Certain verses in the New Testament reveal that Christ is the Judge of the believers at the judgment seat. “We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for the things done through the body, according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). At the judgment seat Christ will judge His believers not concerning their eternal salvation but concerning their dispensational reward. Therefore, while we are still in the body we should do things through it to please the Lord so that we may be rewarded by the Lord at His coming.
The judgment in 2 Corinthians 5:10 is not the eternal judgment of God mentioned in Romans 2:2, 3, 5, 16, and 3:8, which will be mainly carried out at the white throne described in Revelation 20:11-15. The eternal judgment at the white throne will be after the millennium, will judge all the dead unbelievers, and will concern eternal punishment in the lake of fire. The judgment at the judgment seat of Christ will judge the life and work of the believers, and it will determine whether the believers will receive a reward for the good or suffer a loss for the bad.
In Romans 14:10 Paul says, “We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.” The eternal judgment at the white throne will be after the millennium, it will be for the dead unbelievers, and it will be for eternal punishment in the lake of fire. However, the judgment at the judgment seat of God, which is the judgment seat of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:10, will be held before the millennium, immediately after Christ’s return (1 Cor. 4:5; Matt. 16:27; 25:19; Luke 19:15), and the life and work of the believers will be judged at that time (Rev. 22:12; Matt. 16:27; 1 Cor. 4:5; 3:13-15; Matt. 25:19; Luke 19:15). This judgment has nothing to do with a believer’s salvation, for everyone who appears at the judgment seat of God will have already been saved. This judgment will judge the believers’ life and work after they have been saved, and it will determine a believer’s reward in the millennial kingdom (Matt. 25:21, 23; Luke 19:17, 19; Rev. 22:12; Luke 14:14; 2 Tim. 4:8). The believers will stand before the Lord Jesus at His judgment seat to give an account of their life and work.
First Corinthians 4:5 says, “Do not judge anything before the time, until the Lord comes, who shall both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then there will be praise to each one from God.” This verse also indicates that Christ will be the Judge of the believers. If we consider this verse in context, we shall realize that here Paul is saying that the One who examines us is the Lord and that we should leave the matter of judgment with Him. Christ will judge us in the day of His appearing. If we have done rightly, we shall receive praise from God.
In 1 Corinthians 3:13 Paul says, “The work of each shall become manifest; for the day shall make it known, because it is revealed by fire, and the fire itself will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.” The day here is the day of Christ’s second coming, when He will judge His believers. The fire is the fire of the Lord’s judgment (Mal. 3:2; 4:1; 2 Thes. 1:8; Heb. 6:8), which will cause each believer’s work to be manifest and will try and test his work. All the work of wood, grass, and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12) will not be able to stand that test and will be burned. The work that remains (v. 14) must be that of gold, silver, and precious stones. Such a work will be rewarded by the coming and judging Lord. Christ’s reward is based upon the believer’s work after being saved. It differs from salvation, which is based upon faith in the Lord and His redemptive work.
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