What happens to each believer at the judgment seat of Christ?
At the judgment seat of Christ, every believer appears personally before the Lord Jesus and is placed in the spotlight, where their work is made manifest. This judgment concerns rewards, not salvation; salvation is God's gift, while rewards are earned by faithful work, as 1 Corinthians 3 explains.
Les teaches that this is the whole idea of rewards, and it must never be confused with salvation. You do not work one ounce for salvation; that is a gift of God, Paul said. But rewards, yes, we work for them. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, every man's work as a believer shall be made manifest, which Les defines as being put in the spotlight, like putting a slide under a microscope and turning on the bright light underneath it. At the judgment seat of Christ, each believer is put into the spotlight for a personal moment of time in front of the Lord Jesus; every one of us will appear before Him personally. Les uses the analogy that he would rather be a Dallas Cowboy quarterback than sit up in the stands, even if he got his head knocked off once in a while. It will be the same way when the Lord brings us into His Kingdom experience. There will be no sin, so there will be no envy or jealousy, but it will be far more exciting to be involved in all the activity than to sit on the sidelines. In that section of the wall, the six materials are sifted out, and we are building our own section of the wall.
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
More Questions
How will a believer's work be tested at the judgment?
Every believer's work will be tested by fire to reveal what sort it is.