The Bema - Part 3

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. Now they do it, that is those who compete for a prize in games, they do it for a perishable crown, the crown of greenery, but we for an imperishable crown.

The Imperishable Crown and the Discipline of the Christian Walk

So if you are disciplined in the Christian walk, if you are faithful, this crown could be yours. Now turn to James chapter 1 verse 12. And if it takes too long for you to turn to these passages, just write down the scripture reference James 1 12 and you can look these things up later on.

Now there is no crown, I have to admit there is no crown offered to those who memorize the books of the Bible in order. But it's a reward in and of itself. And I'm going to have a little sermon within a sermon here.

If you've been a believer for any length of time, you should know the books of the Bible in order. If you can't memorize them and just do it off the top of your head, you ought to know at least about where these books are found.

I should be able to tell you to turn to the book of Habakkuk and you can know about where it is. Or 3 John and you know about where it is. But memorizing the books of the Bible, it's not that hard, right?

It's not that hard. So I encourage you to do that. You don't get a crown, but it is reward in and of itself. James chapter 1 verse 12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation. For when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.

So if you love the Lord and you can endure and overcome temptation, the crown of life can be yours right now. Turn to 1 Thessalonians 2 19. As you're turning there, just one more comment about this crown that we just mentioned.

The Crown of Life and the Crown of Rejoicing

What did Jesus say to his followers? I have come that they might have life and life more abundant. So the abundant life, certainly eternal life is the abundant life. But to overcome temptation and to be able to live a life apart from sin, not completely, we understand that.

That's how you have joy in the Christian life, when you can overcome temptation. As opposed to someone, every time they're tempted, they give in. Christians like that are miserable. No believer can live in sin and be joyful.

So we want the crown of life. We need to overcome temptation. All right. 1 Thessalonians 2 19. What does it say? For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

So Paul, in speaking to the Thessalonians, he looks at them and he says, you are my crown. Why? Because this is called the soul winner's crown, the crown for evangelism. Paul won all of these folks to the Lord.

So when the Lord returns and they're standing there at the judgment seat, Paul, I won these people to Christ. You are my crown of rejoicing. So if you've won three people to the Lord in your life, you say, well, that sounds like a small number.

It's a crown of rejoicing when the Lord returns. If you've won 30, that's a bigger crown, 300 and even bigger crown. This is the crown of rejoicing. All right. Now let's turn to 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 8.

The Crown of Righteousness and the Crown of Glory

And as we're going through these, you can kind of think to yourself, OK, what crown can I expect? What's the crown that I think that I will receive? Now, it's true. It's not up to us. It's up to Christ who is the judge.

He will evaluate our works. He determines what is wood, hay or stubble or gold, silver or precious stone. So he decides that. But even still, even right now, we should be evaluating ourselves. He has the final say, but we should evaluate ourselves.

What are we doing? What are we accomplishing? Why are we doing the things that we're doing? Are we building on the rock? Are we doing things for ourselves, for our own glory? Are we doing it for the Lord, for others?

Look at 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 8. And we see the fourth crown. Paul writes, finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

You know, and you may be one of them, you know there are Christians that they love the idea of the return of Christ. They are looking forward to the return of Christ. They're always watching and they're ready.

But there are good Christian brothers and sisters, you know, you listen to them talk, or maybe because of their theology, they don't ever expect to see Jesus return. I don't think they're going to get this crown, ok, based on the way it looks.

But if you love the Lord and live in anticipation to His return, this crown can be yours, the crown of righteousness. And finally, turn to 1 Peter chapter 5. You're getting an exercise for your fingers this morning, that's ok.

So far we've looked at what? The incorruptible crown, the crown of life, the crown of rejoicing, the crown of righteousness, and finally, the crown of glory. 1 Peter chapter 5, we'll start reading in verse 2 for some context.

Peter says, shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. So I have some bad news for you. Most Christians are excluded from this crown. This appears to be a crown specifically reserved for pastors and church leaders who are faithful in the ministry.

The Judgment Seat of Christ and Its Purpose

But what is the title of this message? The Judgment Seat of Christ. And just that word, judgment seat, a lot of people when they hear the word judge, they think of the word condemn, right? Judgment equals condemnation, not so.

Sometimes it does, not always, certainly not here. So point number one, who will participate? Believers only. Point number two, what is the purpose? To give out rewards. And to go back to the analogy of the workplace, people in their place of employment, a person will go through these reviews, maybe it's once a year, maybe a little more, to see what their reward is going to be.

And what's the reward usually? A raise, right? That's what you're looking forward to, a raise. Just imagine, hypothetically, because this would never be the case with any of you, and I know that. Imagine though, if over the past year, a person did a lousy job.

They just did not do the work that was expected of them. They did a poor job, they knew it, their boss knew it. Are they going to be looking forward to their review? I don't think they're going to be looking forward to it.

Now maybe they know their job is secure. Maybe they're in a union. Okay, maybe they work for the town. They know their job is secure. But are they really going to be looking forward to that review? How much more an unfaithful believer who has to stand before the judge of heaven and earth?

This is serious business. The judgment seat of Christ is serious business, and it should motivate us. Hopefully it doesn't scare us, but it should motivate us. And this leads us to point number three, how can a person prepare?

Now oftentimes when there is an evaluation, an employer will first ask you to evaluate yourself and fill out a form and then hand it in. But evaluate yourself. I think this sermon can help us to do that.

We can evaluate ourselves. Both Romans 14 .10 and 2 Corinthians 5 .10 tell us that we must all appear before the judgment seat. So let me just ask, are you ready to stand before the judgment seat? You see, when Christ returns, if he were to return today or when we die, it's sealed.

We cannot affect anything from that point on, but we can do something to affect the outcome here and now. I remember a few years back I was talking to someone. This subject came up and she said to me, she said, I don't care about rewards in heaven.

I just want to get there. She said, that's all I'm concerned with. You know what? That's a bad attitude. We should all care about rewards. We should all work hard and strive for rewards. And if you think about it, the gospel being saved is not by works.

It's not based on what you do, right? That's free. That is a gift. What are you working for? Rewards. So if you say that you don't care about rewards, you might as well say, hey, I'm lazy and I'm content being unfaithful.

And again, that is a bad attitude. So God forbid we should have that. All right. A few closing thoughts first, and how we should prepare. We should examine our own heart. We should examine our motives.

Why do we do the things that we do? Well, do you remember what Paul told the Corinthians? Corinthians, first Corinthians 10 31. He says, whatever you do, do for the glory of God. So you can just look at anything that you do.

Am I doing this for the glory of God? So let's first explore our hearts. Then we can explore our methods. Okay, why do we do what we do? And then how do we do the things that we do? Do you remember what the multitude said about Jesus?

He doeth all things well. Can people say that about us? So we should evaluate our methods. And finally, turn back to 2 Corinthians 5, and this is where we will close. So we should evaluate our manner of life.

Think about it this way. How does our life stand up under scrutiny from the book? Not under scrutiny from others, scrutiny from the book. When it comes down to it, have you given God your best? Well, maybe some people have.

Certainly some have not. But here's the good news. Even if you have not given God your best in the past, you can give God your best today. You can give God your best tomorrow. You can start building on that foundation.

Why? Well, let's look at 2 Corinthians 5 verse 9, and this is where we will end. Paul says, Therefore we make it our aim. So this is our goal. We make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well-pleasing to him.

Why? For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.

But we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. So, in conclusion, if you were to stand before the judgment seat of Christ today, what would be the outcome? Would all of your deeds and all the things that you've done in Christian service, would it all go up in smoke?

Or would you hear the Lord say, Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. One final comment. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 11 31, if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

So now is the time. Now is the time to make any necessary changes to make sure you get that full reward. Let's close in prayer. Father, I thank you for your word, and I thank you that salvation is free.

It is a free gift, and we rejoice in that. But Lord, because we are saved, you did not save us to sit around and stagnate. You saved us to serve. And Lord, you've also given each believer a spiritual gift.

And I pray that you would make that known to each one and motivate us to serve you even more diligently, that on that day when we stand before Christ at the judgment seat, we can hear those words, Well done, good and faithful servant.

We pray it all in his name. Amen. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscornickchurch .com.

We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.