Risin' to the BEMA

A dear lady, whom I've met through the Empower channel that broadcasts my vlogs, expressed some confusion over the heavenly rewards.  Inexplicably, she asked if I would clarify.  Surely, there are many others who could do this better.  But, out of my appreciation for her and our friendship, here goes.  (Back to Colossians 3 in a couple of days)

You know how, in school, we would (usually in May or June) have Awards Day?  The whole school or grade level would march into the gym and year-end awards would be distributed.  That's the way I think of the Bema seat of Jesus Christ.

It is plain in the New Testament that there will be a "judgment" for Christians.  In fact, there is a total of seven judgments detailed in scripture, and this Bema Seat "judgment" is one of those seven.  I'll write about the others in a future post.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil. 

2 Corinthians 5:10

Oh, but wait!  I can't help but stop and write about the first judgment!  The first one is the absolute best judgment.  You won't be a beneficiary of this first judgment unless you have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior.  It occurred through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.   The recipient of that first judgment was SIN, the sins of all believers in Christ.  Sin was judged and defeated at this first judgment.  The Scriptures are very clear that no child of God will be punished for his sins after this life (Psalm 103:10-12; Isaiah 38:17; Isaiah 44:22; Micah 7:19; Hebrews 8:12; 1 John 1:7). For those people who accept His finished work on their behalf, Him "who was made sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21), they have all of our sins forever forgiven. That first judgment of sin gives us a place at the Bema seat judgment (or the awards day assembly).  Everyone there is a winner, in that respect.  There are no losers, in the ranks of Christians, because Jesus Christ took the judgment of God for our sins.

So, since the Christian's sins were judged at the first judgment God carried out, all true Christians will also be present at the Bema Seat judgment.  When will the Bema occur, and why is it called that?

Let's first consider its name.  The other six judgments are actual judgments of sin, except for the Bema.  Really, it is somewhat misleading to call the Bema a judgment; a more accurate term might be an evaluation or examination.  The Greek word, "Bema" means "a raised platform mounted by steps", or "dias". It describes the place where the judge would sit.  We see this usage in Acts 18.  (Imagine an earthly judge walking up the steps to sit at his "bench" in the earthly courtroom.)  That's why this heavenly occasion is often called the Bema Seat judgment.  But, here is another visual...

In 2 Corinthians 5, a bema was where the dignitaries, rulers, etc. would sit during an athletic contest, such as the Olympics, and hand out awards.  (We are in the midst of the 2016 Olympic games as of this writing.)
I think you are getting the mental picture.

WHO is going to, then, examine us?  Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ will be our Judge (2 Corinthians 5, Matthew 16:27, Romans 14:10-12, Ephesians 6:8).

WHEN and WHERE will this Bema Seat judgment occur?  A key verse here is 1 Thessalonians 4:13, which describes us rising up to meet Jesus in the air, whether we are dead at the time of His return, or alive at that time.  (Isn't it amazing to contemplate how some Christians will never experience physical death?)  A second key verse is Revelation 22:12, (which speaks of this same event described in 1 Thess. 4,) "Behold I come suddenly, and my reward is with me to give."  So, after we are snatched up, raptured ("harpazo'ed"), we will, from that point on, ever be with our Lord Jesus.  And, sometime after that "snatching up", we will find ourselves before our Savior at the Bema Seat.

If you have not yet figured this out...the Bema Seat examination/evaluation will be a REWARDS judgment...a commemoration, not a condemnation.  At the very most basic, all Christians will be there, and will know that they have a home in Heaven with Jesus, forever (John 14:2-3).  Hallelujah! However, in many places in Scripture, we are told that there will be specific rewards given to some Christians, called "crowns", "white linen" or positions of authority.

I wrote about these briefly in this post:
http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2015/08/honors-day.html

In tomorrow's post, I'll focus specifically on the 5 crowns!

Lord Jesus,  thank you for taking on the cross the judgment for my sins, so that I would not have to face the wrath of God for them.  I'm eternally grateful for Your sacrifice, although I cannot even begin to understand it.  Lord, there is a whooooooole lot I don't understand these days, as I look at the world around me.  The answer is: more of You, and that's what I want.  Not crowns, not rewards. You are the reward. To love You, to serve You forever .... "Better is one day in your courts, than thousands elsewhere." (Psalm 84:10)  Amen.


Sources:

https://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/1327/believers-rewards

http://www.gotquestions.org/heavenly-crowns.html

Running for Rewards

Good morning,

I am not a "runner".  There is a reason that I don't talk about "the resplendent run" and talk instead about "the resplendent walk".  I do love to walk briskly, though, for exercise.  Running is fine for some; I just prefer to keep my knees intact, thank you very much!  It is interesting to me that Paul, though, compares the Christian life to running a race, not to a leisurely, meandering walk.  We must not be "tiptoe through the tulips" Christians. Our text for this morning is 1 Cor. 9: 24-27 (NKJV)

24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Since this is a short passage, here it is in The Message version:

24-25 You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.

26-27 I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

It is common knowledge that the Greeks were a very athletic people.  They are the originators of the Olympic Games, after all.  Perhaps this is why Paul uses a "running" or "competing" analogy in these verses.  He had just finished urging the Corinthians to set aside their personal preferences for the purpose of winning supporting a weaker brother.  Here, he is going on to exhort them to live the Christian life as if they were running a race in which there is only one winner.

The thing is that, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we have already won salvation, eternal life.  The prize Paul refers to here is a crown of reward.  Elsewhere in scripture, we are told that Christ's followers who live faithfully, doing good works ("love backs") for Him, will receive commendations at that time when Jesus Christ gives them out to His own.

I'll go into this, the BEMA seat of Christ, in more detail in tomorrow's blog post.

For now, what does Paul say here about finishing the race successfully?

1.    The first thing is to "keep our eyes on the prize".  When men have used horses for various tasks, they have sometimes put "blinders" on the animal.  These are devices that limit the horse's visual perspective.  They help the horse to remain focused on a specific task or to walk a specific path, and not to become distracted by all manner of things to the right or to the left.  That is what we must do in our following Christ, to "keep our eyes on Him, the Author and Finisher of our faith", as it says in Hebrews 12:2.  Keeping our eyes on Him is our purpose.  He IS "the ultimate prize", crowns of reward notwithstanding.

2.  Paul's second key for success is to "be temperate in all things".  The way The Message says it is "no sloppy living"!  Temperance is the opposite of overindulgence, and it is not a popular word at the moment.  Temperance goes against the natural inclinations of our flesh, which are to gratify it by doing whatever feels good at the moment, whether such actions are actually beneficial for the body, soul and spirit or not.  Some of us have such a challenge being temperate in some areas that we just have to avoid them altogether.  Drinking alcohol is one of those areas.  My husband has never touched alcohol.  His father found it impossible to be temperate with alcohol, and it made my husband's childhood pretty miserable at times.  So, my husband chose to avoid that particular trap altogether.  So, what Paul is saying here is that we should not let anything of this world control us. We are to be directed and controlled by the Holy Spirit and nothing else. Galatians 5:16 says "Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Likewise, verse 27 in today's passage refers to disciplining our bodies, bringing them under the subjection of the Holy Spirit.  If we are allowing ourselves to be hindered in our ministries by something else, which exerts undue control over us, we need to do whatever it takes to get released from that, so that we can fulfill our calling and win Christ's commendation at the BEMA seat.

What does it mean to "become disqualified" from the race (vs. 27)?  There are times when our choices take us out of the race temporarily.  God allows us free will.  That includes ignoring the Holy Spirit's urgings and indulging our fleshly desires on occasion.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Paul refers to this as "quenching the Holy Spirit".  These types of worldly decisions are not pleasing to God, nor do they advance His kingdom.  By choosing temporary pleasure over eternal gain, we set ourselves on the sidelines.  Unfortunately, the prevalence of this behavior has kept the Gospel from being preached around the world, which is heartbreaking, really... except to Satan.  He is laughing.

So, salvation through Jesus Christ is free, but the "love backs" we give to Him will cost us.  They will require us to deny ourselves and our flesh's desires, in order to run.  They will ask us to (in the words of Jesus) "take up your cross daily and follow Me." (Luke 9:23).

Lord Jesus, I love You.  I really do.  But, I find it so hard to "take up my cross daily".  The thing is: in order to pick up that cross, I have to lay down my pride and my selfishness and my fleshiness.  I can't carry the cross while holding on to all those other things.  I confess that I often quench Your Spirit, whose loving voice is telling me how to follow You.  I choose "lesser things".  For this, I apologize and (again) repent.  It is just a constant, cosmic battle.  However, Lord, You are matchless.  I would not want to follow anyone else, other than You. Why? Because You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11).  In Jesus' name, amen.