[Note: Our guest contributor, Dr. Erwin Lutzer, presented a powerful sermon at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in late 2025. The following article is based on his sermon and is used by permission.]
Scripture tells us that there are two judgments in the Bible. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die and after death the judgment. But in fact there are two great judgments.
One is the Great White Throne Judgment described in Revelation 20:
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Revelation 20:11-12, KJV)
The very last verse of the chapter says, “And whosoever’s name was not written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).
That judgment is absolutely terrifying because those who are standing before God have something in common: they are unbelievers who do not have the protection of Jesus Christ from the wrath of God.
Judgment of the Redeemed
But there is another judgment called the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ—or what we refer to as the Bema Seat. For Church Age followers of Christ, it will be a day of reckoning—something that should actually be very sobering to every believer.
The Bible says there are tears in heaven, and that God is going to wipe away all tears (Revelation 21:4). But why tears in Heaven? Some Christians say the reason is that they will be profoundly disappointed and in great anguish because their friends aren’t there. I can imagine a mother weeping because her son has not come into heaven and won’t be there. Possibly that’s the answer.
But I would like to suggest that the real reason is tears of regret over the way we lived, despite the wonderful opportunities that God has given to us, and the fact that some of what we’ve invested in all our lives will prove temporal and worthless.
The Apostle Paul addresses this moment of reckoning beginning in 1 Corinthians. Speaking of his own ministry, he acknowledged that he initiated it, then others built on it. Then he says this (paraphrased):
Let each one take care of how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, or precious stones, or it could be wood, hay, and straw, each one’s work will become manifest, for the day will disclose it, because it is to be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what sort of work one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)
The imagery is this: even as Christians, our works will be tried before God, and He will reveal whether we have acquired gold, silver, and precious stones, or whether we’ve been building and living for wood, hay, and stubble. The imagery also conveys that when the burning takes place, if you’re a believer, you will be saved—but only as if you’ve barely escaped out of a house that’s burning and collapsing behind you. All the temporal, worthless works will be burned up and reduced to ash.
Saved, But as Through Fire
Many people might say, “Wow, that seems inconsistent with the Gospel. Because doesn’t the Gospel mean that we stand in the righteousness of Jesus Christ?” Yes, of course, that’s the Good News of the Gospel. We will be welcomed into Heaven as if we are Jesus.
But that does not mean that God does not judge those whom He has redeemed. For example, in Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira died when they were called out for lying. Because they are presented as members of the Church, I tend to think maybe they were believers. And I can imagine them arriving in Heaven saying, “Well, what was this all about? We thought Calvary covered it all.” Yes, of course, Calvary covers it all legally. But that’s why the New Testament says that God disciplines those who are His.
He doesn’t just say, “Well, I’m treating you as if now nothing matters because you have My righteousness.” No, we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account. Imagine how surprised many Christians will be when they stand before the Lord surrounded by ash, like people in Southern California some time ago—just a chimney and some of the walls made of brick but everything else burned and gone.
Storing Up Treasure in Heaven
People sometimes raise a second objection: that we shouldn’t serve God for rewards. To do so would be selfish. Let’s just serve Him because we love Him. All right, let’s take a deep breath. Of course, we should serve God because we love Him. But you know the way in which you love Him is to go for the reward. Let’s remember that Jesus made that point very clear. He motivated people by saying, “Your reward will be great.”
Some people have the misperception that if they can just get to Heaven, it won’t matter whether they have earned any other rewards. As one man told me, “I’m a Christian, but I’m not really living for Christ. As long as I can sit in the back row in Heaven, I’ll be happy.” My word to that misguided man was that he was actually satisfied with displeasing Christ. If he were pleasing Jesus, to use his own imagery, he wouldn’t be in the back row!
Paul returns to this same theme in 2 Corinthians. He is, of course, talking about believers, including himself: “So whether we are at home (with the Lord) or away, we make it our aim to please Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10, ESV).
In Part 2, we will unpack the seriousness of what awaits every believer on our final day of reckoning—the Bema Seat of Christ.
Resource
Pastor Lutzer’s insightful book, Your Eternal Reward, offers a thoughtful exploration of what Scripture teaches about the judgment and rewards awaiting every Christian.
