Bro Koay Kheng Hin
Note: Text in grey are transcribed and not part of the notes given.
When we deal with the judgment seat of Christ, it is beyond hope.
How do we feel coming to the judgment seat? I'll put it this way. He who
embraces death will truly be able to embrace life.
Embraces death does not mean we wish to die. There is a time God
appoints for everyone and we embrace that.
We are all born sinners. And in order to be saved we have to confess
Jesus as Lord and Saviour. That part of the gospel and no churches have
problems with it. So where is the problem?
So the person who is saved ask what's next? Here lies the problem.
Some say, once you become a Christian…
- You have to follow the law
- You are blessed with wealth and health
- You have faith (positive thinking)
- No more problems
- Heavenly perspective
- You are to pursue holiness
You find all of the above has problems. As far as the tenets of the
gospel are concerned we have no problems there. It is the what's next that's a
big question mark.
Our life will be based on how we define what's next. It will define
how we relate to people. There are those who think that if you fall sick you
may have some unconfessed sins. I always tell them I fall sick because I don't
have a glorified body yet.
HIM
HOLINESS
HAPPINESS
As children of God we can all experience the presence of God. But if
you cannot experience his presence it is because you missed out because you did
not pursue HIM. We have to put in the effort.
But God is pursued in HOLINESS. When you are in an atmosphere of
sin, you will not find him. A holy God is found only in a holy environment.
When you keep rubbish in the house the flies will always come and live there.
HAPPINESS is the by-product of holiness. We should be a people who
are defined by the presence of God and the peace of God. And people will be
able to sense it because we carry the presence of God.
We want to connect heaven and earth. On earth is what I call the
temporal blessing. But beyond the temporal is spiritual blessing which is
eternal. That we will carry to heaven.
Death. What is so bad about death? The greatest negative element
about death is uncertainty. And uncertainty breeds fear. Psychologists say
every person at one time or another fear death. Paul writes: for me to live is
Christ and to die is gain. Paul had a balanced view of earth and heaven.
Paul's controversial statement is that it is far better to die. But
Paul says it in a very positive way. Like Martin Luther King. He broke the
threshold of segregation. Before he was assassinated he said the phrase.
"He has gone to the mountain top and he has seen what was beyond." He
sees the beyond as far better than what is before us.
Philippians 1:21-23
21 For to me, to live is Christ and
to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful
labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the
two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
2 Timothy 1:12
That is why I am suffering as I am.
Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced
that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
The day when Christ come, when he will be raptured and the day when
he will stand before the judgment seat.
When he stands before Christ what did he expect?
2 Timothy 4:8
Now there is in store for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that
day–and not only to me, but also to all who
have longed for his appearing.
The crown of righteousness is just a description of the reward that
awaits him. He is receiving what his whole life he's been struggling for. The
far better he is talking about the presence of God. Where we see him face to
face.
When we have that is mind then our life will be a purpose driven
life. That judgment seat becomes our goal.
The question is are we ready to stand before the judgment seat of
Christ? Salvation is totally by grace. But at the judgment seat of Christ let's
look at 2 Cor 5.
2 Corinthians 5:10-11
10 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.
11 Since, then, we know what it is
to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I
hope it is also plain to your conscience.
We cannot hide behind these two words, God's will and grace. Here
Paul is not talking about salvation. He is talking about rewards. So why did
Paul use the word fear of the Lord or terror of the Lord?
The judgment seat of Christ is not about heaven and earth. It is
more about the fear of the Lord which points to whether we feel shame before
the Lord. As much as it is reward there may be this element of loss or shame.
Glorification is by grace. Behind the gain or reward, there will be a certain
seriousness of the reward by embarrassment or shame.
Are you living with the expectancy of the Judgment Seat of Christ?
It will depend on how you have lived your life.
When you stand before a judge, it is based on the law of the land.
Not about emotion. And when we stand before Christ it will be about good or
bad.
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Apostles of Christ
1 So then, men ought to regard us
as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.2
Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do
not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me
innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the
appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden
in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will
receive his praise from God.
The keyword in verse 3 is faithfulness. He is more concerned with
how God judge him. Verse 5 is to judge the heart. Faithfulness and heart.
Faithfulness refers to the faithfulness of your calling. About the
ministry and your work. All Christians have a calling. You cannot say you don't
have a calling. There is no high or low calling. Only big or small calling. We
are judged according to our calling. Each according to his calling.
The other is the heart. This is about the minister. See question 1.
1 Corinthians 3:12-15
12 If any man builds on this
foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work
will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will
be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.
14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is
burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one
escaping through the flames.
Example, a person is called to be a pastor. He goes into the
seminary to be trained. When he comes out he preaches the gospel. He may be a
pastor that preaches positive thinking and he may have a big congregation of
thousands. But the Bible says the foundation of our ministry is Jesus Christ.
Finally it becomes a positive thinking faith. Here it says your works will be
judged. He did not work according to his calling. His work may be burned. Paul
is being gracious here. Not him but his work will be burned. The focus of your
ministry will be judged. The foundation of the ministry must be Christ.
The First Coming (Calvary) is the centre
of the Christian faith
The Second Coming is the peak
of the Christian faith
The Second Coming is the background
of all NT ideas
By this positioning you will know what's temporal and what's coming
and define what you do now because it will have a bearing at the judgment seat
of Christ.
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and
steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust
do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.
What does treasures in heaven means? It's not dollars and cents.
Heaven has no currency. Ringgit value drop also never mind. He's talking about
those that have eternal value.
Heaven talks about crowns. Like the crown of righteousness or the
crown of life, crown of glory. All spiritual words.
Matthew 13:43
Then the righteous will shine like
the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
The crowns are a depiction of your rewards. There will be degrees of
glory. These treasures goes beyond dollars and cents.
Philippians 1:21
For to me, to live is Christ, and to
die is gain.
The Judgment Seat of Christ
The
Rapture and the First Resurrection is an event that gathers the church, both
the living and dead believers together into the presence of Christ. As
believers are with Christ, they await the day when they will come down together
with Christ in His Second Coming as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. In
the intervening period is when the judgment of believers occurs.
It is
Christ who stands as judge (2 Tim 4:8) and all believers (2 Cor 5:10), without
exception, are being judged. At the judgment seat of Christ the judgment does
not concern our salvation for that status is already affirmed in our being
raptured and resurrected. The matter to be judged concerns our faithfulness and
our gain of rewards from our good deeds and our reaping of our bad deeds. There
is a general understanding that since we are already saved, the judgment seat
of Christ is merely a matter of obtaining rewards or loss of rewards. However,
the force of Scripture gives a seriousness and severity to the judgment seat of
Christ that is often overlooked. Scripture mentions the "terror of the
Lord" on that day (2 Cor 5:10,11) and of being ashamed at His appearing (1
John 2:28).
The
standard by which we will be judged is our faithfulness (1 Cor 4:1-5). We will
be called upon to account not only for our works but also for our walk. The
motivations of our heart as much as our deeds will be part of the reference for
the judgment. Practical holiness of life and faithful self-sacrificing service
will both be taken into account in the verdict of judgment.
The
results of the judgment will vary from person to person. Some will be commended
and receive rewards commensurate to their life's work while others will have
their life's work burned (1 Cor 3:12-15). Salvation depends upon faith while
rewards depend upon faithfulness. Finally, all will shine albeit with different
degrees of glory and splendor. Scripture mentions five different crowns that
will be bestowed on the faithful: the crown of righteousness (2 Tim 4:8), the
crown of glory (1 Pet 5:3,4), the crown of life (Rev 2:10), the imperishable
crown (1 Cor 9:25-27) and the crown of rejoicing (1 Thess 2:19).
Finally,
those of us who have been found worthy of the prize will be made judges of the
world (Rev 20:4, Dan 7:18,22). They will rule and reign, together with Christ,
in the eternal kingdom of heaven (Rev 22:5). This ruling privilege is accorded
not to the individual per se but to the community of believers. The individual,
as he is conferred that right, exercises it for the community. Christ rules
with His saints. It is Christ, together with His church that reigns.
2 Cor 5:10,11
For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the
things done in the body, according
to what he has done, whether good or bad. "Knowing,
therefore, the terror of the Lord,
we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also
trust are well known in your
consciences.
Questions
- Evaluate 1 Cor 3:12-15, giving an example to show the meaning of this passage of Scripture.
- Evaluate the statement ''Practical holiness of life and faithful self-sacrificing service will both be taken into account in the verdict of judgment'
Faithful self-sacrificing service applies to all of us. Nothing that
you do in the name of the Lord is in vain. And practical holiness covers this.
The heart of the minister. You may be the best worship leader but glory to
yourself, or you give to be in the board is a matter of the heart. Your heart
is related to your spiritual character which is defined by the fruits of the
Holy Spirit. Which is practical holiness.
That's why God says he will find a man after his own heart. David.
You look at the Psalms he wrote. He is a man with a heart for God. God spoke to
Samuel, man looks at the outwards but God looks at a man's heart.
How will we be judged at the judgment seat of Christ?
We will be judged in works according to our faithfulness. We will be
judged as a worker in terms of our holiness. Everything we do here on earth has
continuity in the future.
Conclusion
Judgement Seat of God - What God
values
Faithfulness
Service
Presence of God
Judgement Seat of Men - What man
values
Finance
Status
Pleasure
We need to have a sense of what is actually important. Pursuit of
holiness is both a duty and a joy.
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