Les Feldick Bible Study

Does the bema seat judgment determine your eternal destiny?

No. The bema seat judgment does not determine eternal destiny; that is settled for the believer the moment they believe. Instead, this judgment seat of Christ determines reward for things done in the body, whether good or bad, not salvation. Believers appear there for reward, not to have salvation weighed.

Les teaches that this judgment is only for believers, not the unsaved. The text says we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so each may receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or bad. The Greek term is bema seat, not a scary judgment; it was a raised podium for judges, like the bema at Corinth, and at the Olympic Games it sat at the finish line to decide first, second, and third. Les explains that nothing in the bema seat judgment involves eternal destiny—that was settled when we believed. It determines how much reward. So believers are not to sit idle but to get busy working for God's glory and personal reward.