What It Is Not

Some Christians look at the judgment seat with trembling and even with fear. But we have nothing to fear, because it will not be a judgment of our sins in a penal sense. It is not the person who is being judged, but his works. The judgment seat of Christ is not an examination to see whether we are fit for heaven – whether we are truly saved or not. Our fitness for heaven depends entirely on the redemption that Christ accomplished on the cross. The Bible says "giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col 1:12-14).

The whole question of our sins was settled once and for all when we were saved. The Lord said "Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come into condemnation, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24). What more could we need as assurance than to have this promise from the mouth of the Lord Himself that we "will not come into condemnation!" The apostle Paul confirms this by saying "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:1). "In Christ" is a Pauline term used many times in his epistles to denote the Christian's place of acceptance before God. To be "in Christ" means "to be in Christ's place before God." He was accepted for us, and the measure of His acceptance is ours! Therefore, there is nothing for us to fear regarding the judgment seat of Christ. Scripture tells us, "In this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17) Just as Christ stands before God in perfect acceptance, "so also are we" even while we are here in this world. We are fit for heaven now just as we will be forever!