Rightly Dividing

Judgements Lesson #1

In this series of rightly dividing the word of truth we are going to be looking at the Judgements found in the word of God. This lesson will focus on three of these judgements. Judgement as Sinners, Self Judgement, and The Judgment Seat of Christ. These three judgements are all connected directly with a saved person living in the Church Age.

Judgement as a Sinner:

In Romans 3:7 Paul uses the phrase “judged as a sinner”. So, what does he mean by this phrase? From Romans 5:12-21 Paul shows us that we are sinners and under the penalty of death because of Adam’s sin. From the beginning the penalty of sin is death (James 1:14-15). Since all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) then lost people have already been judged as sinners and are therefore under condemnation (Romans 5:16).

The result of this judgment and condemnation is the reason that Jesus Christ came to this earth. He became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:17), took our sins in his body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24), and died in our place. The way out of this condemnation is through the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:17-18).

The Judgment of Self:

The previous judgment shows that before salvation we are judged as sinners and under condemnation as the result. Through faith in Jesus Christ this judgment is taken care of and we are no longer under condemnation. But the question comes up what do we do with sin after salvation?

In 1 Corinthians 11:23-34 Paul gives the order for how the Lord’s Supper should be observed by the church. Some of the people in the church at Corinth were eating and drinking the cup unworthily because they were not examining and judging themselves. This caused some of them to be weak or sick or to even die (verse 30). Paul makes an interesting statement in verse 31, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” So, after we are saved, when we sin or when God shows us through his word that something we are doing is sin, then we must judge it as sin, and repent of that sin. If we do this, then according to the verse, we are not judged of God. But if we do not do this, then we are chastened of God (verse 32). God chastens us just as a father chastens his child who has disobeyed him (Hebrews 12:5-11). God chastens us because we are his children. Sin, after we are saved, does not cause us to lose our salvation, but it can cost us rewards, as we will see in the next Judgment. It may even cost us our lives as we see here in this passage.

The Judgment Seat of Christ:

This phrase is found two times in the word of God (Romans 14:10 ; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Both of these passages are dealing with saved people from the Church Age. It is also plain in both of these passages that works in some ways are being judged. Since, these judgments are not about whether you are saved or lost but will be about the works that were done after salvation. We are given some additional information regarding a judgment of works for saved people during the Church Age in 1 Corinthians 3:9-15. From this passage we learn:

• We are judged based upon how we build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ (verse 11)
• We can build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble (verse 12).
• The fire at this judgment will show us what sort (gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble) our works are (verse 13)
• If our work abides the fire we will receive a reward, if it does not we will lose the reward (verses 14-15)
• This judgment is not about salvation (verse 16).

The Judgement Seat of Christ then is a judgment for saved people from the Church Age regarding their earned rewards for being a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. It will take place following the rapture of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) in heaven right before the marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-10) and the second coming of Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:11-16).

Rightly Dividing

Judgements Lesson #1 : Handout

1)  What are the three judgments that we will study in this lesson?

2)  What is the judgment of sinners about?

3)  What is the judgment of self about?

4)  Give two references for the Judgment Seat of Christ and tell who is being judged at this event.

5)  What is the Judgment Seat of Christ about?

6)  When does the Judgment Seat of Christ take place?