The words “judgment seat of Christ” can be a bit intimidating, can’t they? I think that’s because often when we hear the word judgment, we imagine ourselves sitting in court and waiting for an innocent or guilty verdict. But when it comes to the bema seat of Christ, our judgment isn’t one we should fear.
At the bema, we won’t be judged for our sin but evaluated for the life we’ve lived from the moment we trusted Christ. The things God will remember on that day will be those He’s done through us since we received eternal life. First Corinthians 3:13-14 speaks to this and says,
“It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.”
When the testing is applied, the work we did while on Earth will pass through a refining fire where the wood, hay, and straw we’ve built—those worthless deeds—will be burned away and all that’s left will be what we’ve done for the Kingdom.
Standing before Christ at the bema isn’t something we should fear. It’s something we should anticipate—the day when we’ll be laid bare before Him, our worthless deeds burned away, and only what we’ve done for Christ will endure. I know I’m ready. Are you?