The Judgment Seat of Christ

Believers have been chosen by God to fulfill the same eternal destiny, though He gives each of us different gifts wherewith He carries out His work through us. One day we will give an account to God regarding our faithfulness in allowing Him to do His work through us, or if we tried to do His work in our own strength through religious activity within religion.

Was our activity motivated by love and grace or by the fear of breaking the Mosaic law or religious laws? If we try to build our relationship with God on the foundation of trying to keep the law or religious rules, rather than the foundation of grace living, the works we accomplish will be burnt up as wood, hay and stubble and of no eternal benefit. "But Lord we healed the sick in your name, but Lord we cast out devils in your name, but Lord we went to church on Sundays and paid our tithes, but...but...but...", all of our butting will be of no avail.

To build our relationship with God on the foundation of good works rather than on complete trust in His finished work of grace, renders the good work to be an evil work. "Wow" you may say, "Regular, you have lost your marbles and are screwed up in the head for saying that good works are evil works."

Well, let me ask this question of you...What renders a work an evil work?

When the ten spies came back from spying out the promise land, two came back with a "good report", ten came back with a "evil report." The ten came back with a true report, there were giants in the land, compared to the spies they were as grass hoppers in the sight of the giants. what was evil about that? It was evil because it went against what God's perspective was of the situation. They were not agreeing with or fitting God into the picture at all...they were totally dependent on themselves and their own self-righteousness. That is what made it an "evil report." That is exactly what makes religion and religious works evil, works that are independent of God.

The bema seat judgement is for the purpose of checking the quality of  and the source of the works we have been involved in. Were we doing works for God by striving to keep the law and religious rules in our own strength? Or, were we working with God as He did His works through us? The former is evil and the latter is good.

If our working is not according to God's grace, we are involved in the works of the flesh, therefore it is evil even though the works may be what we consider good works. 

“According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it.” (1 Cor. 3:10)

“According to the grace of God that was given to me” is a phrase designed by Paul to take the reader back into the stewardship opportunity that God had given to him, and to us (Eph. 4:11-16, Rom. 12:6).  He said that as a wise master builder he is laying a foundation and others are building upon it. He then reminded the believers at Corinth to take care as to how they built upon the foundation. 

“But each man must be careful how he builds on it.” (1 Cor. 3:10)

“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw.” (1 Cor. 3:11-12)

Each believer has been given grace to build upon the foundation of grace. The gold, silver ans precious stone building is "Grace building." The wood hay and straw building is the mixture of "Law and Grace building", polluting the purity of Grace.

“Each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1 Cor. 3:11-15)

If you are legalistic, a guilt placer, judgement thrower, condemnation spreader, flesh driven, self-seeking, manipulative, controlling, position seeker, and a spiritual elitist, your works are rotten with evil and a stench in the nostrils of God and an hindrance to the work of the Community of the Redeemed in the Community of Humanity.

- Glenn Regular