“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.” – 2 Cor. 5:10.
In this chapter, we will keep looking at the future Kingdom arrangement of the judgment of believers some more. This is crucial because how well you do in this life and as such in the judgment will affect your level of enjoyment in the Kingdom-future.
Sin is defined as ‘missing the mark’; and as such righteousness is the opposite. So, let us look at the ‘mark’ that we have to hit in the judgment. As you know, a focus on a ‘mark’ always guarantees it being hit. Therefore, let us now know where our emphasis should be in this life.
Character ‘first’
Continuing from the last judgment point in chapter six, we can say that: Jesus’ judgment will be one based on your being like Him in character. Yes, the first call of a believer is to be in essence like Jesus. It is not to preach or serve God or work miracles.
You know, the essence of a person is the quality that makes him what he is. That is his character, not his works. So like God, all that you do should come from your Christlike character, essence or being.
You came from Jesus
You need to know that you were in Jesus before you were put into the loins of Adam – Eph.1:4a, “…He (God) hath chosen us in Him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world…” Emphasis mine.
So beloved, before the foundation of the world, you were in Jesus. He is your original source, not Adam. And, God is looking for His Son Jesus in all creation including in you. This is because every creation was by made Jesus – Jn. 1: 3.
Thus, God’s eternal will is that you will end up looking like where you originally came from – i.e. Jesus Christ. Consider the following verses of scripture that speaks to this:
• “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son…” – Rom. 8:29a.
• Also, “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship (oneness) of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” – 1 Cor.1:9. Emphasis mine.
• “Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” – 2 Thess. 2:14.
The way your character is transformed to be like Jesus begins by seeing Him through the Word of God. This way, the Holy Spirit is activated to transform you – 2 Cor.3:18,
“But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass (the Word) the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Emphasis mine.
Another Scripture says: “…but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” – 1 Jn. 3:2b-3.
The principle here is that: you become what you see. So my friend, the believer’s life is more about becoming like Jesus than about service to Him.
Do not reduce it to service to God, or working for God. It is first and foremost becoming like Jesus.
Making practical use of Jesus
The judgment of believers will also be according to the Law of liberty i.e. the Kingdom-word of God.
The Law of liberty gives us liberty from the Law of Moses, secondly from sin and its derivatives such as sickness, curse, poverty etc and thirdly from Satan’s control.
Beloved, this Law of liberty that is the Kingdom-word is Jesus Himself – Jn. 1:1; Matt. 13:19.
In other words, we will be judged on how we made use of the Person, Principles and Performance of Jesus in our lives – “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”- Jas. 2:12.
For example, Jesus’ Performance frees us from sicknesses and curses. We will, therefore, account for how we used Jesus’ act of freeing us from sicknesses and curses to lead a sickness-free and curse free lives practically when confronted with these challenges in this life.
We will also be judged on how we upheld Jesus’ Principles or teachings as well, because it amounts to upholding His Person – See 2 Jn. 7-10.
Judged for rewards
The judgment of believers is one for rewards and not for condemnation – Jn. 3:18,
“He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already…”. Also God promised through the Apostle Paul, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus”- Rom. 8:1a
And, “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.” – 2 Cor. 5:10.
You know, a believer’s righteousness is Jesus’ one – 2 Cor.5:21. His sins were completely wiped out on the Cross – Is. 43:25, “I, even I, am He that blotteth
out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins”
The writer of Hebrews said: “…and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”- Heb. 8:12b. So, any sin a believer falls into must be acknowledged in the light of Jesus’ provision for it – 1 Jn. 2:1,
“My little children, these things write I to unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate (Lawyer) with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”
Note, If (not ‘when’) a believer sins, He should remember he has a righteous Lawyer who took responsibility for that sin on the Cross. This Lawyer credited His righteousness to the believer’s account.
So, by His knowledge of what He did for you on the Cross, Jesus your Lawyer and Replacement justifies you if you sin – Is. 53:11, “…by His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.”
Now, because Jesus took that sin on Himself and gave you His righteousness, that sin should not be on your account.
I hear someone say, ‘Pastor, this provision for sin will encourage believers to sin’.
No, it won’t. It is a believer’s awareness of his righteous position with God that will rather keep him from sin – 1 Cor. 15:34, “Awake to righteousness and sin not…”
Yes, it is when you awake to the fact that you are righteous that you will put sin away. You know people behave according to what they believe they are. If you really believe you have the righteousness of Jesus, you will live righteous.
On the other hand, if you believe you are not righteous, you will live in unrighteousness. Belief is the foundation of behaviour; and the foundation of belief is what you know about yourself in Christ. You are righteous in Christ, my friend – 2 Cor.5:21.
This is why the Holy Spirit convicts the believer of his righteousness in Christ all the time, especially if he sin – Jn.16:10.
You know, the basic faith in Christ is about three things: righteousness, self-control and eternal judgment – Acts 24:24b-25,
“…he ( Felix ) sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he (Apostle Paul) reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come…” Emphasis mine.
So, if you are righteous by the grace of the Cross, you should control yourself, and also bear in mind that eternal judgment awaits you. As we have said, this judgment is not to condemn you, but to give you the rewards of your righteousness and self control.
Quality ‘first’
Thirdly, the believer’s judgment will deal with our commitment and service to God – 1 Cor. 3:11-15.
Beloved, as long as your faith remains unmoved on the foundation of Jesus, you are secured forever, but your works may not be. Our service and works will either be in:
• High grade category – made up of Gold, silver, precious stone
• Low grade category – made up of Wood, hay, straw Of course, the preference of God for your service to Him is to have quality or be high grade. Only high grade service will endure the judgment of Christ. High grade service and works is determined by:
• Motive – 1 Cor. 4:5, Rom. 2:16. Ask yourself, ‘am I serving God for my own pleasure and name or for His satisfaction and glory?’Which is paramount to me? Which motive really controls my service to God and mankind?
• Obedience to God’s methods and principles in carrying out His works. You should not employ your own religious ways in doing an assignment God has given you and think God should like it, since it is ultimately enhancing His work on earth. In the Kingdom system, the end does not justify the means – Num. 20:7-12, 1 Sam. 15:19-24, 1 Jn.2:15-17.You should serve God in His prescribed way. This gives quality to your works.
• Power source – 1 Cor. 4:20. Also, check out whether you are serving God in your own carnal strength or you are empowered by the Holy Spirit – Col. 1:29, Rom 8:13, 2 Tim 1:14
• Wholeheartedness in doing God’s work. To be high grade, you need to serve God with all your heart, soul, strength and willingly, not half-heartedly – 1 Cor. 9:17, Matt. 22:37. Ensure that your full heart, will, emotions and mind is in what you are doing? Men may laud you, but will God say it’s a quality work?
Faithfulness ‘first’
Fourthly, believers will be judged on their faithfulness to all that Jesus committed to their trust. This includes:
• Spiritual gifts and natural talents,
• Money
• Time
• Responsibilities (natural and spiritual)
• Words
• Life’s purpose or assignment,
• Eternal life,
• Agape love,
• The fruit of the spirit
And the pass-mark in all these judgment points will be faithfulness, according to Luke 19:11-27 and Matthew 25:14-30.
As in the Parable of the Minas and that of the Talents, this faithfulness is not based on one’s net gain, but on percentage gain.
In other words, God will rate believers, not according to how widespread their influence or gift is, but by how their influence is, in the light of their starting grace or gift.
In this light, believers may start with different levels of abilities, but could all be rated faithful, although they end with different levels of growth or influence. You know, God will not compare you to others.
Yes, nobody is your standard. So focus on pleasing God, not on outdoing, equaling, competing or becoming like other people. Amen!
And my friend, to God, faithfulness is not just maintaining something that you have been given, but multiplying its effect.
Justice in Judgement
God will reward all faithful stewardship with ruler-ship and joy; and unfaithful stewardship with rejection and regret.
According to Jesus’ Parables of the Minas and that of the Talents, to God, wickedness is refusing to do something about what you could do something about – Lk. 19:22-23; Matt. 25:26-27.
Note that, the rejected servants of these two Parables did not do anything evil. They were servants of God, but aloof. In both Matthew 25 and Luke 19, these servants just refused to do what was within their ability or power to do.
So, you will be called ‘wicked’ if you demonstrate an unconcerned attitude to people’s plight, when you can do something to alleviate them – 2 Chron. 7:14.
