first outline the perimeter of what we are talking about in this lesson.

 

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

​

Paul sheds a great amount of light into what king Solomon was teaching. For in the New Testament we learn that there are two judgments, the final or general judgment, and what Paul calls the judgment seat of Christ.

 

If you die in Christ, and by that I mean that you are saved and when you die you go straight to heaven, as it is written:

 

2 Corinthians 5:8 “...To be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

 

Then you must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, which is not a judgment of damnation but of rewards or the lack of them.

 

When an unbeliever dies, he goes straight to Hades, which is a kind of an un-finalized hell, for the real hell is the burning lake of fire. Those who are in Hades will not be thrown into the lake of fire until after they face the final judgment, called the great white throne judgment. Which will not take place for at least another thousand years.

 

Revelation 20:11-12 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

 

The judgment that we are dealing with in this lesson is the judgment of the believers, for that is to whom I am writing this lesson for.

 

So that if you are a believer you need to know how these secret things that will be revealed at the judgment seat of Christ after we die, can be dealt with in the here and now before we die, but first we need to know what they are and how they affect us.

 

If you are not a believer yet, you can become one right now by simply repenting of all your sins and confessing before Jesus that you are a sinner and that you want Him to forgive you of all your sins, and if you truly mean it with your heart, Jesus will forgive you immediately and this lesson will apply to you as well. Now, that was simple!

 

Now that the perimeters are established let us deal with the judgment of the believers. Why is there a judgment seat of Christ for us who believe?

 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 “...But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day (of the judgment seat of Christ) will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss (lack of reward); but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

 

Paul lays it out very clearly, since our salvation is a gift from God, and since the gifts of God are irrevocable: Romans 11:29, we cannot lose our salvation. However we have the privilege to minister to others the free salvation that our Lord offers to all who believe, and as fellow ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we become partakers of the rewards of serving Jesus Christ.

 

Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

 

From the time we got saved and for all the things we built our lives around on, we will have to give an account to God.

 

If we live for our own selfish interests after we get saved, those things which we have accomplished will not survive the fire of the judgment Day anymore than wood, hay, or straw, can survive a raging fire storm.

 

However, if we build our lives after we get saved around those things which are eternal, they, like gold, silver, and precious stones, will survive the fire of the Day of judgment and we will get a reward for them.

 

How do I know which one of my deeds will survive the fire and which ones will not?

 

Nothing that we do that flows out of our natural strength, our flesh, will ever survive the raging fire of the Day of judgment, as it is written:

 

Romans 7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.”

 

The only thing that will survive the fire of judgment is spiritual fruit, for the Spirit of the Lord is a consuming fire that will not consume Himself or His own fruit, as it was revealed to Moses at the burning bush.

 

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law (no law means no judgment).”

 

That is what Paul meant when he said that in his flesh nothing good dwelled, he implied that only that which proceeded from the Spirit of God that was in him, and that saved him, is what counted.

 

Galatians 5:25 “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

 

Now what about the secret things, what does it mean by secret things?

 

The production of spiritual fruit in us and through us is hindered by those secret things in us that have not yet been exposed to the light of God’s judgment. What are these secret things?

 

They are strongholds within our souls that are yet to be broken down by the Spirit of God, we may be aware of them or we may not, but until they are removed from us, those areas of our lives to which they are connected will not produce sufficient spiritual fruit, because of their hindrance.

 

How can we know if there is a spiritual stronghold within us?

 

Probably one of the easiest ways to know if there is a secret or hidden thing in our souls that is keeping us from producing spiritual fruit is to see which spiritual fruit in us its hindering.

 

For example, let’s start with the first spiritual fruit, the fruit of love, and by asking these questions we will know if we have a stronghold that hinders the way that we are supposed to love: Is my love towards God hindered in any way? Do I love and accept myself the way that God does? Do I love others with the same intensity that I love my self?

 

You’ll be surprised to know how many people have difficulties relating to God from a love perspective. And if we can truly love God, then how can we truly love ourselves, and if we have trouble loving and accepting ourselves, how can we be expected to love others and accept them as they are, for that is how God accepts us, as we are.

 

If my ability to fully and completely love God, my self, and others is blocked, how do I remedy it?

 

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

 

The Word of God reveals the intensity with which God loves us, as well as the perfection and steadfastness of His love for us. If you do not know God’s love for you is it because you do not know His Word.

 

Jeremiah 23:29 “Is not My word like a fire? Says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”

 

The Word of God is not only the hammer that breaks down the hidden strongholds within us, but is also the fire of judgment that cleanses and purifies us while in the here and now. If you have difficulties loving yourself or others, study the love of God revealed to us in His Word, accept it personally, and let it burn away deep within your soul the stains that soiled your soul when the love of others let you down.

 

As it is written:

 

Hebrews 13:5 “...For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

 

Hebrews 12:29 “For our God is a consuming fire.”

 

Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”

 

We can do the same with the rest of the fruit of the Spirit, if you lack joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, read how in the Word of God they all have been made available to us freely, but you have to swing the hammer and light the fire.

 

We need to understand that before we enter into the joy of our Lord all these hindrances are going to be demolish at the judgment seat of Christ. But we do not need to wait until then, we can do it now, so that we are able to serve our King and Savior without hesitation or limitations.

 

Yes, there will be a reward, but it's not the reward that really motivates me, I can just picture the joy in my Lord’s face when in a selfless act one of my actions causes one of His lost children to return home to Him.

 

Oh, what a privilege it is to serve the One who loves me so much!

 

Hate, fear, doubt, unbelief, are all the result of us not understanding the fullness of God’s love for us, why don’t you start there, in God’s love, take whatever hate remains in your soul and break it to pieces with the hammer of God’s Word, then set it on fire and let the wind of the Spirit of God remove it from you as far as the east is from the west.

 

James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

 

The cure for double-mindedness is the surety of the promises that are found in the Word of God.

 

Remember that the salvation of others may depend in you being able to break down some of the strongholds that keep you tied down today, if you can or won’t do it for yourself, will you do it for them?

 

James 5:19-20 “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”