July 24, 2024 • 60 mins
What if your eternal destiny hinged on what you believe and how you live your life?
In this eye-opening episode of The Bible Says Podcast, we explore the profound distinctions between two monumental judgments awaiting every soul. Join us as we delve into the pages of Revelation 20, uncovering the grave reality of the Great White Throne Judgment and the fate of those who reject Christ. Understand the crucial role of the Lamb's Book of Life and the transition from hell to the lake of fire.
Next, we examine the Judgment Seat of Christ, a moment of reckoning and reward for believers. Drawing from Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 3, we shed light on the significance of the Greek term "Bema," likening it to an athlete receiving accolades. Discover how one's faithfulness and righteous deeds can lead to eternal rewards and the loss of inheritance without forfeiting salvation. Our conversation delves into the transformative nature of Jesus' actions and their impact on the afterlife, encouraging believers to build their lives on the unshakeable foundation of Christ.
But our journey doesn't stop there. We tackle the ultimate fates of Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet, highlighting their eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Explore themes of eternal rewards and salvation, the symbolism in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 and Revelation 4, and the timing of the Judgment Seat of Christ relative to the rapture and tribulation. By drawing parallels to the parable of the prodigal son, we reflect on spiritual inheritance and the importance of living a life that mirrors one's faith.
Join us for this engaging discussion that not only informs but also challenges and inspires. As always we invite you to be part of the conversation, ask questions, and share your thoughts. Don't miss this chance to deepen your understanding of these critical biblical teachings.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brandon (00:00):
On today's episode of the Bible Says Podcast, we are
going to be looking at the twojudgments coming up for the
believer and for thenon-believer.
Today, we're going to betalking about the great white
throne judgment and thedifference between that and the
judgment seat of Christ.
So let's get into it.
What does the Bible say?
The Bible Says Podcast.
(00:24):
All right, welcome in to theBible Says Podcast.
We welcome everybody here today.
I'm Brandon Matheson, I'm MattHunter, all right, and this is
what?
Episode 10.
Episode 10.
So we are just trucking alongand this is double digits.
(00:45):
This is what it feels like.
Double digits.
It's fun.
Sometimes we come in here and wewill record a single episode.
Sometimes we'll come in hereand try to hammer out two or
three episodes at a time.
We're just trying to stay ontop of theological topics,
questions that you have, and, aswe always do, we thank you guys
(01:07):
for tuning in and we reallywant you to become engaged with
us.
Email us questions,biblesayspodcastcom.
You can comment on the videoson the social media outlets.
We read all that and lovefeedback.
We would love questions thatyou have or maybe topics that
you would like to hear from uson.
(01:28):
Feel free to chime in on allthose things.
And then, of course, as always,biblesayspodcastcom forward,
slash, share, and you can seeall the outlets where we're on
iTunes, spotify, tiktok,everything so you can check out
all that and please help ussubscribe where you can like,
(01:49):
where you can Help us share andget the word out.
This is where we what we'reabout is digging into
theological topics and seeing ifthey stand the biblical test.
What does the Bible say?
We make no bones about the factthat we believe every word of
the Bible and we believe thatthis is our standard of right
(02:12):
and wrong, of what is true,truth and not truth, and so
that's where we this is what wedo.
That's what we do.
So we look at different topicsand yeah, so yeah, it's fun and
it's been a fun.
10 episodes and I'm lookingforward to getting into that.
Hundreds more, hundreds, yeah,hundreds more.
(02:32):
It's going to take us a minute,but we're getting there.
We'll get there.
We love it, love it.
Matt (02:37):
So tonight well actually the last couple episodes we ran
through thoughts on thetribulation all the way up into
eternity, right.
So I think tonight we're goingto pick up kind of dovetail into
that and pick up on thejudgments.
Brandon (02:59):
Right, get a chronological order, if you will
, to the events.
You know, like the rapture, thesecond coming, the timing of
the tribulation, what comesafter the tribulation, the
millennial reign after themillennial reign's, eternity,
and the heavenly city comingdown to a new heaven and a new
earth.
And just, we've dabbled in allof those things over the last
(03:22):
two or three weeks together.
We've dabbled in all of thosethings over the last two or
three weeks together, and sotonight we are going to kind of
dovetail off of some things thatwe've talked about.
I don't know if dovetailpiggyback, what do you say, but
we're going to pick up off someof those things that we talked
about and we're going to dive into a topic of judgment.
(03:45):
You know, you hear people a lotof times in church or I did
growing up you know judgmentday's coming and they'll say you
know judgment day's coming andyou know everybody believes that
.
But what does that mean?
What does that mean, judgmentday?
Well, it turns out that itmeans different things if you're
(04:05):
a believer than it does ifyou're a non-believer.
There is not one big judgmentat the end of time for everybody
.
There is a judgment forbelievers and there's a judgment
for unbelievers, and so theBible has quite a bit to say
about this for unbelievers, andso the Bible has quite a bit to
(04:25):
say about this.
And so, if you are somebodytold me the other day that they
are a note taker on our podcastand they take pages, couple
pages of notes per episode.
So if you're a note taker youcan write this down and you know
, keep track of your train ofthought.
But tonight we're going to talkabout the judgment for
unbelievers, okay, and that iscalled the great white throne
(04:54):
judgment and that's a term.
I don't think those wordsappear in that order, but that's
just what most Bible you know,people who study the Bible refer
to it as I think it'sreferencing where John in
Revelation 20 says I saw a greatwhite throne, and it's
referencing judgment.
So they call it the great whitethrone judgment.
So we just want to be clearabout why we call it that.
(05:14):
And then the judgment we'regoing to talk about the judgment
for the unsaved, great whitethrone judgment.
We're also going to talk aboutthe judgment for the saved.
Okay, and this is technically aterm used in scripture called
the judgment seat of christ.
That phrase is used um.
The greek word there, I believe, is bema be my seat, and it
(05:35):
refer uh yeah, represents like a, an athlete receiving a reward
and things like that.
Uh think like a olympic athlete, uh receiving awards standing
on a podium and things like that.
Matt (05:45):
It was kind of a seat that the judge who judged the finish
line of the race would sit atthe Bema seat and watch the
finish line of a marathon inGreek times Right right.
Brandon (05:59):
So that's the word that's used to describe the
judgment for those who knowChrist Believers.
So what we're going to get intofirst is the judgment for
unbelievers, so those who rejectChrist, those who are not saved
.
It's talked about in Revelation, chapter 20.
So, if you have a Bible and youwant to flip there, matt and I
(06:19):
are going to look at thosescriptures.
And, matt, do you haveRevelation 2011 through uh 15?
I do it.
References, um, references this.
I want to read it and then Iwant to break it down, right, so
let's, yeah to read all the waythrough yeah, let's read it all
the way through.
Matt (06:36):
And I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth andthe heaven fled away and there
was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small andgreat, stand before God and the
books were opened.
And another book was opened,which is the book of life, and
the dead were judged out ofthose things which were written
(06:57):
in the books, according to theirworks, and the sea gave up the
dead which were in it and deathand hell delivered up the dead
which were in it, and death andhell delivered up the dead which
were in them and they werejudged, every man, according to
their works, and death and hellwere cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, andwhosoever was not found written
(07:20):
in the book of life was castinto the lake of fire.
Brandon (07:24):
Okay, all right, so for some pretty intense five verses
in scripture.
So let's set up the the contextof it first.
Um, this is from the book ofrevelation.
It's toward, uh, the end of thebook of revelation and
chronologically, it is at theend of the millennial reign of
christ.
So, so, if you remember ourprevious episodes, we have a
(07:48):
seven-year period calledDaniel's 70th week, or the time
of Jacob's trouble, or thetribulation period.
After those seven years, jesuscomes back and sets up and rules
for 1,000 years.
At the end of that 1,000 yearsoccurs this judgment okay.
Now, one thing that I want topoint out here, right out of the
(08:10):
gate, is because at the end ofthe millennium, that is when
death is done and finallydefeated, the last enemy that is
defeated, the Bible says, isdeath.
Okay.
So at the end of the millennium, everyone who has or will ever
live has made their decision tobelieve in Christ or not.
(08:33):
Okay, so their decision hasbeen made and it is time to sort
it out.
So those who have rejectedChrist at this point are
referred to.
At the end of the millennium, atthis judgment, these five
verses called the Great WhiteThrone Judgment.
So let's look back at versenumber 11, and let's just break
this down.
(08:53):
And I saw a great white throneand him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and theheaven fled away and there was
found no place for them.
So there is a judge sitting onthe great white throne this is
representative of God, sittingon his throne judging the world.
And notice when I say the world, I'm talking about the people
(09:16):
of the world and notice it saysthat from whose face the earth,
earth and the heaven fled away.
So the language here there is afear.
This is not something to scoffat.
This is not a lightheartedevent.
This is something I mean.
Think about a courtroom, okay,somebody on trial for a serious
(09:41):
crime or a murder or something,and they have made their case
and the prosecution's made theircase, and the prosecution's
made their case, and it's timefor the judge to speak.
And the judge walks out in hisblack robe and he sits there.
You're not snickering andcutting up and chuckling.
This is a somber, soberingevent, because he is about to
(10:02):
chime in on what's going tohappen to you.
So that is going to happen toyou.
So that is the attitude of thisevent, yeah, okay.
Then verse number 12 says and Isaw the dead.
Okay, small and great.
This is a judgment for thosewho are dead, now, those of us.
(10:22):
This is, and we're going totalk about this.
This is way different than thejudgment seat of Christ, because
, for the moment you trustChrist, you have eternal life.
You are never dead.
Okay, so you live in life.
I'm coming that you might havelife and might have life more
abundantly.
This is the dead folks, okay,dead in their trespasses and
(10:44):
sins and dead standing beforethe Lord.
Matt (10:47):
Yeah, and if you follow the passage on down, it actually
calls it the second death,absolutely, because they have
been dead in hell as the firstdeath, first death yep.
Brandon (11:00):
Because, well, think about this the worst thing about
not accepting Christ is you arenot joined to Christ, you are
not reconciled to God, you areseparated from God.
Okay, and you must pay for yoursin because you did not let
Jesus pay for your sin.
That is the nature of rejectingChrist.
No, I don't believe that I havesin to pay for or I want to pay
(11:23):
for it myself and work my ownsalvation and reject Christ.
Okay, well, you have to thewages of sin.
The wages of sin is death.
So if you pay for your own sinand don't accept Jesus's
salvation, guess what?
You pay for it and how longdoes it take you to pay it off?
Forever.
It's eternal separation,because you never get it paid
off.
That's why you're undercontinual death.
(11:50):
The wages of sin is death.
So if you pay for your own sinand reject Christ, you'll never
get it paid off.
But Jesus' blood is so powerfulthat he can pay it off and
forgive it in an instant,literally an instant.
So I saw the dead, and I sawthe dead, small and great, stand
before God.
So that tells us that God isthe one on the great white
throne.
Okay, and the books notice this, and the books plural were
(12:11):
opened Okay, watch this.
And another book singular wasopened, which is the book of
life I saw, and the books wereopened, okay.
So there's books open andanother book, so there's
multiple books and one book,okay.
(12:34):
Then it says that the dead werejudged out of those things
which were written in the books.
Okay, according to their works.
Whose works?
Those who are dead and standingbefore God.
Okay.
So here's what I want you to.
I want to frame this picturefor you.
(12:56):
There is, the books were openedand out of the books were
judged the dead based on theirworks.
It says, according to theirworks.
So the books referenced inverse 12 are okay, they are the
deeds that you are judged on.
(13:19):
Okay, now, remember, these areunsaved people.
Now, remember, these areunsaved people.
These are dead, unsaved peoplestanding before a holy God, and
the books are open and they'rejudged out of the things
contained in the books.
So they're standing theregiving account for sinful acts
(13:40):
that have been recorded in books.
Okay.
So I guess what I'm driving homehere is that every sinful act,
every wrong thought, everylustful moment, every bit of
covetousness, every bit ofdisrespect or dishonor to God,
whatever sin it is gossiping,bickering, strife, disobedience
(14:04):
to parents go through any of thecommandments.
Every sin is recorded.
And I want you to think aboutthat.
How many sins do you thinkyou've committed in your life?
Okay, thank God, jesus took allmy sin away, because I would
have books and books and books.
There would be volumes of sinthat I have committed and that
is exactly what we see.
(14:24):
When the dead who have rejectedChrist stand before God, they
are judged out of the books andthere's volume after volume
after volume of sinful acts thatthey are judged on.
Notice this, but there arebooks.
And then another book, which isthe book of life.
And we know from otherscriptures that there is a what?
(14:47):
A Lamb's book of life, okay,and there is a book of life
where, when you trust Christ,okay, your name is written in
that book, the Lamb's book oflife.
So your name is recorded whenyou trust Christ.
All right, now watch this.
Look at verse number 15.
(15:08):
Just on that point it says andwhosoever was not found written
in the book of life was castinto the lake of fire.
Okay, so if your name's not inthe book, you have rejected
Christ.
So here's what we have here Now.
I want to just kind of paintthis picture.
Okay, so you have people whohave rejected Christ.
They have the volumes of theirlife documented, or they have
(15:35):
the sinful acts of their lifedocumented in these volumes,
these books, and they're judgedout of them.
You know, matt, we were talkingjust a second ago about a judge
walking into a courtroom andbeing a somber, sobering moment
of the great white thronejudgment.
But here's, let's think aboutthis.
Okay, this is okay.
(15:56):
This is like a courtroom.
This is the way I picture it.
It's a courtroom and God is thejudge, he's judging.
But when you stand before ajudge, god is fair, god is just,
and we want people, even in oursociety, to have fair judgments
.
We want them to have a lawyer,have representation, have what
(16:17):
we call due process.
Well, god, here in Revelation,chapter 20, gives the lost
person due process.
Okay, chapter 20 gives the lostperson due process, okay.
And the evidence of those booksare presented in a
prosecutorial, prosecutorial waytoward them and they have to
(16:37):
give an account for them.
But they're recorded.
There is a indictment if will,and this is the evidence against
you.
Matt (16:56):
The evidence against you is laid out and the wording
there.
You could also have theevidence of the good that
they've done.
But if you didn't have yourname in that book, the Lamb's
Book of Life Makes all thedifference in the world.
It makes all the difference.
Brandon (17:08):
Well, if you only had one sin.
Matt (17:09):
If you have one sin, you can never make up for it.
It's not a scale, it's not abalance.
Like you know, you ever havethe courtrooms in the country
have a blind lady with a scaleJustice is blind.
Brandon (17:25):
Well, yeah, it doesn't work that way.
Well, it's not a scale system,because for all have sinned and
come short of the glory of god,as it is written, there's none
righteous.
No, not one.
That's what romans tells us.
If we commit one, oneinfraction against the law,
we're guilty of all.
Paul tells okay.
So if you have one sin andeverything else in the book's
(17:46):
good, you're still guilty ofthat one sin, and the wages of
sin is death.
It's a death penalty for onesin or a million sins, whatever
it is, it's still the deathpenalty.
Matt (17:55):
It's still the death penalty.
It takes your life to pay forit.
Brandon (17:59):
That's right.
That's right.
So in your life, yeah, soyou're eternally separated from
God and you endure that seconddeath forever.
Okay.
So I want you to see this.
So they're judged out of thebooks, but they're given a fair
trial, okay.
But then it says they're judgedand the books were opened and
they're judged out of the thingswhich were written in the books
(18:22):
.
And then the book of life isopened and verse 13 says and the
sea gave up the dead which werein it, and death and hell
delivered up the dead which werein them, and they were judged,
every man according to theirworks.
So who is here at the end ofthe millennium?
Who's here?
It's everybody who has everdied.
It's everybody who has everdied, okay.
(18:45):
It's everybody who has rejectedChrist all the way through the
tribulation, through themillennium.
It is all these people.
So death empties out everything.
Hell empties itself.
Okay.
Now let me throw a little tidbitin here, all right, and we'll
talk about this.
This would be a great episodeto talk about that.
What is the difference in hell,okay, and the lake of fire?
(19:10):
Because verse 15 says let'sjust read it and verse 14 says
in death and hell, we're castinto the lake of fire.
So hell is cast into the lakeof fire.
So basically, what that meansis those who were in hell is
cast into the lake of fire.
So basically what that means isthose who were in hell.
Hell empties itself out andthose are judged, they get a
fair trial and then they're castin the lake of fire.
(19:32):
Verse 15 says and whosoever wasnot found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake offire.
There's a difference betweenhell and the lake of fire.
Hell and we can document thisfrom Scripture is in the center
of the earth, of this earth.
Okay, now remember this earthis not going to last forever.
All right, this earth is doneaway with and at the start of
(19:55):
the next chapter says there's anew heaven and a new earth.
So hell empties itself At thegreat white throne judgment.
Hell is empty.
Now remember this and I don'twant to get too off course here.
Jesus emptied the other side,not of hell, but the next door
for lack of a better term tohell was a place called
(20:18):
Abraham's bosom or paradise, andJesus went there during the
three days he was in the graveand led captivity, captive, and
emptied that side of the centerof the earth out, but hell has
still been populated andactually enlarged.
The Bible says up until thispoint of the great white throne
judgment, and everybody isjudged and hell is emptied.
(20:39):
They're judged, death is judgedand all of those who are not
found in the book of life, ifyour name is not found in the
book of life, you're cast intothe lake of fire.
So hell and the lake of fireare two different places.
They're not synonymous, okay.
That's why I don't preach andsay if you reject Christ, you'll
(20:59):
go to hell forever.
You don't go to hell forever.
You'll go to hell now, up untilthe point of the great white
throne judgment.
Then you'll get your trial,then you'll be cast in the lake
of fire if you reject Christ.
Lake of fire and hell are twodifferent things.
Matt (21:14):
Any thoughts on that, which, at this point, you know,
satan, the Antichrist, et cetera, are in the lake of fire.
They've been cast into the lakeof fire already.
Yeah, in the lake of fire,they've been cast into the lake
of fire already At this point.
Brandon (21:25):
Well, the beast and the false prophet have been there
since the end of the tribulationfor a thousand years.
For a thousand years, andrecently, satan, at this point,
has already been cast there.
Yeah Right, notice.
Satan never goes to hell.
No, he goes to the lake of fire, lake of fire, yeah yeah.
Matt (21:47):
And another thing I think in uh, verse 11 it actually
alludes to so it's whose facethe earth and the heaven fled
away from.
It literally alludes to theearth and the heavens being done
away with.
Brandon (21:57):
Right, that's a good point, because the very next
verse, verse 1 of 21, I neverthought about it like that and I
saw a new heaven and a newearth, and so right before that
you have great white throne andthe earth and the heavens
fleeing away.
Yeah, huh, that's.
You made me think I neverthought about that.
That's good.
(22:17):
That's very interesting.
If I would read my Bible, I'dhave picked up on that, right?
Yeah, it's just the next verse,so that's good.
That's good.
So this is we said tonight.
We're going to talk about thetwo judgments one for the lost,
those who reject Christ, andthose who are saved.
This is the lost judgment.
Okay, so when people sayjudgment day's coming, you
(22:39):
better watch it.
You'll give an account.
Judgment day's coming.
They are exactly correct.
But which judgment day are youtalking about?
Yeah, if you're a believer, youhave a different judgment day
than this one.
Okay, all right.
Anything else to add on thegreat white throne judgment
before we shift from the lostthe judgment for the lost people
(22:59):
to those of the saved?
Matt (23:02):
Something to think about a question Okay, research.
To think of the saints.
Something to think about aquestion Okay, research.
Think about Okay.
So in the Greek on this passage, when it says death and hell, I
know where you're going withthis one.
It uses proper names.
Brandon (23:18):
Right.
Matt (23:19):
Okay, which are actually names of Greek gods.
Brandon (23:22):
What are the?
What's the Greek words for?
Matt (23:24):
death, thanatos and Hades.
Okay, can you think of a reasonwhy we would have the proper
name, like I mean, it's likecapitalized in the actual Greek
Right For those two things?
Brandon (23:42):
Right, you and I have talked about this before and I
don't have a great clear answer.
Matt (23:46):
I don't either, and I never went completely down the
rabbit hole.
Brandon (23:50):
But it's, I can say this when it's if that's the
case, then it's not there byaccident.
You know God doesn't make any,you know there's no coincidences
.
Matt (24:03):
So if it's there, it's there on purpose, but you know,
hades is the proper name of aplace, right?
Brandon (24:10):
But death as well.
So yeah, I see what you'resaying.
What else to add to the greatwhite throne judgment?
Matt (24:18):
I don't think we have anything else to add.
Brandon (24:22):
Let us know what you think, chime in Give us
questions.
Does that make else to add?
Let us know what you think,chime, in Give us questions.
Does that make sense to you?
Great white throne judgment atthe end of the millennium.
Okay, you're judged, you'regiven a fair trial.
The deeds of your life arerecorded.
If you reject Christ, you'regoing to get a fair trial, but
you're going to lose and you'regoing to be guilty.
And if your name's not writtenin the Lamb's Book of Life,
you'll end up in the lake offire.
(24:43):
And I know that's not afeel-good message, but the Bible
.
Matt (24:48):
That's what the Bible teaches.
It's not the way everybodywants it to work.
Brandon (24:51):
No, it's not, but that's the way it is.
Why?
Because the Bible says Okay,because that's God's book says
it, and he can't lie.
So that's what it is.
Let's look at the judgment.
As we're talking about the twojudgments tonight, let's shift
to the second one.
What is the judgment seat ofChrist?
First of all, let me go to 2Corinthians.
(25:15):
Okay, chapter number five.
Let me read that.
There's a couple differentchapters or verses that use the
phrase judgment seat of Christ.
So when I go to 2 Corinthians 5, verse number 10, let me just
read this one to you, and thenwe'll go to Romans 14 and 1
(25:37):
Corinthians 3.
But 2 Corinthians 5.10 says Forwe must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, thateveryone may receive the things
done in his body according tothat he hath done, whether it be
good or bad.
Okay, now, here's what I wantyou to understand, okay.
(26:02):
So here's what I want you tounderstand, okay, and I want to
pull up the Greek here on myphone because I want you to walk
with me through this, and Iwant to show you 2 Corinthians 5
that I just read verse 10.
And I want you to see thisright here.
Okay, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10says that we have to all appear
(26:24):
before the judgment seat ofChrist, that we receive rewards
okay, for the things done in ourbody, according to that we have
done, whether it be good or bad.
Okay, so we're going to berewarded based on how we live
our life, okay.
So that's what I want you tounderstand the difference in the
(26:45):
great white throne judgment forthe lost and the judgment seat
of Christ for those who aresaved.
This is 2.
Corinthians is referencingChristians.
It's talking to brothers andsisters in Christ.
Paul is saying look, we mustall we us must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ andwe're going to receive rewards
based on how, what we did withour body.
(27:05):
But he says this whether it begood or bad.
Now I'm reading King JamesVersion.
You know 1611 or revision 1769,whatever you say on that, but
it's King James, old English.
Okay, whether it be good or bad.
If you look up the word goodthere, okay, it is the word in
the Greek agathos, okay, and itmeans of good constitution or
(27:28):
nature, useful, salutary, good,pleasant, agreeable.
Okay.
It means beneficial, okay, allright.
So that's kind of because wethink when we think, well, I'm
going to receive what I did,whether good or bad, because we
think when we think, well, I'mgoing to receive what I did,
whether good or bad, weautomatically think when we see
good or bad that we think sinfulor not sinful.
(27:51):
Okay, listen to me verycarefully.
The judgment seat of Christ isnot a place for you to receive
punishment for your sin.
Listen to me very carefully.
I want to be very clear aboutthis.
When you receive Christ, yoursin past, present, future are
(28:12):
gone.
No sin is ever charged to theaccount of a believer in Christ.
The great white throne judgmentthat we just talked about.
They are giving an account forevery sin they ever committed.
They're judged on it andthey're cast in the lake of fire
.
If you're a Christian here, letme look right into the camera.
You will never be judged foryour sin.
(28:34):
Okay, we sing the song, and Iknow it's just a song, but it's
based on biblical truth.
Jesus paid it all.
All to him I owe.
God is just.
God poured the punishment formy sin, matt's sin, your sin,
everybody's sin out on Jesus atthe cross.
That's why the sky went dark.
(28:54):
That's why the earth quaked.
That's why Jesus cried out myGod, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me, because God turnedhis back on his own son and
poured out the punishment meantfor me and you on him.
Okay, and God will never punishhis son and turn around and
punish you.
And I'll tell you this it'sactually a slap in the face to
(29:18):
Jesus to believe that God isgoing to punish you for what he
punished his son for.
Okay, jesus paid it all.
Hebrews 10 says that he paidonce and for all, so you will
never be punished for your sin.
Romans 5 says, quoting Davidfrom the Old Testament blessed
(29:39):
is the man to whom the Lord willnot impute sin.
The word impute is a creditorylanguage, accounting term.
You do not get charged with sinfrom the moment you're
believing.
So what's Paul talking about in2 Corinthians, chapter number 5
, verse 10, that we receiverewards based on good or bad.
(30:01):
I just read you the definitionagathos.
It means did you do beneficial,worthwhile things with your
life after you came to a savingknowledge of Christ, or did you
do bad?
And if you look up the word badthere, it means and I'll read
it to you it's kakos, and itmeans worthless.
Did you do worthwhile thingswith your life after you knew
(30:23):
Christ or did you do worthlessthings with your life after you
knew Christ, or did you doworthless things with your life?
You're going to be judged onthat.
Okay, that is what the judgmentseat of Christ is about.
So here it is called thejudgment seat of Christ and we
see the purpose for it.
What is it?
Okay, let me just hone in here.
We might go off on a tangenthere.
Okay, I hear all the timebecause I preach, all right, and
(30:48):
if you're new to our podcast,here I preach because the Bible
teaches once saved, always saved.
Okay, and I hear all kinds ofcrap about that and get a lot of
flack from that.
Okay, and I don't even call itonce saved, always saved.
I call it because when youreceive Christ, you are born
again.
You are actually regened,regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
(31:10):
Okay, you are born, a newcreature, okay.
So what we say around here andin my world is once you're born,
you're always born.
You cannot be unborn, okay.
But here's the biggest problemwith those that I've encountered
that believe well, you can loseyour salvation is they'll say
well, that person trusted Christand believed in Christ and then
(31:32):
they kind of backslid and theywent over here and they did this
bad sin where they went outinto the world and they stopped
going to church and stoppedliving for the Lord and now
they're living for their flesh.
So I don't even think they gotsaved.
First of all, we can't judgepeople.
I don't know if Matt's saved hedon't know if I'm saved God
knows the heart but I do know ifyou've ever been born again.
(31:52):
You are still born againbecause once you're born, you
cannot be unborn, okay.
But I'll say this If you are aChristian who goes out and you
live, and if you live like hell,all right, you are not going to
go to heaven and have God sayoh, here's a bunch of rewards
and here's inheritance, here's acrown for this and a crown for
that.
You are going to lose out andyou're going to be judged on how
(32:16):
you lived your life after youcame to that saving knowledge.
Now, at the same time, those ofyou who are living good and
you're looking, hey, god istaking note of it.
That's why Jesus said, hey,when you pray, would you do your
alms and you do your goods?
You don't, don't pray, don't doit so you can be seen, because
your father that sees in secretwill reward you openly.
(32:38):
Okay, so so this is a.
This is a hot-button issueright here.
But if you believe you can loseyour salvation, it's because
you don't understand rewards andinheritance in God's eyes.
Once you're born, you're alwaysborn, but not everybody's
eternity is rewarded the same.
Okay, matt may receive tonsmore rewards than I because he
(33:01):
may be way more faithful than Iam and God's taking notice and
the judge is going to issue therewards.
Matt (33:09):
This gets me fired up when we talk about stuff like this
it sounds kind of nuts, but it'swhat's your retirement plan
Exactly?
Brandon (33:20):
You save money now and put it in the stock market for
retirement.
For that 20 years you're goingto live in retirement and you
plan for it.
Jesus said lay not up foryourself treasures on earth.
Lay them up in heaven, wheremoth and rust doth grow.
Lay them up in heaven, whereneither moth nor rust doth grow
so literally.
Matt (33:37):
Your retirement plan should be pouring into God's
work, pouring into God's kingdom, pouring into God's kingdom,
doing what God wants you to dowith your life.
Brandon (33:48):
That's right, that's right.
Well, let's look at a coupleother scriptures.
So do you have Romans, chapter14?
Matt (33:57):
Who art thou that judgest another man's servant To his own
master?
He standeth or falleth to hisown master.
He standeth or falleth.
Yea, he shall be holden up, forGod is able to make him stand.
Okay let's keep going.
One man esteemeth one day aboveanother, another esteemeth
(34:18):
every day alike.
Let every man be fullypersuaded in his own mind he
that regardeth the day regardethit unto the Lord, and he that
regardeth not the day to theLord, he doth not regard it.
He that eateth, eateth to theLord, for he giveth God thanks,
and he that eateth not to theLord eateth not and giveth God
(34:40):
thanks, for none of us livethunto himself and no man dieth to
himself.
For whether we live, we liveunto the Lord, and whether we
die, we die unto the Lord.
Whether we live, therefore, ordie, we are the Lord's, for to
this end, christ both died androse and revived that he might
(35:02):
be Lord both of the dead and ofthe living.
But why dost thou judge thybrother or why dost thou set at
naught thy brother?
For we shall all stand beforethe judgment seat of Christ.
For it is written as I live,saith the Lord, every knee shall
(35:22):
bow to me and every tongueshall confess to God.
So then, every one of us shallgive an account of himself to
God.
Brandon (35:30):
Okay.
So that's kind of a longseveral verses there.
But what's it talking about?
It is talking about when youregard a day, you regard it to
the Lord.
Okay.
When you eat, you eat to theLord.
When you give thanks, you givethanks to the Lord.
When you don't give thanks,you're not giving it to the Lord
.
So he's drawing comparison oneverything you do in life as a
(35:51):
Christian, as a believer here inRomans You're doing it to the
Lord, you're doing it to theLord.
And he's making this point overand over.
And he says for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and
whether we die, we die unto theLord.
Whether we live, therefore, ordie, we are the Lord's, for to
this end, christ both died androse and revived that he might
be the Lord.
(36:12):
Be Lord both of the dead andliving.
Now watch what he says here.
Okay, but why dost thou judgethy brother, or why dost thou
set it not thy brother?
For we shall all stand beforethe judgment seat of Christ.
Okay, for it is written as Ilive, saith the Lord, every knee
shall bow to me and everytongue shall confess to the Lord
.
So then every one of us shallgive an account of himself to
God.
So it's talking about that.
(36:32):
The life that you live as abeliever, everything is supposed
to be focused on the Lord,because we have to stand before
the judgment seat of Christ,okay, and give an account.
Every knee will bow to him,okay.
So, and then I want to flip to1 Corinthians, chapter 3, and
this is probably the clearest Ifyou want to know about rewards
(36:54):
and inheritance, and can you, asa Christian, lose your
salvation through sinfulactivity?
This is probably the bestchapter in the Bible, in my
estimation, to answer that thatno, you cannot lose your
salvation due to any sin thatyou commit.
You can lose rewards, you canlose inheritance, you cannot
lose salvation.
(37:15):
1 Corinthians 3, it says inverse 9, it says For we are
laborers together with God.
Ye are God's husbandry, ye areGod's husbandry, ye are God's
building.
According to the grace of Godwhich is given unto me as a wise
master builder, I have laid thefoundation and another buildeth
thereon.
But let every man take heed howhe buildeth thereupon, for
(37:37):
other foundation can no man lay,and that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ.
So Paul is saying look, you area wise master builder.
The foundation of your life isJesus, you've got a foundation.
Anybody that's ever seen a houseget built knows that the
foundation has to be good or thehouse will collapse.
There's a parable in the Bibleabout that.
(37:59):
When you build a house on therock or the sand the rock or the
sand the rains come down andthe floods came up as we used to
sing in Sunday school, and thehouse on the rock either stood
and on the sand it fell.
So you are building a house andif you've been born again, you
have a foundation, and thefoundation can only be one thing
(38:22):
, and verse 11 tells us it'sJesus Christ.
So Jesus is the foundation.
So some of you need to hearthat too.
When being saved and gettingsaved is not the sole goal of
you don't get saved and you'redone for life.
You don't get saved and say, ohwell, I'm good, I don't have to
(38:42):
do anything else, I got a getout of hell free card.
No, you're supposed to liveyour life now.
You're building a house, so youhave a foundation which is
Jesus Christ.
Okay, you're building on thatfoundation, okay.
Then he says in verse 12, now,if any man build upon this
foundation which is Jesus.
And then he says this and someof you will recognize this first
(39:04):
gold, silver, precious stones,wood, hay, stubble.
He says so you're building, andhere's the building material
you're building with.
You're building with gold orsilver or precious stones those
sound good.
Or you're building with wood,hay or stubble Hay.
You're going to build with hayLike walls.
You know you got stacks of haythat doesn't sound very
(39:25):
fireproof or anything like that.
Right?
So you're building on thefoundation of Jesus.
Then verse 13 says every man'swork not his sin, but his work
shall be made manifest ordeclared For the day shall
declare it because it shall berevealed by fire, and the fire
(39:49):
shall try every man's work, ofwhat sort it is.
Remember what Paul says in 2Corinthians was it good or bad?
What did good or bad mean?
Was it worthless or worthwhile?
Did you do beneficial thingsfor the kingdom of God or did
you do nothing for the kingdomof God?
Did you do worthwhile things orworthless things?
(40:10):
That is what, good and bad,those words mean.
Okay, so they'll try everyman's work, of what sort it is.
Now watch what happens here.
I want you guys to follow alongwith this and don't miss this.
Verse 14 says what happens hereI want you guys to follow along
with this and don't miss this.
Verse 14 says if any man's workabide, that means survive,
survive.
What the test by fire.
(40:30):
So you got a foundation and youbuild on top of the foundation.
You've either used wood, hay orstubble, or you've used gold,
silver or precious stones.
Now, when wood, hay and stubbleis burned, it's going to burn
up.
Gold, silver and precious stoneis going to be refined, and
it's still going to be there,okay.
So if you look at verse 14, ifany man's work abide or is still
(40:54):
there, okay, which he hathbuilt thereupon, he shall
receive a reward.
Okay.
But watch the next verse If anyman's work shall be burned or
burned up, he shall suffer loss,okay.
(41:15):
So what does it say?
It says you build, you are thebuilder, and you're building on
the foundation of Jesus.
If you don't have thefoundation of Jesus, you don't
even get a house.
But you're building.
And what's the buildingmaterial?
It is your works after you cameto Christ.
So did you do worthwhile thingsor worthless things?
(41:36):
All right, did you lead peopleto Christ?
Did you lead people away fromChrist?
Did you live for God or did youlive for self?
Lead people away from Christ.
Did you live for God or did youlive for self Worth, while
worth less?
Now, okay, and it's tested byfire, and if your work survives,
you receive a reward.
If your work is burned up, yousuffer loss.
(41:59):
Now, watch this, because someof you are going to stand on
your head when I read this toyou.
The person who their workabides, they receive a reward.
Verse 14.
Verse 15 says if any man's workshall be burned, he shall
suffer loss.
So if you did completelyworthless things and your whole,
(42:21):
everything you'd built on thefoundation of Christ, is burned
up in an instant, watch what itsays next.
It says he shall suffer loss,but he himself shall be saved,
yet so, as by fire.
Okay, guess what?
He's still saved.
(42:41):
He still gets to go to heaven,he still lives forever, he still
knows god.
But what did he lose?
He lost everything else.
He lost his inheritance.
He lost.
Yes, he gets to go to heaven,but he lost his reward.
He lost his inheritance.
He could have gotten so muchmore.
(43:02):
God would have given him somuch more.
He got nothing from God.
Why?
Because he lived a worthlesslife, okay, and then it goes
into know you not that you'rethe temple of God and that the
spirit of God dwelleth in you.
So it draws in that, hey, youdon't belong to yourself.
Live for God, and if you livefor God, you'll receive a reward
(43:24):
.
If you live worthlessly, you'regoing to suffer loss.
You're still going to be saved,but you're going to be grieving
on that day because of yourmissed opportunity and you blew
your life and you wasted it all.
Matt (43:37):
So everybody's heaven is not going to be the same.
Brandon (43:40):
Everybody's eternity and everybody's heaven.
If you want to say it that wayis not going to be the same
Everybody's eternity andeverybody's heaven.
If you want to say it that wayis not going to be the same.
Okay.
Okay, it's like well, I made itto heaven, so I'm good.
Heaven is different for somepeople than other people.
Yeah, and, by the way, hell andthe lake of fire is different
for some people.
(44:01):
Jesus said don't do that,you'll receive the greater
damnation God is fair.
Okay, I'll just chime in on thisin relation to hell.
People say you know well, whatabout the little, nice little
lady that was good, all her life, went to church but she never
trusted Christ.
She went and she thought herworks were going to save her and
(44:23):
she dies and goes to hell.
Okay, I don't think her hell,based on scripture, is going to
be the same as Adolf Hitler's.
No, you see what I'm saying,okay, but those of you who live
for God faithfully and youinvest your whole life and you
walk faithfully and you try toinfluence people and lead people
to Christ and you are afaithful servant of Christ and
(44:44):
you raise your family and youwitness and you pray and you do
everything and you minister andyou are going to receive a
reward.
Those of you who you know youtrust in Christ too and you're
saved, just like I am, just likeMatt is.
But you're flying by the seatof your pants through life and
you don't.
You never read your Bible, younever walk with God, you never
(45:05):
share the gospel, you live avery self-centered life and
you're basically worthlesslyexisting.
Through life, you will lose outon a lot of what you could have
had in heaven, matt said alittle while ago it's a
retirement plan.
My old preacher growing up saidsome of y'all are going to get
(45:25):
to heaven and you're going tolive in a cardboard box in a
ghetto.
Matt (45:28):
That's what I was wanting to ask.
Are they going to be bums inheaven, right?
I mean, that's almost what thescripture reads like.
Brandon (45:38):
Yep.
There in the Greek is as a.
When it comes to the words likethey will suffer loss, it says
in verse number 15.
If your works are burned up,you'll suffer loss.
The idea of a refugee fleeingin the middle of the night.
We've all seen countries whoyou know a cruel dictator, you
(46:00):
know communist dictatorshipcomes in or whatever, and they
suppress religious liberty orthey take over and they start
killing people and people run.
A refugee crisis, like we hadin the Middle East a few years
ago, and people run and so youhave to run in the middle of the
night.
If I had to leave my home inthe middle of the night because
I was afraid people were goingto come in and kill me or burn
my house down, I'm going to runand I'm not going to take
(46:22):
nothing with me.
I might have a pair of shoes onand grab my wife.
Matt (46:28):
You might grab a backpack.
You don't have anything to showfor it.
Brandon (46:30):
You don't have a bed, you don't have your clothes, you
don't have your toothbrush, youdon't have your groceries, all
your appliances, your household,all that's gone.
The idea here is that you havefled the middle of the night and
you show up in another countrywith the clothes on your back.
Yeah, that's how some of youare going to show up in heaven
and you're not gonna haveanything to show for the life
(46:52):
you lived here yeah, and to makeit worse, you're gonna smell
funny right, you'll smell likesmoke yet so as by fire?
yes, so as through the fire.
So you're as one coming out ofthe fire.
Basically, you made it by thehair of your chinny-chin-chin to
heaven, but you lost yourreward and you lost your
inheritance.
You have suffered loss andyou'll have nothing to show for
(47:13):
it.
I want to look at 2 Timothyreal quick and we'll show you a
couple more verses on this topicthat drive home this point.
Okay, we're starting with verse6.
Matt (47:27):
Yep, okay, so 2 Timothy 4, 6 through 8.
Okay, for I am now ready to beoffered, and the time of my
departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, Ihave finished my course, I have
kept the faith.
Henceforth, there is laid upfor me a crown of righteousness
which the Lord, the righteousjudge, shall give me at that day
(47:48):
, and not to me only, but untoall them also that love his
appearing.
Brandon (47:55):
Okay.
So this is the famous words ofPaul I fought a good fight, I
finished my course, kept thefaith and this is the end.
I'm ready to be offered, hesaid.
And then he said there isbecause, I think he says
henceforth, there is laid up forme a crown of righteousness.
So what is he saying?
He's saying I have fought thegood fight, I finished what God
(48:18):
gave me to start and I have anexpectation of reward, a crown.
The Bible talks about Severalplaces in the New Testament
talks about receiving a crown.
When we get to Revelation,chapter 4, and in speaking about
eschatology and future things,I believe personally that
(48:39):
Revelation, chapter 4, john seesthe scene playing out right
before Jesus begins to break theseals and the start of the
seven-year tribulation thatstarts in chapter number 6.
This is that scene, that littleparenthetical piece of time
right before that moment, and Ibelieve that this occurs and the
(49:03):
church is taken from the earthat this point and I believe
they're in heaven to witnessthis event and I believe that
they're referenced and talkedabout as the elders and
represented by the four and 20elders, verse number eight,
revelation chapter four, versefour, and it says that in
roundabout, the throne were fourand 20 seats, and upon the
(49:24):
seats I saw four and 20 elderssitting, clothed in white
raiment, it says, and they hadon their heads crowns of gold.
Now, we know from Revelation 19, when you see people clothed in
white raiment, it isreferencing the righteousness
that God has given them and it'scalled the righteousness of the
saints.
Okay, so this, whoever theelders are, they are human
(49:48):
beings who have been saved.
I believe this isrepresentative of the church and
they are clothed in white, agift from God when they place
their faith in him.
They're clothed in white andthe Bible says in verse four and
they had on their heads crownsof gold.
Okay, so at this point, Ibelieve the rapture has happened
.
And then the scene in heaven isthe church, if you will,
(50:13):
represented there with theirrighteousness on, okay, given by
God, clothed in white but thenwearing crowns.
So I believe, at this pointRevelation, chapter 4, the
rapture has happened and Ibelieve, personally, at the
beginning of or right after therapture is the judgment seat of
Christ in heaven, where we arerewarded and we're given crowns
(50:35):
and we are given authority andrulership coming up in the next
little while, as it plays out inRevelation, but I believe that
those crowns are given at thatpoint.
So we see crowns referencedthere.
Then in verse number if we skipdown, I'll show you one more
verse here, verse 10,.
The four and 20 elders falldown before him that sat on the
(50:56):
throne and worship him thatliveth forever and ever and cast
their crowns before the throne,saying Thou art worthy, o Lord,
to receive glory and honor andall power, for Thou hast created
all things and for Thy pleasurethey are and were created.
So we see here that whoeverthese elders are, they cast
their crowns to the Lord.
Okay, and that's where CastingCrowns gets its name the musical
(51:19):
group and just greatBible-based name there.
Okay, I believe this isrepresentative of the church.
Who's the church?
That's us who have been savedsince the resurrection of Jesus
Christ and all the way up untilthe rapture of the church.
The rapture of the churchhappens.
The judgment seat, I believe,happens.
We're rewarded, we have thecrowns and we cast those crowns
(51:39):
back to the Father, but wereceive our inheritance and our
rewards.
Okay, at this point I believe.
So.
If you chronologically wanted meto pin down a time, when is the
judgment seat of Christ?
I think it occurs right afterthe rapture and right before the
seven-year tribulation starts.
Because I believe theseven-year tribulation in heaven
(52:03):
, we are spending it with theone that we're married to now,
which is Christ, I believe it is.
If you study the Jewish weddingand things like that, I believe
in heaven.
Those seven years are mirroredby the seven days that the bride
spends together.
The first seven days,consummation of the marriage,
all that kind of stuff, whilethe tribulation's going on on
(52:25):
earth.
But I want to show you one morething, and we're going to leave
it here tonight.
I want to show you just realquick and I preached on this in
our church not too long ago Luke15.
Luke 15 talks about the parableof the prodigal son.
Okay, and I don't want to takea long time to tell the story,
but there was a father who hadtwo sons and the younger son
(52:49):
said dad, I want my inheritance.
And so he received hisinheritance from his dad.
And then, not too many dayslater, it says that he went out
and he left his dad and he wentinto a far country and there,
when he got in that far country,he wasted every bit of the
inheritance and the monetaryvalue that his dad had given him
.
He blew it all.
(53:10):
Okay, and he blew it on.
The scripture says on harlots,on uh, riotous living, uh and
all this kind of stuff.
So a very, very debaucherous uhlifestyle.
He just went and he blew it.
Well, he ran out of money.
And then, the same time he ranout of money, a famine hit, and
(53:31):
so he has nothing to eat.
He has nothing to provide forhimself, no money left, and it's
a famine.
And so he hires on with a guywho is raising pigs and he hires
on and becomes a pig farmer.
On with a guy who is raisingpigs and he hires on and becomes
a pig farmer and he goes and helives out there with those pigs
and he's so hungry that he'slooking at the pig's food.
(53:51):
He's like man, that looks good,I should eat that.
And he comes to himself.
The Bible says Okay, so rememberthat this guy's a son, he's not
from here.
I mean, he showed up with a lotof money and he's wasted it all
.
And now he's here and he'ssaying man, I wish I could go
back home.
He said I'm thinking about home, and back home my dad has a lot
(54:13):
of people that work for him andthey all have, you know, warm
beds and plenty to eat, and hereI am sitting out here with the
pigs.
And so he's like you know what?
I'm going to go home.
And he starts rehearsing thespeech Dad, I'm coming home, but
I don't want to be your sonanymore.
You don't have to call me son,I just want a job and just hire
me.
And he gets up and he goes homeand the Bible says that he gets
(54:35):
almost home and his dad seeshim coming from a long way off
and I love that picture.
The father was apparentlywatching for him, for his boy,
to come home.
And he sees him come and heruns, he falls on his neck, he
kissed him and the crazy thingis that the boy goes into the
speech that he had prepared andhe's like dad, I'm no more
worthy to be called your son,make me as one of your hired
servants.
(54:56):
And the dad never addresses it.
He never says no, I'm not goingto do that.
He just the Bible says he putsnew clothes on him, shoes on his
feet, puts a ring on his fingerand he tells his servants go
get the fatted calf, I'm goingto kill it.
We're going to have a party andthere's music and there's
dancing and all this kind ofstuff.
He throws a party for him.
Now, remember this.
All right, I want you to thinka son.
(55:22):
He is welcomed back as a sonand his father's so happy to see
him.
Why is that?
Because a son is always a son,because once you're born, you're
always born okay.
There's nothing you can do tonot be a son, nothing you can do
to not be a daughter.
So if you're a Christian outthere and you've fallen into sin
(55:42):
and you backslid away from God,you haven't lost your salvation
.
You have a father at home andit is time, any time, that you
come to yourself.
It is time in your life to comehome, and I think you're one
step away from God.
Anyway, if you'll take one steptoward him, he'll meet you,
like the father was watchingdown the road for his son.
He'll run to you and he'llembrace you and he'll welcome
(56:05):
you back into the fellowship inthe good graces that he has.
But he hasn't given up on you.
He didn't take away yoursalvation.
If you died right now, you'regoing to heaven.
Okay, that's what the parableof the prodigal son says.
But there's another son in thestory who's way out there and
(56:27):
he's in the field and he's beenworking all day.
And he comes back in from thefield and he hears daggone music
and dancing and a party andhe's like what in the world's
going on?
And one of his co-workers comesup and he's like your dad, your
brother's home, and your dadthrew a party and he killed a
fatty calf.
And he's got a new robe on yourbrother and a ring and shoes.
And the brother goes ballistic.
He gets so mad.
(56:48):
He's like I never got a party.
He killed a fatted calf.
And he gets so bad and he goesto the party.
The scripture says but he won'tgo in because he's so mad.
And in fact the dad comes outand they have like a
confrontation about this.
He's compelling him to come inand he's like you never threw me
a party and you never did thisfor me and why are you welcoming
(57:09):
my brother back and all thiskind of stuff?
And I tell you all of this storyto get to this part right here,
because the dad looks at theson and he says son of all,
they're both sons.
Son, thou art ever with me.
Okay, you never left me.
All right, you and I have beengood.
(57:31):
Me and your brother's been onthe outs.
I'm happy that he's back, butyou've always been with me and
watch this, he says and all thatI have, verse 31, is thine,
which means, son, you have aninheritance.
Everything I have is yoursbecause you stayed the whole
time.
Your brother, guess what he got?
(57:51):
He got an outfit and he got afull belly and a new pair of
shoes and a ring and a party.
Matt (57:58):
And you know what.
Brandon (57:59):
That's all he's got left.
So if you're a prodigal son outthere, come home.
But if you're a faithfulservant, realize that you're
going to be rewarded for yourfaithfulness at the judgment
seat of Christ.
Matt (58:11):
And don't get in the way of the prodigals that are coming
home.
Love them.
Brandon (58:16):
Rejoice with them.
Matt (58:17):
Rejoice with them.
Yeah, don't.
That's why Jesus pushed backagainst all the religious people
so hard.
It's because they're standingin the way of people trying to
get to God Because they're sojudgmental, thinking they've got
it figured out.
Brandon (58:34):
Judgmental on people who are getting right.
Same passage of Scripture, luke15.
A lady lost a coin and a manlost one of his sheep out of 100
.
He had 99 still, but he lostone and he searched high and low
.
And the lady searched for thecoin.
And the prodigal son, his dad,wanted him to come home and they
all rejoiced, the Bible says,when they came home and they
(58:56):
wanted to throw a party andrejoice.
That's how we're supposed to bewhen prodigals come home.
But we should take note not tobe a prodigal and to stay the
whole time in the father's house.
Why?
Because that's where theinheritance is.
Be faithful to him.
So there's two judgments.
There's a great white thronejudgment for those who reject
Christ.
Those of us who know the Lordwill be judged at the judgment
(59:19):
seat of Christ.
Okay, I encourage you to dothis.
If you don't know the Lord,jesus Christ is your savior.
Every knee will bow and weencourage you to trust Jesus
Christ as your savior beforeit's eternally too late, because
whoever's name is not writtenin the Lamb's book of life will
be cast into the lake of fire.
Matt, until next time.
We'll be back very soon.
(59:41):
I think episode 11 is coming upnot too far from now, but we
just sure.
Thank you for tuning in todayand spending a little time in
the Bible and finding out whatthe Bible says, and we'll see
you later.
God bless you.
God bless you guys.
The Bible says the Bible saysPodcast.
On today's episode of the Bible Says Podcast, we are
going to be looking at the twojudgments coming up for the
believer and for thenon-believer.
Today, we're going to betalking about the great white
throne judgment and thedifference between that and the
judgment seat of Christ.
So let's get into it.
What does the Bible say?
The Bible Says Podcast.
(00:24):
All right, welcome in to theBible Says Podcast.
We welcome everybody here today.
I'm Brandon Matheson, I'm MattHunter, all right, and this is
what?
Episode 10.
Episode 10.
So we are just trucking alongand this is double digits.
(00:45):
This is what it feels like.
Double digits.
It's fun.
Sometimes we come in here and wewill record a single episode.
Sometimes we'll come in hereand try to hammer out two or
three episodes at a time.
We're just trying to stay ontop of theological topics,
questions that you have, and, aswe always do, we thank you guys
(01:07):
for tuning in and we reallywant you to become engaged with
us.
Email us questions,biblesayspodcastcom.
You can comment on the videoson the social media outlets.
We read all that and lovefeedback.
We would love questions thatyou have or maybe topics that
you would like to hear from uson.
(01:28):
Feel free to chime in on allthose things.
And then, of course, as always,biblesayspodcastcom forward,
slash, share, and you can seeall the outlets where we're on
iTunes, spotify, tiktok,everything so you can check out
all that and please help ussubscribe where you can like,
(01:49):
where you can Help us share andget the word out.
This is where we what we'reabout is digging into
theological topics and seeing ifthey stand the biblical test.
What does the Bible say?
We make no bones about the factthat we believe every word of
the Bible and we believe thatthis is our standard of right
(02:12):
and wrong, of what is true,truth and not truth, and so
that's where we this is what wedo.
That's what we do.
So we look at different topicsand yeah, so yeah, it's fun and
it's been a fun.
10 episodes and I'm lookingforward to getting into that.
Hundreds more, hundreds, yeah,hundreds more.
(02:32):
It's going to take us a minute,but we're getting there.
We'll get there.
We love it, love it.
Matt (02:37):
So tonight well actually the last couple episodes we ran
through thoughts on thetribulation all the way up into
eternity, right.
So I think tonight we're goingto pick up kind of dovetail into
that and pick up on thejudgments.
Brandon (02:59):
Right, get a chronological order, if you will
, to the events.
You know, like the rapture, thesecond coming, the timing of
the tribulation, what comesafter the tribulation, the
millennial reign after themillennial reign's, eternity,
and the heavenly city comingdown to a new heaven and a new
earth.
And just, we've dabbled in allof those things over the last
(03:22):
two or three weeks together.
We've dabbled in all of thosethings over the last two or
three weeks together, and sotonight we are going to kind of
dovetail off of some things thatwe've talked about.
I don't know if dovetailpiggyback, what do you say, but
we're going to pick up off someof those things that we talked
about and we're going to dive into a topic of judgment.
(03:45):
You know, you hear people a lotof times in church or I did
growing up you know judgmentday's coming and they'll say you
know judgment day's coming andyou know everybody believes that
.
But what does that mean?
What does that mean, judgmentday?
Well, it turns out that itmeans different things if you're
(04:05):
a believer than it does ifyou're a non-believer.
There is not one big judgmentat the end of time for everybody
.
There is a judgment forbelievers and there's a judgment
for unbelievers, and so theBible has quite a bit to say
about this for unbelievers, andso the Bible has quite a bit to
(04:25):
say about this.
And so, if you are somebodytold me the other day that they
are a note taker on our podcastand they take pages, couple
pages of notes per episode.
So if you're a note taker youcan write this down and you know
, keep track of your train ofthought.
But tonight we're going to talkabout the judgment for
unbelievers, okay, and that iscalled the great white throne
(04:54):
judgment and that's a term.
I don't think those wordsappear in that order, but that's
just what most Bible you know,people who study the Bible refer
to it as I think it'sreferencing where John in
Revelation 20 says I saw a greatwhite throne, and it's
referencing judgment.
So they call it the great whitethrone judgment.
So we just want to be clearabout why we call it that.
(05:14):
And then the judgment we'regoing to talk about the judgment
for the unsaved, great whitethrone judgment.
We're also going to talk aboutthe judgment for the saved.
Okay, and this is technically aterm used in scripture called
the judgment seat of christ.
That phrase is used um.
The greek word there, I believe, is bema be my seat, and it
(05:35):
refer uh yeah, represents like a, an athlete receiving a reward
and things like that.
Uh think like a olympic athlete, uh receiving awards standing
on a podium and things like that.
Matt (05:45):
It was kind of a seat that the judge who judged the finish
line of the race would sit atthe Bema seat and watch the
finish line of a marathon inGreek times Right right.
Brandon (05:59):
So that's the word that's used to describe the
judgment for those who knowChrist Believers.
So what we're going to get intofirst is the judgment for
unbelievers, so those who rejectChrist, those who are not saved
.
It's talked about in Revelation, chapter 20.
So, if you have a Bible and youwant to flip there, matt and I
(06:19):
are going to look at thosescriptures.
And, matt, do you haveRevelation 2011 through uh 15?
I do it.
References, um, references this.
I want to read it and then Iwant to break it down, right, so
let's, yeah to read all the waythrough yeah, let's read it all
the way through.
Matt (06:36):
And I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth andthe heaven fled away and there
was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small andgreat, stand before God and the
books were opened.
And another book was opened,which is the book of life, and
the dead were judged out ofthose things which were written
(06:57):
in the books, according to theirworks, and the sea gave up the
dead which were in it and deathand hell delivered up the dead
which were in it, and death andhell delivered up the dead which
were in them and they werejudged, every man, according to
their works, and death and hellwere cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, andwhosoever was not found written
(07:20):
in the book of life was castinto the lake of fire.
Brandon (07:24):
Okay, all right, so for some pretty intense five verses
in scripture.
So let's set up the the contextof it first.
Um, this is from the book ofrevelation.
It's toward, uh, the end of thebook of revelation and
chronologically, it is at theend of the millennial reign of
christ.
So, so, if you remember ourprevious episodes, we have a
(07:48):
seven-year period calledDaniel's 70th week, or the time
of Jacob's trouble, or thetribulation period.
After those seven years, jesuscomes back and sets up and rules
for 1,000 years.
At the end of that 1,000 yearsoccurs this judgment okay.
Now, one thing that I want topoint out here, right out of the
(08:10):
gate, is because at the end ofthe millennium, that is when
death is done and finallydefeated, the last enemy that is
defeated, the Bible says, isdeath.
Okay.
So at the end of the millennium, everyone who has or will ever
live has made their decision tobelieve in Christ or not.
(08:33):
Okay, so their decision hasbeen made and it is time to sort
it out.
So those who have rejectedChrist at this point are
referred to.
At the end of the millennium, atthis judgment, these five
verses called the Great WhiteThrone Judgment.
So let's look back at versenumber 11, and let's just break
this down.
(08:53):
And I saw a great white throneand him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and theheaven fled away and there was
found no place for them.
So there is a judge sitting onthe great white throne this is
representative of God, sittingon his throne judging the world.
And notice when I say the world, I'm talking about the people
(09:16):
of the world and notice it saysthat from whose face the earth,
earth and the heaven fled away.
So the language here there is afear.
This is not something to scoffat.
This is not a lightheartedevent.
This is something I mean.
Think about a courtroom, okay,somebody on trial for a serious
(09:41):
crime or a murder or something,and they have made their case
and the prosecution's made theircase, and the prosecution's
made their case, and it's timefor the judge to speak.
And the judge walks out in hisblack robe and he sits there.
You're not snickering andcutting up and chuckling.
This is a somber, soberingevent, because he is about to
(10:02):
chime in on what's going tohappen to you.
So that is going to happen toyou.
So that is the attitude of thisevent, yeah, okay.
Then verse number 12 says and Isaw the dead.
Okay, small and great.
This is a judgment for thosewho are dead, now, those of us.
(10:22):
This is, and we're going totalk about this.
This is way different than thejudgment seat of Christ, because
, for the moment you trustChrist, you have eternal life.
You are never dead.
Okay, so you live in life.
I'm coming that you might havelife and might have life more
abundantly.
This is the dead folks, okay,dead in their trespasses and
(10:44):
sins and dead standing beforethe Lord.
Matt (10:47):
Yeah, and if you follow the passage on down, it actually
calls it the second death,absolutely, because they have
been dead in hell as the firstdeath, first death yep.
Brandon (11:00):
Because, well, think about this the worst thing about
not accepting Christ is you arenot joined to Christ, you are
not reconciled to God, you areseparated from God.
Okay, and you must pay for yoursin because you did not let
Jesus pay for your sin.
That is the nature of rejectingChrist.
No, I don't believe that I havesin to pay for or I want to pay
(11:23):
for it myself and work my ownsalvation and reject Christ.
Okay, well, you have to thewages of sin.
The wages of sin is death.
So if you pay for your own sinand don't accept Jesus's
salvation, guess what?
You pay for it and how longdoes it take you to pay it off?
Forever.
It's eternal separation,because you never get it paid
off.
That's why you're undercontinual death.
(11:50):
The wages of sin is death.
So if you pay for your own sinand reject Christ, you'll never
get it paid off.
But Jesus' blood is so powerfulthat he can pay it off and
forgive it in an instant,literally an instant.
So I saw the dead, and I sawthe dead, small and great, stand
before God.
So that tells us that God isthe one on the great white
throne.
Okay, and the books notice this, and the books plural were
(12:11):
opened Okay, watch this.
And another book singular wasopened, which is the book of
life I saw, and the books wereopened, okay.
So there's books open andanother book, so there's
multiple books and one book,okay.
(12:34):
Then it says that the dead werejudged out of those things
which were written in the books.
Okay, according to their works.
Whose works?
Those who are dead and standingbefore God.
Okay.
So here's what I want you to.
I want to frame this picturefor you.
(12:56):
There is, the books were openedand out of the books were
judged the dead based on theirworks.
It says, according to theirworks.
So the books referenced inverse 12 are okay, they are the
deeds that you are judged on.
(13:19):
Okay, now, remember, these areunsaved people.
Now, remember, these areunsaved people.
These are dead, unsaved peoplestanding before a holy God, and
the books are open and they'rejudged out of the things
contained in the books.
So they're standing theregiving account for sinful acts
(13:40):
that have been recorded in books.
Okay.
So I guess what I'm driving homehere is that every sinful act,
every wrong thought, everylustful moment, every bit of
covetousness, every bit ofdisrespect or dishonor to God,
whatever sin it is gossiping,bickering, strife, disobedience
(14:04):
to parents go through any of thecommandments.
Every sin is recorded.
And I want you to think aboutthat.
How many sins do you thinkyou've committed in your life?
Okay, thank God, jesus took allmy sin away, because I would
have books and books and books.
There would be volumes of sinthat I have committed and that
is exactly what we see.
(14:24):
When the dead who have rejectedChrist stand before God, they
are judged out of the books andthere's volume after volume
after volume of sinful acts thatthey are judged on.
Notice this, but there arebooks.
And then another book, which isthe book of life.
And we know from otherscriptures that there is a what?
(14:47):
A Lamb's book of life, okay,and there is a book of life
where, when you trust Christ,okay, your name is written in
that book, the Lamb's book oflife.
So your name is recorded whenyou trust Christ.
All right, now watch this.
Look at verse number 15.
(15:08):
Just on that point it says andwhosoever was not found written
in the book of life was castinto the lake of fire.
Okay, so if your name's not inthe book, you have rejected
Christ.
So here's what we have here Now.
I want to just kind of paintthis picture.
Okay, so you have people whohave rejected Christ.
They have the volumes of theirlife documented, or they have
(15:35):
the sinful acts of their lifedocumented in these volumes,
these books, and they're judgedout of them.
You know, matt, we were talkingjust a second ago about a judge
walking into a courtroom andbeing a somber, sobering moment
of the great white thronejudgment.
But here's, let's think aboutthis.
Okay, this is okay.
(15:56):
This is like a courtroom.
This is the way I picture it.
It's a courtroom and God is thejudge, he's judging.
But when you stand before ajudge, god is fair, god is just,
and we want people, even in oursociety, to have fair judgments
.
We want them to have a lawyer,have representation, have what
(16:17):
we call due process.
Well, god, here in Revelation,chapter 20, gives the lost
person due process.
Okay, chapter 20 gives the lostperson due process, okay.
And the evidence of those booksare presented in a
prosecutorial, prosecutorial waytoward them and they have to
(16:37):
give an account for them.
But they're recorded.
There is a indictment if will,and this is the evidence against
you.
Matt (16:56):
The evidence against you is laid out and the wording
there.
You could also have theevidence of the good that
they've done.
But if you didn't have yourname in that book, the Lamb's
Book of Life Makes all thedifference in the world.
It makes all the difference.
Brandon (17:08):
Well, if you only had one sin.
Matt (17:09):
If you have one sin, you can never make up for it.
It's not a scale, it's not abalance.
Like you know, you ever havethe courtrooms in the country
have a blind lady with a scaleJustice is blind.
Brandon (17:25):
Well, yeah, it doesn't work that way.
Well, it's not a scale system,because for all have sinned and
come short of the glory of god,as it is written, there's none
righteous.
No, not one.
That's what romans tells us.
If we commit one, oneinfraction against the law,
we're guilty of all.
Paul tells okay.
So if you have one sin andeverything else in the book's
(17:46):
good, you're still guilty ofthat one sin, and the wages of
sin is death.
It's a death penalty for onesin or a million sins, whatever
it is, it's still the deathpenalty.
Matt (17:55):
It's still the death penalty.
It takes your life to pay forit.
Brandon (17:59):
That's right.
That's right.
So in your life, yeah, soyou're eternally separated from
God and you endure that seconddeath forever.
Okay.
So I want you to see this.
So they're judged out of thebooks, but they're given a fair
trial, okay.
But then it says they're judgedand the books were opened and
they're judged out of the thingswhich were written in the books
(18:22):
.
And then the book of life isopened and verse 13 says and the
sea gave up the dead which werein it, and death and hell
delivered up the dead which werein them, and they were judged,
every man according to theirworks.
So who is here at the end ofthe millennium?
Who's here?
It's everybody who has everdied.
It's everybody who has everdied, okay.
(18:45):
It's everybody who has rejectedChrist all the way through the
tribulation, through themillennium.
It is all these people.
So death empties out everything.
Hell empties itself.
Okay.
Now let me throw a little tidbitin here, all right, and we'll
talk about this.
This would be a great episodeto talk about that.
What is the difference in hell,okay, and the lake of fire?
(19:10):
Because verse 15 says let'sjust read it and verse 14 says
in death and hell, we're castinto the lake of fire.
So hell is cast into the lakeof fire.
So basically, what that meansis those who were in hell is
cast into the lake of fire.
So basically what that means isthose who were in hell.
Hell empties itself out andthose are judged, they get a
fair trial and then they're castin the lake of fire.
(19:32):
Verse 15 says and whosoever wasnot found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake offire.
There's a difference betweenhell and the lake of fire.
Hell and we can document thisfrom Scripture is in the center
of the earth, of this earth.
Okay, now remember this earthis not going to last forever.
All right, this earth is doneaway with and at the start of
(19:55):
the next chapter says there's anew heaven and a new earth.
So hell empties itself At thegreat white throne judgment.
Hell is empty.
Now remember this and I don'twant to get too off course here.
Jesus emptied the other side,not of hell, but the next door
for lack of a better term tohell was a place called
(20:18):
Abraham's bosom or paradise, andJesus went there during the
three days he was in the graveand led captivity, captive, and
emptied that side of the centerof the earth out, but hell has
still been populated andactually enlarged.
The Bible says up until thispoint of the great white throne
judgment, and everybody isjudged and hell is emptied.
(20:39):
They're judged, death is judgedand all of those who are not
found in the book of life, ifyour name is not found in the
book of life, you're cast intothe lake of fire.
So hell and the lake of fireare two different places.
They're not synonymous, okay.
That's why I don't preach andsay if you reject Christ, you'll
(20:59):
go to hell forever.
You don't go to hell forever.
You'll go to hell now, up untilthe point of the great white
throne judgment.
Then you'll get your trial,then you'll be cast in the lake
of fire if you reject Christ.
Lake of fire and hell are twodifferent things.
Matt (21:14):
Any thoughts on that, which, at this point, you know,
satan, the Antichrist, et cetera, are in the lake of fire.
They've been cast into the lakeof fire already.
Yeah, in the lake of fire,they've been cast into the lake
of fire already At this point.
Brandon (21:25):
Well, the beast and the false prophet have been there
since the end of the tribulationfor a thousand years.
For a thousand years, andrecently, satan, at this point,
has already been cast there.
Yeah Right, notice.
Satan never goes to hell.
No, he goes to the lake of fire, lake of fire, yeah yeah.
Matt (21:47):
And another thing I think in uh, verse 11 it actually
alludes to so it's whose facethe earth and the heaven fled
away from.
It literally alludes to theearth and the heavens being done
away with.
Brandon (21:57):
Right, that's a good point, because the very next
verse, verse 1 of 21, I neverthought about it like that and I
saw a new heaven and a newearth, and so right before that
you have great white throne andthe earth and the heavens
fleeing away.
Yeah, huh, that's.
You made me think I neverthought about that.
That's good.
(22:17):
That's very interesting.
If I would read my Bible, I'dhave picked up on that, right?
Yeah, it's just the next verse,so that's good.
That's good.
So this is we said tonight.
We're going to talk about thetwo judgments one for the lost,
those who reject Christ, andthose who are saved.
This is the lost judgment.
Okay, so when people sayjudgment day's coming, you
(22:39):
better watch it.
You'll give an account.
Judgment day's coming.
They are exactly correct.
But which judgment day are youtalking about?
Yeah, if you're a believer, youhave a different judgment day
than this one.
Okay, all right.
Anything else to add on thegreat white throne judgment
before we shift from the lostthe judgment for the lost people
(22:59):
to those of the saved?
Matt (23:02):
Something to think about a question Okay, research.
To think of the saints.
Something to think about aquestion Okay, research.
Think about Okay.
So in the Greek on this passage, when it says death and hell, I
know where you're going withthis one.
It uses proper names.
Brandon (23:18):
Right.
Matt (23:19):
Okay, which are actually names of Greek gods.
Brandon (23:22):
What are the?
What's the Greek words for?
Matt (23:24):
death, thanatos and Hades.
Okay, can you think of a reasonwhy we would have the proper
name, like I mean, it's likecapitalized in the actual Greek
Right For those two things?
Brandon (23:42):
Right, you and I have talked about this before and I
don't have a great clear answer.
Matt (23:46):
I don't either, and I never went completely down the
rabbit hole.
Brandon (23:50):
But it's, I can say this when it's if that's the
case, then it's not there byaccident.
You know God doesn't make any,you know there's no coincidences
.
Matt (24:03):
So if it's there, it's there on purpose, but you know,
hades is the proper name of aplace, right?
Brandon (24:10):
But death as well.
So yeah, I see what you'resaying.
What else to add to the greatwhite throne judgment?
Matt (24:18):
I don't think we have anything else to add.
Brandon (24:22):
Let us know what you think, chime in Give us
questions.
Does that make else to add?
Let us know what you think,chime, in Give us questions.
Does that make sense to you?
Great white throne judgment atthe end of the millennium.
Okay, you're judged, you'regiven a fair trial.
The deeds of your life arerecorded.
If you reject Christ, you'regoing to get a fair trial, but
you're going to lose and you'regoing to be guilty.
And if your name's not writtenin the Lamb's Book of Life,
you'll end up in the lake offire.
(24:43):
And I know that's not afeel-good message, but the Bible
.
Matt (24:48):
That's what the Bible teaches.
It's not the way everybodywants it to work.
Brandon (24:51):
No, it's not, but that's the way it is.
Why?
Because the Bible says Okay,because that's God's book says
it, and he can't lie.
So that's what it is.
Let's look at the judgment.
As we're talking about the twojudgments tonight, let's shift
to the second one.
What is the judgment seat ofChrist?
First of all, let me go to 2Corinthians.
(25:15):
Okay, chapter number five.
Let me read that.
There's a couple differentchapters or verses that use the
phrase judgment seat of Christ.
So when I go to 2 Corinthians 5, verse number 10, let me just
read this one to you, and thenwe'll go to Romans 14 and 1
(25:37):
Corinthians 3.
But 2 Corinthians 5.10 says Forwe must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, thateveryone may receive the things
done in his body according tothat he hath done, whether it be
good or bad.
Okay, now, here's what I wantyou to understand, okay.
(26:02):
So here's what I want you tounderstand, okay, and I want to
pull up the Greek here on myphone because I want you to walk
with me through this, and Iwant to show you 2 Corinthians 5
that I just read verse 10.
And I want you to see thisright here.
Okay, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10says that we have to all appear
(26:24):
before the judgment seat ofChrist, that we receive rewards
okay, for the things done in ourbody, according to that we have
done, whether it be good or bad.
Okay, so we're going to berewarded based on how we live
our life, okay.
So that's what I want you tounderstand the difference in the
(26:45):
great white throne judgment forthe lost and the judgment seat
of Christ for those who aresaved.
This is 2.
Corinthians is referencingChristians.
It's talking to brothers andsisters in Christ.
Paul is saying look, we mustall we us must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ andwe're going to receive rewards
based on how, what we did withour body.
(27:05):
But he says this whether it begood or bad.
Now I'm reading King JamesVersion.
You know 1611 or revision 1769,whatever you say on that, but
it's King James, old English.
Okay, whether it be good or bad.
If you look up the word goodthere, okay, it is the word in
the Greek agathos, okay, and itmeans of good constitution or
(27:28):
nature, useful, salutary, good,pleasant, agreeable.
Okay.
It means beneficial, okay, allright.
So that's kind of because wethink when we think, well, I'm
going to receive what I did,whether good or bad, because we
think when we think, well, I'mgoing to receive what I did,
whether good or bad, weautomatically think when we see
good or bad that we think sinfulor not sinful.
(27:51):
Okay, listen to me verycarefully.
The judgment seat of Christ isnot a place for you to receive
punishment for your sin.
Listen to me very carefully.
I want to be very clear aboutthis.
When you receive Christ, yoursin past, present, future are
(28:12):
gone.
No sin is ever charged to theaccount of a believer in Christ.
The great white throne judgmentthat we just talked about.
They are giving an account forevery sin they ever committed.
They're judged on it andthey're cast in the lake of fire
.
If you're a Christian here, letme look right into the camera.
You will never be judged foryour sin.
(28:34):
Okay, we sing the song, and Iknow it's just a song, but it's
based on biblical truth.
Jesus paid it all.
All to him I owe.
God is just.
God poured the punishment formy sin, matt's sin, your sin,
everybody's sin out on Jesus atthe cross.
That's why the sky went dark.
(28:54):
That's why the earth quaked.
That's why Jesus cried out myGod, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me, because God turnedhis back on his own son and
poured out the punishment meantfor me and you on him.
Okay, and God will never punishhis son and turn around and
punish you.
And I'll tell you this it'sactually a slap in the face to
(29:18):
Jesus to believe that God isgoing to punish you for what he
punished his son for.
Okay, jesus paid it all.
Hebrews 10 says that he paidonce and for all, so you will
never be punished for your sin.
Romans 5 says, quoting Davidfrom the Old Testament blessed
(29:39):
is the man to whom the Lord willnot impute sin.
The word impute is a creditorylanguage, accounting term.
You do not get charged with sinfrom the moment you're
believing.
So what's Paul talking about in2 Corinthians, chapter number 5
, verse 10, that we receiverewards based on good or bad.
(30:01):
I just read you the definitionagathos.
It means did you do beneficial,worthwhile things with your
life after you came to a savingknowledge of Christ, or did you
do bad?
And if you look up the word badthere, it means and I'll read
it to you it's kakos, and itmeans worthless.
Did you do worthwhile thingswith your life after you knew
(30:23):
Christ or did you do worthlessthings with your life after you
knew Christ, or did you doworthless things with your life?
You're going to be judged onthat.
Okay, that is what the judgmentseat of Christ is about.
So here it is called thejudgment seat of Christ and we
see the purpose for it.
What is it?
Okay, let me just hone in here.
We might go off on a tangenthere.
Okay, I hear all the timebecause I preach, all right, and
(30:48):
if you're new to our podcast,here I preach because the Bible
teaches once saved, always saved.
Okay, and I hear all kinds ofcrap about that and get a lot of
flack from that.
Okay, and I don't even call itonce saved, always saved.
I call it because when youreceive Christ, you are born
again.
You are actually regened,regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
(31:10):
Okay, you are born, a newcreature, okay.
So what we say around here andin my world is once you're born,
you're always born.
You cannot be unborn, okay.
But here's the biggest problemwith those that I've encountered
that believe well, you can loseyour salvation is they'll say
well, that person trusted Christand believed in Christ and then
(31:32):
they kind of backslid and theywent over here and they did this
bad sin where they went outinto the world and they stopped
going to church and stoppedliving for the Lord and now
they're living for their flesh.
So I don't even think they gotsaved.
First of all, we can't judgepeople.
I don't know if Matt's saved hedon't know if I'm saved God
knows the heart but I do know ifyou've ever been born again.
(31:52):
You are still born againbecause once you're born, you
cannot be unborn, okay.
But I'll say this If you are aChristian who goes out and you
live, and if you live like hell,all right, you are not going to
go to heaven and have God sayoh, here's a bunch of rewards
and here's inheritance, here's acrown for this and a crown for
that.
You are going to lose out andyou're going to be judged on how
(32:16):
you lived your life after youcame to that saving knowledge.
Now, at the same time, those ofyou who are living good and
you're looking, hey, god istaking note of it.
That's why Jesus said, hey,when you pray, would you do your
alms and you do your goods?
You don't, don't pray, don't doit so you can be seen, because
your father that sees in secretwill reward you openly.
(32:38):
Okay, so so this is a.
This is a hot-button issueright here.
But if you believe you can loseyour salvation, it's because
you don't understand rewards andinheritance in God's eyes.
Once you're born, you're alwaysborn, but not everybody's
eternity is rewarded the same.
Okay, matt may receive tonsmore rewards than I because he
(33:01):
may be way more faithful than Iam and God's taking notice and
the judge is going to issue therewards.
Matt (33:09):
This gets me fired up when we talk about stuff like this
it sounds kind of nuts, but it'swhat's your retirement plan
Exactly?
Brandon (33:20):
You save money now and put it in the stock market for
retirement.
For that 20 years you're goingto live in retirement and you
plan for it.
Jesus said lay not up foryourself treasures on earth.
Lay them up in heaven, wheremoth and rust doth grow.
Lay them up in heaven, whereneither moth nor rust doth grow
so literally.
Matt (33:37):
Your retirement plan should be pouring into God's
work, pouring into God's kingdom, pouring into God's kingdom,
doing what God wants you to dowith your life.
Brandon (33:48):
That's right, that's right.
Well, let's look at a coupleother scriptures.
So do you have Romans, chapter14?
Matt (33:57):
Who art thou that judgest another man's servant To his own
master?
He standeth or falleth to hisown master.
He standeth or falleth.
Yea, he shall be holden up, forGod is able to make him stand.
Okay let's keep going.
One man esteemeth one day aboveanother, another esteemeth
(34:18):
every day alike.
Let every man be fullypersuaded in his own mind he
that regardeth the day regardethit unto the Lord, and he that
regardeth not the day to theLord, he doth not regard it.
He that eateth, eateth to theLord, for he giveth God thanks,
and he that eateth not to theLord eateth not and giveth God
(34:40):
thanks, for none of us livethunto himself and no man dieth to
himself.
For whether we live, we liveunto the Lord, and whether we
die, we die unto the Lord.
Whether we live, therefore, ordie, we are the Lord's, for to
this end, christ both died androse and revived that he might
(35:02):
be Lord both of the dead and ofthe living.
But why dost thou judge thybrother or why dost thou set at
naught thy brother?
For we shall all stand beforethe judgment seat of Christ.
For it is written as I live,saith the Lord, every knee shall
(35:22):
bow to me and every tongueshall confess to God.
So then, every one of us shallgive an account of himself to
God.
Brandon (35:30):
Okay.
So that's kind of a longseveral verses there.
But what's it talking about?
It is talking about when youregard a day, you regard it to
the Lord.
Okay.
When you eat, you eat to theLord.
When you give thanks, you givethanks to the Lord.
When you don't give thanks,you're not giving it to the Lord
.
So he's drawing comparison oneverything you do in life as a
(35:51):
Christian, as a believer here inRomans You're doing it to the
Lord, you're doing it to theLord.
And he's making this point overand over.
And he says for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and
whether we die, we die unto theLord.
Whether we live, therefore, ordie, we are the Lord's, for to
this end, christ both died androse and revived that he might
be the Lord.
(36:12):
Be Lord both of the dead andliving.
Now watch what he says here.
Okay, but why dost thou judgethy brother, or why dost thou
set it not thy brother?
For we shall all stand beforethe judgment seat of Christ.
Okay, for it is written as Ilive, saith the Lord, every knee
shall bow to me and everytongue shall confess to the Lord
.
So then every one of us shallgive an account of himself to
God.
So it's talking about that.
(36:32):
The life that you live as abeliever, everything is supposed
to be focused on the Lord,because we have to stand before
the judgment seat of Christ,okay, and give an account.
Every knee will bow to him,okay.
So, and then I want to flip to1 Corinthians, chapter 3, and
this is probably the clearest Ifyou want to know about rewards
(36:54):
and inheritance, and can you, asa Christian, lose your
salvation through sinfulactivity?
This is probably the bestchapter in the Bible, in my
estimation, to answer that thatno, you cannot lose your
salvation due to any sin thatyou commit.
You can lose rewards, you canlose inheritance, you cannot
lose salvation.
(37:15):
1 Corinthians 3, it says inverse 9, it says For we are
laborers together with God.
Ye are God's husbandry, ye areGod's husbandry, ye are God's
building.
According to the grace of Godwhich is given unto me as a wise
master builder, I have laid thefoundation and another buildeth
thereon.
But let every man take heed howhe buildeth thereupon, for
(37:37):
other foundation can no man lay,and that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ.
So Paul is saying look, you area wise master builder.
The foundation of your life isJesus, you've got a foundation.
Anybody that's ever seen a houseget built knows that the
foundation has to be good or thehouse will collapse.
There's a parable in the Bibleabout that.
(37:59):
When you build a house on therock or the sand the rock or the
sand the rains come down andthe floods came up as we used to
sing in Sunday school, and thehouse on the rock either stood
and on the sand it fell.
So you are building a house andif you've been born again, you
have a foundation, and thefoundation can only be one thing
(38:22):
, and verse 11 tells us it'sJesus Christ.
So Jesus is the foundation.
So some of you need to hearthat too.
When being saved and gettingsaved is not the sole goal of
you don't get saved and you'redone for life.
You don't get saved and say, ohwell, I'm good, I don't have to
(38:42):
do anything else, I got a getout of hell free card.
No, you're supposed to liveyour life now.
You're building a house, so youhave a foundation which is
Jesus Christ.
Okay, you're building on thatfoundation, okay.
Then he says in verse 12, now,if any man build upon this
foundation which is Jesus.
And then he says this and someof you will recognize this first
(39:04):
gold, silver, precious stones,wood, hay, stubble.
He says so you're building, andhere's the building material
you're building with.
You're building with gold orsilver or precious stones those
sound good.
Or you're building with wood,hay or stubble Hay.
You're going to build with hayLike walls.
You know you got stacks of haythat doesn't sound very
(39:25):
fireproof or anything like that.
Right?
So you're building on thefoundation of Jesus.
Then verse 13 says every man'swork not his sin, but his work
shall be made manifest ordeclared For the day shall
declare it because it shall berevealed by fire, and the fire
(39:49):
shall try every man's work, ofwhat sort it is.
Remember what Paul says in 2Corinthians was it good or bad?
What did good or bad mean?
Was it worthless or worthwhile?
Did you do beneficial thingsfor the kingdom of God or did
you do nothing for the kingdomof God?
Did you do worthwhile things orworthless things?
(40:10):
That is what, good and bad,those words mean.
Okay, so they'll try everyman's work, of what sort it is.
Now watch what happens here.
I want you guys to follow alongwith this and don't miss this.
Verse 14 says what happens hereI want you guys to follow along
with this and don't miss this.
Verse 14 says if any man's workabide, that means survive,
survive.
What the test by fire.
(40:30):
So you got a foundation and youbuild on top of the foundation.
You've either used wood, hay orstubble, or you've used gold,
silver or precious stones.
Now, when wood, hay and stubbleis burned, it's going to burn
up.
Gold, silver and precious stoneis going to be refined, and
it's still going to be there,okay.
So if you look at verse 14, ifany man's work abide or is still
(40:54):
there, okay, which he hathbuilt thereupon, he shall
receive a reward.
Okay.
But watch the next verse If anyman's work shall be burned or
burned up, he shall suffer loss,okay.
(41:15):
So what does it say?
It says you build, you are thebuilder, and you're building on
the foundation of Jesus.
If you don't have thefoundation of Jesus, you don't
even get a house.
But you're building.
And what's the buildingmaterial?
It is your works after you cameto Christ.
So did you do worthwhile thingsor worthless things?
(41:36):
All right, did you lead peopleto Christ?
Did you lead people away fromChrist?
Did you live for God or did youlive for self?
Lead people away from Christ.
Did you live for God or did youlive for self Worth, while
worth less?
Now, okay, and it's tested byfire, and if your work survives,
you receive a reward.
If your work is burned up, yousuffer loss.
(41:59):
Now, watch this, because someof you are going to stand on
your head when I read this toyou.
The person who their workabides, they receive a reward.
Verse 14.
Verse 15 says if any man's workshall be burned, he shall
suffer loss.
So if you did completelyworthless things and your whole,
(42:21):
everything you'd built on thefoundation of Christ, is burned
up in an instant, watch what itsays next.
It says he shall suffer loss,but he himself shall be saved,
yet so, as by fire.
Okay, guess what?
He's still saved.
(42:41):
He still gets to go to heaven,he still lives forever, he still
knows god.
But what did he lose?
He lost everything else.
He lost his inheritance.
He lost.
Yes, he gets to go to heaven,but he lost his reward.
He lost his inheritance.
He could have gotten so muchmore.
(43:02):
God would have given him somuch more.
He got nothing from God.
Why?
Because he lived a worthlesslife, okay, and then it goes
into know you not that you'rethe temple of God and that the
spirit of God dwelleth in you.
So it draws in that, hey, youdon't belong to yourself.
Live for God, and if you livefor God, you'll receive a reward
(43:24):
.
If you live worthlessly, you'regoing to suffer loss.
You're still going to be saved,but you're going to be grieving
on that day because of yourmissed opportunity and you blew
your life and you wasted it all.
Matt (43:37):
So everybody's heaven is not going to be the same.
Brandon (43:40):
Everybody's eternity and everybody's heaven.
If you want to say it that wayis not going to be the same
Everybody's eternity andeverybody's heaven.
If you want to say it that wayis not going to be the same.
Okay.
Okay, it's like well, I made itto heaven, so I'm good.
Heaven is different for somepeople than other people.
Yeah, and, by the way, hell andthe lake of fire is different
for some people.
(44:01):
Jesus said don't do that,you'll receive the greater
damnation God is fair.
Okay, I'll just chime in on thisin relation to hell.
People say you know well, whatabout the little, nice little
lady that was good, all her life, went to church but she never
trusted Christ.
She went and she thought herworks were going to save her and
(44:23):
she dies and goes to hell.
Okay, I don't think her hell,based on scripture, is going to
be the same as Adolf Hitler's.
No, you see what I'm saying,okay, but those of you who live
for God faithfully and youinvest your whole life and you
walk faithfully and you try toinfluence people and lead people
to Christ and you are afaithful servant of Christ and
(44:44):
you raise your family and youwitness and you pray and you do
everything and you minister andyou are going to receive a
reward.
Those of you who you know youtrust in Christ too and you're
saved, just like I am, just likeMatt is.
But you're flying by the seatof your pants through life and
you don't.
You never read your Bible, younever walk with God, you never
(45:05):
share the gospel, you live avery self-centered life and
you're basically worthlesslyexisting.
Through life, you will lose outon a lot of what you could have
had in heaven, matt said alittle while ago it's a
retirement plan.
My old preacher growing up saidsome of y'all are going to get
(45:25):
to heaven and you're going tolive in a cardboard box in a
ghetto.
Matt (45:28):
That's what I was wanting to ask.
Are they going to be bums inheaven, right?
I mean, that's almost what thescripture reads like.
Brandon (45:38):
Yep.
There in the Greek is as a.
When it comes to the words likethey will suffer loss, it says
in verse number 15.
If your works are burned up,you'll suffer loss.
The idea of a refugee fleeingin the middle of the night.
We've all seen countries whoyou know a cruel dictator, you
(46:00):
know communist dictatorshipcomes in or whatever, and they
suppress religious liberty orthey take over and they start
killing people and people run.
A refugee crisis, like we hadin the Middle East a few years
ago, and people run and so youhave to run in the middle of the
night.
If I had to leave my home inthe middle of the night because
I was afraid people were goingto come in and kill me or burn
my house down, I'm going to runand I'm not going to take
(46:22):
nothing with me.
I might have a pair of shoes onand grab my wife.
Matt (46:28):
You might grab a backpack.
You don't have anything to showfor it.
Brandon (46:30):
You don't have a bed, you don't have your clothes, you
don't have your toothbrush, youdon't have your groceries, all
your appliances, your household,all that's gone.
The idea here is that you havefled the middle of the night and
you show up in another countrywith the clothes on your back.
Yeah, that's how some of youare going to show up in heaven
and you're not gonna haveanything to show for the life
(46:52):
you lived here yeah, and to makeit worse, you're gonna smell
funny right, you'll smell likesmoke yet so as by fire?
yes, so as through the fire.
So you're as one coming out ofthe fire.
Basically, you made it by thehair of your chinny-chin-chin to
heaven, but you lost yourreward and you lost your
inheritance.
You have suffered loss andyou'll have nothing to show for
(47:13):
it.
I want to look at 2 Timothyreal quick and we'll show you a
couple more verses on this topicthat drive home this point.
Okay, we're starting with verse6.
Matt (47:27):
Yep, okay, so 2 Timothy 4, 6 through 8.
Okay, for I am now ready to beoffered, and the time of my
departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, Ihave finished my course, I have
kept the faith.
Henceforth, there is laid upfor me a crown of righteousness
which the Lord, the righteousjudge, shall give me at that day
(47:48):
, and not to me only, but untoall them also that love his
appearing.
Brandon (47:55):
Okay.
So this is the famous words ofPaul I fought a good fight, I
finished my course, kept thefaith and this is the end.
I'm ready to be offered, hesaid.
And then he said there isbecause, I think he says
henceforth, there is laid up forme a crown of righteousness.
So what is he saying?
He's saying I have fought thegood fight, I finished what God
(48:18):
gave me to start and I have anexpectation of reward, a crown.
The Bible talks about Severalplaces in the New Testament
talks about receiving a crown.
When we get to Revelation,chapter 4, and in speaking about
eschatology and future things,I believe personally that
(48:39):
Revelation, chapter 4, john seesthe scene playing out right
before Jesus begins to break theseals and the start of the
seven-year tribulation thatstarts in chapter number 6.
This is that scene, that littleparenthetical piece of time
right before that moment, and Ibelieve that this occurs and the
(49:03):
church is taken from the earthat this point and I believe
they're in heaven to witnessthis event and I believe that
they're referenced and talkedabout as the elders and
represented by the four and 20elders, verse number eight,
revelation chapter four, versefour, and it says that in
roundabout, the throne were fourand 20 seats, and upon the
(49:24):
seats I saw four and 20 elderssitting, clothed in white
raiment, it says, and they hadon their heads crowns of gold.
Now, we know from Revelation 19, when you see people clothed in
white raiment, it isreferencing the righteousness
that God has given them and it'scalled the righteousness of the
saints.
Okay, so this, whoever theelders are, they are human
(49:48):
beings who have been saved.
I believe this isrepresentative of the church and
they are clothed in white, agift from God when they place
their faith in him.
They're clothed in white andthe Bible says in verse four and
they had on their heads crownsof gold.
Okay, so at this point, Ibelieve the rapture has happened
.
And then the scene in heaven isthe church, if you will,
(50:13):
represented there with theirrighteousness on, okay, given by
God, clothed in white but thenwearing crowns.
So I believe, at this pointRevelation, chapter 4, the
rapture has happened and Ibelieve, personally, at the
beginning of or right after therapture is the judgment seat of
Christ in heaven, where we arerewarded and we're given crowns
(50:35):
and we are given authority andrulership coming up in the next
little while, as it plays out inRevelation, but I believe that
those crowns are given at thatpoint.
So we see crowns referencedthere.
Then in verse number if we skipdown, I'll show you one more
verse here, verse 10,.
The four and 20 elders falldown before him that sat on the
(50:56):
throne and worship him thatliveth forever and ever and cast
their crowns before the throne,saying Thou art worthy, o Lord,
to receive glory and honor andall power, for Thou hast created
all things and for Thy pleasurethey are and were created.
So we see here that whoeverthese elders are, they cast
their crowns to the Lord.
Okay, and that's where CastingCrowns gets its name the musical
(51:19):
group and just greatBible-based name there.
Okay, I believe this isrepresentative of the church.
Who's the church?
That's us who have been savedsince the resurrection of Jesus
Christ and all the way up untilthe rapture of the church.
The rapture of the churchhappens.
The judgment seat, I believe,happens.
We're rewarded, we have thecrowns and we cast those crowns
(51:39):
back to the Father, but wereceive our inheritance and our
rewards.
Okay, at this point I believe.
So.
If you chronologically wanted meto pin down a time, when is the
judgment seat of Christ?
I think it occurs right afterthe rapture and right before the
seven-year tribulation starts.
Because I believe theseven-year tribulation in heaven
(52:03):
, we are spending it with theone that we're married to now,
which is Christ, I believe it is.
If you study the Jewish weddingand things like that, I believe
in heaven.
Those seven years are mirroredby the seven days that the bride
spends together.
The first seven days,consummation of the marriage,
all that kind of stuff, whilethe tribulation's going on on
(52:25):
earth.
But I want to show you one morething, and we're going to leave
it here tonight.
I want to show you just realquick and I preached on this in
our church not too long ago Luke15.
Luke 15 talks about the parableof the prodigal son.
Okay, and I don't want to takea long time to tell the story,
but there was a father who hadtwo sons and the younger son
(52:49):
said dad, I want my inheritance.
And so he received hisinheritance from his dad.
And then, not too many dayslater, it says that he went out
and he left his dad and he wentinto a far country and there,
when he got in that far country,he wasted every bit of the
inheritance and the monetaryvalue that his dad had given him
.
He blew it all.
(53:10):
Okay, and he blew it on.
The scripture says on harlots,on uh, riotous living, uh and
all this kind of stuff.
So a very, very debaucherous uhlifestyle.
He just went and he blew it.
Well, he ran out of money.
And then, the same time he ranout of money, a famine hit, and
(53:31):
so he has nothing to eat.
He has nothing to provide forhimself, no money left, and it's
a famine.
And so he hires on with a guywho is raising pigs and he hires
on and becomes a pig farmer.
On with a guy who is raisingpigs and he hires on and becomes
a pig farmer and he goes and helives out there with those pigs
and he's so hungry that he'slooking at the pig's food.
(53:51):
He's like man, that looks good,I should eat that.
And he comes to himself.
The Bible says Okay, so rememberthat this guy's a son, he's not
from here.
I mean, he showed up with a lotof money and he's wasted it all
.
And now he's here and he'ssaying man, I wish I could go
back home.
He said I'm thinking about home, and back home my dad has a lot
(54:13):
of people that work for him andthey all have, you know, warm
beds and plenty to eat, and hereI am sitting out here with the
pigs.
And so he's like you know what?
I'm going to go home.
And he starts rehearsing thespeech Dad, I'm coming home, but
I don't want to be your sonanymore.
You don't have to call me son,I just want a job and just hire
me.
And he gets up and he goes homeand the Bible says that he gets
(54:35):
almost home and his dad seeshim coming from a long way off
and I love that picture.
The father was apparentlywatching for him, for his boy,
to come home.
And he sees him come and heruns, he falls on his neck, he
kissed him and the crazy thingis that the boy goes into the
speech that he had prepared andhe's like dad, I'm no more
worthy to be called your son,make me as one of your hired
servants.
(54:56):
And the dad never addresses it.
He never says no, I'm not goingto do that.
He just the Bible says he putsnew clothes on him, shoes on his
feet, puts a ring on his fingerand he tells his servants go
get the fatted calf, I'm goingto kill it.
We're going to have a party andthere's music and there's
dancing and all this kind ofstuff.
He throws a party for him.
Now, remember this.
All right, I want you to thinka son.
(55:22):
He is welcomed back as a sonand his father's so happy to see
him.
Why is that?
Because a son is always a son,because once you're born, you're
always born okay.
There's nothing you can do tonot be a son, nothing you can do
to not be a daughter.
So if you're a Christian outthere and you've fallen into sin
(55:42):
and you backslid away from God,you haven't lost your salvation
.
You have a father at home andit is time, any time, that you
come to yourself.
It is time in your life to comehome, and I think you're one
step away from God.
Anyway, if you'll take one steptoward him, he'll meet you,
like the father was watchingdown the road for his son.
He'll run to you and he'llembrace you and he'll welcome
(56:05):
you back into the fellowship inthe good graces that he has.
But he hasn't given up on you.
He didn't take away yoursalvation.
If you died right now, you'regoing to heaven.
Okay, that's what the parableof the prodigal son says.
But there's another son in thestory who's way out there and
(56:27):
he's in the field and he's beenworking all day.
And he comes back in from thefield and he hears daggone music
and dancing and a party andhe's like what in the world's
going on?
And one of his co-workers comesup and he's like your dad, your
brother's home, and your dadthrew a party and he killed a
fatty calf.
And he's got a new robe on yourbrother and a ring and shoes.
And the brother goes ballistic.
He gets so mad.
(56:48):
He's like I never got a party.
He killed a fatted calf.
And he gets so bad and he goesto the party.
The scripture says but he won'tgo in because he's so mad.
And in fact the dad comes outand they have like a
confrontation about this.
He's compelling him to come inand he's like you never threw me
a party and you never did thisfor me and why are you welcoming
(57:09):
my brother back and all thiskind of stuff?
And I tell you all of this storyto get to this part right here,
because the dad looks at theson and he says son of all,
they're both sons.
Son, thou art ever with me.
Okay, you never left me.
All right, you and I have beengood.
(57:31):
Me and your brother's been onthe outs.
I'm happy that he's back, butyou've always been with me and
watch this, he says and all thatI have, verse 31, is thine,
which means, son, you have aninheritance.
Everything I have is yoursbecause you stayed the whole
time.
Your brother, guess what he got?
(57:51):
He got an outfit and he got afull belly and a new pair of
shoes and a ring and a party.
Matt (57:58):
And you know what.
Brandon (57:59):
That's all he's got left.
So if you're a prodigal son outthere, come home.
But if you're a faithfulservant, realize that you're
going to be rewarded for yourfaithfulness at the judgment
seat of Christ.
Matt (58:11):
And don't get in the way of the prodigals that are coming
home.
Love them.
Brandon (58:16):
Rejoice with them.
Matt (58:17):
Rejoice with them.
Yeah, don't.
That's why Jesus pushed backagainst all the religious people
so hard.
It's because they're standingin the way of people trying to
get to God Because they're sojudgmental, thinking they've got
it figured out.
Brandon (58:34):
Judgmental on people who are getting right.
Same passage of Scripture, luke15.
A lady lost a coin and a manlost one of his sheep out of 100
.
He had 99 still, but he lostone and he searched high and low
.
And the lady searched for thecoin.
And the prodigal son, his dad,wanted him to come home and they
all rejoiced, the Bible says,when they came home and they
(58:56):
wanted to throw a party andrejoice.
That's how we're supposed to bewhen prodigals come home.
But we should take note not tobe a prodigal and to stay the
whole time in the father's house.
Why?
Because that's where theinheritance is.
Be faithful to him.
So there's two judgments.
There's a great white thronejudgment for those who reject
Christ.
Those of us who know the Lordwill be judged at the judgment
(59:19):
seat of Christ.
Okay, I encourage you to dothis.
If you don't know the Lord,jesus Christ is your savior.
Every knee will bow and weencourage you to trust Jesus
Christ as your savior beforeit's eternally too late, because
whoever's name is not writtenin the Lamb's book of life will
be cast into the lake of fire.
Matt, until next time.
We'll be back very soon.
(59:41):
I think episode 11 is coming upnot too far from now, but we
just sure.
Thank you for tuning in todayand spending a little time in
the Bible and finding out whatthe Bible says, and we'll see
you later.
God bless you.
God bless you guys.
The Bible says the Bible saysPodcast.
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