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In this message we shall see that, in the completing stage of God’s full salvation, the believers will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ, which is the judgment seat of God.
We have seen that in the completing stage of God’s full salvation, the stage of glorification, the believers will be glorified, redeemed in their body, and raptured. To be glorified, redeemed, and raptured will be a procedure that will bring the believers into the stage of glorification. After all the believers have been raptured, they will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ.
We may think that in the New Testament God’s judgment of people is only of one kind — to decide whether they will perish or be saved. However, the truth revealed in the Bible concerning God’s judgment is much more detailed. In the New Testament there are at least five kinds of judgment.
The first judgment is that exercised by God when the Lord Jesus was on the cross. The crucifixion of the Lord was a judgment, for the righteous God judged the Lord Jesus as our Substitute. Hence, the Lord Jesus was judged by God on our behalf.
Second, in the church age God exercises another kind of judgment, and this is God’s judgment over His house. First Peter 4:17 says, “It is time for the judgment to begin from the house of God.” God’s house, or household, is the church composed of the believers (1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Tim. 3:15). God judges His people so that they may be disciplined, purified, and separated from the unbelievers and not have the same destiny as they. Such disciplinary judgment begins from God’s own household. Therefore, if we are careless in doing things, we shall be judged. Instead of judgment, we may speak of being disciplined, chastised, or corrected. However, discipline, chastisement, and correction are actually God’s judgment. God is always right and righteous, and He will not allow anything under His rule to be wrong. For this reason, He sometimes judges us.
The third kind of judgment in the New Testament will be the judgment of the believers at the judgment seat of Christ. After all the dead saints have been resurrected and raptured and all the living ones have been raptured, a judgment seat will be set up for Christ to judge all His genuine believers. This judgment will determine whether a believer receives a reward or some kind of dispensational punishment. Paul says, “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). This judgment seat is where Christ will judge His believers at His coming back, not concerning eternal salvation but concerning their dispensational reward (1 Cor. 4:4-5; 3:13-15).
Another verse that speaks of the believers being judged is Romans 14:10, where Paul tells us, “We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.” This judgment is different from 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 revealed in Revelation 20:11-15. The eternal judgment at the white throne will be after the millennium, it will be to judge all the dead unbelievers, and it will be for eternal punishment in the lake of fire. However, the judgment at the judgment seat of God, or the judgment seat of Christ, will be before the millennium, immediately after Christ’s coming back, it will be to judge all the resurrected and raptured believers, and it will be for reward in the millennial kingdom.
The fourth judgment revealed in the New Testament is the judgment of the living at Christ’s throne of glory (Matt. 25:31-46). After the Lord Jesus defeats Antichrist and his army, many of the Gentiles will still be living on earth. The Lord will gather them to Himself and judge them. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He shall sit on His throne of glory; and all the nations shall be gathered before Him, and He shall separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (vv. 31-32). Those that are regarded as sheep will be transferred into the millennium to be the people under the kingly ruling of Christ and the overcoming believers (Rev. 2:26-27; 12:5; 20:4-6) and under the priestly ministry of the saved Jews (Zech. 8:20-23). Those that are regarded as goats will go with their leader, Antichrist, “into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).
The fifth judgment in the New Testament will be executed by Christ on the dead unbelievers after the millennium. Christ is the Judge of both the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1). Whereas the living will be judged before the millennium, the dead will be judged afterward, as revealed in Revelation 20:11-15, the judgment at the great white throne. The unbelievers will be condemned by the Lord because of their evil deeds, and then they will perish because of their unbelief, not having their names written in the book of life. Therefore, at the great white throne Christ will judge the dead unbelievers to determine their eternal perdition.
Three of the five kinds of judgment in the New Testament are concerned with the believers. First, we should put ourselves under the judgment that was carried out through the cross of Christ. As believers, we have already been judged eternally, for we were judged in Christ on the cross. Just as Noah and his family were judged by the water but were inside the ark, so we have been judged by God on the cross in Christ. Second, as members of God’s family, we are under God’s family judgment. God is judging His own house, and we are the members of His family. Every day we need to realize that we are under this judgment, a judgment that is neither for perdition nor salvation but for correction and transformation. We need this judgment, and we are under it today. Finally, we shall be judged at the judgment seat of Christ in the air. This judgment will determine our destiny in the millennium, for it will decide whether we shall be rewarded to enter into the kingdom to enjoy the blessing of eternal life or suffer some kind of punishment during that dispensation. Therefore, as believers we are involved with three kinds of judgment: the judgment on the cross, the judgment in God’s house, and the judgment at Christ’s judgment seat.
In all His judgments the Lord is righteous. He is wise and just, and He will not allow His people to be loose or wrong. We were sinners who were judged in Christ on the cross, and then we became children of God. As God’s children, we are not free to do things in a loose way. God is very strict with His people. Today, in the house of God, He exercises His family judgment according to His will to correct us that we may grow and experience more transformation. Eventually, at the Lord’s coming back, He will judge us to decide whether in the coming age we shall receive a reward or punishment. This judgment will take place after our rapture.
In 2 Corinthians 5:10, Paul tells us that every believer before the judgment seat of Christ will be “recompensed for the things done through the body, according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad.” Alford points out that “recompense” is a technical word for receiving wages. While we are still at home in the body, we should do things through it to please the Lord, that we may be rewarded for them by the Lord at His coming.
Before the judgment seat of Christ, each of the believers will give an account of himself to God for the Lord to settle the accounts with them. Matthew 25:19 speaks of this: “Now after a long time the lord of those slaves comes and settles accounts with them.” “A long time” signifies the entire church age, and the coming signifies the Lord’s coming to the air (1 Thes. 4:16) in His parousia. To settle accounts signifies the Lord’s judgment at His judgment seat in the air (within His parousia), where the believers’ life, conduct, and work will be judged for reward or punishment.
When the believers appear before the judgment seat of Christ, they will give an account of how they have lived before the Lord and what kind of work they have done for the Lord after they were saved. We shall have to tell Him what we have been doing and what we have been gaining for Him. This will be very difficult, for we shall have to relate to the Lord what we have done in our life as believers. This is to give an account of ourselves to God for the Lord to settle the account with us.
At the judgment seat of Christ, the believers will be examined by the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 4:4b, Paul says, “He who examines me is the Lord.” Then in verse 5 he goes on to say, “Therefore 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.” “Before the time” means before the Lord’s day (1 Cor. 3:13). We do not know what is hidden in our heart. But one day the things in our heart will be made manifest, so that praise may be to each one from God. If our heart is right, good, pure, and for God, then at the judgment seat of Christ we shall be rewarded with a praise from God. Today we can hide the things of darkness and the counsels of our hearts. But all this will be brought to light and made manifest at the Lord’s coming back. Then every one of us shall receive a reward accordingly.
In Revelation 22:12 the Lord Jesus says, “Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to render to each one according to his work.” “I come quickly” is the Lord’s repeated warning (vv. 7, 20) that we may consider His reward at His coming back. The Greek word translated “reward” means wages. At the Lord’s coming, this reward will be rendered to each one of the believers, after their rapture, at the judgment seat of Christ.
When the believers are judged by the Lord at His judgment seat, some will receive a reward. Many verses in the New Testament speak of this. First Corinthians 3:8b says, “Each one shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.” Then in verse 14, concerning building upon Christ as the unique foundation, Paul goes on to say, “If anyone’s work which he has built upon it shall remain, he shall receive a reward.” According to the context, the work that remains must be that of gold, silver, and precious stones, the product of faithful ministers of Christ. Such a work will be rewarded by the coming and the judging Lord. Reward is based on a believer’s work after being saved. It differs from salvation, which is based on faith in the Lord Jesus and His redemptive work.
In 1 Corinthians 9:17 Paul speaking of preaching the gospel says, “If I do this voluntarily, I have a reward.” The book of 1 Corinthians was written not to help lost sinners to be saved, but to help saved believers to grow (3:6-7), to build with precious materials (3:10, 12-14), to care for the Lord’s members (8:9-13), and to run the race (9:24). Hence, reward is mentioned repeatedly as an incentive to the believers’ progress (3:14; 9:18, 24-25).
Revelation 11:18b says, “The time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give the reward to Your slaves the prophets, and to the saints.” The reward will be given by the Lord to His faithful ones at His coming back (Rev. 22:12; Matt. 16:27). The purpose of the judgment of the prophets and the saints will be to determine who among the saved persons will be worthy of a reward and who will need further discipline. The giving of the reward to the prophets and to the saints will occur after the resurrection and rapture of the saints.
In Matthew 16:27 the Lord Jesus says, “The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each man according to his doings.” The context indicates that the Lord’s rewarding of His followers at His coming back in this verse will be according to whether they lose or save their soul, as mentioned in verses 25 and 26. This means that the reward will be given according to how we have borne the cross. It will depend on whether or not we keep ourselves under the killing of the cross, on whether we save our soul life in this age or lose it. If we bear the cross to follow the Lord by losing the enjoyment of our soul in this age, He will reward us with the enjoyment of the soul in the kingdom.
In 16:27 the Lord says that He will reward “each man according to his doings,” that is, according to whether or not we lose our soul life’s enjoyment in this age. This will have nothing to do with our eternal salvation; however, it will have very much to do with the Lord’s dispensational reward to us. The Lord’s reward will be the entering into the kingdom, which will be at the manifestation of the kingdom. The manifestation of the kingdom in the millennium will be the reward to the followers who remain under the killing of the cross. All the believers who follow Christ in this way will be rewarded with the manifestation of the kingdom.
In Philippians 3:14 Paul declares, “I pursue toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The prize here will be the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom as a reward to the victorious runners of the New Testament race. In this verse the goal is for us to gain, whereas the prize is for us to enjoy. We may reach the goal in this age, but we shall enjoy the prize, the reward, in the coming age.
Hebrews 10:35 says, “Do not cast away therefore your boldness, which has great reward.” The reward spoken of here is the kingdom reward because it will be given to us for our enjoyment in the coming kingdom, not in this age. Today in the church life the kingdom is an exercise. If we are faithful in the kingdom exercise today, we shall be rewarded with the kingdom as an enjoyment in the coming age. Then it will be the kingdom reward.
The kingdom reward is in addition to eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9). Based on Christ’s eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12), eternal salvation has been given to us freely and eternally according to God’s eternal selection of us. This is eternally secure. However, after receiving this salvation, how we would behave ourselves is a problem. Hence, according to God’s wisdom, in addition to this eternal salvation, a reward is promised as an incentive to us that we may be faithful in our living by the Lord and in our working for Him.
Eternal salvation is by faith, having nothing to do with our work (Eph. 2:8-9), whereas the kingdom reward is for our work after we are saved. We may not receive the kingdom reward even though we are saved, because we are void of the work which the Lord would approve (1 Cor. 3:15). In Hebrews 10:35 the Hebrew believers in particular are charged not to miss the kingdom reward — the coming Sabbath rest (Heb. 4:9), the enjoyment of Christ and the reign with Christ in the coming age.
Two other portions of the Word that speak of receiving a reward are Matthew 24:45-47 and 25:21, 23. Matthew 24:45-47 says, “Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the appointed time? Blessed is that slave whom his master when he comes shall find so doing. Truly I say to you, that he will set him over all his possessions.” “Faithful” is toward the Lord, whereas “prudent” is toward the believers. “Household” refers to the believers (Eph. 2:19), who are the church (1 Tim 3:15). “To give them food” is to minister the Word of God and Christ as the life supply to the believers in the church. To be “blessed” here is to be rewarded with ruling authority in the manifestation of the kingdom. The faithful slave of the Lord will be set “over all His possessions” as a reward in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
In Matthew 25:21 the Lord Jesus says, “His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your lord.” The “few things” signify the Lord’s work in this age, “over” signifies the ruling authority in the coming kingdom, and “many things” signify the responsibilities in the coming kingdom. The joy of the Lord signifies the enjoyment of the Lord in the coming kingdom. This is the inward satisfaction, not the outward position. To participate in the Lord’s joy is the greatest reward, better than the glory and position in the kingdom.
In 25:21 we see two aspects of the reward given to the faithful slave: authority and enjoyment. The faithful one will enter directly into the Lord’s presence in the manifestation of the kingdom.
Matthew 25:23 reveals that the same reward is given to the two-talented one as to the five-talented one. When the two-talented one came and said that he had gained another two talents, the Lord said the same thing to him that He had said to the five-talented one. This indicates that although the gift given to the two-talented one is smaller than that given to the five-talented one, the Lord’s appraisal and reward to both are the same. This reveals that the Lord’s appraisal and reward are not related to the size and quantity of our work but to our faithfulness in using His gift to the fullest extent.
At the judgment seat of Christ some believers will suffer loss. This loss will not be of salvation but of reward. They will be saved, yet so as through fire. This fire is related to a certain dispensational punishment, not to eternal perdition.
First Corinthians 3:15 says, “If anyone’s work shall be consumed, he shall suffer loss, but he shall be saved, yet so as through fire.” The work of wood, grass, and stubble (v. 12) is fit only to be burned. This is the work which shall be consumed by the Lord’s judging fire at His return.
When Paul says, “He shall suffer loss,” he means loss of reward, not loss of salvation. To suffer loss here absolutely does not mean to perish. The salvation which we have received in Christ is not by our works (Titus 3:5) and is eternal, unchangeable in nature (Heb. 5:9; John 10:28-29). Hence, those believers whose Christian works will not be approved by the judging Lord and who will suffer the loss of reward will still be saved. God’s salvation to all believers as a free gift is for eternity, whereas the Lord’s reward to those whose Christian works are approved by Him is for the kingdom age. A reward is an incentive for their Christian works, and it is not given to all believers.
Although those believers whose Christian works will not be approved by the Lord at His coming back will be saved, they will be saved “so as through fire.” “Through fire” surely indicates punishment. However, it is altogether not the purgatory heretically taught by Catholicism in its superstitious quoting of this verse. Nevertheless, this word should be a solemn warning to us today concerning our Christian works.
Two other portions of the New Testament that speak of the believers’ suffering loss are Matthew 24:48-51 and 25:26-30. Matthew 24:48 and 49 speak of an evil slave who says in his heart, “My master is delaying his coming,” and who begins to “beat his fellow slaves, and eat and drink with the drunken.” Verses 50 and 51 say, “The master of that slave shall come on a day when he does not expect him, and in an hour which he does not know, and shall cut him asunder and appoint his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” The problem with the evil slave is not that he does not know that the Lord is coming, but that he does not expect Him. He does not like to live the kind of life that is prepared for the Lord’s coming. Moreover, the evil slave beats his fellow slaves, that is, mistreats the fellow believers, and eats and drinks with the drunken, that is, keeps company with worldly people, who are drunk with worldly things. Therefore, when the Lord comes back, He will cut asunder the evil slave and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. To “cut him asunder” means to cut him off. This signifies a separation from the Lord in His coming glory. The Lord will not cut the evil slave in pieces; rather, He will cast him off from the glory in which He Himself will be. Once again, the issue is not salvation but whether a believer will receive a reward to enter into the kingdom or lose the reward, miss the enjoyment of the kingdom, and suffer punishment and discipline where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In Matthew 25:26-30 the one-talented one, who was not faithful in using his gift, is rebuked by the Lord and punished. Verse 30 says, “Cast out the useless slave into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” Whoever is cast into outer darkness will be cut off from the Lord, from His presence, from His fellowship, and from the glorious sphere in which the Lord will be. This is not to perish eternally but to be chastened dispensationally during the coming age of the kingdom.
In the New Testament there is a clear and strong revelation concerning the believers’ future. The verses that we have covered in this message concerning the believers’ being judged at the judgment seat of Christ are very serious. As a result of studying these verses, we should care about our future, in particular how we shall meet the Lord and give an account to Him.
