2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, For we must all appear before 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. There are many important seats in this world. There are important seats of learning. There are seats of honour at state banquets. There are royal thrones. Each of them have their own majesty, their own authority, but none are like the judgment seat of Christ. There is no seat as prestigious, as famous, as royal, as authoritative and as ultimate and as impressive as the judgment seat of Christ. We would like to direct our attention to this seat this evening, because, as the verse tells us, there is a day coming when we shall all stand before it. We'd like to notice three things about this seat. First of all, that it's a seat of exposure, a seat where all will be revealed. This is what the word appear means. We must all appear. The word means to be made manifest, to be made known. And what we're told here is that it is a universal exposure that takes place before this seat. Notice the words, we must all appear. And later on that everyone may receive the things done in his body. Notice how inclusive, how universal is the language. It's not the language of most, or of many, or of almost all, but of all without exception. It isn't just the really bad people, but all people who will stand before this seat. The rich and the poor, the good and the evil, the high and the low, the black and the white, the Muslim and the Jew, the Hindu and the Buddhist, the European and the African, the Asian and the American, you and I. Let none here think that some way or another they are going to escape the all-encompassing language of this verse and the all-encompassing nature of the exposure spoken of here. All and every, irrespective of who you are, of what you've done, of your own relations, of your own pedigree, of your own good deeds or bad deeds, irrespective of your standing in the church or in the community, all, all, all. On that day there will be no absentees. and no escapees, there will be no doctor's notes, there will be no excuses and there will be no hiding place. It is universal. And notice also it is compulsory, this exposure. We notice the little word coming third in the sentence. For we must all appear. There is not here an option. This isn't the language of probability or possibility. There are no ifs, no buts, no maybes. There is a must. There is a compulsion. There is an obligation here that is being spoken of. And what is the basis of this must? Well, we have a basis in the relationship between the creator and the creature. When somebody makes something for a particular purpose, the maker wants to measure, has it achieved its end? Has it accomplished what it was made for? We practice this. Surely in our everyday lives we make plans, we try to put them into effect and then we review, did they work, did they not? We may be an employer, we give an employee a task and we call them to account for how they have performed or not. And likewise here we're speaking of the Maker. All things were made by Him. Without Him was not anything made that was made. You were made by Him. And you were made for a purpose. What is that purpose? To get maximum happiness? To please your senses? To get as many friends as possible? to build up as many pounds and pence as you can. What is the purpose of your life? Why were you put in this world? The Maker put you here with a definite purpose, which is nothing less than to glorify Him and enjoy Him. It's a purpose that is related to the Maker Himself. It's not like somebody who, as it were, winds up a toy and then sets it going, find your own way and then forgets about it. This is a maker who gives life and who gives purpose and who gives a plan and who gives aims and who then calls to account the thing made, the one made. And so here there is an element of necessity, just as it is necessary in our own lives to call to account and review and analyse. So here, when the Creator makes creatures, be sure He will call you to account. Have you met your purpose? Have you fulfilled the Maker's instructions? There's also an element of must, not just in the relationship between the creature and the Creator, but even in our own consciences. God has made us with a sense, a conscience, that is continually reminding us of a final judgment. In a sense, our conscience is a series of court cases a series of many judgments whereby God permits us and commands us to be reviewing our own lives, to be testing our own actions, to be exposing our motives and our aims and testing them ourselves. And of course, we feel at times, oftentimes, the sense of condemnation, the sense of guilt as a result. And we feel in our own souls that these many judgments, these court cases that are being held in our own souls every day, are but foretastes of an ultimate judgment. One that will be conclusive, one that will be perfect, and one that will be fully satisfying to the conscience. conscience will put its Amen to that final judgement. And everyone feels that whether they go to church or not, we all know in our own souls these tremors, these foretastes, these experiences when something is done and we feel an internal condemnation and we feel in our own souls of something even greater ahead. We feel a necessity in our own souls for a final, conclusive, perfect judgment according to truth. And every human being knows this in one way or another. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And it is indeed to be made known, to be made manifest, to be thoroughly investigated and understood when every covering, every disguise, every mask, every act will be stripped away. There will be a day when there will be no more pretenses, no more denials, no more deliberate forgetfulness of what is done or not done. We are told in another place of Scripture, we will be made naked before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. There will be a stripping, a stripping away of all our outward appearances of all our impressive attempts to deceive others. Here is a time when we will appear, we will be exposed. We will be made known as we really are. There will be a nakedness, no covering left. It was interesting Somebody was giving a report to the Montreal Neurological Institute. It was a Dr. Wilbur Penfield and he said this, your brain contains a permanent record of your past that is like a single continuous strip of movie film complete with soundtrack. This film library records your whole waking life from childhood on. You can live again those scenes from your past, one at a time, when a surgeon applies a gentle electrical current to a certain point on the temporal cortex of your brain. The report went on to say that as that scene from the past is relived, the exact emotions felt in these experiences are relived. So in a sense, all of us have within us this movie film, this tape, visual and audible, that is being recorded, that is being stored in the archive. And there are many dark scenes. There are many ex-certificate scenes. Many that are not suitable for children or even adults. Many which look like nothing less than a horror film. Frightening, terrifying. Things we want to forget, not only for time, but forever. And perhaps many's a time we've taken the editor's knife to that tape and we've tried to cut out sections and be rid of them, put them in the bin, as it were, and hope that nobody will ever discover them. And perhaps there are only very, very few scenes that we'd be at all pleased for anyone to see. But the day is coming when there's going to be a viewing, when that film is going to be shown from its first frame to the last. All the moments in life Everything ever done, seen, felt, smelt, spoken, touched, thought, desired, everything. See your life lived again. This is what's promised. Exposure. And you might say to yourself, I don't want others to see that. Friends, others will be the least of your worries. This is the judgment seat of Christ, and He's the only one that you will be concerned with that day. You and Him, private viewing, exposed. naked. Some of the children here may be familiar with invisible ink. You know, you get a little pen or crayon and you can write on a piece of paper and you've written maybe a whole sheet and there's nothing there. And then you might have a dye or a powder or a specific light that you can bring on that paper. And just by putting that dye on it or bringing it to that light, suddenly everything's made known. All that was invisible is made visible. And there is a sense of delight, perhaps, an enjoyment at the wonder of it all. And in a sense, we'd like in many ways our lives to be written with invisible ink. We would like it to be unseen. But little children, God has a dye and God has a light. And one day he's going to bring it to your life. And all that you thought was hidden From mummy and daddy, from the teachers, from your friends. There it all is, in all its gory, gruesome detail. Exposed. But then secondly, this is not only a seat of exposure, but of examination. It's not just that there's going to be a viewing, there's going to be a critical viewing. Notice this seat is called the judgment seat of Christ. And literally, that means the criticizing seat of Christ. It's the word from which we get the word to criticize. And this is the kind of experience it's going to be. Not just a seeing, but an analysing. Not just an exposing, but an examining. And who is sitting on the seat? It's not somebody that you might be able to sway with a sweet smile. It's not somebody that you might be able to hope in giving you special preference. It's not somebody who shows prejudice against one group and favour to another. This is the judgment seat of Christ, the one who judges perfectly, the one who has no prejudice, no bias, no favouritism, who applies the same standard to all. It's Him with whom you have to do. And if this is the seat, what is the subject that you're going to be examined in? Well, we're told here, the things done in the body, according to that he hath done. Maybe many of you here have sat examinations in recent weeks. You go in, you get your paper and written at the top is your subject. Here's the name of the subject you're going to be examined on in that last day. The things done in the body. The things done in the body. What an examination that will be. You'll never have had any examination like that. And will God not go through each of the parts of your body, testing each section? What have you done with it? And what have you not done? First section perhaps, the eyes. What have you done with your eyes? What have you allowed to pass through these pupils? What have you turned your eyes towards? What have you viewed? What have you read? What have you gazed upon in secret and in private? And then you go to the ears. What have you done with your ears? What have you listened to? What have you heard? What things have you allowed to pass through these ears? given you by the Maker to glorify Him. Have you glorified Him with your ears? And then goes to the tongue. What have you done with your tongue? With these lips? What have you allowed to pass over in tasting and drinking? What have you allowed to come out in the way of speaking, gossiping, lying, tail bearing? what swears, what blasphemies. The things done with the tongue, that will be a long section. Will that maybe be the biggest section? A little member, but oh what a great fire it can kindle. A little rudder, but what a huge boat it can turn. And then he goes to the hands. What have you done with your hands? What have you touched? What senses have you stimulated sinfully? What pleasures have you sought and experienced? Yes, you'll take these very hands in your resurrected bodies and you'll say, what have you done with them? What's each finger touched? What's each hand handled? And then your feet, what have you done with your feet? Which places have they taken them to? Which people have you run with? And then he'll take every other part of your body and he'll call you to account and examine you on it thoroughly, deeply, with great intensity, every second of your existence. What did you do? with this body given to you by your Maker? That brain, that mind, that heart, what did you think on? What did you feel? What did you desire? What were you lusting after? You know, you would think you would almost need all eternity to complete that exam. And as you're examined according to this standard, how will you fare? It's a very simple exam in a way. It's not anything else other than either good or bad. That's what it says, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. This isn't a matter of percentages. a just pass or a just fail. It's either good or bad and it's good and bad as defined by God. You know, we live in a day when now good is called evil and evil is good. When darkness is called light and light is called darkness. When all that used to be accepted throughout our land as good or bad has now been turned on its head. But here we're told about a day when this ultimate, final, standard and judgement of what is good or bad will be re-established and re-asserted and this is what you'll be judged by. What the holy God thinks is good or bad, not what the media thinks is good or bad, not what the majority think is good or bad, not what you think is good or bad, but what God and God alone says is good or bad. And notice too, the subject is the things done in the body and the result will also be found in the body. Because notice what it says, that everyone may receive the things done in the body. It's not just that the things in the body will be examined, but that the way we've used our body will determine how our body experiences eternity. The things the body has done are the things the body will receive in judgment and in punishment. In other words, If we've used these eyes for sinful and God-dishonouring purposes, these are the very eyes that will receive God's wrath and curse and punishment forever. If we've used the tongue to speak ill of Him and of others, it's that same tongue that will receive the judgement. It's that same tongue that will be the receiver of God's anger and what anguish will be felt. If it's the hands with which we have done such evil, then it's the very hands themselves that will receive the judgment. It's the things done in the body that will be received into the body. Think on that. every time now you go to use the hands, the eyes, the ears, the tongue, whatever, that the days coming when there will be a return, there will be a receiving, that the very senses you are stimulating and arousing are the very senses that will themselves experience the opposite. No pleasure, but pain forever. that everyone may receive the things done in his body, what will you receive? When that examination has been completed and the result has been announced, what will you receive? Where will you receive it? And what can be done about it? Is there anyone sitting here thinking, I can pass that. It's going to be close, but I've got reasonable hope. Is there anyone here who thinks that they are so lived that they can not only face this exam with confidence but pass it. You know, what if you were examined on even one finger? Do you think you could pass? Has not even One finger done enough to condemn us forever. Is there any part of our body that could pass? Is there any square inch or centimeter you could point to and say, I'll go to judgment with that. I mean really and truly. We stand condemned. And that's why here the third aspect of this seat is brought before us, not only exposure, not only examination, but emotion. Paul says in verse 11, after speaking about this verse, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Here is Paul who thinks on this seat, describes this seat, and who has at times in his life, having thought about this seat, studied this seat and thought about it, has known the terror that it produces in the soul. And he says, therefore, knowing that terror, knowing that fear of going to that judgment with that judge and that standard on that subject, I'm terrified and I'm afraid and I'm scared. What am I going to do? I'm going to persuade men. I'm going to go out. I'm going to tell them about it. I'm going to warn them about it. I'm going to try and persuade them of the awfulness of it and the certainty of it. And I'm going to seek to persuade them so to live that they can pass this exam. Friends, this is what I and all ministers surely seek to do through the preaching of the gospel. We have known, and many here have known, the terror of the Lord. We have had times in our lives, perhaps months, perhaps years, when the solemnity and the seriousness and the searchingness of this truth has come upon us with power. And it has caused us great fear and anxiety. And it's crushed us and it's oppressed us and convicted us and condemned us. And we have known the terror of the Lord. And we found a way of escape. We found a way of salvation. But knowing the terror of the Lord, knowing the awfulness of this, the fact of this having been brought before us before the reality occurs, we now go out begging, beseeching, arguing, pleading, bringing before lost, hell-bent, hell-deserving sinners the awfulness of this truth to seek to persuade and to argue and to reason you to repentance and to show you the awfulness of going to eternity and going to judgment without any other hope than yourself. Because for the Christian, the emotion associated with this seat is not of terror, but of comfort. Yes, the Christian can face this seat and this exam and this exposure with a measure of calm and a measure of confidence. How? Are they better? No. Are they worse? Often. What's the basis of their calm? Are they foolish? No. Are they deceived? No. What's the basis of their confidence? The basis of their confidence is the Christ who himself sits on that throne. The Christian looks at that throne, that seat of judgment, knowing that on it no longer is a judge, but a saviour. Because the judge has been judged in their place. Because the judge himself has sat the exam and passed it with 100% success. That Jesus Christ has come in a body and He has done all that we fail to do in a body. And not only that, that in that body He has received the things that we did in our bodies. Yes, His eyes His ears, His tongue, His feet, His hands, His mind, His heart, His soul have received the things that we did in our bodies. He has received and experienced the punishment that we deserved. And that's our confidence. We look at that Christ no longer as our judge, but as our Saviour. The one who has been judged in our place and the one who has passed the exam in our place. The one who has suffered in our place. Who has been our substitute. And that's our only hope. What is yours? He stands before you tonight in the Gospel. He stands before the seat of your own soul. And you're passing judgment upon Him. You're saying either good or bad. Yes, He is before you in the preached Word. And you are examining Him. And you are passing judgment on Him. And you're saying, I don't want to pass judgment. I'm being neutral. I'm not saying good or bad. Oh, but you are. Every time you hear the Gospel, if you don't receive it, you're rejecting it. If you don't say good is the word of the Lord, you're saying bad is the word of the Lord. There is no neutrality. And as He stands before your seat, what's your judgment? Good enough? Not good enough? Or this is all my salvation and all my desire? Oh yes, He stands before the throne of your soul tonight. But the day is coming when you will stand before the throne of His judgment. At the moment, He is sitting on the throne of grace. But the day is coming when He shall arise and take another throne, a throne of judgment. A throne of grace just now. or a throne of judgment later, which will it be? What will you put your hope in? You know, you see cases in the legal press, maybe. It's usually framed in terms of maybe Smith versus Brown. Or the state versus McDonald. Elizabeth, Regina the second versus such and such a group, whatever. It's portrayed in these terms. So and so versus so and so. And there's another case coming up. And on one side it says God, and on the other side it says your name. Your name. God versus you. Who's going to win? Let us pray. O Lord our God, there is nothing more real and nothing more certain than Thy judgment. We do pray that Thou wouldst help us to prepare, that we might face Thee not with terror, but with confidence. not trusting in ourselves, but trusting only in Thee. O Lord, we pray that Thou wouldst use the terror of the Lord to persuade men and women, boys and girls, and pardon all our sins. In Jesus' name, Amen.