With respect to all these things, we will-after death on earth or after Jesus removes His church from the world ( 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)-stand (if we are able to stand before our holy Lord) and receive rewards for how we lived as Christians.
Coming second or third gained nothing for a contestant. The participant who finished in first place received a crown, as he personified the Greek concept of arête (excellence). Instead, they received crowns made from olive leaves taken from what the Greeks considered the sacred tree at Olympia. The ancient Olympic victors received no medals. Even Paul wrestles with his sinful nature ( Romans 7:19). Yes, Christians are saved from God’s wrath ( Romans 5:9), but we are still capable of evil while in this body of flesh (All of Colossians 3 admonishes Christians to “seek the things that are above”). Jesus is the One who is “standing at the finish line,” judging what every believer does. The Apostle Paul wrote the two definitive passages referring to the Bema Seat ( 2 Corinthians 5:10, and Romans 14:10, 12), and he comprehended and illuminated Jesus as Judge.
We refer to it as the Bema Seat because it is a fathomable picture of how Jesus is set above us as He renders judgment to His church. The term, Bema Seat, is taken from the Greek word for judgment, bēma. I would add Hebrews 12:1, even though we do not have a clear picture of who authored the book. Just as Jesus used many agricultural metaphors to help His audiences understand His greater truths ( John 6:35, John 15:1-5), so too did Paul ( Galatians 5:22-23), yet he added sports imagery for those who observed and perhaps even took part in the Greek Olympic games, held in Olympia ( 1 Corinthians 9:24, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 4:7). Paul’s use of sports metaphors is prevalent throughout his letters (Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon), and he used language and images with which his audience could relate. After that horrific time-some say-believers will stand before Christ at His Bema (Judgment) Seat. The Bible speaks of a seven-year tribulation, where its second half corresponds to the time of Jacob’s trouble ( Jeremiah 30:7). While it is sure we will be judged in heaven, the timing could be (a) immediately after one dies, (b) when one is resurrected, ( Hebrews 9:27), or (c) after the tribulation mentioned in Scripture ( Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24, Revelation 7:14). Scholars are divided regarding the timetable for the Bema Seat. We will receive rewards based upon what we did with our lives as ambassadors for Christ ( Matthew 16:27, 1 Corinthians 3:10, 12, 13). We respond to our Lord in faith because He imputed His righteousness to us ( Romans 1:17). This truth parallels what James says in his epistle ( James 2:14-26), for faith without works is dead. Those judged at the Bema Seat are believers in the Lord, but the Bible says God will reward believers based upon their actions done for Him ( Psalm 62:12). The judgment of each Christian is not a determination of who will enter heaven, because the Bible says we are forgiven at the moment of salvation ( Psalm 103:10-12). In the Bible, The Bema Seat is the title given the Judgment Seat of Christ ( 2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 14:10).
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