Are You Prepared for the Judgment Seat of Christ?

Christians are all over the place when it comes to what happens when we die. And for good reason, there is not a plethora of information in the Bible about it. Additionally, the little we do find in Scripture about it is often disjointed and confusing (from this side of death, I’m pretty sure it will make a lot more sense when we’re on the other side). Trying to get a clear picture about what life after death will be like while we’re still alive is impossible because Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV).

There are, however, a few things we can be sure of because the Bible makes them clear.

· The soul lives on after death (Matthew 25:31-46)

· Every dead body will experience resurrection (John 5:28-29)

· Everyone will stand before Christ to be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10)

It’s that last one that I wish to explore in this brief writing.

There seems to be a great misconception among many in today’s Christianity that being born again negates the believer’s obligation to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. After all, Paul did say that he preferred to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). You can see why it is easy to draw the conclusion that immediately upon dying, the believer is straightaway in heaven with God, and there is no judgment. But don’t forget, it is only two sentences later that Paul reminds us that all will appear before Christ to be judged!

So if we have made a faithful profession of faith in Jesus Christ as God’s Son and our Savior, what exactly are we going to be judged for?

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city (Revelation 22:12-14).

Everyone is to be judged “according to what he has done.” When we read that, most of us are quick to flip back in our Bibles to Ephesians 2:8-9:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Why then would Jesus tell John in Revelation that He was coming to “render” or, as some versions say, “recompense” everyone for their works? Perhaps we should return to Ephesians 2 and allow Paul to finish his thought (verse 10):

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Simply put, we are saved not by our good works but to do good works which God has prepared for us to do. That truth certainly fortifies the meaning of the phrase “God has a plan for your life,” doesn’t it? His plan for us entails not only the people who intersect our path throughout our lives, and not only the places and events that shape who we are to become, but also the very deeds that we will one day be judged for.

Look carefully at this passage from Revelation 19 concerning the marriage supper of the Lamb:

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints (6b-8).

The bride made herself ready. How did she do that? We are specifically told in Ephesians 2:8-9 that grace and faith (both of which are given by God) save us. Not works. Then how does the bride “make herself ready”?

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29).

Once she believes she is given glorious clothing, which symbolizes “righteous acts.”

Salvation is absolutely incredible. The grace to be saved is given by God. The faith to embrace the grace is given by God. Even the ability to believe in Jesus Christ is, as He said, “the work of God.” And the “righteous acts of the saints” were themselves “prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

All there is to “do” is ‘Let God be God.’ It’s simple but not easy, because there is another voice proclaiming a better way. “Eat the fruit. Turn the stones into bread. Kill the baby. Parade your pride. And do it all in the name of God for there will be no consequences.”

That’s why Paul warns us:

[W]e must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Who are you heeding in this life? The one who said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” (Matthew 17:5) or the one who said, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5)?

Everything you do in this life is a reflection of which voice you are heeding. Be careful because just because you claim to be heeding the voice and doing the will of God doesn’t mean you are. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus brought up Judgment Day:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

“Many” claim to be doing good works. But Jesus accuses them of “lawlessness.” They listened to the wrong voice in life.

Whose works are you doing in life? Don’t wait until you stand before the judgment seat of Christ to find out.

I am writing a follow up blog about discerning the origin of our deeds in life. Stay tuned.

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