And now, as we continue with our studies in the Word of God, taking again our basic text for this week's lessons, Second Timothy chapter two, verse fifteen, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. May God bless that verse to all our hearts. Let us pray. Our Father, we come to thee. We think of the solemn issues. that are before us today, things that must be handled with great care, things that must be handled correctly. We think of the verse we've been reading. Grant, O God, that we shall be like workmen, correctly handling the word of truth, that when the day comes for us to face the Lord Jesus Christ, on his judgment seat that will have his approval. Bless thy people now everywhere for the Lord Jesus' sake. Amen. Now during this week then we have been seeking to place before you some vital truths that call for a correct handling of the word of God. In these days when there is so much confusion and so little scriptural doctrine being proclaimed, I hope that what we have dealt with this week may have helped to establish some of you Christians who listen. We have sought to distinguish between the Jew, the Gentile and the Church of God. A very essential distinction if we are to handle the Word of God correctly. Then we sought to distinguish between the various dispensations showing how God worked with men in the different eras of time. Then we mentioned the two Advent Christ first Advent when he came in all humility and was rejected and despised. But yet we pointed on to the fact there will be a second Advent when he will come again in power and glory. Then we sought to distinguish between the two aspects of his second Advent. That is, there will be the rapture when he will come to take his church home to be with himself, when we will meet together and meet with the Lord in the air. And then there will be the second part of that Advent, when He comes in power and in great glory, and His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives. Now today, I want to distinguish with you between different judgments. You know, there are some people today, including men who claim to be preachers, who have taught their congregations and who themselves seem to be convinced. that this old world is just going to go on to a certain time when God breaks in and says, it's time to finish, gentlemen, and then he will set up his throne of judgment, and he will judge everyone in the same way, and we'll know then who's right and who's wrong. Now, that is not some figment of my imagination. That is what a certain preacher told me himself, and at that time I told him, I'm very sorry for you, sir, if that's the way you interpret the Word of God. Now I want to point out to all my listeners today that the Word of God sets before us different judgments. Now, for example, let me read this to you right now. I'm reading from Paul's second episode to the Corinthians and chapter five. He's writing here to Christians. He says, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Now watch that terminology. The judgment seat of Christ. That everyone may receive the things done in his body. According to that he had done whether it be good or bad. Now from there I want to go over now to the Gospel according to Matthew. And right at the end of chapter twenty-five, because in chapters twenty-four and twenty-five, we have the great Olivet discourse. And right at the end, here is what I read. Matthew twenty-five verse thirty-one. When the Son of Man shall come in his glory. Now you see, that corresponds with what we said regarding the time when he shall come and his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives. When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats, and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And then further down, here is what we read. Verse forty one, then, shall he say also unto them, on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Now there is a judgment which is to take place on earth when it comes to the Son of Man, and that judgment has to do with the living nations. Now let me read to you a final portion in the book of Revelation, chapter twenty. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. I am sure God will bless to us. the reading of these verses. Now notice then, taking these things I have read to you, first of all, you have the judgment at the judgment seat of Christ, where only Christians, only believers will be there, and that will take place in the heavenlys. That will take place between the rapture and the revelation. Then in the second portion at the end of Matthew's Gospel, we have the judgment of the living nations. That will take place at the time when the King comes back in power and glory and gathers the nations before him, the living nations, and judges them. The third one, which is the judgment at the great white throne, will take place at the very end when the heavens and the earth have passed away and there's no place found for them then and the dead small and great shall stand before that great white throne to be judged by the judge of all people now then at the great white throne judgment only unsaved ones will be there At the judgment seat of Christ, only Christians will be there. At the judgment of the living nations, there will be distinctions made. There will be those on the right and those on the left. Now we have to correctly handle the word of truth. We'll have to be able to distinguish between these different judgments. Now concerning the judgment seat of Christ. Although every believer must appear at the judgment seat, his eternal security is not in jeopardy. Remember this, there is no condemnation, that is, there is no judgment to them that are in Christ Jesus. They are clean every whit. They can appear in God's high courts of justice and fear no charge brought against them. They overcome by the blood of the Lamb. No one can pluck them out of the hand of the Savior or out of His Father's hand. Indeed, at the time when the judgment seat takes place, they will have received their glorified bodies and be like Christ. The Father's house will be their proper dwelling place. Their place entitled as members of the family is established. that their sins have been righteously dealt with in the person of their substitute, and they can never more be brought up against them. Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Christ will appear the second time without sin unto salvation. But when all this is true, the possibility of being ashamed before Him at His coming actually exists. It is possible to be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. That's what we were reading in Timothy. but it seems to be that some workmen may be ashamed. For although the believer will not come into judgment, yet he must undergo examination at the judgment seat. The thought behind the word judgment seat there, it's the Bima, is that of a place where an observer passes judgment as to whether or not a person has behaved properly, complied with the rules, and the deserving or not of a reward. It is not a court where crimes are dealt with. Most of you are familiar with the difference between that. If a man stands in a law court, he's being judged for some crime. But then when you go to the Olympic Games and a man goes up to the BEMA, that is the judge's platform, he doesn't go up there to be condemned. He goes up there to receive his reward and he receives his medal. Now this examination at the judgment seat of Christ does not take place immediately the believer leaves this life. But, as the parables of the talents and the pounds clearly show, it is when the master returns, then he will examine what has been done during his absence and a lot rewards which will be enjoyed in his kingdom. So there is a tribunal, as it were, which occurs between the rapture and the return to earth of the Lord Jesus. Now, no Christian can escape this. For in every one of the New Testament passages which bear upon the judgment of the believer, the word every or each is used. All the redeemed must appear there. They will not be dealt with in a great mass, but as individuals and personally. The Lord will then bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the heart, and then each shall have praise from God. How important, therefore, that we judge nothing before the time, since we do not know everything. where all the facts before us, no doubt our judgment would be vastly different. All believers will then see everything in the light of His presence, and their judgment of such things will be precisely what is His. This, no doubt, will involve the adjustment of all those sad things which marred the peace of God's people on earth. We shall then all be brought into line with His thought. Discord often results from differing individual conscientious scruples. That was the case with the Christians at Rome, you know. Some believers, in all likelihood they were Jews who had been converted, were meticulously insistent on the observance of the Mosaic law as to days and foods. Others in those same churches, possibly Gentiles, who had been saved, refused to put themselves under any such restrictions. Clearly, such differing attitudes were liable to produce friction. But Paul reminds them that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. Each one of us shall give it account of himself to God. And if he be satisfied, who else has the right to dispute? How wrong it is to despise those who, in order to have a conscience void of offense before God, observe the injunctions of the Old Testament touching foods and days. And conversely, of course, How wrong of these to condemn the others who, in order to secure their Christian freedom, strenuously resist any attempt to put them under legal bondage. After all is said and done, we are accountable to God and not to any man. That we should not stumble our brother, of course, is right and proper. But we do not go into that matter here. That's another question altogether. In our day we may not be concerned about such things as what troubled those Christian believers in Rome, but the principle abides. Now the judgment seat also has to do with our work for Christ. Every man's work shall be made manifest. Paul is thinking especially of the activities of persons in their own local church. He himself had founded the Corinthian church, but it was for others to continue building on the foundation that he had laid. It was possible to put into it such work as would adorn it. In that case the work would withstand the fire in the day of testing, as silver, gold and costly stones are combustible. But it is possible also to put into it such work as would all vanish into smoke when tested as wood, grass, and straw. If our work withstands the fire of testing we shall be given the reward. If it does not do so we shall suffer loss. We shall not suffer the loss of any blessings given us in sovereign grace, for, as we have seen, our eternal security is not in jeopardy. Rather, there looms the loss of a reward which we might have obtained had we been more diligent and careful. In this case, the quality of the work is taken into account. But in the parable of the pounds the householder is concerned with how much every man had gained by trading. There it is the quantity. Both quality and quantity will be considered at the judgment seat. We repeat that salvation is not in peril, then. He shall be saved, is what is said about one whose work is all consumed. Yet so is by fire. That is to say, despite the fire which has tested his life work, he has the grief of seeing all of it consumed, although he himself is saved. There is even more. Not only must we put in an appearance there and give an account of ourselves, Not only must our life not be tested and, if meritorious, be rewarded, but we ourselves must be made manifest. We shall be seen then in our true colors. Any false exterior will be removed. All veneer will be stripped off. All wax, which has been designed to conceal the cracks in our character, will then melt in the sun-heat of his presence. Paul had been subjected to many cruel aspersions on his motives, but he was well aware that nothing but the love of Christ constrained him and was assured that if that were not considered now, it would become manifest then. It may not be easy to understand how each of us will receive the things done in the body according to what we have done, whether it be good or bad, but... It is not that our actions are like boomerangs. They come back on us and leave their mark on our character. They are like birds that go on the wing and do their work but come home to roost. The net result of our life, which is a mixture of good and bad, will be that which we shall carry over into eternity and will, as to character formed on earth, be our starting point in heaven. Some of Israel's kings have spoken of as having done that which was good in the sight of the Lord, others as those who did evil. This is the summary assessment of the life. I suggest that this is what the Spirit intends when he says, Each shall receive the things done in the body, whether good or bad. The good things that he had done, the same shall he receive again from the Lord. Likewise, the wrong that he had done, he shall himself receive again. It does not here appear to be a matter of reward, but the actions themselves come back on the doer. The net result is made manifest at the judgment seat. We may be sure that the Lord will not fail to compensate his servants for all their expenditure on his behalf. Whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee. Nothing will be overlooked. Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according to his work. Or as his work shall be, his reward will be fair, just, and generous. We shall then be only too willing to acknowledge... that we have been the unprofitable servants. So, you see, it means this, that he will not overlook one relevant factor. He spoke three parables touching this matter, the labourers in the vineyard, the men with the talents and the men with the pounds, in each of these the emphasis on different things. In the first, it is on the fact of unequal opportunities, in the second, on differing capacities, in the third, on a common responsibility. There were some who had opportunity to serve but one hour. There were those whose ability was not so great as that of another, and talents were given according to each man's ability, but each had a pound, the responsibility used it was alike, and these things will be factors in the Lord's assessment of the work done." the love shown, the diligence accepted, and the reward merited. So let us remember this, that as Christians we shall appear at the judgment seat of Christ. But when you go to Matthew chapter twenty-five, my, it's a different thing there altogether. He's dealing here with the judgment of the living nations. And so therefore he's going to gather them all before him. And those living nations will be there. And when he gathers them before him, we should be careful. Notice there is divine discrimination. It's not a mere act of vengeance which deals with matters, in which all might be overwhelmed and come and ruined. He separates them one from another. Now at the great white throne the dead shall all stand together there. There is no question or need of separating them there. But here at the judgment of the living nations there is a mingled company. Such a mixture is never found in heaven and never found in hell. In heaven they are all saved. In hell they are all lost. But only here on earth you have the mixed company. Thus every clause gives proof that our Lord speaks of a judgment of the living on the earth. He separates them as a shepherd, divides the sheep from the goats. It follows that the persons meant by the sheep and the goats are respectively the righteous and the ungodly among the nations then living on the earth when our Lord comes to judge in his quality of son of man. It is a question here of the power and glory of the king in judgment. See, when the Christians are raptured, they appear at the judgment seat of Christ. Here on earth it's the king that comes in power and glory, and he comes with his title of son of man. Here he has the discerning power of the shepherd king. Here the son of man, as a king upon his throne, is able to discriminate like a true shepherd between sheep and goats. And then the deeds of the people are judged by the king. The verdict is determined by their attitude to the king's brethren. And these are they who do the will of the Father. That is according to chapter twelve of Matthew's Gospel in verse fifty. So now they're being judged according to that standard. Then the destiny is eternally fixed for both groups. One group are called blessed and they enter into life eternal. While the other group pass into everlasting punishment. That is at the time of the judgment of the living nations. But now when you come to the book of Revelation chapter twenty, we're faced here with an altogether different situation. This is a way after the great millennial reign of Christ, and after there has been a final rebellion, after that Satan is cast into the lake of fire. It's there that the great white throne then is set up after these things. And the beast and the false prophet, you know, have been in the lake of fire for a thousand years. And then Satan is loose for a little season. And he goes out again to deceive the nations. But now, after that time of rebellion, and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire, it's then that John sees the great white throne set up. This is the great final assize of the universe. This is the great final judgment. Now notice, it's a great white throne. If it's a throne, it speaks of majesty. If it's white, it speaks of purity. And here is a great white throne. And him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them. The Lord Jesus Christ then who is appointed judge. For remember, God has appointed a day in which you have judged the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. Whereof he has given assurance unto all men, and yet he has raised them from the dead. And here he is, he sits on the throne. But at that great white throne there is no Christian there to be judged. And this is not the judgment of the nation. He sees the dead, small and great stand before God. This now comes to the point of the second resurrection. And they're raised, and they stand before God, and they're judged out of the things that are written in the books. It's not a question of salvation here. It's a question of condemnation. And the books are opened. And the book of life is opened. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their work. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. They were judged every man according to their works. There's no sinner shall escape that. My friend, let us be clear on this then. Yonder at Calvary's cross, Christ bore the judgment for the sinner. And the idea of the condemnation for the sinner... was met there, and all who have trusted Christ can say this, God shall not payment twice demand, first at my bleeding short his hand, and then again at mine. The question of my sins will never be raised, I trusted Christ. But nevertheless, I must appear at the judgment seat of Christ to have my works tested. My labour for Christ must be put under review as to what sort it is. Only Christians will be there. But at the judgment of the living nations, which shall take place when Christ comes back as son of man to this earth, as king of kings, he'll judge the living nations. But at the great white throne, the unsaved will be there to receive the word of condemnation be cast into the lake of fire. Which judgment, my friend? Will you see a Eucharistian? And don't worry about your salvation so far as that's concerned, but be exercised about your work for Christ.