For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ… Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. 2 Corinthians 5:10-11
The second strand of the fear of the Lord is God’s judgment. Paul was a Christian believer, and God moved him to write, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
Paul knew that there was no condemnation for him, but he also knew he would stand before the judgment seat of God, and as a Christian believer, he spoke of “knowing the fear of the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:11).
Christians know we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, who knows even the hidden things about us. How should we think about the coming judgment? Thomas Manton, the Puritan, gives us three helpful answers:
The judgment of God was once our due
Grace is not a right. What we deserve, as a matter of justice, is an eternity under God’s judgment.
We still deserve it, even after grace has made a change in our condition
The reason that there is no condemnation for believers is not that there is nothing in us that could be condemned; it is that God in His mercy chooses not to press charges against us. There is enough sin in the life of every Christian this week to condemn us to hell. If God were to judge any of our lives now, apart from Jesus Christ, we would be lost forever.
We know we shall be saved, but it is a difficult thing to save us
Christians are people who know not only their past, forgiven sins, but also the sins that remain, from which they are in daily need of being saved. There is nothing self-righteous about a true Christian. We hang on the mercy of God that is ours in Jesus Christ. Apart from that we would be lost.
Are you living as though you will have to give an account of your life to God?
