The Bema

Do you remember any of the rewards you won in elementary school? Even though I'm 26, I still remember the 1st place ribbon I received in 5th grade for the hula hoop contest. I also remember winning "camper of the week" at camp that summer. Kind of sad that I still remember awards like that, isn't it? I think earning a reward can really make an impact on people. To be recognized for hard work is a great feeling. Did you know that God will also hand out rewards when we get to heaven one day?

Have you ever heard of the Bema? Well, if you haven't, I'm sure you're not alone. It's not something generally talked about at great length in our churches. The Bema is the Judgment Seat of Christ. After Christ returns, there are going to be 2 Judgments that will take place, namely the Great White Throne Judgment and the Bema, or the Judgment seat of Christ. The Great White Throne Judgment is for all people who have ever lived on earth. In this judgment, God will separate the sheep from the goats--believers from nonbelievers. All those who have trusted in Christ as their Savior will go to heaven, while all those who did not will go to hell. The Bema, however, is for believers only. At the Bema, God will hand out awards to believers for their service on earth.

Tony Evans compares the Bema to a school "honors night" program in his book The Best is Yet to Come. On that awards night, the students who worked hard and excelled will be recognized for their year of hard work. Those who did not apply themselves in school and wasted their school year will receive nothing. These "slacker" students won't be punished, they will just experience the loss of reward. At the Bema, those Christians who faithfully followed the Lord on earth will be rewarded for their life of service to them. Those who failed to live for Him will experience loss of reward.

Let's look at some scriptures that talk about the Bema. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says,“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done.” No believer will escape this judgment! 1 Corinthians 4-5 says this, “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” Tired of fake Christians? They'll be exposed in time. At the Bema, the true motives and state of each believer's heart will be revealed. It's not enough just to do good works, because Scripture makes it clear that God cares much more about the heart behind the action. If a good work is done out of an impure motive, then it counts for nothing.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 says, “If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” The works of believers will be burned through fire to test their quality and reveal which ones were done with a pure motive. Those works which were pure and genuine (gold, silver, and precious stones) will survive the fire, and the Christians who performed those works will be rewarded for them. The works that were done with wicked motives or impure intentions (wood, hay, and straw) will be burned up at the Bema. Those believers will experience a loss of reward.

Now I know some of you are thinking, "Aren't we forgiven for our wickedness? Why are we under judgment again in heaven?" That's a great question. I want to emphasize that the Bema is in no way a place where sins are punished. If you are a believer, all of your sins were nailed to the cross of Jesus and were paid in full. God does not hold you responsible for your sins anymore, because they were wiped clean and erased forever. Remember that Romans 8:1 says, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!" The Judgment Seat of Christ is not a time of punishment in any way, but is rather a time of reward.

In Matthew 6:19-20, Jesus says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.” As believers, we shouldn't be pursuing rewards or treasures on this earth, but we should rather be storing up treasures in heaven! But how do we get these treasures? What kinds of things are we rewarded for? I'll cover this in my next post!