10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
We need to distinguish between the judgment seat of Christ or God for Christians and the Great White Throne judgment for non-Christians.
PRINCIPLE:
We need to distinguish between judgment for the Christian and the non-Christian.
APPLICATION:
We should not confuse the judgment seat of Christ with the Great White Throne judgment. The former is for believers and the latter for non-Christians. The Christian will never come into condemnation:
Jn 5:24, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
The Great White Throne judgment will cast people into a Christless eternity to be separated from God forever. This is eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire. The purpose of the death of Christ was to deliver the unbeliever from such a judgment. The direct purpose of the Great White Throne judgment is not to discover who is a believer and who is not, but to mete out justice for rejecting the one who paid for their sin.
We need to distinguish between the different kinds of judgment in the Bible.
The Great White Throne judgment for non-Christians (Re 20:11-15)
The Judgment Seat of Christ for Christians (Ro 14:10; 2 Co 5:10)
Judgment of the devil and his hosts (Re 19:20; 20:1-3)
Judgment of nations
Judgment of Israel
Judgment of Satan (Re 20:1-10)
