We believe Biblical

In Common With Conservative Christians and the Historic Protestant Creeds, We Believe—

 

That God is the Sovereign Creator, upholder, and ruler of the universe, and that He is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.

That the Godhead, the Trinity, comprises God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

That the Scriptures are the inspired revelation of God to men; and that the Bible is the sole rule of faith and practice.

That Jesus Christ is very God, and that He has existed with the Father from all eternity.

That the Holy Spirit is a personal being, sharing the attributes of deity with the Father and the Son.

That Christ, the Word of God, became incarnate through the miraculous conception and the virgin birth; and that He lived an absolutely sinless life here on earth.

That the vicarious, atoning death of Jesus Christ, once for all, is all-sufficient for the redemption of a lost race.

That Jesus Christ arose literally and bodily from the grave.

That He ascended literally and bodily into heaven.

That He now serves as our advocate in priestly ministry and mediation before the Father.

That He will return in a premillennial, personal, imminent second advent.

That man was created sinless, but by his subsequent fall entered a state of alienation and depravity.

That salvation through Christ is by grace alone, through faith in His blood.

That entrance upon the new life in Christ is by regeneration, or the new birth.

That man is justified by faith.

That man is sanctified by the indwelling Christ through the Holy Spirit.

That man will be glorified at the resurrection or translation of the saints, when the Lord returns.

That there will be a judgment of all men.

That the gospel is to be preached as a witness to all the world

　

　

　
　

Judgement Seat of CVhrist

2 Corinthians 5:10

The Judgment Seat of Christ

Romans 14 and 2 Corinthians 5:10

Charles e Whisnant, Pastor/Preacher/Teacher/Expositor

 

FOR WE MUST ALL APPEAR BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST: tous gar pantas hemas phanerothenai (APN) dei (3SPAI) emprosthen tou bematos tou Christou: (Genesis 18:25; 1Samuel 2:3,10; Psalms 7:6, 7, 8; 9:7,8; 50:3, 4, 5, 6; 96:10, 11, 12, 13; 98:9; Eccl 11:9; 12:14; Ezekiel 18:30; Matthew 25:31-46; Acts 10:42; 17:31; Romans 14:10, 11, 12; 1Peter 4:5; Jude 1:14,15; Revelation 20:11, 12, 14, 15, 15)

The certainty of the Bema Seat of Christ occurring at a specific point in time in eternity in the life of each individual believer, should serve as a strong motivator, causing us to forget what lies behind and like the runner determined to win the race and receive the coveted prize, to press on toward the goal, lunging toward the finish line, laying aside every encumbrance, coming out from the world, not even touching what is unclean, abstaining from even things with the "form" of evil , living in holy conduct and godliness, and all the more as we see the day drawing near.

WHEN DOES THE BEMA JUDGMENT TAKE PLACE?

The question of when the Bema Judgment take place is difficult to answer with any degree of "dogmatism". The majority of evangelical scholars favor this event taking place after the Rapture but before the return of Jesus to set up His Millennial Kingdom. The highly respected scholar Dwight Pentecost has the following explanation on the timing of of bema...

The time of the bema of Christ. The event herein described takes place immediately following the translation of the church out of this earth's sphere. There are several considerations that support this.

(1) In the first place, according to Lk 14:14, reward is associated with the resurrection. Since, according to 1Th 4:13-17, the resurrection is an integral part of the translation, reward must be a part of that program.

(2) When the Lord returns to the earth with His bride to reign, the bride is seen to be already rewarded. This is observed in Rev 19:7, where it must be observed that the "righteousness of the saints" is plural and cannot refer to the imparted righteousness of Christ, which is the believer's portion, but the righteousnesses which have survived examination and have become the basis of reward.

(3) In 1Cor 4:5; 2Ti 4:8; and Rev 22:12 the reward is associated with "that day," that is, the day in which He comes for His own. Thus it must be observed that the rewarding of the church must take place between the rapture and the revelation of Christ to the earth.' (From Things to Come, 1958)

One other Scripture that points to the Bema occurring during the Tribulation period is Revelation 11:18where John writes...

And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged (this is the Great White Throne Judgment and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great (this could refer to the Judgment Seat of Christ), and to destroy those who destroy the earth.

If one reads the Revelation literally (which results in a chronological order for the successive unfolding of the seven sealed scroll, the seven trumpets and the seven bowl judgments), Revelation 11:18 seems to coincide with the events of the middle to the seven year period known as the Tribulation.

To reiterate, most conservative evangelical scholars (especially pre-trib, pre-millennial) believe that this judgment will take place after the church is raptured and before the Second Coming of Christ at which time He inaugurates His 1000 year reign on earth from His throne in Jerusalem. For example Master's Seminary (John MacArthur) takes this view regarding the timing of the Bema Seat in their "Statement of Faith"...

The Rapture of the Church - We teach the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year tribulation (1Th 4:16; Titus 2:13) to translate His church from this earth (Jn 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1Th 4:15-5:11) and, between this event and His glorious return with His saints, to reward believers according to their works (1Co 3:11, 12, 13, 14, 15; 2Co 5:10).

The Tribulation Period - We teach that immediately following the removal of the church from the earth (Jn 14:1-3; 1Th 4:13-18) the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 9:27; 12:1; 2Th 2:7-12; Re 16:1ff), and that these judgments will be climaxed by the return of Christ in glory to the earth (Mt 24:27-31; 25:31 46; 2Th 2:7-12). At that time the Old Testament and tribulation saints will be raised and the living will be judged (Da 12:2-3; Re 20:4-6). This period includes the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27; Mt 24:15-31; 25:31-46).

The Judgment of the Lost - We teach that following the release of Satan after the thousand year reign of Christ (Re 20:7), Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city, at which time Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from heaven (Re 20:9). Following this, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone (Mt 25:41; Re 20:10) whereupon Christ, who is the Judge of all men (Jn 5:22, 27), will resurrect and judge the great and small at the Great White Throne judgment (Re 20:11ff). We teach that this resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment (Jn 5:28,29), they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Mt 25:41; Re 20:11-15_{). (TMS - TMS Statement of Faith - Eschatology)}

Judgement Seat Of Christ Outline

The Judgment Seat of Christ

Romans 14 and 2 Corinthians 5:10

Charles e Whisnant, Pastor/Preacher/Teacher/Expositor

 

FOR WE MUST ALL APPEAR BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST: tous gar pantas hemas phanerothenai (APN) dei (3SPAI) emprosthen tou bematos tou Christou: (Genesis 18:25; 1Samuel 2:3,10; Psalms 7:6, 7, 8; 9:7,8; 50:3, 4, 5, 6; 96:10, 11, 12, 13; 98:9; Eccl 11:9; 12:14; Ezekiel 18:30; Matthew 25:31-46; Acts 10:42; 17:31; Romans 14:10, 11, 12; 1Peter 4:5; Jude 1:14,15; Revelation 20:11, 12, 14, 15, 15)

The certainty of the Bema Seat of Christ occurring at a specific point in time in eternity in the life of each individual believer, should serve as a strong motivator, causing us to forget what lies behind and like the runner determined to win the race and receive the coveted prize, to press on toward the goal, lunging toward the finish line, laying aside every encumbrance, coming out from the world, not even touching what is unclean, abstaining from even things with the "form" of evil , living in holy conduct and godliness, and all the more as we see the day drawing near.

WHEN DOES THE BEMA JUDGMENT TAKE PLACE?

The question of when the Bema Judgment take place is difficult to answer with any degree of "dogmatism". The majority of evangelical scholars favor this event taking place after the Rapture but before the return of Jesus to set up His Millennial Kingdom. The highly respected scholar Dwight Pentecost has the following explanation on the timing of bema...

The time of the bema of Christ. The event herein described takes place immediately following the translation of the church out of this earth's sphere. There are several considerations that support this.

(1) In the first place, according to Lk 14:14, reward is associated with the resurrection. Since, according to 1Th 4:13-17, the resurrection is an integral part of the translation, reward must be a part of that program.

(2) When the Lord returns to the earth with His bride to reign, the bride is seen to be already rewarded. This is observed in Rev 19:7, where it must be observed that the "righteousness of the saints" is plural and cannot refer to the imparted righteousness of Christ, which is the believer's portion, but the righteousnesses which have survived examination and have become the basis of reward.

(3) In 1Cor 4:5; 2Ti 4:8; and Rev 22:12 the reward is associated with "that day," that is, the day in which He comes for His own. Thus it must be observed that the rewarding of the church must take place between the rapture and the revelation of Christ to the earth.' (From Things to Come, 1958)

One other Scripture that points to the Bema occurring during the Tribulation period is Revelation 11:18 (see commentary notes) where John writes...

And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged (this is the Great White Throne Judgment and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great (this could refer to the Judgment Seat of Christ), and to destroy those who destroy the earth.

If one reads the Revelation literally (which results in a chronological order for the successive unfolding of the seven sealed scrolls, the seven trumpets and the seven bowl judgments), Revelation 11:18 seems to coincide with the events of the middle to the seven year period known as the Tribulation.

To reiterate, most conservative evangelical scholars (especially pre-trib, pre-millennial) believe that this judgment will take place after the church is raptured and before the Second Coming of Christ at which time He inaugurates His 1000 year reign on earth from His throne in Jerusalem. For example Master's Seminary (John MacArthur) takes this view regarding the timing of the Bema Seat in their "Statement of Faith"...

　

The Rapture of the Church - We teach the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year tribulation (1Th 4:16; Titus 2:13) to translate His church from this earth (Jn 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1Th 4:15-5:11) and, between this event and His glorious return with His saints, to reward believers according to their works (1Co 3:11, 12, 13, 14, 15; 2Co 5:10).

The Tribulation Period - We teach that immediately following the removal of the church from the earth (Jn 14:1-3; 1Th 4:13-18) the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 9:27; 12:1; 2Th 2:7-12; Re 16:1ff), and that these judgments will be climaxed by the return of Christ in glory to the earth (Mt 24:27-31; 25:31 46; 2Th 2:7-12). At that time the Old Testament and tribulation saints will be raised and the living will be judged (Da 12:2-3; Re 20:4-6). This period includes the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27; Mt 24:15-31; 25:31-46).

The Judgment of the Lost - We teach that following the release of Satan after the thousand year reign of Christ (Re 20:7), Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city, at which time Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from heaven (Re 20:9). Following this, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone (Mt 25:41; Re 20:10) whereupon Christ, who is the Judge of all men (Jn 5:22, 27), will resurrect and judge the great and small at the Great White Throne judgment (Re 20:11ff-note). We teach that this resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment (Jn 5:28,29), they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Mt 25:41; Re 20:11-15). (TMS - TMS Statement of Faith -

This Little Light of Mine I Am Going To Let It Shine

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE, I AM GOING TO LET IT SHINE,

AND NOT HIDE

THE CANDLE UNDER A BUSHEL

The Light is Jesus the Son of God

Charles e Whisnant, Pastor-Teacher/Apprentice

Matthew 5:14-17; Mark 4:21-26: Luke 8:16-19;

Selected Verses

John 1:4-9 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend ^{it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world}.

John 3:19-21 And this is the (verdict) condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

· This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. All those who do evil hate the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But those who live by the truth come into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God

John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

· Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. ⁶ For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

· The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 

2 Corinthians 4:6 ⁶For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

So we have in those handful of verses uses of each of the three biblical metaphors for light applied directly to Jesus.

· Jesus’ light is virtuous or good.

· Jesus’ light gives vitality or life.

· Jesus’ light is the source of vision or knowledge.

But Jesus and the New Testament writers who follow him don’t stop there. The God-light which is Jesus is also to be the light within God’s people.

In fact, this idea of God’s people bearing the light of virtue and vitality and vision has biblical past history in the Old Testament. Perhaps you remember what happened when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai?

Exodus 34:29-30 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the two Tablets of The Testimony, he didn't know that the skin of his face glowed because he had been speaking with God. Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, saw his radiant face, and held back, afraid to get close to him...and he passed on the commands, everything that God had told him on Mount Sinai.

In Isaiah, God plainly communicates His intention that His light would illuminate Israel so that their light would brighten, so to speak, the whole world.

Isaiah 60: 1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.\

Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus picks up on this prophetic vision and announces to those listening to His teaching (read below)

Paul’s epistles regularly draw on the metaphor of light, placing it right at the center of the Christian message.

Colossians 1:12-13 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us qualified to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: ¹³Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

· In this passage, Paul brings together this light metaphor with Jesus’ most consistent gospel language, that of the kingdom of God, which Paul can call the Kingdom of light and the Kingdom of the Son. The light metaphor is so closely linked to the core of Christian teaching that I’d go so far as to say that if you really understand it, you really understand the gospel.

 

· Ephesians 5:8-13 ⁸For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: ⁹(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) ¹⁰Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. ¹¹And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. ¹²For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. ¹³But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

This is one of my favorite passages using this figure of speech. Paul describes salvation as the transformation from darkness to light. He doesn’t say “you were in the darkness” but “you were darkness and now you are light.”

Then he calls for Christians to live as Children of the light – which he describes as living virtuously (light as goodness.) The fruit of the light is synonymous here with the fruit of the spirit. And then—and this is my favorite part—he turns the metaphor from light as virtue to light as vision, when he talks about how light makes everything visible, namely the action and character of people. He adds a final thought – everything that is illuminated becomes a light. In other words, anyone who is in the light of God, becomes a light to others.

 

1 John 1:7 ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

·
To John, walking in the light has direct implications for our relations with other people. It is not just having our sins forgiven but being made holy, being “purified of all sin.” We don’t just have the light shine on us once, we walk in the light. Walking in the light is holy living and the hallmark of holy living is love. So it is no surprise when a couple of verses later he writes:

 

1 John 2:9-10 ⁹He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. ¹⁰He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

· The idea that God’s people are intended not just to be receivers of light but sources of light for the world.

· I want us to pause for just a moment and think about what all this means for us.

· Sometimes Christianity is understood to be little more than an arrangement whereby if we believe the right doctrine, we get to go to heaven when we die. But we must compare this idea to what we have just read.

The Christian life, is the life lived in the light of God.

· Followers of Moses and Jesus and Paul are those who live in the kingdom of light, who heed the command to live as children of the light. They are those who walk in the light to let their light shine before others. These are the straightforward biblical commands:

Walk in the light.

Live as children of the light.

Let your light shine before others