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For We Must All Appear
Before the Bema of Christ
Second Corinthians 5: 10

For we must all appear before the bema seat of Christ DIG: What is the bema? Who is it that appears before Christ? On what basis are the crowns rewarded? When does this take place? Who is the Judge?

REFLECT: Every believer receives at least one crown. Which crown or crowns could you possibly receive? Why? What purpose do these crowns serve? What are you doing with the gifts God has already given you? What will He say to you at the bema?

This is a judgment that will take place in heaven after the Rapture of the Church. For all believers must all appear before the bema of Christ, that each one may receive what is due them for the things done while in the Body, whether good or bad (Second Corinthians 5:10). In the synagogue, the bema is the raised platform where the Word of God is read and the service is conducted. It is a place of reward; it is a place of honor and blessing. There is no fear at the bema. John spoke of the bema when he wrote: In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like Him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (First John 4:17-18).

The basis of blessing at the bema will be the believer’s works done in the Body of Messiah after salvation. This is illustrated in the parable of the Bags of Gold. Some were faithful and were rewarded, and some were not and lost their reward (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Jx – The Parable of the Bags of Gold) The believer’s sins will not be judged, because they have already been forgiven at the cross, and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). It will not be a question of the believer’s sins, but a matter of reward to determine degree of authority in the Messianic Kingdom.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your great love! You not only forgive Your children, you also put our sins immeasurably far away. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalms 103:12). It is all by Your grace that anyone enters into Your holy heaven. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves – it is the gift of God.  It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8, 9). You have promised rewards for loving service for Your children (John 1:12, 3:3; First John 3:1, 3). It is a joy to serve You! We love You! In the holy name of Your Son and the power of His resurrection. Amen

What will we do with our crowns when we receive them? John tells us that believers will lay their crowns before the throne in heaven and proclaim: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being (Rev 4:10b-11).

Paul gives us a more detailed passage dealing with the bema. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Yeshua the Messiah. Rabbi Sha’ul again explains that the basis for judgment is the works of the believer. The foundation is Jesus Christ. In addition, their works will not be based on quantity, but quality instead. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. The question will not be how much gold, silver and costly stones or wood, hay or straw, but was it gold, silver and costly stones or was it wood, hay and straw? Thus, some believers will find their works burned up, while others will merely find them refined. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. Forgiveness does not exclude accountability. It’s just burning away the dross to purify the real stuff that is to be rewarded. Finally, the rewards are given. Those who have built with gold, silver and costly stones will find their works still remaining, but purified after the fire has been applied. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward (First Corinthians 3:10-14).

But if they have built with wood, hay and straw, they will be burned up. Therefore, he will suffer loss, in the sense of lost rewards and authority in the Millennium, nothing more. Lest anyone think that he lost his salvation, Rabbi Sha’ul says in no uncertain terms that he himself will be saved. His works do not determine salvation. His eternal relationship with the Lord is guaranteed because He has anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (Second Corinthians 1:21-22). Salvation equals faith . . . plus nothing. But he will spend a thousand years in the Messianic Kingdom as one escaping through the flames with nothing to show for his spiritual life (First Corinthians 3:15).

This passage says nothing about the nature of the reward; however, other passages do. They speak of these rewards as being crowns. The Greek language has two words meaning crown. The first word is diadem, which is a king’s crown. It is the crown of sovereignty and of a person who is royal by his nature and by his position – a king. This is the kind of crown that Jesus wears. The second Greek word is stephanos, which is a crown given to an overcomer, a victor, one who has won a race. These are the kinds of crowns available to believers because they overcame in the spiritual warfare with Satan and are now crowned at the bema seat of Christ. There are five such crowns mentioned in the Bible.150

The first is called the incorruptible crown: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever (First Corinthians 9:24-25). This crown is given to believers who faithfully run the race, believers who crucify every selfish desire in the flesh and point people to Christ. God calls some people to do things that will require some sacrifice in the way they live and conduct their lives. This verse also implies that these people will receive this crown for the sacrifices they were willing to make for ADONAI in order to successfully complete the call or mission God called them to do. They were faithful to that call.

The second crown is called the crown of rejoicing: For what is our hope, our joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His Second Coming? For you are our glory and joy (First Thessalonians 2:19-20). Paul asked rhetorically, what would be the greatest blessing he could possibly receive at the bema seat of Christ. The Thessalonians were! They were everything that was worth anything to Messiah. They were His hope, crown, glory and joy. In essence, Paul said, “When life is over and we stand in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His Second Coming, you Thessalonians will be His source of glory and joy, you mean that much to Him.” This is the soul winner’s crown. It is not hard to understand God’s eagerness to reward those who bring the lost to Him. Some have the gift of evangelism, but we are all to evangelize. We need to understand that a relationship with Jesus is exactly what unbelievers are searching for, whether they realize it or not, and reaching out to them causes God to rejoice.

The third crown is the crown of righteousness: 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 (Second Timothy 4:7-8). Rabbi Sha’ul had stored up spiritual currency in heaven, and so can we. Jesus Himself said: Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal it (Matthew 6:20). Yeshua tells us that there isn’t anything that you have suffered in this life that that will not be rewarded at least a hundred times as much (Mark 10:29-30). This crown of righteousness describes itself. It is the crown of eternal righteousness – the very righteousness of the Redeemer granted in full perfection to the glorified believer. When we receive our glorified bodies, we will receive this crown. All believers will be rewarded.

The fourth crown is called the crown of life: In James, it is a crown for those people who remain faithful to the Gospel even under persecution: Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12). And in the book of Revelation, it is given to those who suffer martyrdom for their faith. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death (Revelation 2:10-11).

The fifth and final crown mentioned in the Bible is the crown of glory: To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed. There are glorious days coming when those who serve Yeshua with the right heart and in the right way will be rewarded. Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And then Peter makes an application: When the Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away (First Peter 5:2-4). This is a crown for faithfully feeding the flock of ADONAI. It is available to those pastors, messianic rabbis, elders and other teachers who feed the sheep with the milk and meat of the Word of God.

There may be other crowns available, but these are the only ones referred to in the Bible. At least these five are available to those whose works remain, which are built of gold, silver and precious stones. These crowns are for the purpose of determining degree of authority in the Messianic Kingdom and not for the Eternal State. In eternity, all believers will be equal, but not so in the Millennial Kingdom where believers will have different positions of authority (Luke 19:11-27).151

However, only believers will receive these crowns. Before we leave this section, it might be good to ask yourself, “Have I accepted Yeshua Messiah as my Lord and Savior?” You are headed for one of two destinies – heaven or hell – and only those who belong to the family of God can enter heaven.

If I asked you if you were a sinner, what would you say? Romans 3:23 says: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That includes you and me, doesn’t it? Most people feel that being good gets you into heaven and being bad keeps you out. That simply is not true; we all have sinned. What would you say sin is? I think we can agree that we are both sinners; now let’s define sin. Some have said, “I’m not perfect,” or “I have made some mistakes.” But what do you think the Bible means by sin? Well, the Bible says that everyone practicing sin breaks God’s law – indeed, sin is lawlessness (First John 3:4). Have you ever disobeyed your parents? Have you ever misused the name of God? Have you ever told a lie? This is what sin is. It’s breaking God’s law. And any time you break a law there is a penalty. If you run a stop sign, the penalty is a fine. If you rob a bank, the penalty is jail. What is the penalty for breaking God’s law?

The Bible teaches us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). The wages of work is money, but the wages of sin is death. In other words, what I earn – the penalty, the punishment of sin – is death. Death is separation. The Bible speaks of two kinds of death that is two kinds of separation. The first death is separation of the body and the soul. If I were to die right now my body would fall to the floor, but my soul, the real me, would go somewhere else. But the Bible speaks of another death, one it calls the second death. This is separation of the soul from God. Now, the penalty of sin is death, spiritual death, and separation from the LORD. To put it simply – hell. All this is really bad news. But there is good news.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). We were spiritually dead and unable to make the first move toward God because we inherited Adam’s sin nature that rebelled and separated us from Him. So, God made the first move toward us by sending His one and only Son to die in our place for the payment for our sins. We stand before the Son of God, guilty of sin, and facing a death penalty. But Yeshua, as judge (John 5:27), comes down from behind the seat of judgment, takes off His judicial robe and stands beside us. It is there that He says to us, “I will take your place. I will die for you.” And if you were the only person in the world, He still would have died for you. The penalty for sin is death, but Messiah died and paid for sin so we do not have to go to hell.

It is not what you do for God that saves you, it is what God has already done for you.
You don’t get to heaven by what you do; you get to heaven by what you believe.

What is it that I need to believe in, to trust in, to have faith in, to be saved?

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son who died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 and First Corinthians 15:3b-4). If you believe this, you are saved.
Nothing else matters.

Salvation = faith + nothing (not baptism, not good works, nothing means nothing). Without
faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that
He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Now is the day of
salvation (Hebrews 11:6 and Second Corinthians 6:2c).

Would you like to be saved right now?

Pray this simple prayer in faith. But before you do, I want you to remember that saying a prayer does not save you, trusting in Jesus Christ does. God, I admit that I have sinned. I believe Yeshua Messiah died for my sins and I want to trust Him to save me right now. Lord, please come into my heart and make me a new person. I accept your gift of salvation.

If you were to die right now, where would you go?

Why should God let you into His heaven?

That’s right, because Yeshua died to pay for your sins.

If you prayed that prayer in faith see my commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What
God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith.