What happens at the Judgment Seat of Christ?

“Trick or treat!” Whenever I hear a costumed child say that phrase, I think of the ultimate “trick or treat” that awaits every person when our lives on earth are over. Seconds after we die, we’ll discover whether we’ve been tricked by the deceptions of Satan or will be treated by God for eternity. 

Thankfully, you have this assurance: everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior will be treated to eternity in heaven with our Lord. But did you know some Christians will receive additional “treats,” or rewards? 

In 2 Corinthians 5:10, Paul wrote, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed [rewarded] for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

In Paul’s day, the “judgment seat” (bema) was the place a judge would sit to oversee the Greek games. After each event, the winner would appear before the judgment seat to receive the victor’s crown. This crown represented tangible benefits the winner would enjoy, including exemption from taxes, a parade in his honor, and a statue erected to him. 

Friend, someday, every believer who ever lived, including you and me, will appear before a similar judgment seat—not for condemnation but for commendation. The rewards we receive in heaven will be determined by our faithfulness to God in this life.

In 1 Corinthians 3:11, Paul said every Christian has the same foundation: Jesus Christ. But each of us decides what kind of life we build on that foundation. 

At the judgment seat of Christ, God will test the quality of our works with fire to reveal what they’re made of. Paul continued, “If any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident” (vv. 12–13). Notice that Paul listed two kinds of building materials:

•  Gold, silver, and precious stones are valuable and durable. A life built with these materials is focused on eternal things—loving and serving God and winning as many people to Christ as possible.

•  Wood, hay, and straw are cheap and perishable. A life built with these materials is focused on temporal things—building a successful career or entertaining ourselves. 

God will judge our actions and motives. To God, why we do something is as important as what we do. In 1 Corinthians 4:5, Paul said the Lord will “disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”

One of the purest motives for obeying God is the desire to receive rewards. Hebrews 11:6 says, “He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” When you work to earn rewards in heaven, you’re saying, “I believe what God said in His Word: that He will reward my faithfulness.” 

After the quality of our works is tested by fire, believers whose works are revealed to be gold, silver, and precious stones “will receive a reward” (1 Corinthians 3:14). What rewards will we receive in heaven? The Bible says some Christians will receive special privileges, special praise, and special positions of authority.

Believers whose works are deemed wood, hay, and straw will enter heaven, but they won’t receive these rewards. Paul wrote, “If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (v. 15). 

When God reviews your life, what will He see? It’s not too late to begin pursuing God’s agenda instead of your own so you’ll hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23 KJV). That’s a reward worth working for!

Sharing the Truth of God’s Word,

Dr. Robert Jeffress