(tm) The reason for this misunderstanding is two fold.
Back to The First and Second Resurrection
First, the Apostle Paul taught we are saved by grace apart from the works of the Law. Gentile believers, not having a background of the Law of Moses, have interpreted Paul to mean we are saved by grace apart from righteous conduct. Since Divine grace always produces righteous conduct, this interpretation is illogical.
Second, the Protestant reformers, in their determination to get away from the domination of Rome, stressed we are justified by faith alone . By this they meant we are not to add to salvation the traditions of the Catholic Church. But, as has been done in the case of Paul and his exhortations to the Judaizers, modern-day expositors are declaring that faith alone means we are justified apart from moral transformation. Again, this is an inappropriate argument because salvation is moral transformation. Salvation is the new creation.
It is taught commonly that the Judgment Seat of Christ is for all who have made a correct statement of faith in Christ and that the Judgment Seat will take place after the believers have been raised from the dead and have ascended to be with the Lord forever.
Added to this is the concept that there is no real punishment associated with the Judgment Seat of Christ; rather, the Judgment Seat of Christ is limited to the assigning of greater or lesser rewards (although the Greek term, beema, refers to a court where criminals were judged). Since these unscriptural ideas are being presented continually to the believers, the lukewarm behavior of most Christians is not surprising.
The doctrine of the "pre-tribulation rapture" and the doctrine of the "rewards-only" view of the Judgment Seat of Christ are directly responsible for the frivolous attitude of many Christians and for the false sense of security that produces lukewarmness.
The righteous will be saved only with difficulty. God’s people do not understand this. They are not working out their salvation with fear and trembling. In fact, they have rejected the fear of God.
Do you think the Christians would live differently if they truly believed their participation in the first resurrection depends on their conduct?—that if they do not serve Jesus with intense dedication they actually may have to wait until the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age before they receive back their bodies from the grave?
We are convinced that multitudes of Christians would live differently if they knew the truth. The believers in Jesus must come to understand that the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, as well as the writings of the Epistles of the Apostles, imply that many of the believers of today stand in real danger of having to wait until the second resurrection before they are given back their bodies, and that they will receive the consequences of their behavior at time..
A correct understanding of the events of the Day of the Lord has a direct effect on the choices we make and on the way we work out our salvation. God’s sheep respond to what they are taught. The Book of Revelation is bound with a curse. We who teach the Scriptures bear a dreadful responsibility.
Do the words of Paul support the rewards-only concept of the Judgment Seat of Christ?
. . . that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10)
. . . that each one may receive the things [done] through the body, in reference to the things that he did, whether good or evil; (II Corinthians 5:10—Young’s Literal Translation)
. . . so that each one may receive the things [done] through the body, according to what he did, whether good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10—Literal Translation of the Holy Bible)
For the [one] sowing to his flesh will reap corruption of the flesh. But the [one] sowing to the Spirit will reap everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:8—Literal Translation of the Holy Bible)
"That each one may receive the things done through the body."
Many Christians practice the works of the flesh, such as adultery, fornication, wrath, jealousy, profanity, violence, lying, cheating, haughtiness, criticism, fear, unbelief, cowardice, sorcery, drunkenness, and stealing.
According to the Scripture the person (Christian or not) who practices adultery will receive the consequences of adultery. The individual who gossips will receive the consequences of gossip. The person who is drunken will receive the consequences of drunkenness.
Is this what II Corinthians 5:10 actually states?
But what if it is true that the person who practices adultery receives a spirit of adultery? The individual who gossips will receive a spirit of gossip? The drunken person receives a spirit of drunkenness or a craving for drunkenness? The believer who practices obedience, truth, and mercy will receive a body in which these virtues are inherent? This seems to be what the literal translations are proclaiming.
Compare:
Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy. (Revelation 12:11)
He who is unrighteous—let him be unrighteous still, and he who is filthy—let him be filthy still, and he who is righteous—let him be declared righteous still, and he who is sanctified—let him be sanctified still: (Revelation 22:11—Young's Literal Translation)
The one acting unjustly, let him still act unjustly; and the filthy, let him still be filthy; and the righteous, let him still do righteousness; and the holy, let him still be holy. (Revelation 22:11—Literal Translation of the Holy Bible)
What if it is true that at the Judgment Seat of Christ we are bound in the sins we have practiced? This would be a reaping of what we have sown. In other words, we are not rewarded or punished according to what we have done. Rather, we are given back what we have done so that we are compelled to continue in our lying, our adultery, our rage, our deceit, our gossiping and slandering, our criticizing and judging of others, our selfishness, our rebellion against God and our hatred of God, our covetousness, our rejection of the lordship of Jesus Christ. This would be a righteous, equitable judgment. We have sown to our sinful nature, and we reap that same sinful nature. Nothing could be more fair than this.
Sometimes we may be concerned that wicked people prosper and never will be held accountable for their actions. We need not worry. The God of Heaven has perfect recall. The behaviors we have chosen will be returned to us along with their consequences.
If the above is true, the idea that we will receive at the Judgment Seat only the good we have done is terribly misleading and destructive. The truth appears to be that believers who have practiced righteousness will receive a righteous nature and the consequent eternal life, while believers who have practiced wickedness will receive a wicked nature and the consequent disfigurement and torment.
Are we then to assume a blithe attitude toward the Judgment Seat of Christ, now that we have become a Christian?
The aged apostle concludes, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (II Corinthians 5:11).
When we preach repentance to the Lord’s flock today the response may be repentance, or it may be unbelief or anger. The concepts of the pre-tribulation rapture and rewards-only judgment have leavened the whole lump of Christian thinking.
Yet, these doctrines are unscriptural.
Revelation 20:11-15 certainly is part of the Judgment Seat of Christ, because it is a judgment seat and only Christ possesses the authority of judgment.
For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: (John 5:22)