Dec 7

2 Corinthians 5:5-10
Memorise 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
“we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ

The judgment of believers is quite different from that of unbelievers. Unbelievers who die without Christ are judged for their sins, but saints who die in Christ will be judged for their service. Saints will be also be judged at the Great White Throne judgement which is also called the Bema or the Judgment Seat of Christ. In New Testament times, the Bema is a judgment where rewards are given. Athletes who have won a race are crowned with a wreath at the Bema. Likewise, every Christian will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive “the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad”. Those who have served the Lord with pure motives to glorify His name, who build with gold, silver, and precious stones, will receive prizes for their good and faithful work. Those who have served the Lord but with impure motives to promote themselves, who serve out of envy and strife desiring fame and power, who build with wood, hay, and stubble will receive no reward, for all their works shall be burnt up in the day of testing. Thus, in heaven, there will be those who have and those who have not. Those who are not rewarded due to poor service will still have their salvation for that cannot be lost—it is God’s work won for them by Christ.

Although at the judgment seat of Christ some will be rewarded and others suffer loss, yet the atmosphere will be a joyful one. It may be likened     to a graduation ceremony. Those who have studied hard will graduate summa cum laude (with highest praise),  or  magna  cum  laude  (with high praise), or cum laude (with praise), and there are those who simply graduate without laude, without praise. Those who graduate without praise will regret that they did not serve the Lord as well as they should, but nonetheless will still rejoice that they are saved.

Do you wish to participate in this heavenly graduation when Christ returns? The only way is to be enrolled in the University of Life whose principal is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. There are no academic prerequisites for this University. To be a student of this University, the only qualification you need is your confession. Only applicants who will humble themselves and confess their sins before the Principal—Jesus Christ Himself—and accept Him as Lord and Saviour may be received as students and eventually graduates of this University.

Thought: No one dies in the University of Life whose Principal is Christ.
Prayer: Lord, I want to be Thy student forever.