THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
Jesse M. Hendley
II Corinthians 5:10
Friends, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Second
Corinthians 5:10, and today we are studying one of the
most important truths that come to the human mind, The
Judgment Seat of Christ, when Christians shall stand
before the Lord Jesus to give an account of their
lives since they were saved.
There is confusion in the thinking of people about
this matter of "Judgment." When judgment is mentioned
in the Word of God, most people think of only one
judgment, when the saved and unsaved shall stand
together. But that is not true. They shall never be
judged together. The Christian has already been judged
for sin AT THE CROSS, where Jesus took his judgment
for him. The matter of salvation (whether he is going
to heaven or not) has already been settled and he
cannot "come into judgment" (John 5:24) for that
because he has passed from death unto life. The word
judgment there in John 5:24 means condemnation; he
cannot come into condemnation. Romans 8:1 assures the
believer that "there is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION
to those who are in Christ Jesus." But there IS
condemnation for those who are out of Christ Jesus,
the unbelieving. So Christians will not stand with the
unsaved about the matter of SALVATION. Whether or not
you are saved is determined in this life.
The other Sunday I tuned in on a preacher and caught a
few of his words. He seemed to be an able speaker. He
enunciated clearly. It was a delight to hear his
voice. But you can imagine my surprise when he made
the statement (quoting another preacher) that "on the
Day of Judgment" the "one question" that God will ask
"everyone" is this: "What did you do with YOUR
POSSIBILITIES?" My heart began to sink within me. That
is error!
There are two common errors in the statement. The
first is that ALL would stand together. He was
preaching to an audience composed largely of
Christians. He himself was a Christian, and he was
quoting a preacher who was a Christian. But,
evidently, they were not careful students OF THE
BIBLE, because the Bible says there is more than one
judgment and they take place at different times, for
different purposes, and different people are involved.
We must understand the Bible teaching on Judgments if
we are to understand the Mind of God on this subject.
The Bible does not teach that all of us will be in
judgment together.
The second error was that "The Judgment Day" involved
the matter of salvation, whether or not the person
would be saved. He implied that Salvation was
dependent on the results of the question, "What did
you do with your possibilities?" As a matter of fact,
the one great question that will face the unsaved at
the Judgment Bar of God, will be: "What did you do
with My Son?" not "What did you do with your
possibilities?" Now, for CHRISTIANS at the Judgment
Seat of Christ that WILL ...
Jesse M. Hendley
II Corinthians 5:10
Friends, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Second
Corinthians 5:10, and today we are studying one of the
most important truths that come to the human mind, The
Judgment Seat of Christ, when Christians shall stand
before the Lord Jesus to give an account of their
lives since they were saved.
There is confusion in the thinking of people about
this matter of "Judgment." When judgment is mentioned
in the Word of God, most people think of only one
judgment, when the saved and unsaved shall stand
together. But that is not true. They shall never be
judged together. The Christian has already been judged
for sin AT THE CROSS, where Jesus took his judgment
for him. The matter of salvation (whether he is going
to heaven or not) has already been settled and he
cannot "come into judgment" (John 5:24) for that
because he has passed from death unto life. The word
judgment there in John 5:24 means condemnation; he
cannot come into condemnation. Romans 8:1 assures the
believer that "there is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION
to those who are in Christ Jesus." But there IS
condemnation for those who are out of Christ Jesus,
the unbelieving. So Christians will not stand with the
unsaved about the matter of SALVATION. Whether or not
you are saved is determined in this life.
The other Sunday I tuned in on a preacher and caught a
few of his words. He seemed to be an able speaker. He
enunciated clearly. It was a delight to hear his
voice. But you can imagine my surprise when he made
the statement (quoting another preacher) that "on the
Day of Judgment" the "one question" that God will ask
"everyone" is this: "What did you do with YOUR
POSSIBILITIES?" My heart began to sink within me. That
is error!
There are two common errors in the statement. The
first is that ALL would stand together. He was
preaching to an audience composed largely of
Christians. He himself was a Christian, and he was
quoting a preacher who was a Christian. But,
evidently, they were not careful students OF THE
BIBLE, because the Bible says there is more than one
judgment and they take place at different times, for
different purposes, and different people are involved.
We must understand the Bible teaching on Judgments if
we are to understand the Mind of God on this subject.
The Bible does not teach that all of us will be in
judgment together.
The second error was that "The Judgment Day" involved
the matter of salvation, whether or not the person
would be saved. He implied that Salvation was
dependent on the results of the question, "What did
you do with your possibilities?" As a matter of fact,
the one great question that will face the unsaved at
the Judgment Bar of God, will be: "What did you do
with My Son?" not "What did you do with your
possibilities?" Now, for CHRISTIANS at the Judgment
Seat of Christ that WILL ...
