Christ the Judge - Now
(Editorial - July/August 2003)
In recent unity discussions, it has become evident that the judgment seat of Christ forms a vital part of the gospel message. In his ministry, the Lord Jesus frequently used it to crystallize the issues of life and death.
The Lord’s teaching
Look at examples in
Matthew’s gospel:
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus succinctly warned it’s not profession but performance that counts and framed his teaching in terms of the judgment seat: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day…then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt. 7:21-22).
Warning his generation they must immediately repent, the Lord said: “I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you” (Matt. 11:22).
Emphasizing that wicked words reveal a wicked heart which will be punished, the Lord again uses the context of his day of judgment to stress the point: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh…I say unto you, That every idle word [pernicious words such as the Pharisees spoke against him] that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:34-36).
The parable of the talents teaches that the Lord’s servants give account of their activity when he returns and calls them before him for judgment. The great exhortation in this parable is that we must not stand idle, hiding our talent. We must use it; idleness will prove fatal in the day of judgment (Matt. 25:14-30).
The great judgment scene of the king separating the sheep (faithful) from the goats (unfaithful) is used to crystallize Christ’s teaching regarding sins of omission: “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matt. 25:31-46). Not incidentally this is a vital passage encouraging us to reach out to others. If the sheep are Christ’s, we are in serious trouble if we omit them from our fellowship and service.
Paul’s teaching
Following the pattern of
the Lord Jesus, Paul evokes the judgment seat to make critical points of
exhortation.
Warning the disciples not to be judgmental one of another, he writes: “But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ…every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:10-12).
The same warning is made to the brethren at Corinth not to be judgmental of one another, and again the admonition is framed in the context of the judgment seat: “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (I Cor. 4:5).
As with the Lord, so Paul used the judgment seat to focus his exhortation to work faithfully, even when we feel weary of the way: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (II Cor. 5:10).
Powerful exhortation
With these passages before
us, and many more throughout scripture, we realize why the judgment seat of
Christ should form an integral part of our teaching of the gospel. These
scriptures provide powerful exhortation to each one of us.
When we contemplate our own appearance before Christ, a variety of emotions should course through our beings. We feel joy that finally we will see our beloved Master face to face. We sense the thrill of settling into the work of the kingdom for which we are now being prepared. We feel relief that this probationary period of trial and weakness will not continue forever. And we feel fear that, when the books are opened, we will be cast aside with the wicked. After all, in a number of the passages, many who thought themselves righteous were self-deceived and were rejected by the Lord as unfit for the kingdom.
Judgment going on now
Yet if we are
worried about Christ scrutinizing our lives at the judgment seat, we had
best think in current, rather than future terms, for we are experiencing the
evaluation of the judge at this very moment. He knows everything – the
words we speak, the hidden things of the darkness, the counsels of our
heart. As he wrote to the seven ecclesias in Asia: “I know thy works,
and charity, and service and faith and thy patience…I know thy works that
thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (Rev. 2:19; 3:1).
Thankfully, the Lord is evaluating us with wonderful grace and tender love. He is ready with forgiveness for our sins and help in our trials. He wants us to be saved! Even his sharp rebuke is to that end: “These things I say, that ye might be saved” (John 5:34). Yet our Lord works with us, keenly aware of where we stand in relation to his grace and his commands. In fact, the purpose of the current, real-time evaluation is so Christ can guide our lives and provide us with the experiences we need in order for us to ultimately be found faithful. And his decision is made when this life is ended as to whether we are among the faithful or have fallen among the wicked.
Pronouncement, judgment implemented
As the above passages
clearly teach, there is indeed a point in time when our verdict is publicly
declared and blessing or punishment is implemented: “Well done, thou good
and faithful servant…” or “Thou wicked and slothful servant…”
(Matt. 25:21,26).
As Paul says, it is at the judgment seat when the hidden counsels of our heart will be made known for ourselves, and others, to see. But the Lord knows those hidden counsels now and is making his decision now. That is why he teaches, “Those who have done good [come forth] unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29). The decision as to our destiny has been made when we die; it does not await the great gathering before the judgment seat for Christ to finally make up his mind as to the verdict.
While the Lord knows who are faithful and who are not, it is clear the details will be revealed at the judgment seat. The picture presented to us is that faithful and unfaithful appear together, and that Christ’s decision is revealed at that time. As the parable says, the wheat and tares grow together until the harvest when the angels go forth and sort out “all things that offend, and them which do iniquity.”
Present evaluation of our lives and future pronouncement of Christ’s decision at his judgment seat is the picture set before us. Understanding the key elements of the process maximizes the exhortation and serves one of the great purposes of scripture to equip the person of God to be “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Don Styles