When Jesus Reviews Our Life — E.A. Johnston

The Bema Seat and the Coming Review of Believers' Lives

Years ago, I visited the ancient city of Olympia, Greece, and walked the ground that used to be the very first site of the Olympics. There was a stone bench there, and I asked the tourist guide what it was.

He said it was the ancient Bema seat where the judges sat, who handed out the wreaths to the victors. He said that the award ceremony after the games was a fantastic event of feasts and celebration where the winning athletes were honored.

Those first Olympians received a perishable crown. But there's a coming day, friends, when the judge of all the earth will occupy a Bema seat for believers, and we will stand before him on that day when our life is reviewed and rewards are handed out to us as well.

And that's the title of my message this afternoon, when Jesus reviews our life. And my text can be found in Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians. You can turn in your Bibles there now. We will be in chapter three of 1 Corinthians and verses 11 through 15.

Examining Our Lives in the Light of Eternity

But first, I want us to take a moment and reflect on that future day when we will enter eternity and stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, when he personally will review every aspect of our lives since we have known him.

There will be no hurry or rush on that day, friends. The record books will be opened and our lives will be examined. The things we did in the body while we were here on earth, the heavenly record of our biography while here on earth will be opened up and the chapters and pages reviewed.

Our thoughts, actions, speech, even our motives will all be brought to light on that day, friends. Let me ask you a question, friend. If you could go back and change some things in your life, would you do it?

Are there some things you'd like to have the opportunity to go back and change? I'm an older man now. And as I reflect back upon my life lived on this earth, I wish I could go back and have another chance to live it again.

For there is a great deal I would change. I'm sure many of you can say the same, that if you could only go back and relive the past, how different much of it would be. I wouldn't have spent so much time on golf courses, chasing a silly white ball around.

Rather, I would have taken that time and given it to God. But we can't go back and change things. We can only live now in this present world on a day-by-day basis. Imagine, friends, what we will feel like as we stand in eternity before the judge of all the earth, and he reviews our lives on that day.

Oh, how we could wish we could go back and change some things from that eternal perspective. But we will not be able to do that, for our lives will be over. For now, we must live by the following motto.

Only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. The apostle Paul uses striking imagery as he compares the Christian life to running a race, as seen in Hebrews 12 and verses one through three.

Let me read that to us now. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God, for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

And in 1 Corinthians 9 and verses 24 and 25, we see the apostle Paul comparing the Christian life to that of an athlete who's competing for a prize. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?

So run that ye may obtain, and every man that striveth for the mastery is tempered in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. So these verses, friends, all point to a life lived with a purpose, a race run with an end result in sight and there is a coming reward.

Salvation by Grace and Faithful Service

You see, friends, we don't work our way to heaven. Rather, we are saved by grace, not of works, lest any man should boast. But listen, friends, although we don't work our way to heaven, we do strive for an incorruptible crown.

There is a day of review coming where lives will be reviewed and rewards will be handed out. Like I said, there is a beam of seat for believers where the judge of all the earth will sit and personally review our lives.

The Testing of Christian Works by Fire

Everything on that day will pass through the fire and that brings us to our passage this afternoon, friends. Allow me to read that to us at this time. May the spirit of the Lord be pleased to attend the reading of his holy word.

For other foundation can no man lay, then that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work should be made manifest for the day shall declare it because it should be revealed by fire and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

If any man's work abide, which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Leonard Ravenhill has on his tombstone the following inscription.

Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for? I know a successful businessman who works seven days a week. This man is a workaholic. He works at least 80 hours a week. He makes a ton of money.

He has the biggest house in his neighborhood. He's a success in business. And even though this man's a Christian, he spends almost every waking hour making as much money as he can and buying as many material things as he can go grab.

Do you know people like that, that every ounce of energy they have is given to this world and its gains? But there's another world, friends, a world where it won't matter a hill of beans how much money you made in life or how many material things you accumulated.

If you're not living for things of eternal worth, then why call yourself a Christian? As believers, should not our eyes be stamped with eternity? Should not our lives be lived in light of eternity? Like Leonard Ravenhill said, are the things you were living for worth Christ dying for?

Let us examine our lives today and line them up to eternity and that Bema seat in eternity where the judge will review our lives beneath his heavenly microscope. Did we live for ourselves? Did we sit and rule on the throne of our lives?

Or did we live with an eternal perspective? I wanna enjoy eternity, living off the dividends of a well-spent life. There are several aspects I'd like to draw out from our text today, friends. The first is, there is no escaping this review.

No One Can Escape the Review of Christian Work

Verse 13 declares that every man's work shall be made manifest. There'd be no escaping this day of review. Paul speaks at this time of review in 2 Corinthians in chapter five and verse 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether good or bad.

Jesus Christ as Judge of His People

There's a coming day, friend, approaching sooner than we realize when we will stand at that final judgment and the book of our lives will be open for his review. Secondly, the judge is none other than Jesus Christ, the one sitting there has eyes of fire and he will scrutinize every aspect of how we live for him.

While we were in our body here on earth, he would be in no hurry on that day. Rather, he will take his sweet time as he reviews our life as believers. How intimidating that day will be, friends. There's the great judge at whose judgment seat we must appear.

Listen to how Romans chapter 14 describes the scene. For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ for it is written, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue confess to God.

So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. That will be a serious day, friends. When we stand before the one who has eyes of fire and give an account to him. Back in the days when I was in high school in the South, it was a mandatory requirement to be an ROTC and we had a day of inspection whereby we had to prepare for it.

Each of us boys would polish our brass buttons with Brasso and shine our shoes until we could see our reflection. We'd clean out the trigger housing of our M16s and make sure every bolt snapped and nothing was hindering it.

Then we would line up and stand at attention and nervously wait for the commanding officer to come and stand before us and yell, attention, arms. And we would snap to, right shoulder, arms, inspection, arms, and his penetrating eye would go over every little detail and aspect of our uniform, demeanor, and equipment.

That day, review and inspection made each one of us young boys trample. But there's a common day, friend, where the judge of all the earth will review our lives and that leads us to our next aspect of this review.

Every Thought, Word, and Deed Tested

Every thought, every word, every deed we committed as believers will pass through the fire on that day. This is a very humbling aspect and one that should be of immense concern to us now for the ramifications are of eternal worth.

How we live our life today will be reviewed one day future. What's going on through your mind today, friend? Are you mad at somebody? Are you bitter towards someone? Are you eating up with jealousy or envy?

Are you consumed with worry and fear? How will you behave today? How will you react to a trying circumstance? Will you live your life unto yourself and gratify your lust? Or will you live your life unto the Lord in utter surrender to his lordship over all your actions and reactions with others?

What words will come out of your mouth today? I'll never forget the prayer meeting years ago. I was at someone's house one night. The man leading it was a well-known Christian in the community, and I was seated next to him on the couch while he began to lead in prayer.

I took my hand and put it on his neck and pretended my fingers were a spider crawling on him. And what he yelled out shocked every one of us as he took the Lord's name in vain. How we react is as important as how we behave when we are in control of our circumstances.

Rewards, Loss, and the Believer's Bema Seat

And this leads me to our last aspect of our text. We will receive rewards or suffer loss on that day. Picture yourself standing before the Lord of glory on your day review. There you stand, his holy gaze is upon you.

This is a very personal moment between you and your Lord. Tenderly, he goes over every aspect of your life as a believer. With the Father's love, he takes pride in your accomplishments for him. This is not a time of condemnation where the sentence and the law is carried out and you are cast into a lake of fire.

No, that's for unbelievers. For the believer, the Bema Seat review of our lives can be compared more to a county fair where blue ribbons are handed out for excellence. We will joyfully hear the words, well done, good and faithful servant.

Let me ask you, friend, when you stand there, will your life represent the gold and silver and precious stones of a life lived for God reflected in his glory? Or will you stand there knee deep in the ashes of a wasted life and bend over and scoop those ashes up and press them into his nail pierced hands?

Living Now for Eternal Worth

Oh, dear friend, rearrange your life right now to be lived in light of eternity. All that matters is things of eternal worth. Don't be fooled by this present fleeting world. Live above it and live for your Lord in a life completely surrendered to him.

I wonder how many of us will wish that on that day, we would have spent more time on our knees and in our Bibles. I wonder how many of us will wish we would have witnessed more, lived a more holy life unto him.

Listen, friends, this world is a sinking ship that is ruined and wrecked and on the rocks. All that matters is what's done for Christ and the gospel. Let me end this message with a poem I like that speaks to this very thing.

The Poem “His Plan for Me” and a Call to Surrender

It's entitled, His Plan for Me. Allow me to read that poem to us now. When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ and he shows his plan for me, the plan of my life as it might have been had he had his way and I see how I blocked him here and checked him there and I would not yield my will.

Would there be grief in my savior's eyes? Grief though he loves me still? Would he have me rich and I stand there poor, stripped of all but his grace. While memory runs like a hunted thing down the paths I cannot retrace, Lord of the years that are left to me, I give them to thy hand.

Take me and break me and mold me to the pattern that thou has planned. Let us go now friends to a time of prayer.