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Not long ago a good friend of mine asked if I would address the above question in one of my regular posts.
I have been thinking about it ever since.
More than 200 years ago the same question was asked of John Newton, by one whose “pilgrimage is nearly finished”, standing as he did “on the river’s brink.”[i]
Newton addressed his thoughts on this matter from two passages of Scripture:
“We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ/God… So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” Rom 14:10,12
“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 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.” 2 Cor 5:10-11
Reconciling Scripture
Newton noted that there is an “apparent difficulty of understanding that passage in full harmony with the many texts which seem expressly to assert, that the sins of believers are so forgiven as to be remembered no more.”
In view of this, he asserts:
“Whatever may be the precise meaning of 2 Co. 5:10, we are sure it cannot be designed to weaken what we are taught, in almost every page, of the free, absolute, and unalterable nature of a believer’s justification; the benefit of which, as to the forgiveness of sin, is signified by the phrases of ‘blotting out,’ ‘not remembering,’ ‘casting behind the back,’ and ‘into the depths of the sea.’
He goes on:
“The sins of a believer are so effectually removed, that, even when they are sought for, they cannot be found. For Jesus has borne them away: believers are complete in Him, and clothed in His righteousness. They shall stand before God without spot or wrinkle. Who shall lay anything to their charge?”
“Not remembering” does not mean that an omniscient God can literally forget
“None can suppose that the Lord will, or can, forget the sins of His people, or that they can be ever hidden from His all-comprehending view.”
Nor is it possible that we ourselves will literally forget our sinful past in heaven, for (as Newton observes) the song of the redeemed in heaven “is founded upon a recollection of their sins and their circumstances in this life, Rev. 5:9; and their love, and consequently their happiness, seems inseparably connected with the consciousness of what they were, and what they had done. Luke 7:47.”
The verses above state clearly that “we all” (i.e. in context, “all believers”) “must 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.”
But for believers, this cannot refer to a judgment to condemnation and the loss of salvation, since we are justified fully by the precious blood of Christ.
Rather, it must refer to a judgment by Christ, to reward (or not) believers for how well (or otherwise) we have used the gifts, talents and opportunities we had to serve Him in His kingdom while here upon this earth.
Rewards in Heaven
Paul refers to this in 1 Cor 3:12-15 when he urges: “let each one take heed how he builds… for each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.”
Likewise, in the Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14-30), where each was entrusted with different amounts “according to his own ability”, Jesus taught that “God does expect, and reward, creative use of the opportunities for service which are open to us.” (R.T.France)
Those who did so in the parable, though each in varying degrees, were rewarded far in excess of what they had achieved: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.”
While the one who did nothing proved thereby that his “faith” without works was no faith at all, and was “cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The lesson is similar, though with significant differences, in the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19:11-27). One difference there is that each receives the same amount; each believer is entrusted with the same message of the gospel. This emphasises our responsibility, that each of “those who have heard the gospel must proclaim it.” (Wm.Hendriksen)
Paul applied just that lesson to himself 2 Cor 5:10-11 where, immediately following his words: “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body”, he goes on, “knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”.
In 2 Cor 5 Paul says a lot about “life in the body”
At death we “groan” at the thought that our “earthly house, this tent” ceases to exist: God designed us as corporeal beings, and we are less than whole without our body.
Yet even that intermediate state is to be preferred since, as long as “we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord”. Far better “to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
But still, even better to be “at home in the body” as well as “present with the Lord”; hence our “earnest desire to be clothed” at the resurrection.
It is tempting, therefore, to see life on this earth as just marking time, or even a waste of time, as we wait for the main act.
But we are not to see it that way. Our life on earth is important: what we do, how our character is shaped, all contribute (in some way) to the personality we are in heaven.
While each then will be equally perfect, yet each one will have a distinct story that shapes him or her there.
“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labours, and their works follow them.” (Rev 14:13)
Such labouring for the kingdom is not just in active “works”. Many of God’s saints labour for His glory through passive works, i.e. by suffering patiently, when they cannot be active.
This contributes as much to their character in glory. “We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Rom 5:3-4)
What form will the judgment of believers take?
“There is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luke 12:2-3)
This sounds fearful; but we are not to fear.
Again, Newton: “When we arrive in glory, unbelief and fear will cease forever: our nearness to God, and communion with Him, will be unspeakably beyond what we can now conceive. Therefore the remembrance of our sins will be no abatement of our bliss, but rather the contrary.”
He adds, even in this life: “I think those are the sweetest moments in this life, when we have the clearest sense of our own sins, provided the sense of our acceptance in the Beloved is proportionally clear, and we feel the consolations of His love, notwithstanding all our transgressions.”
Caution required
In all this we acknowledge that “we see in a mirror, dimly.” We are seeking to understand heavenly realities through earthy pictures.
As Newton notes, some of the difficulty here arises from “the necessity of our being at present taught heavenly things, by earthly things… The ideas of the judgment-seat, the great trumpet, of the books being opened, and the pleadings, Mat. 25:37-44, seem to be borrowed from the customs of men, to help our weak conceptions… When we attempt to look into the unseen world, we carry our ideas of time and place, and sensible objects, along with us; and we cannot divest ourselves of them, or provide ourselves with better: yet perhaps they have… little relation to the objects we aim at.”
But will our sins be declared for all others to see as well?
Newton himself did not relish the thought: “With respect to our sins being made known to others, I acknowledge with you, that I could not now bear to have any of my fellow-creatures made acquainted with what passes in my heart for a single day.”
“But,” he observes, “I apprehend it is a part and a proof of my present depravity, that I feel myself disposed to pay so great a regard to the judgment of men, while I am so little affected with what I am in the sight of the pure and holy God.”
But it will not be so in glory:
“I believe that hereafter, when self shall be entirely rooted out, and my will perfectly united to the Divine will, I would feel no reluctance, supposing it for the manifestation of his glorious grace—that men, angels, and devils, should know the very worst of me.”
Though, “whether it will be so or no, I dare not determine.”
What will it be like if others can see me in all the horror of my sin?
For that matter, what if I see others this way, those that I looked up to in this life?
I have often wondered what this would be like in heaven.
I think part of the problem is our own propensity to go easy on the remembrance of our own sins, but to find it hard to “forget” the sins of others, especially those that have hurt us, even after they have repented.
But that is surely part of our fallen natures while ever we are on this earth, and will not be so in heaven.
Yet, even on this earth, the apostle could address those had once been “fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners” and yet see them now only as those who “were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor 6:9-11)
Would that we all had that much grace.
We will, and more, in heaven!
There are those we will meet there whose horrible sins we already know. These include some of the “greatest” saints who have gone before.
When I meet the one whom God Himself owned as “a man after My own heart, who will do my will” (Acts 13:22) will I be focused on how he: lied to the high priest, fled in unbelief to Gath, fought for the Philistines, corrupted worship in bringing up the ark, committed adultery, was guilty of mass murder to cover up, failed as a father to discipline his sons, trusted in numbers rather than trusting God etc. etc.?
No, not at all! Rather I will sing with him: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
And he will not be focused on the horrible litany of my sins either, but will rejoice with me, that “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1 Tim 1:15)
Let each one take heed how he builds
The Bible teaches that our works shall be rewarded in heaven.
But even this is a matter of grace. “Having thus received us in His favour, He graciously accepts our works also, and it is upon this undeserved acceptance that the reward depends.” (John Calvin)
“The punishment which men are to receive will be what they have earned, and therefore what is in justice due to them. The reward of the righteous, although a matter of grace and not of justice, yet being, agreeably to the tenor of the covenant of grace, according to their works, it is of the nature of a reward.” (Charles Hodge)
How can the Christian prepare for that Day?
From this passage in 2 Cor ch 5 Warren Wiersbe suggests the following:
1) Maintain a clear conscience (2 Cor. 5:11). Paul knew that his conscience was clear (see 2 Cor. 1:12). The truth about each one of us shall be revealed and Jesus Christ will commend us for those things that have pleased Him.
2) Take care not to depend on the praise of men (2 Cor. 5:12). If we live only for the praise of men, we will not win the praise of God at the Judgment Seat of Christ. To live for man’s praise is to exalt reputation over character, and it is character that will count when we see Christ.
3) Ignore the criticisms of men (2 Cor. 5:13). Paul’s enemies said that he was crazy. “If I am mad,” Paul was saying, “it is for your good and the glory of God—so that makes it worthwhile!”
SUMMARY
Near the end of his earthly pilgrimage, Paul was able to say: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:7)
Could I say that? Could you?
Let us “make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.” (2 Cor 5:9)
“How faithfully have we used our time? How well have we pursued opportunities? How single-minded have we been in our Christian service? The teaching about the judgment seat before which all must come, believers included, reminds us that we have been saved, not for a life of aimlessness or indifference, but for a life of serving the Lord.” (Paul Barnett)
Will I, will you, hear the Lord say: “Well done, good and faithful servant” ?
I really don’t know what I will hear.
Mostly I feel like Mephibosheth when facing the loss of his reward (in his case, it would seem, unjustly) who said, “I don’t care, as long as my lord the king is here and I can eat at his table.” (2 Sam 19:30, with 9:11-13)
I do care. We should not ignore the Bible’s teaching on rewards.
But in the end, whatever my reward or not, what I look forward to most is to sit at the King’s table and feast with Him.
“When we look at our own works, we may well be ashamed of their imperfections. But when we look at the finished work of Christ, we may feel peace.” (J. C. Ryle)
[i] The Letters of John Newton “Will the Sins of Believers be Publicly Declared at the Great Day?”