We live in a world that does not like judgment. In fact, one of the most quoted lines from Jesus is “Judge not.” And if you were here last week, you knew you liked it when you heard, who are you to judge other people? Right? Nobody wants to be judged. But here's the thing, even church people will be judged. That's what we're going to learn in Romans 14. So, I need everybody to open up your Bible and turn with me to Romans 14:5-12, because when you say Jesus said judge not, that's not the full quote. Jesus said, “Judge not, lest you be judged.” In fact, if you keep reading there in Matthew 7, it's very clear that what Jesus was saying is, don't be hypocritical. Don't judge other people for things that you're guilty of yourself. Take the log out of your own eye, because then you can address the speck that is in your brother's eye. In fact, it goes on in Matthew 7 to have a day of judgment where people come before the judge, Jesus himself. And so, we may live in a world that doesn't want to be judged. And people might say stuff like, who are you to judge me? And they might be right that we're not supposed to judge them, but Jesus is coming to judge the world, and that's something that you and I, we need to understand clearly for ourselves and for our loved ones. And so, I want to invite you to give this your full and undivided attention and respect for God's Word. Let's all stand for the public reading of Scripture. This is Romans, 14, 5 to 12. Please follow along as I read.
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
That's the reading of God's word. Please go ahead, have your seat. What a blessing it is to have all of you here on Saturday night. What a blessing it is for me to be able to open God's word with you. I've been thinking about this for hours this week. What could you and learn? What is God saying to us from these verses? And there's a handout there in your bulletin if you want to take some notes and follow along here. But we're into this idea of church people, so people, in this case, that have already been saved by Jesus, and how they might be tempted to judge one another. Some people think we're going to eat the meat. Some people think we're not going to eat the meat. Other people think we're going to set aside that day, that certain day. Other people are like, no, I'm going to see all the days as the same. That's kind of where we left off if you were here last week. If you look at verse 5, we're right back to it. “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.” And it gets to this idea of you've got to be convinced in your own mind. You need to know whether you're going to eat the meat or not, whether you're going to celebrate the day or not. You've got to be convinced in yourself. And if you eat, do it in honor of the Lord. And if you don't eat, we'll do that in honor of the Lord, too. So, you can see here, this is where I'm surprised when I study Romans 14, because I would think if people were arguing about eating the meat or not, Paul, why don't you just tell us once and for all whether we should eat the meat or not, or if some people are celebrating a day and others aren't celebrating the day. Paul, why don't you just answer the question once and for all, just tell us what we should do. Why don't you just say stop celebrating the day, or everybody celebrate the day. I keep reading expecting Paul to answer the questions that people are having in their lives. And it's like Paul doesn't care about answering the questions. He cares about the why? Why are you deciding what you're deciding to do? Are you doing it in honor of the Lord? Are you doing it to give thanks? Paul actually believes that people could be doing different things, but they could be doing it with the same motivation of doing it for the Lord.
Okay, so go back with me to Romans, chapter 1. Let's just remember where we began many, many weeks ago now. When we started out in the book of Romans, we had a big problem. The problem was that people were living in unrighteousness and ungodliness. And so, we saw at the beginning here, this whole book is going to show us the righteousness of God, and the Gospel is the power to save us the righteous live by faith in the gospel. But then, we got into God's judgment here, and the wrath of God is going to be revealed against all unrighteousness. Look at verse 21, this is what it said. “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” So, we started out in the book of Romans. Once we got the introduction, once we got the thesis statement, that the gospel is God's power to save people. It's how he shows us his righteousness through the good news of the death of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. Once we got that, we had a big problem. People, they don't want to give thanks to God, and the problem is rampant. I mean, Thanksgiving is not going to be that big of a deal. A lot of people, I think the Food Network's already skipped Thanksgiving on their way to Christmas. Right? A lot of people, they don't care about Thanksgiving anymore, because they don't care about knowing God and honoring him and giving thanks. So, that's how the book began, people who did not believe and wrath is going to come upon them.
Now turn to Romans 14, because notice we have those two things here in these verses. The people here, whether they choose to eat or not, whether they celebrate the day or not, they are doing it in honor of the Lord. Verse 6, he observes it in honor of the Lord. “The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.” So, we are talking in the context here, about people who have been saved by Jesus, making different decisions. So, Paul didn't just address these issues at their day, because there's always going to be issues like this. There's always going to be decisions that we're going to make and for our family, for our household, that we're going to do this, and other people are going to say, no, we're going to do this. And the question is, when you do it, are you doing it in honor of the Lord? Are you doing it to give thanks to him? AND WE MIGHT COME TO DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS BUT HAVE THE SAME MOTIVATION. That's the idea here is we have people now who are doing because they want to know God, and so they're choosing to do things for God's glory. They're choosing to do things to give thanks to God. And so, let's make sure we're not judging somebody who is sincerely trying to live for God. No, God's going to judge all of those who don't live for him, but if he saved us, let's not judge one another.
Now go to 1 Corinthians 8. I want everybody to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 8, because it's a very similar passage. And in 1 Corinthians 8:1-3, it tells us the specific reason, at least here in Corinth, why they weren't eating the meat that was the meat sacrificed to idols. There's a big temple there in Corinth, there would have been a lot of animal sacrifices, and so that meat that would have got passed around the whole town. And some people, they're eating the meat, but some people, they're not eating the meat. So, let's go through this here together, and let's get into the mindset of, why would some people think, oh, it's okay to eat the meat. And why would some people think it's not okay to eat? “Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” Can I get an amen from anybody on a Saturday night?
Okay, there are no other gods. Idols aren't real, we know that, “For although there may be so called gods in heaven or on earth, as indeed, there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords,’ yet for us, there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” However, not all possess this knowledge. For some, through former association with idols, eat food offered to an idol, their conscience being weak. So, this is the one who's weak in faith. This is the weaker brother right here. Their conscience being weak is defiled. Now, food will not commend us to God. We're not worse off if we do not eat, or better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you, who have knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged if his conscience is weak to eat food offered to idols? And so, by your knowledge, this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died, thus sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience. When it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
So that whole chapter 1 Corinthians 8 is about a very similar issue to what we're seeing in Romans 14. And he talked about the people who have knowledge, or those who would be the stronger in faith, they understand this whole idolatry thing, it's not real. And whatever they're doing over there, we're killing those animals. There's nothing really to it. And if I can get a good deal on that meat, I might just go ahead and get that meat and I might eat it because it's not real. But see, your knowledge can, what does it say? It can puff you up, and then you start thinking, well, I can do whatever I want. I can eat whatever I want. And you lose the focus that some people, they used to worship those idols in that temple. They used to think something was happening when they made those sacrifices and praised God. He opened their eyes to see Jesus. Praise God. He granted them repentance. And now those idolaters down the street, they're now coming to church. They're now worshiping Jesus, but they're still like, I don't think I'm going to eat that meat, because I used to be caught up in that scene, and that was a bad scene, and I want nothing to do with it. So, I'm not going to eat that meat. See, that's the situation that's going on where some people, they know there's nothing to that meat, but other people, they were caught up in it, and they're like, now that I've turned to the Lord, now that I know really who God is, I want nothing to do with those old sacrifices. And so, one person doesn't eat the meat, and why are they doing it? To give thanks to God for saving them out of idolatry, to give honor to the Lord. And then this other person over here, they're chowing down on the meat. They're having tacos, burritos. Who knows what they're doing with the meat. Why are they doing all this? Because they give thanks to God. He's good. He's blessed us with all things to enjoy freely.
We’ve got two people. Somebody's not eating meat, somebody is. They're both doing it for the Lord. They're both doing it to give thanks. Now we’ve got to be careful, because the people over here who feel comfortable and eating the meat, watch out, or you might despise, you might look down on this person. What's that person's problem? Why can't they get over it? There was nothing to that idolatry. No, if you have knowledge, don't look down on your brother or sister in Christ. Praise God that he saved them out of that sin, and now if their conscience is sensitive towards that sin, wow, praise God that they're now one of the people of Jesus, living for him. And so, yeah, I'm not going to eat meat, because I wouldn't want to make anybody who is an idol worshiper have a conflicted conscience. I want them to know peace and joy and love in Jesus Christ. So see, some of you in this room, you're the stronger person, and you're like, it's okay to do it. Well, make sure you don't despise the weaker person. And some of you, you are the weaker person, where you're like, I'm not going to do that, because that would go against my conscience; it might be okay, but not for me, because that reminds me of my old ways. I want nothing to do with those old ways. And what the weak person does is they pass judgment on the strong person for eating the meat. And so, even though we both have the same goal of honoring the Lord and giving him thanks. We're doing it in different ways, and if we're not careful, we'll start to look down on one another. We'll pass judgment on one another. And so being strong is not exercise. And your liberty to do whatever you want. Being strong is the kind of person who considers your brothers and sisters so dear that you will give up doing something you could do because you wouldn't want to cause anybody else to stumble.
One of the clear ways that this applies to us today is when it comes to alcohol. Okay, that's going to be one of the clear applications of this chapter, and we're going to get to it in future weeks. It's one of the things that we're going to talk about. Hey, could you have a drink? Well, let's just make it very clear, is drunkenness a sin, according to the Scripture? What does the Scripture say, everybody? It's debauchery, according to Ephesians, chapter 5, right? No. Drunkenness is something we should all repent of. Drunkenness is something that we should all decide that I want to be filled with the Spirit, instead. I don't want to get drunk with wine. The only thing I want to be under the influence of is the Lord Jesus Christ reigning in my life. That's what we should all agree on. That's clear. God has told us what to think about that. But can people drink without getting drunk? Well, the answer for some is going to be, yeah, I can totally do that, and I could be free to do that, and I can even do that. I can hold up a glass of that, and I could give thanks to God, and I could honor him. But let me ask you this, have you ever met somebody whose drunkenness was not just something that happened here or there, but it was a way of life for them. And have you seen God radically make some of these people alive? Have you seen him change them from the inside out so now they've become some of the most sober-minded, some of the most self-controlled, Spirit-filled people that you know in your life. And so, man, would you want to just be saying, hey, give thanks to God over here. If it would cause one of your brothers or sisters who came out of that sin to perhaps go against their conscience and fall back into sin? See, that's what we're talking about. So, somebody, maybe they're thinking, well, I'm going to have this to celebrate and to give thanks to God. But somebody over here is like, Yeah, I'm not doing that ever again to give thanks and in honor of the Lord for saving me. Two people coming to different conclusions, but the same motivation.
Now here's what I really want you to see. Go over to 1 Corinthians 10, because chapter 9 is Paul going off on this idea, I'll do whatever I can for other people. Like Paul understands the point of my life is not, what can I do, what do I want to do with my life? The point of my life is, how many more people can get one to Christ with my life? That's what 1 Corinthians 9 is all about. And Paul's like, I'm going to do all things for all people, that, by all means, I might see some of these people get saved. To the Jews, I'll be a Jew. To the Gentiles,. I'll be a Gentile. I'm going to do whatever I can to reach other people. It's not going to be about me exercising my liberties. It's going to be about me winning souls to the Lord Jesus, and I'm running so that I might win more souls. And then we get into chapter 10, and there's a warning about idolatry. And then pick it up with me, because this is now coming back to the original thought of eating the meat sacrificed to idols. Look at it here in 1 Corinthians 10:23. All things are lawful, see? So, here's somebody who's like one of these strong people, saying, hey, now that I'm free in Christ, I'm free. Indeed, I can do whatever I want. Well, “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good but the good of his” what? So, if you want to say you're a strong believer, what a strong believer really is, is not somebody who does whatever they think they can do. A strong believer is actually someone who changes what they do in consideration of those around them. That's the definition of a strong believer here. Yeah, you can be exercising your freedoms over here. But is it building other people up, or is it causing them to stumble? Look at 1 Corinthians 10:25-26. “Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For ‘the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.’”
If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go eat whatever is set before you, without raising any question on the ground of conscience, but if someone says to you, this has been offered and sacrificed. Hey, we're going to have this nice steak. Yeah, we sacrificed it at the temple down the street. Then do not eat it for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience. I do not mean your conscience, but his. For Why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience. If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced? Because of that for which I give thanks. So, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the” what, everybody? Now who's heard that verse before, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all the glory of God.” Did you understand that that verse is in the context of what we're talking about, the decision to either eat the meat or not to eat the meat, everybody? Here, you're going to make decisions about what you do. You're going to decide, we're going to go do this. We're going to go not do this. Is your motivation, when you make that decision, really for the glory of God? That’s the question here. Like that should be the deciding issue. And you know what? We might have the same motivation and then different actions about something like eating the meat.
Let's get this down for point number one: “Whatever you do? For the Lord,!” Whatever you're going to do, make sure you're doing it for the Lord. Make sure that's your motivation. Because if it's just I want to do it, if it's just I I'm able to do it. I'm free to do it, see, that's not the context here. The context here is whether you decide to eat or not, whether you decide to drink or not, do it for the glory of God. Make sure that's in your heart, and even give the other person the benefit of the doubt that it is from their heart that they're doing it, to give thanks to God and to honor God. That's what we should be thinking about one another. Instead of judging one another, we should be like, no, I hope they're doing it for God's glory. Just like God's glory is my motivation for how I'm deciding what I'm going to do. Look at what it goes on to say in 1 Corinthians, 10:31, because a lot of times that whether you eat or drink, this verse gets pulled out of context. Okay, so let's put it back into context here. So, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
So, what does it mean to do something to the glory of God? Well, in this case, it means you give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the Church of God. So, when I'm doing something for God's glory, I'm doing something that would not inspire other people to have some kind of offense against what I'm doing. That's interesting. And then it says this, look at 1 Corinthians 10:33 here. It says, “Just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many that they may be” what, everybody? I care more about other people's souls than what I'm eating or drinking tonight. That's the idea here. And the glory of God takes into consideration other people, and you either want to encourage those who are saved, or you want to see them come to know Jesus and be saved. So, the glory of God is not just some spiritual feeling that you have in and of yourself, of God's name being exalted and lifted high. The glory of God here, in the context, is a very real consideration of how can I be not a stumbling block, but build up the other souls around me, either to be an encouragement to my brothers and sisters, or to shine a light of a witness of Jesus to those who still need to be saved? The glory of God means I don't want to offend. I don't want to offend the Jews. I don't want to offend the Gentiles. I don't want to even offend other people at my church. I want to do something that no one could have a problem with, so that they could see God that that's who I'm living for. I'm giving thanks to him. I'm doing it in honor of him.
So, I want to ask you, when you're making real life decisions, how much does the glory of God factor into what you decide to do, and even, how much is this going to offend other people, or how would this come across to other people? Would this perhaps cause them to stumble? Or would this build them up? Are these real-life factors in your decision-making progress? Or are you kind of one of those people who's like, is it sinful? No, then I'm going to go do it. That's not what we're being taught to think here. We're being taught to think here, wow, some people might think this is a good thing to do. Some people might think it's not good to do. What should I think about it so that God will be praised by the other people around me? How Could everyone see that my motivation is I'm doing it for the Lord, because I'm so thankful for him, and I want his name to be praised? I even think that some of us have this wrong thought that I do things for God's glory, like maybe I do my work for God's glory, I raise my kids for God's glory, I go to church, and I participate with the fellow for God's glory. But then we think there are things that we just do because we want to do them, things that we do for free time, things fun things, me-things. Hey, let's think that through. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. Are we still living a part of our lives for ourselves? Is there still a percentage of our time and money that's all about me? This is something we need to think through. It's saying, wow, I’ve got to really consider the things that I'm doing. And my number one question is, not just, is it lawful? No, but actually, is it helpful? Not just, is it okay for me to do it, but will it actually be a benefit to the people around me? Wow.
Go back with me to Romans 14, because verse 9 is really the key to the motivation of why you would want to do things for the Lord. So verse 9, I think, is such an important verse here in Romans 14, because here Paul decides in the middle of his conversation about not judging other people and making wise decisions on what we're going to do, he brings up the gospel of Jesus Christ right here in verse 9. And he makes it very clear, hey, whether you eat the meat or not, whether you celebrate the day or not, whether you take the drink or not, let's just make sure you're doing it for The Lord. You're doing it to give thanks to him.
And let's just take a big picture perspective on this. “If you live today, you live for the Lord, and if you die today, you die for the Lord. And whether we live or whether we die, we no longer belong to ourselves. We are the Lord's.” Can you feel him saying, here to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Hey, the life I used to live, it's no longer my life anymore, but now it's the life of Jesus. Right? You are no longer your own. You've been bought with a price. You belong to God to give him glory. Hey, let's just remind you, everybody, is your life now for Jesus, are you ready to die now for Jesus? Do we really belong to Jesus, after all? 1 Corinthians 10:9, “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.” It's like he reminds us here, hey, remember how Jesus died for you, and it made sense for you to then offer your body as a living sacrifice. Are you trying to now take yourself back off the altar and go do whatever you want? Or is your life really up there? Are you really the Lord's? Remember why you're living for the Lord, why you're ready to die for the Lord, why you would say you belong to the Lord, is Jesus died and lived again. The gospel, the good news of what Jesus did for you. That's why you're giving thanks. That's why you're doing it now for him. Remember, don't get caught up in disagreements with other people, or don't get caught up and you exercising your own freedoms. Remember your core motivation is, I no longer live for myself. I now live for the Lord Jesus Christ. Is that true of me and you? Because Paul, he's saying, that's the person who's not eating the meat and the person who's eating the meat, we've all got this in common, that we're doing it for the Lord.
So, that's the motivation of the Christian life. Let's make sure that's our motivation. But then look what he says here in 1 Corinthians 10:10. He asks another question. Last week, the question was, who were you to pass judgment on the servant of another? This week, the question is, why? Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? See, those are the two responses. Okay, the weak persons over here, being like, well, I don't think it's okay to eat that, or I don't think it's okay to drink that. Ooh, look at that person. They're eating, they're drinking, and they're passing judgment on that person. But the other person's over here being like, I think it's okay to do that. They don't think it's okay. And you look down, you despise them. And it says, why are you doing that with your brother?
Now, did anybody here grow up with brothers or sisters? Did anybody here have siblings? Were you ever blamed for things that they did? Okay, can I get him an amen from anybody on this? If you know my story, I had two brothers. I was the oldest out of the Blakey boys. I had a brother named Billy, and I had a brother named Benny, and I was Bobby, and they dropped the E, and I kept it. That's what happened, right? Man, there were so many times. And I don't know if any other older siblings can relate. And I'm sure you middle siblings and you youngest siblings have different stories to tell, but I want to speak to the older siblings right now, who got busted for something they did. Anybody else take the fall for your little siblings? Does anybody want vindication here tonight? They will have. Older sibling service after this right. And sometimes I would try to correct what one of them was doing, and here I was passing judgment, yes, on my physical little brother, just judgment, I might add, righteous judgment before the Lord was I passing right? And then, of course, when the real authorities show up, right when dad comes in, and here I am playing dad, that doesn't go down very well, right when the real authority showed up. I didn't want to be passing judgment on my brothers, and praise God for my two brothers. I've had the privilege of working with both of them, serving at church together. One of the great joys of my life is serving the Lord Jesus with my two brothers. So, praise the Lord. I didn't become so judgmental upon them. I treated them nicely, and they decided they wanted to be my friends when we all grew up. How great is that? Right?
But so, you get this idea like, hey, I know a little bit better than these other people. Let me go past judgment on them, and what you forget is you're not the real authority. You're not the person really in charge. And then I need everybody to really see what it says here in Romans 14:10. It says, “We will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” Now I want to make this clear. Hopefully, this is already clear to you, and this can be a refreshing reminder, but I guarantee there are people in the room right now to whom this is not clear. And I want you to think this way from tonight for the rest of your lives, how many people are going to appear before the judgment seat of God? Okay, in the context, what kind of people is he talking to here in Romans 14, he's talking to people who are doing things in honor of the Lord. They're for the Lord kind of people. They're giving thanks to God kind of people. So, he's not talking about the ungodly and the unrighteous anymore. He's talking about people who have been declared righteous on their basis of their faith in Jesus, that even we are going to stand before the judgment seat of God. And then he quotes Isaiah 45:23 there in verse 11. And then he says in verse 12. “So then, each of us,” Paul, now the apostle, writing to the saints who are in Rome, “each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Okay, so this is where it gets really confusing, because is it accurate to say that, as Christians, we will not be judged? Is it accurate to say that? See, this is confusing. Some of you said, yes. Some of you said, no. Will we be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment of condemnation? The answer to that is no. Will we be judged at the Bema Seat, where Jesus is giving out rewards? The answer to that is… So will we be judged? Well, it depends on how you want to say it. If you want to talk about the condemnation judgment, where you're going to hell, the answer is no. Perfect love has cast out any fear of judgment. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? We learned that in Romans 8:1, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I have no fear of being punished for what I have done, because Jesus paid it all right. So, we talk about that a lot. Now I know I'm not going to be judged. That's something to celebrate, that's something to praise the Lord for. But in our excitement, in our assurance and the full confidence that we can have in our faith that I am going to be with God forever. I will not be cast out, I will not be separated, I will never pay for the sins I have done. That is good news that we should celebrate, but see sometimes, then we lose clarity that I am going to go before the judgment seat. That's what this is saying.
Now, the judgment seat here is Bema. It’s the Greek word B, E, M, A. So let's get this down for number two here, everybody: “B.E.M.A.” I gave you a little poetry here, a little acrostic: “Before the Lord Every Man Accountable.” That's what the Bema Seat is. Before the Lord, every man accountable. And by man there, I mean mankind, human beings, male and female. What am I? Why am I? Why? Why am I for the Lord and all the decisions that I'm going to make about what I do or what I don't do? Because I'm going to stand before the Lord, and I'm going to give an account for all these decisions that I made. I'm not the ultimate authority in the room. None of us are. We might be the older brother or sister, but why do we judge them when we're going to have to stand before God ourselves? You see, that's the idea, this Bema Seat judgment. And that's the Bema. Like when it says that Jesus went before Pilate in John 19, it's like he went before the Bema Seat. So, this was an idea that they're familiar with that now someone, this judge, is going to determine something about you. And so that's the concept.
Go with me to 2 Corinthians 5. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, and let's look at how this is going to play out in the life specifically of a believer. Okay, so I want to talk to all my brothers and sisters. We're never going to go before the Great White Throne judgment of revelation 19; our name has been written in the Lamb's book of life. If you have been saved by Jesus, all of your sins have been washed away, you will be given white heavenly robes, and we won't go through a book of all that you've done, and you'll have to be judged according to what you have done. No, we don't need that book anymore, because your name got written in this book over here, and you get to come on in and be with Jesus forever.
So, you've got a couple of dashes there under point number two. I just want to make this very clear, in case for anybody here, this is new information for you. We have the first dash is the great white throne judgment: “The Great White Throne Judgment is a condemnation for what we have done.” Revelation chapter 19, at the end of it describes the Great White Throne Judgment, and it makes it very clear that people will be judged. It's not just that they get thrown into hell, or, as we think of the lake of fire, no, it's a specific judgment given to them in that place according to what they have done. The punishment will fit the crime. Okay? So, there is an understanding of what sins have been committed. And if those sins weren't covered by the blood of the lamb sacrifice of Jesus Christ, then those sins will be paid for. That is the judgment that as Christians, we have no fear of. We will never participate in the Bema Seat judgment.
Your other dash here: “The Bema Seat judgment is a reward for what we have done in Christ.” The Bema Seat judgment is an evaluation of what we have done in Christ. So, because we've been saved, all by grace, not based on anything we have done, there's no works that we could do. Romans has made this clear for us, no one will be declared righteous based on works they do, but when I am made new in Christ, everything I do in Christ will echo for eternity. Everything I do, even something as simple as giving somebody a glass of water in the name of Jesus, even something as simple as abstaining from eating meat out of consideration for a brother, even something as simple as visiting someone when they're sick, or giving someone something that they would need. All that I do, when I do it for the Lord, when I do it because of what Jesus has done for me, I will receive a reward for that. And Jesus, he talked about rewarding his people all the time. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Enter into the joy of your master, come and receive your reward. This person's got ten cities. This person's got five cities. Jesus, he's ready to hand up. And he said to his disciples, whatever you leave in this life, oh, you're going to get it. Don't worry, both in this age and in the age to come, it will be worth it.
And so, there's a an evaluation; there's a reward that is given. And so, I’ve got to remember that the reason I'm doing what I'm doing today is I know before the Lord I will stand on that day and I want to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Now if you look with me at 2 Corinthians 5, it describes this idea of looking towards death and what's going to happen after death. It describes it for the Christian person. So, let's start in verse 1 and follow with me. Now in 2 Corinthians 5, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” So, it's using this idea of a tent. I heard one of my bros here at the church is camping in the snow tonight, so I'm going to pray a prayer for him. Okay, for some of us this would be a great thing that some of us stay home from camping for the Lord, and some of us enjoy the creation for the Lord. Right? And whatever you're doing, do it for the Lord Jesus. Right? Camp in the snow, bro, for the Lord tonight. Right? So, the tent here is used as like this body, but then we've got something in the house. Here a building from God, a house not made with hands. “For in this tent, we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on, we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan in our bodies being burdened, not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” What a beautiful description. If you're a believer and you die, you did not die, you got swallowed up by life. What a powerful thought. That's the truth.
And then it says this in 2 Corinthians 5:5-7, “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to what please him.” Do you see the similarities? If we live, let's do it for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Why? Because we are the Lord's that's what he's saying here. If you're alive, live for the Lord. And if you're going to die, die for the Lord. Do it for him. Why? What is the motivation to do it for the Lord? Verse 10, “For we must all appear,” all the people who are going to heaven. “We must all appear before this Bema, before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Okay, so you are going to be there. You are going to stand before the Lord, every man before the Lord, every man accountable. Bema, it's something that's coming in your future, even as my brother or sister. Now, the thing that really bothers me, the thing that really keeps me up at night, is who in this room is going to experience the great white throne judgment, who in this room is still walking in your sins, and tonight's the night in the parking lot that you need to repent, like we heard already, like don't even leave here tonight if you're going to get judged for what you have done in your sins, you need to turn to the Lord. You need to repent. But those of us who have been saved, that burden of knowing we would be judged for our sins has been lifted, but the accountability that we're going to stand before God is still something we're supposed to be thinking about. I'm living for the Lord. I'm ready to die for the Lord. Why? Because I'm going to stand before the Lord. I do things for the Lord today, because on that day, I will be before him, and I care about what Jesus thinks about my life. I want to do things that please Jesus, and here's why, let's keep reading now in 2 Corinthians 5, “therefore knowing the fear of the Lord” and the fear of the Lord is “that we're all going to be judged according to what we have done, whether good or evil.”
So, that's where the fear of the Lord begins. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And so, when I know that judgment is coming, I begin to fear the Lord. And that leads me to persuade others. Look at what he says in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” See, 2 Corinthians 5:15, and 14 is the same as Romans 14:9. It's like, hey, and remember why we're doing this for the Lord. Remember even why we're not afraid when we stand before the Lord, because didn't Jesus die for you, and didn't Jesus then live after he died for you and promised you eternal life? And isn't that what is compelling you? Isn't that what has shaken you up. Isn't that what has stirred you up from the inside out, that because Jesus was willing to die for you, and then because he rose from the dead, you've now made this decision that you're no longer living for yourself anymore, but you're living for the one who died and was raised. Can I get name men from anybody on this?
See, the reason I'm doing things for the Lord, and the reason I'm going to be ready to stand before the Lord is I know what the Lord did for me. See, it's amazing to me how easy it is for people like us to forget our theme song, to forget our whole motivation, to forget why we are who we are. The thing that should shape my life every single day Is Jesus really did die for me. That is the game changer. That is why I'm not still trying to live for myself, because the self I was living for put Jesus on the cross, and the fact that Jesus died, see, it's not okay for me to step over the blood of Jesus and keep sinning. No, the fact that Jesus died and the fact that he rose, that makes a real difference. Here. I'm no longer living for myself. I'm living for Jesus. And if you're really living for Jesus, you have nothing to fear when you stand before him. In fact, if you're really living for Jesus, the day you see Jesus will be the most joyous moment of your life. The day you hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
There are people who serve the Lord at this church. There are people that I have observed here at this church, and I think as far as I can tell, they really do it for the Lord. They really give thanks to the Lord. They're not doing it for me. They're not doing it for other people. They are really serving the Lord Jesus, and when they get rewarded someday, I hope to know them in heaven, because Jesus, he sees what some of you are doing, and he's pleased with it, and he's got a reward that that if you really knew the kind of reward Jesus was giving away, you would be fired up to live for him every single day. You would think it was going to be worth it. You wouldn't think you were missing out. You wouldn't think you were losing anything. You wouldn't even think it was hard. You would think, oh, it's going to be so worth it when I get to see Jesus. See, that's what this is. There's a motivation that makes me want to live for the Lord, so that I could stand before him and not be afraid but know I will be rewarded.
Now go with me to Isaiah 45:23 the verse that got quoted in verse 11 of Romans 14. We're reading Isaiah right now as a church. We've got a long way to go to Isaiah 45. There's a full schedule there in your bulletin of what we're reading every day. When we get to Isaiah 45, which is a few weeks away; we're on 19 and 20 right now. So, I don't even know if you are familiar with the story where Isaiah walks around naked for three years. Did you even know that was in the Bible? You should read the Scripture of the Day on Monday, if you want to learn more about that. What is that about? But eventually we'll get to Isaiah 45 where he talks about you can see in verse 1. “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,” the prophecy in Isaiah about what's going to happen in the future with Cyrus, after the exile, sending the people back to the promised land. This is an amazing prophecy here, and how Cyrus is going to subdue the nations. I mean, all that Cyrus is going to do here, this is beautiful prophecy. But if you keep going through this chapter, the point is that God is over the nations. God can bring one nation to destroy another nation. God even can call the king by the name before he's ever born. And he can say Cyrus is going to do this, because God is the one who has all the power, all the authority. God is the Lord. There's no one like him. That's what the argument of Isaiah 45 is. It just keeps building and building to this epic view of God. And so, it says at the end of the chapter, look at verse 22-25 of Isaiah 45, “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth.” Don't trust in your nation. Don't trust that some other nation will come and and help you or judge you. Don't even put your trust in the most powerful planet, on the person on the planet, like Cyrus. No, ““Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.”
And then, if you go into Isaiah 46, it starts talking about all their idols and how their idols have nothing on God. So maybe you thought this idea that every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess was from Philippians 2:9-11. Well, now we see that Paul also said that same idea in Romans 14. And where Paul got the idea from was actually from what God said in Isaiah 45:23. God wants you to know something. God wants to tell you the end of the story from the beginning. God wants you to know that someday you will be before God. Your knee will be on the ground, and you will be saying, oh my God, not as some kind of curse word, but you will be saying it to him. You will be acknowledging who Jesus really is, as the one with all authority, the one with power over heaven and earth, the one who is really over your life, you will be on your knee giving an account to the Lord. This is your future. This is going to happen for everybody here, and it will either be the worst moment ever, or it will be the most glorious thing. But everybody here will bow up a knee, and everybody will say, “He's God, he's the Lord.” Even those who were against him, they'll be on their knee. They'll be acknowledging, even those of us who are living for him, we will be there. So, man, if that day is coming, we want to live in preparation for that day. I want to be living for the Lord today in a way that I will have no regrets when I stand before the Lord on that day.
And so that's helping us then decide what we should do with our lives. Go with me to 1 Corinthians 3, where it gives a picture of this Bema, Seat of Christ. Even as a Christian, it says there's a possibility that you could suffer loss on this day you stand before the Lord, there's a possibility that you won't receive the reward that you could be receiving. And so, this is something that not only should we have clarity when we ask the question, are Christians going to be judged? Well, the answer to that is both, no, we're not going to be judged according to our sins, but yes, we are going to stand before the judgment seat of God. All of us, every one of us, will give an account before God. And here, in 1 Corinthians 3, it describes this. You can see, pick it up with me. In verse 10, it says, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” If you know the context here, in 1 Corinthians 3, they're having some kind of rivalry between some people are following Paul, some people are following Apollos. Paul is the founding pastor. It's like, he's the guy who planted the church. And it's like Apollos, maybe he comes along and is their preacher later on. And some people are like, I think Paul's better. Other people are like, Apollos is better. And Paul's like, you guys are missing the whole point. If I laid the foundation and somebody else is building on it, then let each one takes care how he builds on it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. So, salvation on the solid rock, on the foundation of Jesus, that's where it all begins. But how are you going to build on the foundation? “Now, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become manifest for the day.” Will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a what, everybody? He will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fires. So, when you come before the Lord Jesus, and you get down on your knee and you acknowledge that he is God, the things that you have built on your faith in Christ, on the foundation of the gospel of Jesus saving you, they will be evaluated by fire, and you will either feel like, wow, there will be this idea of suffering loss, like I wasted my life, all those things I wasn't doing for the Lord, the things I was still doing for myself, the things I was doing that offended other people and I didn't care, or there will be this sense of the things that you have done for the Lord, gold, silver, precious stones, things that will echo for eternity, things that genuinely mattered, things that led to people getting saved, or things that encouraged the brothers and sisters to continue in the faith. Things may be secret, things that you did, that the Lord Jesus saw and they mattered to him, some people will be greatly rewarded, and some people will suffer great loss based on how you build now.
I said earlier, it is such a privilege for me to be able to open up the Word of God with all of you. Man, coming away from last weekend, I'm like, I can't believe God gave us this place. I can't believe we get to do this together. Man, do you remember how much money this place costs. Do you remember when they were racing remote control cars in here? Does anybody remember that? Do you remember how long the construction was for? I remember the day very clearly, where I was sitting with my friend Scott Shew, and the architect told us how much this construction was going to cost. I wanted to die that day. I was like, you’ve got to get bro, we’ve got to bring that down, right? One of the things that cost us a lot of money was we had to put in this fire alarm system. And the things that they were really particular about in our governing authorities in the fire department, is that if there were to be a fire alarm that is triggered, they wanted the fire alarm to overpower our speakers. And so let me just tell you. Let me just give you guys a heads up. If there's ever an emergency in the building, all of a sudden, you won't be able to hear me. If Ryan's up here and they're worshiping, like all of a sudden, that sound will disappear, and you'll hear this really annoying sound that will come on. And then a lady will be like, you're all going to die, but it's fine. Please make your way to the exits. Okay, so I just want to prepare you. We paid thousands of dollars for that, which, in my mind, I'm just like, this is the worst possible idea. Like, if there's a moment of calamity that falls upon our church, wouldn't we want, like somebody they already know, like me, or like Ryan saying, hey everybody, it's okay. If you haven't noticed, there's a whole bunch of doors around here. Just go out of them. Your kids, they'll be out in the courtyard. It'll be all right. Right? But no, that's not what it is. It's like this whole system. And every time that system comes on, I'm like, Lord, please don't let it happen in a service. You know what I mean? But that's why I wanted to tell you, so that when it happens and you hear the lady's voice, just be calm. Just picture it's me. Okay, just go out here. We'll just take it outside. I'll keep preaching if you want. All right, just take it outside. But do you realize when you go through all these costs, and you think about a fire alarm system, and you think about insurance, do you realize that someday this auditorium that God gave us is going to burn down? That someday this place won't even exist. This place won't even matter. And see what I'm hoping is that some of the things that happened to this place will still matter. Some of the things that people did because of the word they heard in this place will still matter, because all of this is going away. And what can we do today for the Lord that will matter on that day before the Lord? That's life, that's our purpose, that's why we're here. We're here for his glory, and it turns out that his glory is also your good. And so, what are we doing right now that will echo for eternity when it's all burned up? What will Jesus say? This mattered, and here's your reward. Let's pray about this.
Father in heaven. We just really need to hear this message tonight that even church people will be judged, not judged for our sins, Father, we thank you so much for your Son, Jesus, saving us from our sins, but we will be judged on whether we really live our Christian lives for you or not. We will suffer loss if we do not, and we will be rewarded for everything we do in the name of Jesus, everything we do to put his people is more important than ourselves. Every privilege that we deprive ourselves of because we don't want to cause anyone else to stumble. So, Father, I pray that everybody here could be on the same page. We might be doing different things, but I pray that we would all be doing it for the same reason, for the same motivation, that we would live for the Lord Jesus, and we would die for the Lord Jesus, and that when we stand before the Lord Jesus, we will get to hear him say, “Well done,” because whether you ate or whether you drank, you did it for the glory of my Father God. Please let the words of Jesus that we're going to hear on that day be a compelling motivation for each one of us today. Let us all be reminded that it's Jesus who died and he lived, and that's why now, whether we die or we live, we do it for him, because we know what Jesus did for us. And so, God, I pray for my brothers and sisters. I won't be there with them on that moment, but I pray for that moment that they're on their knee and they're before Jesus, who is the Lord. I pray for everybody here that they wouldn't be at the Great White Throne Judgment, but that they will be there before the Bema Seat. And I pray that they will be rewarded. I pray that they will have done things, things where they did not put themselves first, things where they were genuinely motivated for you and for other people, things that glorified your holy name. I pray that they will receive a reward. And then when this place has long burned down, it doesn't exist anymore, the things that happened here will echo for all of eternity. Father, let us be your church. Let us be the people who live for your glory and the good of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We pray this in his name, amen. Amen.