Romans 14:10-12 - The Judgments of God

Today, Monday December 27 The Judgments of God Romans 14:10-12 “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” From Genesis to Revelations we read about the judgments of God. In Genesis 3:14-19 we have the Garden of Eden judgment that took place when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Adam became a sinner, was separated from God, and was kicked out of Paradise! And also every person born since then has been born a sinner (Romans 5:12 & 19). The next major judgment was the flood judgment in Genesis 6:5-7 and mentioned again in 2 Peter 3:1-6, when God destroyed everyone on earth for their wickedness, except for eight people, Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives. Both the historical and prophetical books of the Old Testament record the judgments of God on Israel, who because of their idolatry were place in captivity by both the Assyrians (1 Kings 17) and the Babylonians (2 Kings 24-25). The Cross of Jesus Christ is a major judgment of God that we should be most thankful for! Our sins were placed on Jesus as He was crucified and died in our place. Jesus took our punishment and the guilt of our sins and made it possible for us to be forgiven!  “For He (God) made Him (Jesus)who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Because of this judgment we will never be judged for our sins before a Holy God. As children of God, we will be chastened and punished for our sins and our disobedience now on earth, which actually is proof that we are His children. “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.” (Hebrews 12:7-8) These are all past and present judgments but the Scriptures also teaches of at least eight future judgments. Of these eight, three stand out the most. The Tribulational judgment, the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgement. The Tribulational judgment includes several aspects and last a period of seven years. The Great White Throne Judgment is at the end of the Millennium reign of Christ. We will discuss the details of these two judgments as we go through the Book of Revelation. For the next several days we will be looking at what is called the Judgment Seat of Christ. “Judgment seat” translates bēma, which, in its simplest definition, describes a place reached by steps, or a platform. In Greek culture bēma referred to the elevated platform on which victorious athletes received their crowns, much like the medal stand in the modern Olympic games. There are three main passages that mention and give us a description about this “judgment” for believers from the church age, Romans 14:8-12; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 and 2 Corinthians 5:9-11. We believe this judgment will take place, after the raptured, in heaven, sometime during the seven year tribulation on the earth. This judgment has nothing to do with our sins but with our works or more specifically our stewardship during our time as a believer on earth. From the above passage in Romans 14, it is clear that “we will all stand before this judgment seat” and there “we will all give account of ourselves to God.”  There will be no exceptions! If you indeed are a genuine believer you will be at this judgment! Are you getting prepared for it? God bless!