How will a believer be Judged at the judgement seat of Christ? What are the rewards promised to the believer?
We know that the purpose of the Judgement Seat of Christ will be to judge the works of every Believer from every dispensation. I Cor. 3:12-15 states:
“Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; EVERY MANS’S WORK SHALL BE MADE REVEALED BY FIRE; AND THE FIRE SHALL TRY EVERY MAN’S WORK OF WHAT SORT IT IS. If any man’s work ABIDE which he has built thereupon, HE SHALL RECEIVE A REWARD. If and man’s work shall BE BURNED< HE SHALL SUFFER LOSS: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as y fire”.
The judgement of the Believer’s sins is already past, for Jesus bore our sins in His Body on the Cross at Calvary. Our sins never will be brought to our account again, for they have been forgiven and forgotten (Isa. 43:25; I Pet. 2:24). However, a careful ledger has been kept of every work the Believer has performed since he has become a Christian (Mat. 12:36; Rom. 14:12; II Cor. 5:10). Believers will be judged on the basis of their…
- DOCTRINAL BELIEFS - true or false (Rom. 2:14-16; 14:1-10)
- CONDUCT TOWARD OTHERS - kind or unkind (Mat. 18:10; Mk. 9:41; II Tim. 4:14).
- STEWARDSHIP - faithful or unfaithful (Mat. 25:14-29; Lk. 12:42-44; I Cor. 4:1-5).
- WORDS - good or bad (Mat. 12:36-37; Eph.4:19).
- TALENTS - used or wasted (Mat. 5:15-16; Mk. 4:25).
- ATTITUDES - Christlike or selfish ( Mat. 6:1-7; Eph. 4:30-32).
- MOTIVES - right or wrong (Mat. 6:16-18; Lk. 14:12-14).
- TRAITS - spiritual or carnal (Rom. 2:1-6; Col. 3:8-16).
- EVERY DEED - worthy or worthless (Mk. 9:41; Col. 3:23-25).
The deeds performed in a worthy manner will be rewarded, but those deeds Christ judges unworthy will be burned and will cause the Believer lost rewards (I Cor. 3:12-15). The following rewards have been promised for faithful service to the Lord:
- VICTOR’S CROWN (I Cor. 9:02);
- CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (II Tim. 4:8);
- CROWN OF REJOICING (I Thess. 2:19);
- CROWN OF LIFE (James 1:12);
- CROWN OF GLORY (I Pet. 5:4);
- MARTYR’S CROWN (Rev. 2:10); and,
- CROWN OF GOLD (Rev. 4:4).
Saints will be given a mansion in which to live eternally (Jn. 14:2), and Christ also will determine the amount of earthly ruler-ship given to each Saint on the basis of his faithfulness to God in this present life (Lk. 19:12-26); for we shall reign as kings and priests with Christ forever (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). Because the Scriptures clearly indicate that it is possible for someone else to take our crown (Rev. 3:11), it behooves every Christian to be diligent in his service to the King of kings!
2 Comments, Comment or Ping
Tony
Faith without works is dead. We don’t like to hear that. We much prefer salvation by grace alone and then sit back and coast. Salvation is by grace alone and secure. However, if you’re really regenerated, then these works should follow.
Great job finding these verses on judgment and crowns. I often wonder is we should be motivated by love of Christ, indebtedness to Christ or desire for crowns. Then I heard John Piper say that indebtedness was dangerous because it’s a hole we did deeper every day. We can never pay back our debt.
Tony
Jul 27th, 2008
Tony
Yes, I’m a big advocate of the Grace doctrine, BUT you are right that “these works shall follow” . The problem comes about when a person puts his faith in those works. They start thinking that the more they DO the better standing they are with God. Which negates the whole Grace thing. You don’t deserve anything from God…You can’t earn anything from God, yet God freely gives.
Jul 27th, 2008
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