THERE seems to have arisen considerable confusion in the minds of not a few of the Lord's people regarding the Judgment Seat of Christ, especially in quite recent years. We would, without going into too much detail, seek to bring before our readers some plain facts relative to the Judgment Seat and its character, also the place where we believe such shall be set up and our condition as we appear before that "Bema." 2 Cor. 5:10, Romans 14:10 etc.

First of all, let us think again of the completeness of the "Finished Work of Christ" when He offered Himself "without spot, or fault, or blemish" to God - Heb. 9:13,14. This is where peace has been found and rest of soul - here also lies our only hope for eternity. Nothing but the blood of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, can purge the conscience from dead works to serve the living God. It is on the ground of His sacrifice, attested by His glorious resurrection, that we stand accepted.

It seems that there is so much legalism in the human heart and often the tendency to legalism persists in regenerated souls, although they cannot look to the law for salvation, since to do that would be evidence of their lack of saving grace, that many look upon the Judgment Seat of Christ as a prerequisite to heaven. This is not so, since when we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, we shall already be in heaven, in glorified bodies, like unto the body of our Blessed Lord. This should dispose of any suggestion that the Judgment Seat of Christ has anything to do with our salvation. It should also do away with a sort of "intermediate place" between earth and heaven where the Judgment Seat of Christ shall be set up, before we enter heaven. Such savors too much of a sort of "purgatorial examination" to fit us for heaven. All this is simply nonsence, when examined in the light of the Word of God.

THE RESURRECTION

The resurrection of the saints takes place at the secret rapture of the Church, according to 1 Thess 4:13,18 and 1 Cor. 51,58 etc., In this resurrection the dead shall be raised "incorruptible and we shall be changed." We shall have put on incorruption and shall have put on immortality when this takes place - this change shall also affect the bodies of living saints who are thus caught up to be with the Lord. All shall be alike in glorified, incorruptible and heavenly bodies, like our Blessed Lord apart from the prints of His wounds, morally like Him, not losing identity but maintaining that identity in our heavenly bodies. We shall be in heavenly bodies, never again to be beset with earth's cares, or sorrows, or tears, or fears - all shall be past we shall be "present with the Lord." 2 Cor. 5:8.

Furthermore, we believe from the teaching of 1 Cor. 15:40,42 that in the resurrection there shall be a distinct "order and rank" when we hear the "shout." 1 Thess. 4:16. The word used here in the original for "shout" is more or less of a commanding shout, as "calling to order and rank" and can be likened to a military shout, or an assembling shout which calls together in perfect formation and order. The word is (Gr. - keleusmati) and has in it all the elements of the word of command in war. Thus it would seem that the glory of the resurrection includes this perfect order and rank and glory. "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another in glory." 1 Cor. 15:40,41. This would preclude the thought of the Judgment Seat of Christ being the place where the order, rank and glory shall be determined. Earth is the place where all this is determined, by the kind of life we live here, whether to the glory of God and the good of each other and the unsaved, or not. The Judgment Seat of Christ shall MANIFEST all this in its true perspective. We shall there see a perfect and complete record (or photograph - Gr. photisei) of our lives - this is the word from which we get our English word photograph. It is there our Lord shall make manifest, or show clearly, the counsels of the heart etc., and it is there that we shall receive the "things done in the body" - notice this... "according to that he hath done, whether it be good, or bad, or worthless." 2 Cor. 5:10. This last word rendered bad implies that which is "worthless, low and paltry, implying want of care or worth, sorry, indifferent, paltry and poor." All of the latter, of course, has already taken place on earth and, without doubt, determines our place, reward and rank in the heavenly kingdom.

To suggest from this a "setting in order of things which have been neglected down here" is to add to the Word of God something which is not even suggested. Earth is the place for setting things in order and anything which has not been made right here shall detract from the reward and position in the kingdom. The idea that two men or women shall be brought together at the Judgment Seat of Christ to settle differences which they had on earth as Christians is too far fetched to consider with reference to the Judgment Seat. Henry Dyer expresses the thought perfectly when he states... "Everyone shall leave the Judgment Seat of Christ with praise of heaven ringing in his ear."
1 Cor. 4:5 states... "Then shall every man have praise of God." Or "each man shall have his own praise of God."

This would not do away with the thought of the "giving of crowns" which would not interfere with the Scriptures we have already mentioned. We read of some who prove God in divine testing - "he shall receive the crown of life." James 1:12. And, again, in 1 Peter 5:4 the under shepherd who is true and loyal to the Chief Shepherd in the discharge of his duties, shall receive "a crown of glory that fadeth not away." We see nothing that would hinder the bestowal of such crowns, with others, from the pierced hand of our Blessed Lord Himself, at His Bema but to infer that there shall be a change in the body of glory is an entirely different thing. This could not be consistent with the other precious truths relative to the resurrection of the saints in glorified and heavenly bodies.

TEARS

We have heard it said that there shall be tears at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This, too, would be entirely inconsistent with the heavenly scene, or with our heavenly bodies which shall never know a tear or a fear. Revelation 21:4 is sometimes quoted to support this theory, but this will not stand as the illustration there and the prophecy has to do with the Day of God when the Day of the Lord (earthly) shall have passed away to be merged into that eternal state where Heaven and Earth shall be in complete unison and a state of perfection. v. 4 states... "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." One can readily see there that this is an earthly scene, the place of tears and death and sorrow and crying and pain. The Millennium is not heaven and all of these shall even be on earth during the thousand years of the Day of the Lord, but shall be eternally banished in the Day of God. We could wish that more of our young believers and others would get clearly in their minds the distinction between MAN'S DAY, THE DAY OF CHRIST (heavenly), THE DAY OF THE LORD (earthly) and THE DAY OF GOD (eternal). The Day of Christ, beginning with the Judgment Seat of Christ after the Resurrection of the saints, that is, the First Resurrection, goes on into eternity as a heavenly day. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb follows the Judgment Seat, then the Manifestation with Christ follows that, as in Rev. 19 etc.

THE SOLEMNITY OF LIVING

When this is fully realized, relative to the Judgment Seat of Christ, it will have the effect of altering entirely our lives and causing many disorderly things now to be set in order before the Lord comes. It will be too late then to change the life. The thought in 1 John 2:28 suggests the shame and dishonor if we should be found doing that which is dishonorable at His coming. The thought, which I have heard expressed, that we shall shrink back from Him at His Judgment Seat is entirely inconsistent with the rest of Scripture which insures us a perfect standing in the glory, notwithstanding the fact that we shall, undoubtedly, suffer loss at His Judgment Seat for that which has not been for His glory.

The idea of sins being brought up, even, as we have again hear it stated, sins prior to our conversion, is too palpably unscriptural to be considered seriously. The Blood of Christ covers all that and, again, we suggest that there should be a clearer preaching of the glorious sacrifice of Christ, and the efficacy of His precious blood, and the acceptance by God of His wondrous sacrifice, to give us a better view of our standing before our God and make us realize the importance of serving the Lord acceptably, not for fear of punishment but rather out of love and devotion to the One who has done so much for us. Little is much when God is in it and if we keep the Judgment Seat before us constantly, without the thought of purgatorial examination, but rather that of reward, we shall live better, cleaner and more fruitful lives, not stained by pettiness, trifling, bad and worthless actions, all of which shall detract from our reward then, and our joy now.