The purpose of the bema seat judgment is to determine rewards for what a believer has done after salvation, not to judge sin or decide eternal destiny.
Les Feldick teaches that the bema seat is a seat of rewards, not a judgment for heaven or hell. Salvation is settled the moment a person believes, but every believer will still appear before Christ to give an account of his or her works as a believer. Sins are never brought up at the bema seat because they were all paid for at the cross.
2 Corinthians 5:10 — This is the core passage where Paul says believers must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or bad.
In 2 Corinthians 5:10, Paul writes: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." The verse speaks of believers appearing before Christ's judgment seat, and it attaches that appearance to receiving according to deeds done in the body. In Matthew 19:28, Jesus promises the twelve apostles: "Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." This promise is linked to their service and following of Christ, not to their salvation.
Les Feldick consistently teaches that the bema seat is not about salvation or eternal destiny. He says salvation is settled at the moment of belief, and the bema seat is where Christ examines what a believer has done with his life after salvation to determine reward (Clips 1, 2, 3). He illustrates this from the Olympic games: the bema was a raised podium at the finish line where judges decided who came in first, second, or third (Clip 1). Les also stresses that no believer's sin will be presented at the bema seat. He says all sin was judged on Christ at the cross, so the bema is strictly a review of works as believers (Clip 6). He calls the King James translation "judgment seat" unfortunate because the Greek word is bema, which points to a seat of reward rather than a courtroom for sin (Clips 3, 5, 7).
Les says the bema seat has nothing to do with eternal destiny: "That's settled." It is about determining "how much reward." Believers are not to sit idle but are to work to bring glory to God and for their own personal benefit of reward (Clip 1). He repeats this in multiple lessons: the bema is "strictly for reward" (Clip 4) and is not salvation being put in the balances (Clip 7).
Les emphasizes, "No believer's sin will be presented to him at the Bema seat." The bema is "strictly a review of our works as believers," and there will be "no dealing with our sin" because our sins were paid for at the cross. "All our sin was judged on Christ at the cross," so believers will never give an account for sin, only for what they have done as believers (Clip 6).
Bema is the Greek word translated "judgment seat." It comes from the Olympic games, where judges sat at a raised podium at the finish line to determine first, second, and third place (Clip 1). Les notes that in ancient Corinth the bema was a low raised platform where a decree or judgment would be handed out (Clip 5). He thinks "judgment seat" is an unfortunate term because the bema seat is for reward for believers (Clip 3).
Paul writes that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10). Les points out that Paul is not dealing with salvation but with reward, and "we must all appear" is directed to true believers (Clip 7). He earlier uses Matthew 19:28 to show the apostles' thrones as a reward for service, not salvation—the same concept (Clip 0).
Twelve Thrones as Reward
Les uses Jesus' promise of twelve thrones for the apostles to show that rewards are for faithful service, separate from salvation.
The Olympic Bema Seat
Les explains the bema seat as a raised podium where Olympic judges determined first, second, and third place; it has nothing to do with eternal destiny.
Reward, Not Sin Judgment
Les emphasizes the bema seat will examine what the believer has done with his life for reward, not judge sin, which is under the blood.
Bema Means Judge's Seat
Les clarifies that bema is Greek for the seat of judges and that the judgment seat of Christ is for reward, not heaven or hell.
Strictly for Reward
Les says believers must all appear before the bema seat to receive the things done in the body, whether good or bad, and that this is not salvation but reward.
Corinth's Raised Platform
Les describes the archaeological bema seat in Corinth as a raised platform where a decree was handed out, illustrating the context of 2 Corinthians 5.
No Sin at the Bema
Les stresses that no believer's sin will be presented at the bema seat because all sin was paid for at the cross; it is a review of works only.
We Must All Appear
Les says the judgment seat is an unfortunate translation; the Greek bema means the place where believers receive reward, not salvation being weighed.
2 Corinthians 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Paul directly states that believers will appear before Christ's judgment seat and receive according to deeds done in the body.
Matthew 19:28: And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Les points to this as an example of reward for faithful service, not salvation.
No. Les teaches that salvation is settled the moment a person believes. The bema seat is not about heaven or hell; it is about determining rewards for what a believer has done after salvation.
No. Les says no believer's sin will be presented at the bema seat. All sin was judged on Christ at the cross, so the bema seat is strictly a review of works as believers for reward.
Because the Greek word is bema, which came from the Olympics as the seat of judges who determined winners. Les says the bema seat is for reward, not for a judicial verdict on sin.
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