By the late Pastor R. Hanna
Scripture Reading: Revelation 2l:11; 2 Corinthians 5:10
Many people - saved people - live in dread of death because they do not understand the kind of judgment that they will face before God. There is indeed a final judgment to come which is awesome and should strike fear in the heart of those who will face it. The Apostle John wrote, describing what was revealed to him in a vision on the Isle of Patmos: "I saw a great white throne, and Him (Christ) that sat on it...and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life ... and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20: 11-15) Those described here are the lost - those who did not accept God's proffered salvation before they died. The lost from all generations are raised from the dead to face this sentence of eternal separation from God.
But you and I, if we have been saved by the grace of God by faith, are not destined to confront the Great White Throne. Our apostle has revealed that "We must all appear before the judgment seat (BEMA) of Christ (not the great white throne); that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10) The works for which we will be judged are those accomplished in service to God during our lives after we have been saved. "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss (of reward), but he himself shall be saved ... " (I Corinthians 3:15)
Just A Thought:
"There are many dangerous trends pulling folks away from true Bible Christianity. Many of the newer philosophies of ministry employ methods that are wholly carnal. Some have adopted objectives that have not one line of Scripture to support them, and some employ conduct that differs little from the world. "
----Tozer
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