Bema me up

When you get to the Judgment Seat of Christ your service isn’t going to be a light thing to God.

“That word judgment there—the Greek word is bema--that’s the athletic contest, not the courtroom scene,” says Jordan. “The courtroom was taken care of in Romans 3. The judicial scene and the justice of God is satisfied there.

“In Romans 8 you’re before the bema. You go into an athletic contest and everybody runs. Think of the Olympics. Three people –gold, silver, bronze—win. Is everybody that runs honored? Sure they are. But there are those special ones that run and get the crown. And they’re specially honored. That’s the picture of the bema seat—the Judgment Seat of Christ.

“You’ve got to take your service down here seriously because when you get up there God’s going to review it and there are going to be special honors. It’s a reward that goes hand in hand with that inheritance.

“Paul’s aware of that and he’s talking about that and what he’s saying, in essence, to the Corinthians, ‘Hey, it’s worthwhile to serve the Lord down here because it’s going to be profitable for us up there. And not profitable just for us but for His glory up there.’ ”

*****

II Corinthians 5: 11 says, ‘Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.’

“You see there were a bunch of people there glorying in appearance, in who’s who, and who they were, and what they could get people to do and that kind of thing,” says Jordan. “‘Glorying in your flesh,’ Paul said over there in Galatians 6. ‘Making a fair show,’ and that kind of stuff instead of glorying in the heart and service for God.”