Quiet whispers filled the room as the people waited. Soon an official entered and instructed everyone to rise as the presiding judge walked in and took his seat. This scene happens every day in courtrooms across the country. Lawyers argue their case for or against the person charged. Emotions can run high and outbursts from the accused or victim’s family isn’t uncommon. A jury of twelve men and women most often determine the results. If the verdict is guilty, lawyers will file appeals to a higher court. At times, behind the scenes, the defendant makes a plea deal and pleads guilty to a lesser crime for a reduced sentence. The wealthy and those of a high social status may try and influence the outcome in their favor. This gives a brief overview of the average trial today of individuals who the law has charged with crimes from a petty larceny to murder.
You may have never been in a courtroom and hope you never will. But all humanity will stand before God in one of two courts. For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God (Rom 14:10). First, believers will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corin 5:10). Judgment seat is the word Bema and comes from the imagery of the ancient Olympics. The judge of the games would sit on the Bema Seat on an elevated platform at the finish line. He determined and awarded the winner with a wreath of olive leaves woven into a crown. Christ’s Bema seat does not determine salvation; that took place when we received Christ. His judgment seat involves believers giving an account of all their works for Him.
At the Bema judgment believers works will reveal with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward (1 Cor 3:14 NIV). Quantity isn’t the focus; rather it is quality of a believer’s works. Jesus will evaluate our words, deeds, faithfulness, and service to Him in light of God’s standards. He will reward us for all the works that remain. In contrast, If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved . . . (3:15). Only believers will be in this courtroom. The Bema judgment of Christ is about the gain or loss of rewards, not salvation.
In the second courtroom, salvation is the main issue. It takes place after the millennium and after Satan, the beast, and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. In this courtroom, only those who do not believe in Jesus Christ will appear. John describes the scene. I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them (Rev 20:11). At the great white throne the dead, both great and small, and those whose names aren’t written in the book of life will stand. God will open the records books. They were judged, every one of them according to their deeds (v13). But the second book is the final determinate—the Book of Life. The New Testament writers mentioned this book seven times; it contains the names of those who have received Christ as their savor and received forgiveness of their sin. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:15).
The courtroom containing the Great White Throne has no resemblance to the earthly court described in the opening paragraph. Two scenarios are possible in contrast to quiet whispering. First, absolute silence from the awe and fear because of the presence of Almighty God, or it could be non-stop confessions that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:11)—but no outburst. No high-priced or court appointed lawyers will represent these unbelievers hoping to prove their innocents or find a legal loophole. No one’s social status, wealth, or influence will matter. A jury will not determine anyone’s fate; no plea deals will be made for a reduced sentence; no appeals to a higher count can ever take place because this is the highest court in the universe. The longest sentence ever imposed by a USA judge was 30,000 years in 1994. Another in 2012 was 12 life sentences plus 3,318 years without the possibility of parole. Guilty as charged is the single verdict at the Great White Throne. The sentence is eternal confinement in the harshest prison ever in existence, hell. Once God has declared the sentence, no court official will gently lead the condemned out of the courtroom. Instead, each one is taken and cast, thrown, violently hurled, or thrust into the lake of fire.
Let me end on an encouraging note and take us back to the Bema. If you have received Jesus as your savor and He has forgiven our sins through His death on the cross, your judgment for sin has already taken place. Our focus should be on the works we can do for Him; not the quantity or the volume of what we can do, but on the quality of what we do for Him.
Sustaining Word for the Week: In which Courtroom will you appear? Will you receive rewards or suffer loss? The choice is yours.