THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
[p. 213] THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
1 Corinthians 4: 1 - 5; 2 Corinthians 5: 1 - 11
JT These verses show that things will be manifested when the Lord comes. It is remarkable that things are put off till the coming of the Lord; the idea of the judgment seat of Christ is coupled with the coming of the Lord. We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ. There are things we do not understand now that will be made plain then. We feel that the judgment seat is suitable to God, that there is a moral necessity for it; it takes in all the seemingly complicated conditions that sin has occasioned both in the world and in a christian’s history. What is done in our body, whether good or evil, everything must be adjusted. It takes in the whole pathway. Paul could say, “I am conscious of nothing in myself” — there was self-judgment — but he does not trust to that; so one is kept humble before the Lord.
Ques Does that include all that I have done before and after I was converted?
JT I do not see how you are to escape all that has been done in the body. The sin you commit as a christian is not less heinous than the sins you committed before you were converted. Suppose you tell a lie as a christian, that is just as much a sin as when you were unconverted. It is the deeds done in the body — how you use your body. The judgment seat of Christ has nothing to do with salvation, it is not that you will be made to suffer — it is not penal, but if there had been good deeds where there were bad ones, your reward would be greater. You will see that in many ways you have missed opportunities. You cannot reach finality as to anything now; you do not trust your own conscience as to sin. We appear before the judgment seat of Christ with our [p. 214] glorified bodies; we are clothed at the judgment seat — the wicked dead are naked at the great white throne. God, after judging every one according to their works, searches the book of life to see if the name is there, as if to make sure. Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire — their works consigned them to the lake of fire.
It is only at the judgment seat that we will see clearly the motives that have been behind the deeds. Many will be pure that we have judged to be impure, and many will be found to be impure that we have judged to be pure; and feelings that you thought were poor under pressure, you find were right. You see how suitable it is that there should be a perfect judgment according to Christ. Many will have their works burnt up, but they themselves saved, no reward. Each will receive according to his deeds, not good for good and bad for bad, but will receive praise for the good and nothing for the bad, no praise. You are not punished for the bad but you are conscious of the loss. You have lost opportunity for doing good, but there is no suffering in the way of remorse. We shall be satisfied that all is done according to Christ’s holy judgment and say “Amen”. We are to walk individually according to the light we have; this keeps one humble; it has nothing to do with our salvation. We should seek to walk so as to please the Lord and be transparent.
Ques Suppose I have a difference with a brother and it is not settled here, will it come up at the judgment seat?
JT It will. If not settled here, it will be judged as evil, and you suffer loss. Every question should be settled here in view of the judgment seat. How shall two walk together except they be agreed? John and Peter were together, there was harmony between them; there was the walk of two, two of [p. 215] the assembly. If things are not settled here the assembly suffers loss. I have been greatly impressed lately with the importance of meeting things and settling them here. Things are allowed to drag along without being settled. I often imagine it is better to let things go than to take them up, but that creates a bad atmosphere; you are not to suffer sin on your brother. We all, servants and all, must stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Our reward and our place in the kingdom are determined according to Christ. The good is appraised and the bad is not; I accept my place in the kingdom and thank God for it. It is profitable to see the necessity for the judgment — it refers to motives. The value of that piece of work is according to the motive that was at the back of it. There is an obvious necessity that the Lord Jesus should judge everything. We should always seek to be pleasing to Him; we should always have the consciousness that if the Lord should come, we are ready for the change. Enoch had this testimony that he pleased God, and he was translated. We should be zealous how to please the Lord, and I believe what the Lord is doing now amongst the saints is to bring about a state suitable to Him. We should be exercised and jealous that we might be suitable to Him, walking here in transparency under His eye, responsive to His love.
At the judgment seat the motives are brought to light and adjusted — perhaps something only the Lord knows about. The hidden motives are important. There are often jealous motives admitted without being judged, and they become evil. Nothing so hurts us in our souls as this! Jealousy is one of the most detestable things in Scripture, to be jealous of a brother or sister.
Ques What are we to do when we have been defiled by being in the presence of those who [p. 216] are profane?
JT Many of us are taken account of by the enemy at such a time, and are made to feel we are guilty, but we are not. The red heifer provides for that. You cannot control man’s mouth. You judge that in you which corresponds to it; you apply the death of Christ as set forth in the ashes of the red heifer with running water. The death of Christ applied by the Spirit cleanses you effectively, and you rise above it. While we hear many things that are defiling, we have no part in it or sympathy with it; you may not have power to rebuke it, but you have no part in it. If you touch a dead man you are defiled; we have so little sense of the holiness of God. You are not constituted unclean until you refuse to judge yourself — to be relieved you use the ashes and the running water — not to do so disqualifies for fellowship.
Ques Would you make clear the difference between the Lord’s coming for, and with, His saints?
JT “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, ... and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. The translation of the saints involves the affections of Christ. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear”; everything is adjusted before the appearing; we see the moral fitness of everything being adjusted. We should ever seek to be pleasing to Him, and to think more of what He is to receive than what I am to receive. Our place in the kingdom will be according to what we receive; there will be no discrepancy between His judgment and ours. We will all say “Amen”, like the woman in the trial of jealousy in Numbers 5 who was to say “Amen”. Joshua told Achan to give glory to the God of Israel; how much more as christians should we say “Amen” to Christ’s judgment as to the value of our works or deeds done in the body. “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to [p. 217] light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God”, 1 Corinthians 4: 5. There will be something to occasion praise in every one of us. We are apt to underestimate some things and overestimate other things; we are to judge nothing until the Lord comes. He will put the right estimate on everything.
Ques How often should I forgive my brother in a day?
JT Scripture says seventy times seven. Matthew 18 shows how the christian should be furnished with an exhaustless supply of grace; in the kingdom the supply does not run out. Matthew 5 requires even more grace. “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift”. It requires more grace to go to a brother who has something against you than to forgive one who comes and asks forgiveness.