The Judgment Seat of Christ
American Christianity seems to have one of two ideas: the first is that if there is no change in our behavior, then we are not truly saved. In direct contrast to this is the second idea in which we can live however we choose with no consequences. It does not matter what we do, since our sins are paid for by the blood of Christ.In a previous posting, I addressed the first of these two ideas - The Gospel of Grace addressed how our salvation is by belief alone, and does not depend on any works, either prior to salvation or following salvation. In this article, I will address the second of the two above-mentioned ideas.
In 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV) Paul says For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
What exactly is this judgment seat of Christ? The Greek word used here is “bema”. According to the definition in Strong’s concordance, it carries the meaning of a throne, or a high seat, where a tribunal sits. The well-known pastor and author, John MacArthur, says the following:
Quote:
| I was in Corinth, the ruins of Corinth, and they took me to the "Bema" that was there. And whenever they had the Corinthian games, which was the major athletic event, they would take the winners up on the "Bema." And what it was, was a place of rewards, not a place of punishment, only the winners went there. So he is saying here, "We will all appear before the "Bema" of Christ, so that each one may be rewarded, for his deeds in the body. The only evaluation for us future, will be the level of reward that we should receive. And then he says this, "According to what he has done, whether it is good or bad," and would you please note that word bad. That is the word in the Greek "phaulos," it really means useless, worthless. It is not "kakia," evil, wicked. It’s useless. And what is left then to evaluate there, our sins are forgiven, our sins are covered? The only thing to evaluate is what, out of our life, was spiritually valuable and thus worthy of reward, and what was just worthless, useless, inconsequential, like mowing the lawn, or whatever. Not evil, you just don't reward it spiritually. |
Now, as I said in an earlier article, I am certainly not a Greek scholar. However, I did a little searching about the word “bema”, as it is used in the New Testament. I found that Christ stood before Pilate’s bema seat (Matthew 27:19); I found that Paul was taken before Gallio’s bema seat (Acts 18:12); and I found that Paul was also taken before Festus’ bema seat (Acts 25:6).
This says to me that the bema seat CANNOT be a place of merely reward, and not a place of punishment. To say that our Savior stood before the bema seat, and it was “not a place of punishment, only winners went there”, is a statement that is completely contrary to our understanding of what Christ suffered for us.
Additionally, MacArthur says that the Greek word used in this passage is “phaulos”. According to the NIV Exhaustive Concordance, this is correct. But according to Strong’s concordance of the KJV, the word is “kakos”, which means “bad, evil, wicked”. Furthermore, Strong’s concordance defines “phaulos” as bad or wicked, and it is generally translated “evil”, in both the KJV and the NIV.
So in essence, I find myself disagreeing with MacArthur's position. I cannot agree that the Bema Seat was for reward only, nor do I find evidence that the "bad" in this passage really means useless or worthless.
Putting these ideas together tells me that the Judgment Seat of Christ is something that will be very important to all believers. It says we will be judged for the things we have done, and receive what is due us, whether good or bad. If the judgment comes down that we have done "good", we will receive reward. But if the judgment comes down that we have done "bad", we will receive some type of punishment. Please note - this does NOT mean that we lose our eternal salvation. Our eternal salvation does NOT depend on what we do, but on the completed work of Christ.
So the obvious question is "What is this punishment?" and "When does it occur?" Both of these are critical questions, and cannot be answered briefly. As such, you'll have to come back to read a future post on this topic!
I'd love to have your comments and thoughts on what I have written!
Posted On Sep 28, 2005 at 10:10 PM
On Sep 30, 2005 Doug wrote: Quote:
| According to the NIV Exhaustive Concordance, this is correct. But according to Strong’s concordance of the KJV, the word is “kakos” |
So what does this mean exactly? That the NIV is based off manuscript(s) that use one word, while KJV is based off manuscript(s) that use the other word?
Brian Replied: That would be my conclusion. Again, I do not claim to be an expert on translation issues, but I do know there are two primary texts that translations come from, and although they match quite closely, there are some variations. I am assuming that this is one of those variations.
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Brian's BlogMost articles on this blog describe what is known as "Kingdom Theology" - they deal with the doctrine of the Millennial Kingdom.If you are just finding this Blog, I would suggest that you start with the first article, rather than picking up in the middle. Enjoy your reading! ABOUT ME Current PostsA scriptural scavenger huntWhat do we want to be remembered for? How do we measure our churches? The Parable of the Sower What is Worship 
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