What Happens When Christians Appear Before The Judgement Seat Of Christ? 2 Corinthians 5:10 Explained (Video)
For believers, they will not be judged, or recompensed for their bad deeds. Here’s the correct interpretation of 2 Corinthians 5:10. And thanks to Jesus, it’s not scary at all.
[2 Corinthians 5:10] 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, whether good or bad.
Nervous? DON’T BE
Let’s not put one verse alone and build a new doctrine out of it. We need to see the forest through the trees.
He who believes in Him is not judged – John 3:18
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus – Romans 8:1
Sins washed away. So what’s up with this judgment seat?
It’s the same as what we see in Revelation 20
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Now for judgment for believers. Revelation 21
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
Matthew 25 – it’s all about sheep and goats. What are you?
The sheep enter. The Goats get judged.
Matthew 25 (the judgment)
Matthew 25:31-33 But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE ON THE RIGHT? Here’s their judgment.
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them,
‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
So those on the right get a free pass. No Judgement.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE ON THE LEFT? Here’s their judgment.
Matthew 25:41-45 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Now, let’s flip back to 2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for [d]his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
I love the conclusion in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Forgiven. Reconciled. Not judged. Safe. Secure. Relax!
Author: Mike Cynar
Mike Cynar was raised in a church setting where he frequently noticed that many attendees would eventually drift away. The church labeled these individuals as ‘back sliders’ or ‘fake Christians’ just looking for ‘fire insurance’. However, Mike realized the issue was rarely with these individuals but instead with the church’s message itself. The teachings heavily emphasized behavior improvement and one’s flaws, with only a fleeting mention of one’s identity in Christ. It felt as though every sermon was tailored to the church of Corinth, who as we know or committing sins that even unbelievers don’t partake in. This trend was noticeable not just in one denomination, but across Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, and many other churches. Upon understanding the true essence of the gospel – that our righteousness comes from Jesus’ actions, not our own – Mike was inspired to liberate believers from lifeless sermons and reconnect them with the genuine teachings of Jesus. He believes that one can nurture a vibrant and growing bond with Jesus, unhindered by rigid religious practices. And thus, “Jesus Without Religion” was born.
It turns out that it is grace that leads to repentance. And if our heart is to get others to walk in the Spirit and live a godly life, then the best approach is not a beat down sermon, but rather to remind other that it is only when we understand our true identity in Christ that we will live it out. Yes, it’s true, if you’re convinced that God thinks you’re a dirty sinner, you will ultimately continue a lifestyle that mirrors that view, but if you truly believe that even on your worst day, you are called holy, sanctified, justified, and will be presented blameless in the end, well, it turns out this is the secret to living out on the outside what has been worked in to the inside.
2 Comments
Hi Mike
Pentecostal Background , Presbyterian now , and surrounded by CRU brother and sisters. I state that my only hope is Christ. I often cringe that my past thoughts/ actions will be on display at judgement in 2 Corinthians 5:10. And if so what can I do . I weep in shame
If your only hope is in Christ, I see no reason for you to be cringing about what will happen on judgment day. Sure, we, believers, along with unbelievers will all appear before the judgment seat. The verse is exactly, correct.
If you are being compensated for the bad things you’ve done, what would we call those bad things? We’d call them sins.
What did Jesus do for YOUR sins? He died for them.
Did it work?
I find it sad that people fear versus because they are talking and incorrect context.
Examining other versions to see, there is no condemnation for those in Christ. Receive that, we will be presented as blameless. I see that we have been justified. Sanctified. And then we get to this person Corinthians and people have a heart attack for fear that perhaps the other verses or not true. So I think many churches have deeply misunderstood the context of what’s going on in this letter to the Corinthians.
And again, just as I asked in the video, just as I asked in the video, if you were compensated for the bad things you did in the body, well, the only acceptable wage for sin is death. It’s not a smack on the hand, or less jewelry in heaven. So the question I have for you, is, indeed, your sins must be paid for by death. Do you believe that Jesus took that punishment on your behalf? Because if Jesus has already taken the punishment for your sin, why would you worry that there’s more punishment to be doled out on judgment day? What is the cross enough? Does more punishment remain? Do you believe Jesus died and shed his blood so that you could pass eternal death and receive eternal life? These are questions that only you can answer. But I believe the scripture has given you hope that you do not need to fear judgment day.