2 Coríntios 5
Wayne Barber · Citado em PreceptAustin
2 Coríntios 5:10
Barber explains why Paul brings up the Bema Seat in Romans 14. Why does he seem to interject this topic in a chapter that has to do with discussion of relationships? Wayne's explanation, although a bit lengthy, will help you understand one aspect of the Bema Seat judgment, an aspect that we can put into practice immediately in our Christian walks… before that awesome day when we must stand before Jesus our Righteous Judge and give an accounting! Ro 14:10 says, "But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God." The present tense is used (you are continually judging). This is spiritual pride. Some of the saints have understood the message of grace and they are hammering the people who don’t understand, making them look stupid, scorning them, shunning them. Paul is saying, "You had better stop doing that." As a matter of fact, the emphasis here is like, "Who are you to judge anybody? There is a Judge and you are going to stand before Him one day, but you are not Him. What do you mean judging?" The word for "judge" is krino and we have seen it in Ro 14:3, 4, 5 and it means to come to a decision that you execute upon someone based on what you see and what you know and probably in front of their peers. Now, to apply that to Ro 14:10, you have judged that your brother in Christ is wrong and is hung up in legalism. But rather than choosing love him by gently instructing, exhorting and praying for him, you make him look bad in front of his peers. Isn’t it kind of fun to do that sometimes? Have you ever had a bad day and done that? Some of you have had those days in which you just won’t repent and just sort of feel the luxury of ripping your brother and tearing him down and saying things because you have picked up a weakness in that brother and you just enjoy talking about it. By your talking about his weakness, you are making yourself look better. All of us have done that, haven’t we? The Apostle Paul is saying, "Folks, you don’t seem to understand." We are going to be held accountable for the things that we say and the way we treat the weaker brother or in any other relationship of our life. We will stand before a Holy God one day. "Who are you," he says, "to judge your brother?" He goes on and asks the second question. He says, "Who are you to regard your brother with contempt?" The word "contempt" means to treat him as if he is nothing, to despise him. Again it’s the same attitude. The principle or the reason he says this is found in the last part of the verse. He says, "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God." That is a sobering statement. If we stopped right there, every one of us would just have to start repenting. We are all going to stand. There is going to be a reckoning. There is going to be an accountability that God is going to hold us to one day in the future. And there are many Christians who treat this thing lightly. Their families are split apart. They go through life with bitter relationships. They don’t really care what they say about people. They always are somehow building themselves up without understanding they are going to answer before a Holy God one day for what they have said and how they have treated their brother. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. That is in the future tense. There is an event coming. There is an appointment you and I have to keep. We are going to stand before God one day and we are going to give an account of how we live. He says, "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God." "Stand before" is the word paristemi. It means to be made to stand before the presence of an authority who has the power to judge. I think Paul is trying to say, "Folks, do you really believe this?" I personally believe that most people don’t believe this. If they did, they would live differently. They wouldn’t say some of the things they say. They wouldn’t do some of the things they do. We have an appointment. The Judge is coming. He has given us the freedom and He has given us the privilege and He is coming to hold us accountable for what He has given to us. That is what he is saying. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. The term "judgment seat of God" is interesting. The Nestle’s text says "God" but the Textus Receptus says "Christ". Now you say, "Well, isn’t Christ God?" Yes, He is and there possibly isn’t any real distinction, but I am going to make one. In the Textus Receptus it says the Bema Seat or the Judgment Seat of Christ. Now the term "judgment seat" is the term Bema. You have heard of the Bema Seat of Christ. What is the Bema? Well, Bema is the word that refers to a throne that was set up above the people to give the position of authority. It was a throne of judgment. It was on a platform. As a matter of fact, it was used for many things, not just judgment. Sometimes oracles were made there and sometimes debates were held. It was a place with a high rostrum. It was always given that place of distinction. In Acts 12:21 we see Herod in Caesarea taking his place on a throne that was elevated above the people. It says, "And on an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum." The term "rostrum" or Bema and commonly meant a tribunal and was where a judge would sit to make judgments and give out sentences… I had the privilege of going to Greece several years ago… The ruins of Philippi were just marvelous. When I got there I got to stand on the Bema Seat, the place where the throne was set up where the public debates were held, where the judge would sit up and make his judgments and cast sentence. So the Bema was a well known to Paul's audience because every city had an elevated place where the judge would sit and judgments was rendered and sentences given out. We are all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. We know that all men will stand before God, but who is going to stand here at the Judgment Seat of Christ? The context is believers. Christ is going to make judgments about how we have lived on earth. So the first thing. is that all believers have an appointment with Him. (And so Paul's point in the context of Romans 14 is… ) Who are we to judge somebody else? Who am I to try to be lord over somebody else’s life? Who am I to demean somebody and scorn somebody because they don’t understand the faith? I am nobody. I am not to do it, and I am going to be judged if I do it. Second, "What are we going to be judged for? I thought my sin was judged at the cross." Thank God, it was and we are not going to stand in that judgment. This judgment will be an accountability for how we lived life on earth. Now I am telling you, folks, people don’t want to hear this. They don’t want to deal with their relationships. They don’t want to make things right. They would rather sweep it under the rug than put it under the blood. They don’t realize they are going to stand before God one day, the Lord Jesus on that throne, and they are going to give an account for how they dealt in their relationships down here on earth. It concerns the evaluation of our life on earth and its character and its works. The context in both Romans 14 and 2 Corinthians 5 is all believers and that is what we have got to see. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 it says, For we must all [that includes Paul, me, you and everybody] appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body. Do you know what the word "recompense" is? It means to pay back in full. In other words, if I owe you $5, I pay you $5, not $4 and not $6. Not more and not less, exactly what I owe. In other words, what we do here is going to be recompensed when we stand before Him. This should be a thrilling thing, but for most of us it is not. It is a real eye opener, a sobering thing. The common misunderstanding is that when a person dies, their life as a believer on this earth is forgotten. They step over into a state of bliss, everything in the past is over and in that day it is all the same for everybody --"pie in the sky by and by." Oh, Lord, give me a little house over there in glory land. That is the thinking of most people. I hate to tell you this, folks, that is just not the way it is. You see, once you get saved, and are given everything for life and godliness (2Pe 1:3) and we will be held accountable for that "gift" one day. Part of our accountability has to do with our relationships and how we treat each other… Now folks, you have got to get that in your mind. The way you live here now as a Christian has everything to do with the way you are going to enjoy where you are headed. You see, many people don’t believe that. I am afraid that you are going to misunderstand it. It has nothing to do with the glorified body. It has nothing to do with your eternal standing with God. That is not what he is talking about. But what Paul is talking about is there is going to be some kind of identity when we get to heaven in the presence of God that is going to depict how we lived down here. It is not a put down in any way. As a matter of fact, I think that is the garment which we will stand in when we stand before the Bema Seat of Christ. We will have no argument when the rewards are passed out. We will know immediately why we receive what we received. This is a motivation for the believer to know that one day when he or she stands before God they want to stand not ashamed of the way they lived down here. The context (in Romans 14 particularly) is all relates to relationships. I have said many times that if the devil has a place in your life, if he can get in there at all, it is on your tongue. That is where it is. How you talk about and deal with people is the key. The building and clothing are in accordance with our works of faith on this earth, whether good or bad. If you are going to be paid back for something in 2Co 5:10, what is it you are going to be paid back? How are you going to be rewarded? According to the deeds done in the body, whether good—inherently good, that which only the Holy Spirit can do—or evil or bad… There are responsibilities in the Christian life, folks. This puts integrity right back where it ought to be. People who say you can live like you want to live, do what you want to do, are people who do not understand the Word of God. Jesus is coming and when He comes, we shall all stand. Thank God, it is a wonderful thing and is for rewards and that He is not out to get us. He already has us. But now He want to reward us! Paul is saying is, we have an appointment one day to stand before God and the way we treat each other will directly impact our "rewards ceremony". Folks, you need to think about that before you say or do anything to demean or scorn a brother because God loves them and gave Himself for them. He died for us when we were ungodly sinners and enemies of God. He is going to judge us one day for how we treated brothers in the family of God. So how should we live in light of this truth? This is the main reason Paul brought up a discussion of the Bema seat here in Romans 14. How shall we live? We are not to cause each other to stumble. Look in Romans 14:11. He reminds them of a truth found in the Old Testament. For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.' (Quoting Isaiah 45:23) Paul is saying there has never been a time during man’s existence on earth when God has not specifically warned that there was going to be a day of reckoning or accountability. God was faithful to declare this truth from the Old Testament and the New Testament. Why we think that simply because we as NT believers are now under grace that we are not going to be accountable for what God has given us is baffling. We need to remember that the way we live directly relates to what is going to happen on this awesome day when we stand before Jesus at His Bema Seat judgment! (Reference) REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS A. Described as: Sure - Pr 11:18 Full - Ruth 2:12 Remembered - 2Chr. 15:7 Great - Mt 5:12 Open - Mt 6:4, 6, 18 B. Obtained by: Keeping God’s commandments - Ps 19:11 Sowing righteousness - Pr 11:18, Gal 6:8 Fearing God’s commandments - Pr 13:13 Feeding an enemy - Pr 25:21, 22 Simple service - Mt 6:1 Grace through faith - Ro 4:4, 5, 16 Faithful service - Col 3:23, 24 Seeking God diligently - He 11:6 C. At Christ’s return: After the resurrection - Re 11:18 Tested by fire - 1Co 3:8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 According to works - Re 22:12 TORREY'S TOPIC THE REWARD OF THE SAINTS 1. Is from God. Ro 2:7; Col 3:24; Heb 11:6. 2. Is of grace, through faith alone. Ro 4:4,5,16; 11:6. 3. Is of God’s good pleasure. Mt 20:14,15; Lk 12:32. 4. Prepared by God. Heb 11:16. 5. Prepared by Christ. Jn 14:2. 6. As servants of Christ. Col 3:24. 7. Not on account of their merits. Ro 4:4,5. 8. Described as a. Being with Christ. Jn 12:26; 14:3; Php 1:23; 1Th 4:17. b. Beholding the face of God. Ps 17:15; Mt 5:8; Re 22:4. c. Beholding the glory of Christ. Jn 17:24. d. Being glorified with Christ. Ro 8:17,18; Col 3:4; Php 3:21; 1Jo 3:2. e. Sitting in judgment with Christ. Da 7:22; Mt 19:28; Lk 22:30; 1Co 6:2. f. Reigning with Christ. 2Ti 2:12; Re 3:21; 5:10; 20:4. g. Reigning for ever and ever. Re 22:5. h. A crown of righteousness. 2Ti 4:8. i. A crown of glory. 1Pe 5:4. j. A crown of life. Jas 1:12; Re 2:10. k. An incorruptible crown. 1Co 9:25. l. Joint heirs with Christ. Ro 8:17. m. Inheritance of all things. Re 21:7. n. Inheritance with saints in light. Ac 20:32; 26:18; Col 1:12. o. Inheritance eternal. Heb 9:15. p. Inheritance incorruptible. 1Pe 1:4. q. A kingdom. Mt 25:34; Lk 22:29. r. A kingdom immovable. Heb 12:28. s. Shining as the stars. Da 12:3. t. Everlasting light. Isa 60:19. u. Everlasting life. Lk 18:30; Jn 6:40; 17:2,3; Ro 2:7; 6:23; 1Jn 5:11. v. An enduring substance. Heb 10:34. w. A house eternal in the heavens. 2Co 5:1. x. A city which had foundation. Heb 11:10. y. Entering into the joy of the Lord. Mt 25:21; Heb 12:2. z. Rest. Heb 4:9; Re 14:13. Further described as… A. Fulness of joy. Ps 16:11. B. The prize of the high calling of God in Christ. Php 3:14. C. Treasure in heaven. Mt 19:21; Lk 12:33. D. An eternal weight of glory. 2Co 4:17. 9. Is great. Mt 5:12; Lk 6:35; Heb 10:35. 10. Is full. 2Jn 1:8. 11. Is sure. Pr 11:18. 12. Is satisfying. Ps 17:15. 13. Is inestimable. Isa 64:4; 1Co 2:9. 14. Saints may feel confident of. Ps 73:24; Isa 25:8,9; 2Co 5:1; 2Ti 4:8. 15. Hope of, a cause of rejoicing. Ro 5:2. 16. Be careful not to lose. 2Jn 1:8. 17. The prospect of, should lead to a. Diligence. 2Jn 1:8. b. Pressing forward. Php 3:14. c. Enduring suffering for Christ. 2Co 4:16, 17, 18; Heb 11:26. d. Faithfulness to death. Re 2:10. 18. Present afflictions not to be compared with. Ro 8:18; 2Co 5:17. 19. Shall be given at the second coming of Christ. Mt 16:27; Re 22:12.
2 Coríntios 5:17
Barber writes this "May well be regarded as the finest conservative exposition of this epistle")
2 Coríntios 5:17
Barber writes this "May well be regarded as the finest conservative exposition of this epistle") Behold(2400)(idou) is the second person singular aorist middle imperative of eidon which means to see, perceive, look at. In the NT idou is used as a demonstrative particle that draws attention to what follows. Idou in the middle voice means "you yourself look, see, perceive!" The aorist imperative is a command emphasizing "Do it now! Don't delay!" In 2Cor 5:17 Paul uses idou, to get his reader's attention as he introduces the truth that the one who in now in Christ is a qualitatively new person. (see also notes above on "behold")