The
context is the brother of weak-faith who condemns the
brother who is not legalistic (“judge your
brother”).
This is followed by the brother of stronger-faith
who condemns and looks down on the pathetic doctrine of
the weak-faith believer. (“look down on your
brother”)
We
do not need to hand out the judgment and rewards because
God will take care of it. The point is it
is wrong to assume for ourselves the task of evaluating
each others work.
It is a sin of taking Christ’s position for
yourself.
There is great freedom in this to live and let
live. You
are occupied with the knowledge that the judge from
eternity is observing you and preparing his
verdict.
Are you preoccupied with preparing a pre-season
evaluation of others?
(MSS
note:
“God’s”
judgment seat is found in many
manuscripts and is believed to be original. Many other
manuscripts have “Christ’s” judgment seat in the Greek
text. This
appears to have been brought over from 2
Corinthians5:10.
“God’s” appears to be the correct translation,
and even the theology of God’s judgment teaches that it
has been handed to the Son and will be executed by
Christ.
John 5:22, 27)
“stand
before” is
“paristami” and means “to place beside, to stand
beside.”
The technical meaning is to stand before a judge
as in Acts 27:24.
“judgment
seat” is
“bema” and refers to a raised place that is mounted by
steps or a platform. It is the
technical term for the official seat for a judge who is
handing down judgments.
This
judgment helps put in perspective the seriousness of the
Lord’s return.
We comfort ourselves in the thought of joy at the
Lord’s return, but here we are directed to consider that
we will be judged at the Lord’s return. Our
current lives will be placed beside the manifested glory
and holiness of God on that day. Joy may be the
last thing we experience on this occasion.
This
judgment is for believers and is not to evaluate them
for the category of lost or saved. Romans 8:1 says,
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus
Some
extent of loss will occur. . . . .1 Cor.
3:12-15
Whatever
is not loss will result in reward. . .1 Cor.
4:4-5
14:12 “So
then, each of us will give an account of himself to
God.”
In
context the emphasis is on the fact that on that day we
will give an account of OURSELVES. We will
not be held accountable to give an account, or even a
testimony against, some of our brothers. Jesus has that
under control.
Application: Today we should
be constantly evaluating and judging our own actions,
thoughts, and motives. If this consumed
us there would be no time to worry about
others.
“Account”
is
the word “logos” which means “word, or a rational
expression.”
We will not just stand there and duck. We will be
required to speak before the God and judge of the
universe.
(The option of speaking through an attorney at
this judgment is not said to be available in
scripture.)
You will speak to the king on your own
behalf.
Matthew
18:23 and Matthew
25:14