Will I Be Judged?

Will I Be Judged?

The next misconception I want to address deals with judgement. If you have asked yourself, “Will I be judged?”, the answer depends on your status at the time of death. By status, I mean your positioning in Christ. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “But Alex, the Bible says it is appointed unto man to die once and then the judgement”. And you are right. But we must look at that passage in context.

Hebrews 9:27-28; 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Verse 28 goes on to tell us that Christ was already offered the one time to bear the sins of many and if it specifies “for many”, then it is not for all. So, already we know that this word of impending judgement is not for everybody. The passage states that for those that eagerly wait for Him, He will come “apart from sin, for salvation”. What does that mean? It means that for believers, Jesus is not returning to judge sin.

The Greek word for judgement in verse 27 is krisis. It means “judgement, accusation, condemnation, or damnation”. You hear me say this all the time. The Bible cannot contradict the Bible. It must align with every other word, sentence, phrase, dot and tittle in the rest of the Bible. If there is just one contradiction, then nothing in the Bible can be trusted. That being said, let’s look at another passage.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:1 tells us that there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ. Now let’s look at the Greek word for condemnation. It is katakrima and it means “damnatory sentence”. Those that have made Jesus their Lord and Savior will never be condemned. They have passed from death to life. Look at what is written in the fifth chapter of John.

John 5:24-30; 24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 "and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 "and come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

The word “judgement” in verse 24 above in Greek is krisis. It is the exact word used in Hebrews 9:27. John was quoting Jesus in this passage and Jesus emphatically states that those who believe in Him shall not come into judgement. In John 5:27 above, the same word “krisis” is used. And in John 5:29, the word used for condemnation is also “krisis”. And we see the word “judgement” again in verse 30. Would you like to venture a guess as to what the original Greek word is in verse 30? You guessed it. It is also “krisis”. So, you see, Hebrews 9 is clearly making a distinction between two different groups of people and only the unbelievers will face krisis or judgement.

I know what you are about to ask. But Alex, what about the Judgement seat of Christ? Well, let’s look at that passage together.

2 Corinthians 5:1-11; 1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

I gave you a lot of verses there because I wanted you to see what Paul was talking about when he stated that we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ. Who is Paul talking to? Just count how many times Paul uses the word “we” in these few verses and you’ll have your answer. I believe he uses the word “we” fifteen times. Paul is speaking directly to believers only. And this is confirmed in verse 11 where Paul writes “…we persuade men…”. Paul is there referring to nonbelievers. So, when we see in verse 10, “…we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…”, Paul is stating that only believers will appear before the Judgement seat of Christ. Now let’s look at the Greek word for “judgement” in verse 10. It is bēma. That is not the same word for judgement that we explored in the earlier verses that related to punishment and condemnation. Bēma means throne, or literally, sets one’s foot upon; platform. This word was used to describe the place where the victors of the games would stand to receive their prizes. And that is exactly what it means for us. Verse 10 tells us that the Judgement seat of Christ is where all believers will stand to receive our rewards. Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus.

So, when you ask yourself, “Will I ever be judged?”. The answer is dependent on your standing when you die. If you die, or fall asleep, in Christ, then you will never be judged. Jesus was judged for you and the scars in His hands, feet, and side are the evidence. However, if you die without making Jesus your Lord and Savior, you can absolutely expect to be judged.

Revelation 20:4-15; 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. 7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:5-8; 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." 6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

I know I gave you a lot of verses there, but I wanted to make sure you understood the passage in context. You can read that those that were martyred for Christ are not the ones standing before God at the Great White Throne Judgement but are actually sitting on thrones as judges.

I don’t remember where I heard this. I wish I did so I can give credit to the originator of the phrase. I heard it said, “If you are born twice, you will only face death once. But if you are only born once, you will endure death twice”. That is a great depiction of what all of us will face depending on our status at our first death. What judgement seat will you stand before? Will you stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ to receive your rewards, or will you stand before the Great White Throne Judgement where you will receive the sentence of eternal damnation? You get to decide, but only if you make that decision now.

I hope this helps. Jesus loves you!