( Romans 14:10 ) But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in this body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

In both of these verses it’s a point that needs to be made. The Apostle Paul, being the author of both of these books is writing to ( saints ), born again believers. When we see the words, either ( we ) or ( all ) he is speaking to that group of people only. Often when we study God’s word we have to understand who and why he is making the statement he is making. If you were away from home and, wrote a letter to your family, using the word ( all ) you wouldn’t being speaking to the people that lived next door to your family. The ( all ) would simply mean: ( all in your family ).

Therefore, when he says ( we all must stand before the judgement of Christ ). He’s saying that every born again believer will be judged there. Basically speaking. ( I believe ) that this Judgement will be taking place while the events we see in the book of ( Revelation ) are unfolding. If you will read the first four chapters of Revelation; you will notice that the first three chapters are there, speaking directly to the Church. In the very first part of chapter four we see this phrase: ( COME UP HITHER ). You can read the whole account but, as soon as he says that; there is no mention of the Church again until all these events have been completed.

( The Church ) is called out group of people. We are completely seperate from this world and, also the Nation of Israel. The events in Revelation cover a period of time of around seven years. That seven year period is all about God the Father dealing with ( his chosen people ) ( Israel ). That is a proven fact. You cam read about this seven year period in ( Daniel 9:24-27 ). As I make this statement; we also must realize that any citizen of this world or, any member of the Nation of Israel can also become a born again child of God simply by trusting in the finished work of Christ on Calvary.

When the Church is raptured out of this world, all those that rejected Jesus Christ and his saving grace will be left here to face the same judgement that Israel faces. However, every born again believer will be with Christ. If you’ll notice in ( Romans 14 ) the Apostle Paul asked two questions.( Why do you judge your brother? And, why do you set your brother at nought?

You see, we often try to decide whether a person is saved, born again by what we see in their flesh. Well, guess what? Somebody can look at every one of us and see things that are not perfect, even me! As I say this, we often judge simply by the sin we see. The ( Great White Throne of Judgement ) is all about sin. But, the ( Judgement Seat of Christ ) actually has nothing to do with sin. Even as I make that statement; my mind goes to the difference in sin. The sin we often speak of is the ( sin of commission ) meaning the sinful sins we commit. If we are going to say that the judgement we face when we stand before Christ, then it will be the ( Sin of Ommission ), meaning, what we could have done for Christ while we lived upon this earth and, wasted the opportunity.

Actually, when a born again believer stands before Christ to be Judged; there is only one question that Jesus Christ will asked them. ( WHAT DID YOU DO FOR ME )? I believe that we often misunderstand what salvation is all about. We are not taught anything beyond simply ( believing ) in Christ. We are often led to believe that; as a believer, we have no other responsibilities. However, that concept is not taught in scripture.

One of the most well explained pictures of our salvation is found in the gospel of Luke. ( Luke 15:11-24 ) This scripture tells a story of a young son that ask his father for all he had coming to him. He went out and wasted it on riotous living, he ended up feeding hogs just to have something to eat. He realized that the servants of his father’s house had it better than he did. He said, I will return and be, not a son but, a servant to my father.

We also see that it says in that scripture: ( he came to himself ). Salvation is: coming to ourselves, realizing our ( lost condition ) and, willingly becoming ( a servant ) of Jesus Christ. When salvation truly happens, we are no longer our own. ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

That spirit that is now within you desires to lead you and direct you to what ( he desires for you to do ). The judgement seat of Christ has to do with how well you listened to that Spirit and, how much you denied your own will.

I heard a man say this the other day: ( God truly wants to forgive you ). That statement is, in reality; false. You, no matter who you are or, what you have done already have been forgiven. Every sin, past present and future was paid for on the Cross of Christ. No exceptions. That doesn’t mean we have liberty to go out and live in sin does it? As a matter of fact; the very love that God shed in our hearts when he paid that price for us, constrains us.

The same picture is seen in marriage. When a young lady agrees to marry a young man; what is she supposeingly saying? The act of marriage is the young lady saying this, I yield my life to you. I go where you go, your passion is my passion, your home is my home and so forth. The very act of sin is yielding yourself to another spirit other than the Spirit of God.

Now, the Spirit that takes abode up in your heart when you ask Christ to be your Savior has the ability to speak to you and guide you. I problem become within our ability to ( hear him ) and ( yield to ) what he says.

Let me give you two personal examples of this. Not long after I got saved I was working on a jobsite with some other contractors. One of those contractors had some spicial screws I had never seen before. We call them ( self tapping screws ). When I seen them, realized what they were. I reached down to take them. Another way of saying it; I wanted to steal them. When I reached down, the Spirit of God spoke to me and said: ( there’re not yours ) and I stopped, I didn’t take them.

Before I was born again, I would have taken them and never looked back, as a matter of fact, I would have lied and said I didn’t take them. The Holy Spirit; reproved me of sin. Now, guess what? I will not be rewarded for that at the Judgement Seat. That is, unless you consider my obedience to the Spirit.

After I was saved for a few years, I went to a man’s house to wire a dryer. When I walk in I noticed the man had a bag and tube on his side. I thought, he has lung cancer. Almost that very second, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me to tell him about Jesus. To make a long story short, that day, I knew of at least three times God spoke to me and told me to witness to him. My excuse, I didn’t have time, I do it another day. The next time I went back to that house, three weeks later, he was dead. At the Judgement seat of Christ, it will be no excuse.

The Judgement Seat of Christ is all about ( rewards ) or the lack thereof. You see, physically, your mom and dad brought you into this world. raised you and, got you established. Once you are out on your on, what you do with your life is up to you.

Basically, being born again is the same way. Jesus Christ paid the price for your sin, he paid your sin debt. When you were born again, God place his Spirit within you. It’s there to reprove you of sin, righteousness and judgement. ( John 16:7-11 ). Your salvation is free, what you do with that free gift is completely up to you.

I know of ( five crowns ) any believer can win. They are found in scripture. I’ll list those crowns at the end of this. Some of these crowns are easily obtained, some ore much harder. Your question might be, what will I do with crowns in heaven? They will be a gift you give back to Jesus. If you are truly born again. Can you imagine standing before the very person that loved you so much he willingly gave his life, suffered more than any man and, you not having done even one thing for him? and, that choice will be with you forever. Again, salvation is free, what you do with the gifts that come with salvation is completely up to you.

With those crowns; you’ll be able to lay them at the feet of Jesus saying; Lord these are yours, I’m not worhty of them but you are, thank you for all you done for me!

God will never force you to do anything. It’s all about how much he loves you and, how much you love him. Each one of the crowns are things that basically, ever person has the talent and ability to do. And, of course some of them can be developed to become powerful tools for the glory of God, that is, if we are willing.

This is my take on the Judgement Seat of Christ. I want to list these crowns. You can study them out. You can also form your own opinion about the two Judgements. My prayer is that you will at least take God’s word to heart, prepare to meet thy God!

1– CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ( 2 Timothy 4:8 )

2– CROWN OF LIFE ( James 1:12 ) ( Revelation 2:10 )

3– CROWN OF GLORY ( 1 Peter 5:4 )

4– INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN ( 1 Corinthians 9:25 )

5– CROWN OF REJOICING ( 1 Thessalonians 2:19 ) this is my personal favorite. If you’ll read this verse you will see he’s saying that those that he lead to Christ being in the presence of Christ is what makes him rejoice.