What is the judgment seat of Christ?

Scripture teaches that every soul will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Immediately after the rapture, those who are caught up to meet the Lord will appear before Him so that the good works done in their bodies can be reviewed and rewarded. Second Corinthians 5:10 makes this plain: "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." Revelation 22:12 and Matthew 16:27 confirm that Christ comes with reward in hand to give every man according to his works.

The first place the raptured Church arrives before the Lord is described as a sea of glass mingled with fire, where those who overcame the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name stand with harps of God. This is the fire that tries the believer's works, the souls won, the ministry that edified others, and the lives delivered through obedience. Only labor that has truly borne fruit stands revealed here; work without fruit simply does not appear in this judgment at all.

First Corinthians 3 describes this in the language of building: gold, silver, and precious stones survive the fire and bring reward, while wood, hay, and stubble are burned up. If a believer's work abides, a reward is received; if it is burned, the believer suffers loss of reward yet is still saved, though "as by fire." So the judgment seat of Christ for the saints is not about salvation, which is already secure, but about the manifestation and reward of works done after coming to Christ.

By contrast, those who are not part of this first resurrection but are raised later, in the resurrection of the wicked, will also stand before Christ, but for judgment concerning the evil deeds committed in their bodies. In this way the judgment seat of Christ covers both the rewarding of the righteous for their labor and, at a later resurrection, the reckoning of the wicked for their deeds.