Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20011021.htm

GOD'S GRACE AND THE BELIEVER
Part III: God's Grace And The Believer's Ultimate Sanctification
B. God's Grace And The Believer At Christ's Judgment Seat
(2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 3:6-15)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

It is a wonderful privilege to dwell on the marvelous truth taught in John 5:24, that once one believes in Christ as his personal Savior from sin, he is passed once-for-all from death unto life. No more is there the threat of eternal damnation!

However, we then read in passages like 2 Corinthians 5:10 or Romans 14:10 that we shall all stand before Christ's judgment seat. There we will give an account and receive reward or its lack due to what we have done, whether it be good or bad!

With our varied religious backgrounds at Nepaug Church, this can raise some unsettling questions as follows:

(1) "Is there a kind of Christian purgatory where we have to pay for our sins done as Christians?"

(2) "I thought I had eternal security once I believe in Christ, that once I was saved, I was always saved! If I have to give an account and receive reward or loss of reward based on my works as a Christian, what if I really sin BADLY in the next five years or just before the rapture -- does that affect my salvation for the worse?!"

(3) I have actually been told from the pulpit as a child that at the judgment seat of Christ, all the naughty things I've ever done as a believer will be shown on a projector screen at the Judgment Seat of Christ to be seen by everyone else in the Church! I used to think, "How awful that will be -- I thought I was supposed to WANT to go to heaven, but I could never stomach that humiliation!"

(4) Some of us come from a background where we were told there were serious, felony or "mortal" sins and not-so-serious, misdemeanor or "venial" sins. In contemplating the "Judgment Seat of Christ," one might then ask, "Is the Judgment Seat of Christ for the venial or misdemeanor sins where the Great White Throne is for mortal or felony ones?"

(5) "If we are going to give an account as Christians before Christ's Judgment Seat,' what must I do to prepare for it as a Christian?"



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )



Need: "Though I long for heaven, I get uneasy hearing we believers will face the Judgment Seat of Christ'! If I HAVE eternal life, WHY must I go through this, and how should I PREPARE for it?!"
  1. On the ONE hand, all who trust in Christ will ESCAPE God's "Great White Throne" DAMNATION, Rev. 20:11-15; John 5:24.
  2. However, ALL BELIEVERS have SINNED in the CHRISTIAN life (1 John 1:10) so our TRACK RECORD is TOO IMPERFECT for life eternally with a HOLY GOD in His HEAVEN!
  3. The "Judgment Seat of Christ" WONDERFULLY SOLVES this IMPERFECT TRACK RECORD issue for GOD AND US:
    1. Every Christian will stand before the "bema" seat of Christ, 2 Cor. 5:10a. The word, "bema," is from the Greek term, bema for "tribunal, judicial bench," Arndt & Ging., A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N.T., p. 139.
    2. The purpose of this event will be to handle the imperfect track record of the CHRISTIAN for God's glory, 2 Corinthians 5:10b.
    3. Paul described this event in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 as follows:
      1. Every believer's Christian life's works will be tested by God's scrutinizing fire to reveal of what quality they are, 1 Cor. 3:13: the KJV word, "sort" (NIV "quality") comes from the Greek text's hopoios, meaning "manner, sort, quality," Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the N.T., p. 449.
      2. If a work stands God's test, the believer will receive a reward, 3:14
      3. If it fails the test, the work involved will be mercifully destroyed by God's testing fire from the believer's track record, 1 Cor. 3:15.
      4. Graciously, as the soul's salvation is NOT at stake at this event, a believer could have ALL of his life's works destroyed by God and yet himself be saved through this test, 1 Cor. 3:15 (cf. 1 Cor. 5:5).
  4. Accordingly, Scripture reveals how we can BEST PREPARE for this "Judgment Seat of Christ" as follows:
    1. Scripture tells of actual crowns God will give for works He approves:
      1. Christ will give an incorruptible crown for avoiding sinful defeat for the long-term to be useful in service to God, 1 Cor. 9:24-27.
      2. Christ will give a crown of joy for discipling others, Phil. 4:1.
      3. Christ will give a righteous crown for loving His return, 2 T. 4:8.
      4. Christ will give a crown of life for defeating temptation, Jas. 1:12.
      5. Christ will give Church leaders a crown of glory for shepherding His people willingly, selflessly and righteously, 1 Peter 5:1-4.
      6. Christ will give a martyr's crown for believers who suffer to the point of death for staying faithful to Christ, Revelation 2:10.
      7. Christ will give a crown for holding to right doctrine, Rev. 3:11.
    2. Scripture reveals believers will be judged on how well they performed God's personal ASSIGNMENTS in life and service, 1 Cor. 3:6-10:
      1. Leading into his discussion on the "bema" seat judgment, Paul discussed how his ministry differed from that of Apollos in regards to their roles of service to the Corinthian believers, 1 Cor. 3:6-7.
      2. He also noted both Apollos and himself would receive rewards from God according to their own labors at Corinth, 1 Cor. 3:8-9.
    3. Scripture also shows other criteria of God's evaluations of actions:
      1. Believers will be evaluated by how well they used what opportunities they had to do righteous deeds; this is seen in the parable of the varying rewards for what various servants do with the same one pound delegated to each by the master, Lk. 19:12-27.
      2. Believers will be evaluated by how well they develop the gifts God has administered to each one for service; this is seen in the parable of equal reward to servants delegated differing talents according to differing abilities, and the reward is based on what each man does with what abilities he already has, Mtt. 25:14-30.
Lesson Application: (1) Though unconditionally eternally secure in his SALVATION status, one who trusts in Christ will give an account for his CHRISTIAN LIFE at Christ's "Bema Seat." (2) To prepare for it, (a) we must BELIEVE in Christ to become a true Christian, John 3:16. (b) Then we must live righteously; this takes ((a)) confessing our post-salvation sins to God (1 Jn. 1:9) and ((b)) living by the Holy Spirit's power for God to be free to live His righteousness IN us, Gal. 5:16-22; Rom. 8:1-4. (c) Then, NOT comparing ourselves with OTHER believers, (d) we focus on God's revealed will for our OWN lives (e) and develop the talents we have and (f) make use of every opportunity coming along to do what is right. (g) In view of God's CROWNS, we should FOCUS on ((a)) avoiding sin for long-term usefulness to God in service, ((b)) discipling others, ((c)) loving Christ's return, ((d)) overcoming temptation, ((e)) shepherding others willingly, selflessly and righteously, ((e)) staying faithful to Christ in martyrdom and ((f)) holding to true doctrine.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 The centennial issue of the Moody Monthly magazine, p. 77-78 tells a riveting account of how one man's choice to heed God's leading in an event in his life will make a big difference at the "Bema" Seat.

In 1862 during the Civil War, Ira D. Sankey, a Christian was serving on picket duty in the Union Army one bright, moonlit night. In spite of the war's gloom, he yielded to God's prompting to praise Him in song, and sang the hymn, "Savior Like A Shepherd Lead Us."

Thirteen years later, as a vocalist for the famous Evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, Mr. Sankey boarded a Delaware River steamboat on Christmas Eve. He was then asked by some passengers who knew about his ministry if he would sing for them. Mr. Sankey agreed, intending to sing a Christmas Carol. However, he felt strangely impelled to sing "Savior Like A Shepherd Lead Us" once again!

After singing, Sankey was asked by a passenger if he recalled singing that hymn while on picket duty in the Civil War. Sankey was surprised anyone else knew of this, and then heard this man tell how he had served on the Confederate side of the war, and had seen Sankey sing and taken aim that night to kill him once he'd finished. In the process, the Confederate soldier had become moved by the song's words, "We are Thine; do Thou befriend us. Be the Guardian of our way." He remembered his own mother singing that song, and was strongly impressed to lower his gun without harming Sankey.

The man had since wandered about seeking fulfillment, and so Mr. Sankey was able to lead him to trust in Christ as his Savior!

Because Mr. Sankey was FERVENT in his walk with God even in the sad days of the Civil War, he had sung that hymn in praise to God in the Civil War and yielded again to God to sing it that Christmas Eve in 1874, he had lived a longer life, served the Lord in a great ministry and led the Confederate soldier who once almost shot him to death to trust in Christ as his personal Savior!

Now, had Mr. Sankey NOT yielded to God's lead while on picket duty in the Civil War, he would have been killed and missed out on a longer life of Christian service! He would have had a much smaller reward at Christ's judgment seat as a result!