, unaware that their personal judgment day is coming. The Bible clearly teaches that each individual - believer and unbeliever alike - will give an account to God, who will judge their works.

Our last lesson concluded with the warning that we will all "stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36). Three key passages of Scripture will shed light on how that will happen, and teach us how we can be prepared to give an account of ourselves to God.

The judgment seat, Romans 14:10-12

To Paul's original readers the term "judgment seat" (Greek bema) must have reminded them of the world of athletics. The bema was a special seat where a judge would sit at the ancient Isthmian or Olympic games. Sitting on the bema seat, the judge would watch to see if athletes broke the rules, disqualifying those who did.

At the end of the competition that judge would reward the winners. Since "we will all stand before the judgment seat of God" (v.10), here are five facts we should know about it beforehand.

First, it will be a "works" judgment. It will have nothing to do with your sin or your salvation. The believer's sin has already been forgiven and can't be held against him anymore, and the believer's salvation is eternally secure. Second, it will be a universal judgment: "we will all stand."

All believers from every nation, tribe and tongue will be included. Kings, queens and presidents, rich and poor, great and small will all be judged the same. No one will receive special treatment or be graded on a "curve."

Third, it will be a divine judgment - it is God's judgment seat. Thus, we will not be judged by human standards, but by divine standards. We will be compared to Christ, not to other believers. Paul asked, "Why do you criticize . . . look down on your brother?" (v.10). No man has a bema seat from which to judge other men. God reserves that right for Himself.

Fourth, it will be a personal judgment: "each of us will give an account of himself" (v.12). We will not stand in groups or churches or families, but on our own. Jesus will not call on any character witnesses, for He knows all about us. Fifth, it will be a truthful judgment. There will be no perjury, cover-ups, alibis, or blaming. As William Barclay said, "We stand before God in the awful loneliness of our own souls."

Build to last, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

In this passage Paul discusses what church leaders do to build up the local church. One day Jesus will judge their work for His church, and so they must build with quality. The Bride of Christ deserves nothing less than our very best efforts. Every church leader "must be careful how he builds" (v.10).

While this passage is aimed directly at church leaders, it hits every believer with an important truth: When we stand before God's judgment seat all the works of our lives will be judged.

Paul said all our works will be considered, "whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10). Verse 13 states that "each one's work will become obvious" (literally "brought into open light").

Paul uses construction terms to illustrate this truth: Laying a foundation, building on it, the quality of building materials. In this image, salvation is the foundation of our lives. Jesus laid this foundation at great expense - the blood of His cross.

No builder would lay a million-dollar foundation and then build on it with cardboard and scrap wood. Likewise, we must not build on the foundation of Christ with cheap materials and shoddy workmanship.

Notice that in the fire of God's judgment our works will either endure (to His praise) or go up in smoke (to our shame). Because of impure motives, fleshly desires, and ungodly attitudes, some of our works "will be lost" (v.15). These are like "wood, hay, or straw" (v.12): temporary, ordinary, cheap, easy to obtain.

But service for Christ done with a pure heart is like "gold, silver, costly stones" (v.12): permanent, beautiful, costly, hard to obtain. It is clear that our motives will be a part of our judgment. Remember Annanias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), who did a good thing with a bad motive? God judged the motive behind the deed, not the deed itself - and that with dire consequences.

The great white throne Revelation 20:11-15

The Apostle John caught a glimpse of an awesome scene as Jesus pulled back the curtain of time and showed him God's final judgment of mankind. Unlike the bema seat before which only believers will stand, John describes a "great white throne" and the judgment of the lost.

Those who stand before this throne are not "the dead in Christ" (1 Thessalonians 4:16), but the dead without Christ. Although they will be "judged according to their works" (v.13), they will all be given the same sentence: the "second death, the lake of fire" (v.14). Since they had never been born again, their names will be tragically absent from the book of life.

As believers reading this passage we can rejoice that our names are in God's life-book. But our rejoicing is intensified when we share the gospel, lead the lost to Christ, and see their names written alongside ours.