Robert Jeffress - Jesus the Judge - Part 1
Hi, I’m Robert Jeffress, and welcome again to «Pathway to Victory». We must all stand before a judge at some point in life, whether for a traffic violation or a more serious offense. But did you know there’s a much more significant court date in your future? One day every person who has ever lived will stand before Jesus Christ, the ultimate judge. The question is, are you prepared for your appointment before heaven’s Supreme Court? My message is titled «Jesus the Judge» on today’s edition of «Pathway to Victory».
What is the highest court in the world? Most people would answer the International Court of Justice, known as the ICJ. Some people refer to it as the World Court. It was established after World War II as an encouragement to countries to settle their disputes by the law rather than by war. Today the World Court consists of 15 judges from around the world. They sit in an ornate palace known as the Peace Palace in the Hague, Netherlands.
In 1986 the country of Nicaragua accused the United States of supporting rebel forces in their country. They sued our nation in the World Court. The World Court found us guilty and ordered us to pay a huge fine. Guess how much we paid. Zero dollars. We have paid nothing to the World Court because their authority is a bogus. It is a make-believe authority. We are not under the authority of the World Court.
But there is another court coming one day, another kind of World Court that will consist not of 15 judges but of 1 judge, and he is a perfect judge, and he is one to whom everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike, will be forced to submit to. Who is that judge over the future World Court? Paul identified him in Acts 17:31 in his Sermon on Mars Hill. He said, «God has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed…» Well, who is that man? «Having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead». There’s only one judge who meets that qualification, one judge who’s come back from the dead. His name is Jesus Christ. And we’re going to discover today how the end times reveal another one of Jesus’s roles. Not only did the end times reveal Jesus as Messiah and Prophet and King, they reveal him to be the true judge of all of the world, the judge of the living and the dead.
Now, that goes against the popular strain of understanding many people have about Jesus. When the average person today thinks about Jesus, they see him as that tiny baby in the feeding trough wrapped in swaddling cloths, or they see him as a good teacher or rabbi sitting on the hillside teaching the Sermon on the Mount, or they see him as the benevolent physician going about healing those who are afflicted, but nobody, very few people see him as a judge. After all, wasn’t it Jesus who said judge not lest you be judged? Most people don’t believe Jesus would ever judge anyone, but as we’re going to see today, the fact is Jesus is going to judge everyone. And that everyone includes you and me, Christians and non-Christians alike.
Today in our message «Jesus the Judge,» we’re going to look at five judgments in the end times over which Jesus is going to preside. The best way to look at these judgments was in the chronological order in which they occur during the end times. The first judgment is the one you and I are going to face one day by Jesus. We call it the judgment seat of Christ. And apparently there’s no Scripture that actually says it, but apparently it occurs after the Rapture, because when we get to the Tribulation we see in Revelation 4 and 5 the church has already been crowned and rewarded. So this is the first judgment and the one we face, the judgment seat of Christ.
The Scripture verse, one of many that talks about it, is 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10. Paul wrote, «For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one of us may be rewarded for what we have done in the body, whether it be good or bad». That Greek word translated judgment seat is the word bema. Not bima, bema, the judgment seat of Christ. Sometimes this bema, it was really a raised platform, was used in the athletic realm. We saw that in the Olympics when a winner was brought to the raised platform and given a gold medal. That actually came from Paul’s day. The winner in athletic contest were brought to a raised platform where they received a crown made of leaves, really a wreath of leaves.
You’d say, «Who gets excited about that»? It’s not just the crown of leaves, it’s what it represented. They had won. And there were real tangible benefits to winning the races in Paul’s day. You got exempted from paying income tax to the government for at least a year or more. You had other privileges. Well, Paul says we’re all going to appear before a judgment seat, not to be condemned. This is not a judgment that determines whether we go to heaven or hell. That’s decided when we trust in Christ. This is an award of commendation. But there’s also a negative aspect to the judgment seat of Christ. The bema was also used in the judicial system. It was used in Corinth.
For example, in Acts 18 we find the story of Paul’s ministry in Corinth. Some Jews got mad at him, were jealous. They trumped up some charges and brought him before the proconsul Gallio. And Gallio, Acts 18 says, was seated on the bema, the judgment seat. By the way, archaeologists have uncovered that. Many of us have been to Corinth and seen the judgment seat on which Gallio sat. And Paul stood there, looking at Gallio. Gallio threatened him. Paul never flinched once. Why was he so courageous? Because he realized that one day he would be standing before another judge on another judgment seat, that judge was Jesus Christ, and he would have to give an account of his life, and he was much more fearful of what Christ could do to him than what Gallio could do to him.
And it’s interesting that Paul used that experience in Corinth to write back to the Corinthians this word in 2 Corinthians 5:10. «Just like I stood before a judgment seat, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one of us may be rewarded for what we have done». What is it that Jesus is going to judge? Three things. First of all, he’s going to judge our actions, our works, if you will. You know, we who are evangelical Christians, we make a big mistake in de-emphasizing the importance of works. We’re so anxious to make sure people understand we’re not saved by good works, we act like our works don’t matter.
Now, listen to this. Our good works are worthless before we are saved, but our good works are priceless after we have been saved. We’re not saved by good works, we’re saved for good works. That’s God’s plan. And God is going to reward us according to our works. Works matter to God. In Psalm 62, verse 12, the Psalmist said, «You, God, recompense a man according to his work». Doesn’t that makes sense? It just makes sense that our works make a difference. They do make a difference. In Matthew 16:27, Jesus said, «For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father and with His angels and He will then repay every man according to his deeds».
Secondly, Jesus will judge us according to our words. What we say, what we post on social media one day is going to be judged. Did you know every word we speak will be judged? Matthew 12:36 to 37, Jesus said, «I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they will give an accounting for in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned». Thirdly, Jesus will judge our thoughts. In Jeremiah 17:10, God says, «For I search the heart, I test the mind even to give each man according to his ways, according to the results of what his deeds are».
Sometimes why we do something is just as important as what we do. And I think he’s referring to here our motives. Not just the careless thoughts we have or wrong thoughts, he’s talking about our motives. Those are going to be revealed. What is the result of the judgment seat? He said we’re going to stand there that each one of us may be rewarded for what we have done, whether it is good or bad, is what the English translation says. But that word bad doesn’t mean morally wrong. The word bad, phaulos in Greek means worthless. We’re going to be judged and rewarded according to what kind of life we have lived. What am I talking about?
If you have your Bibles, turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 11 to 15 where Paul talks about this in more detail. He compares living our life to building a house. He says, «For no man can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is in Christ Jesus». Now, if you’re saved, you have the same foundation as all Christians, Jesus Christ, but we choose what kind of life to build on that foundation. We’re all given a different amount of time, treasure, and talent. We get to decide what kind of life, what kind of house we’re going to build.
And he goes on to say, «Now, if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones or wood, hay, and straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day is to show it, for it will be revealed by fire,» in other words, we can build our life with those things that are eternal, that have lasting value, or we can build our lives around trivial pursuits, temporal pursuits. And how will that be revealed? At this judgment. It’ll be like a fire that will reveal what kind of life we have really lived.
Now, have you ever heard people say, «Oh, I don’t care about rewards? Just as long as I make it to heaven, that’ll be enough». Think again. Verse 14 and 15, Paul says, «If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward, but if any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss». Underline that, he will suffer loss. «Even though he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire». We don’t know what these rewards are. I’ve said in other messages they may be special privileges in heaven. Did you know heaven’s not going to be the same for everybody, the Bible teaches? Special privileges, special positions of authority, who is faithful in little will be given much, if we endure with him, we’ll reign with him, and certain words of praise will come from Jesus that others will not receive.
«Well done, good and faithful servant». But whatever these rewards are, Paul says they are worth working for and sacrificing for. Because the fact is if our life is judged by Jesus Christ, they have no eternal value. If we were living and spending and managing for ourselves rather than for God’s kingdom, what happens? Our life is burned up, so to speak, and we will suffer loss. I believe heaven is a place of great joy, but yes, there’ll be some regret in heaven too. That’s what the Bible says. We will suffer loss, real measurable loss as we see what could have been ours had we been more faithful to Jesus Christ. That’s the judgment seat of Christ.
The second judgment Jesus will preside over is the judgment of the Tribulation martyrs, and it takes place right after the Tribulation, at the end of the Tribulation. «What do you mean the Tribulation martyrs»? Remember that all Christians get raptured at the Rapture. We get caught away to meet the Lord in the air. So at the beginning of the seven year Tribulation, there are no Christians on earth, but at the beginning of the Tribulation, Revelation 6 says God will save 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from each tribe. They will be saved by Jesus Christ, and they will have a supernatural seal that protects them, and they will go through the world witnessing and evangelizing, and through their witness, many will come to know Christ as Savior during the Tribulation.
Many of those believers, Jews and Gentiles alike, will be martyred because of their faith. And so, at the end of the Tribulation, those Tribulation martyrs, they will be raised from the dead and receive their new bodies and they will be rewarded. The reason, it’s for their vindication, the vindication of the martyrs. Listen to Revelation 6:9 and 10. «When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God, because of the testimony which had been maintained».
Now, this is toward the beginning of the Tribulation. «And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judges and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth? '» Translation, «How long, God, are you going to let these ungodly people on earth who killed us, how long are you going to allow them to keep doing evil and rebelling against your authority»? Now, you know what that tells me? Have you ever heard the question, do people in heaven know what’s happening on earth? Here is a clear answer to that. The souls of those who had been killed during the Tribulation, they are in heaven with Jesus. They’re able to look down and see that evil is still going on. They’re able to see that God is being blasphemed, and they’re saying, «Lord, why are you waiting to punish them»?
Yes, people in heaven can see what is happening on earth. Now, when I used to hear that as a little boy, I hate to tell you what my first thought was. Now, I’m going to go ahead and say it. My first thought was, «You mean people in heaven can see me going to the bathroom»? Oh, dear, you’ve wondered the same thing. Come on. Now, if you ever have children that ask you that question, here’s what you can say to them. «Yes, they probably can see you going to the bathroom. But why would they want to»? I mean, the fact is people in heaven are going to be preoccupied with much more important things than the everyday stuff we’re doing, but they are aware of what’s happening on earth, and they want to be vindicated. Well, that’s what is going to happen at the end of the Tribulation.
Revelation 20, verse 4 tells us, «Then I saw thrones, and those who sat upon them, and judgment,» ruling, «was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the Word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image or had not received the mark on their forehead and on the hand; and they came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years». What is the reward for the Tribulation martyrs? It is that they are resurrected, they get their new bodies, but they’re also reigning with Christ for a thousand years.
By the way, something interesting I noticed in my study this week, there is not one case of people who are judged by Christ without a body. Did you know that? We are not just bodyless spirits. We are more than spirits. We are spirit, soul, and body. And before each of these five judgments that we’re looking at, people get a new body. They get a body. And in the case of unbelievers, they get another body, but they’re raised up in their bodies to be judged. This is the judgment of the Tribulation martyrs. There’s a third judgment, the judgment of Israel. It happens during the 75 days. Remember the 40 plus 35 days that occur right before the Millennium. The judgment of Israel. And the Bible, the Old Testament is filled with prophecies about this judgment.
Isaiah 11:12 says, «He will lift up a standard,» God will lift up a standard, «for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth». Remember that during the Tribulation there are many Jews who will be saved, many who aren’t saved, but in the last three and a half years of the Tribulation, Satan the dragon in concert with the beast, the Antichrist, goes after Christians and Jews alike, and many of them flee into the wilderness and they escape death, but they can’t escape the judgment of God. He is bringing back all of the Jews at this time for a judgment. And what is that judgment? It is according to a standard he will lift up, and that standard is Jesus Christ.
Acts 17:31 says God has appointed a man by whom the world will be judged. Now, listen to this because a lot of Christians in today’s world are confused about this. You don’t go to heaven for being a Jew. Being a Jew is not enough to get you into heaven. There’s some false teachers among Christians teaching all you have to do is be a Jew to go to heaven. No. There’s one way to heaven. It is through faith in Jesus Christ. And so before the Millennium, it is important to separate righteous Jews, those who have trusted in Christ, and the unrighteous rebels that need to be judged, those who have opposed the Messiah. And that’s what happens during the judgment of Israel. It is a time to separate the righteous from the unrighteous. I could point to many Scriptures. Isaiah was one.
Another one is Ezekiel 20, verses 37 to 38. God’s talking to Israel. He said, «I will make you pass under the rod, I will bring you into the bond of the covenant». In other words, they’re outside the covenant if they’re Jews and not believers. Abrahamic covenant, that was for believing Jews. Not for every Jew, for believing Jews. Paul said not all those who claim to be Israel are really Israel. The only way you can be a true Israelite is to believe in Christ and be a descendant of Abraham. But he’s saying here, «I will make you pass under the rod, and I will purge you from the rebels, those who transgress against Me, and I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel».
Here’s a group of Jews who will not enter the land, and it’s those who have rebelled against the gospel. «I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn. They will not enter Israel. Thus you will know that I am the Lord». Jeremiah 23, verse 6, «In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely». That’s believing Judah. Believing Israel will dwell securely. «And this is His name by which He should be called, the Lord of Righteousness».