The Judgment Seat of Christ

The certainty of a future judgment for all is clear from the Bible. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27). But that does not mean there will be one general judgment where all who have ever lived will be assembled to discover whether or not they will go to Heaven. The eternal destiny of each person is determined during this life solely by receiving or rejecting Christ.

Nor will all be judged at the same time or in the same manner. "That the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25). When one receives Christ, he accepts the payment that was made for his sins on Golgotha. And so Romans 8:1 tells us, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus."

But if there is no possibility of condemnation, then why will believers in Christ be judged at all? Dr. Hutson shows that the subject at the Judgment Seat of Christ is our service, not our sins. The outcome of this judgment will be rewards, not retribution.