The Bema-The Experience of a Lifetime

Bema [‘BEE-MUH’] is a Greek word which was sometimes used to describe an elevated rostrum where orators spoke to assembled crowds, or, was used to denote the seat of a judge who was conducting a trial. Jesus appeared before Pilate’s bema, and Paul appeared before other Roman tribunals [e.g. Paul before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa in Acts 24-26].

OUR APPOINTMENT AT THE BEMA-In Paul’s letter to the believers at Rome he says: “But why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat [Gk-bema] of God. For it is written ‘as I live says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall give praise to God’. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” We apparently will provide the Lord of the universe some kind of accounting for our life lived on earth-indeed it will be an ‘experience of a lifetime’.

In the parable of the talents, [Matt 25:14-30] Jesus tells of three servants being required to give an account of their use of the assets [i.e. ‘talents’] individually [‘according to his own ability‘] entrusted to them by their master before he went away for a long time on a journey. When the master returned he required an accounting of each of them. Two of the three enthusiastically reported to the master that they had doubled the value of the assets entrusted to them. The master praised each one individually and rewarded them both. The third servant however, regrettably, failed to invest the asset entrusted to him but simply buried it in the ground and achieved no investment return whatsoever of the asset to benefit the master. That servant received a harsh rebuke from the master [“you wicked, lazy slave”] and the asset entrusted to him was taken away and he received no reward. The master called that slave ‘worthless‘ [vs. 30].

In I Corinthians 3:5-15 Paul tells the believers at Corinth that each person must be careful how he builds on the foundation of Christ, and that he should be using enduring materials [‘gold, silver, precious stones’] which will be tested with fire at the bema. ‘Materials’ that survive the fire will result in a reward but if the materials are combustible [‘wood, hay, straw’] they will not survive the testing of fire but will be reduced to ashes. “...the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss [of reward] but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” [vs.13-14]. What does it mean to ‘build’ with gold, silver, precious stones? Perhaps Paul is referencing the other apostles and teachers who are ministering at Corinth and their efforts at building up the church for which Paul had already laid the foundation which is Christ. But in a broader sense, like the parable of the talents, it seems certain that each of us can justifiably extract from these verses, that we will each be accountable to God for our life of service in helping build up Christ’s church, and promoting the rule and reign of God in the lives of individuals, and that our service will ultimately be evaluated and come under a rather blistering scrutiny of testing by fire. Did we live our life to honor Christ rather than self, doing so from honorable motives, using honorable methods? As to motives, Paul says: “For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the One who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts, and then each man’s praise will come to him from God” [I Cor 4:4-5]. A ‘day of judgment’, a ‘day of reckoning’, or a ‘day of giving an account of one’s life’ at the bema, does not sound like a very pleasant experience and not something we might look forward to. Paul seems very motivated to live in such a way as to ‘win the prize'[I Cor 9:24-27]. Was Paul motivated to obey and serve Christ primarily to obtain rewards at the bema? Or was he driven by a desire to avoid disapproval and shame/embarrassment? [see I Cor 9:27, Phil 1:20, II Tim 2:15]. It appears both motives were operating in Paul’s life. Which played the greater role? Paul does not say and therefore nor will I suggest which one. But it seems clear to me that both motives were at work in Paul’s life.

CONFIDENCE AT THE BEMA?

The apostle John writes: “Now little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him at His coming [or ‘in His presence’-I John 2:28] and in 3:24 John says “The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him“. It appears then, as we walk in greater obedience and faithfulness to our Lord, increasingly desiring to honor and serve Him via pure[r] motives and honorable methods, our confidence will grow so that we will not be ashamed/embarrassed when we stand before Him. In all events we know that, at the bema there is ‘no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus‘![Romans 8:1]. So, for those who are ‘in Christ’, i.e. His child via personal committed faith in Jesus as Lord and in the saving grace of God, the bema will be a temporary examination of us individually as to our life of service to our Lord. Apparently our motives will be disclosed, and it will be revealed what rate of return God received on His investment of grace, His ‘talent’ that was entrusted to us. Surely, this is an ‘experience of a lifetime’ that we need to ponder carefully, prepare for by continuing to abide in Him so that we can approach that day with a measure of confidence, and after ‘surviving’ the testing of our earthly works we will thereafter and forever, enjoy the incredible blessedness of His presence! To Him forever be the Glory!

What ‘rate of return’ is God receiving on His investment of His grace in you? Have you ‘buried’ your treasure He entrusted to you? Are you motivated by the idea of receiving rewards or by avoiding embarrassment? Or both? Are you just a ‘poser’, a phony, pretend-to-be follower of Jesus, more interested in promoting yourself and your kingdom than the Kingdom of God? Are you more likely to be blessed at the bema by the Lord’s approval-His ‘well done’ -or will you be bummed out at the bema seeing your life efforts turned into ashes and seeing His penetrating eyes of disapproval? Does it even matter to you? For the true believer there will be no condemnation, no loss of our blessed eternal destiny with God, but it appears that neither rewards nor His ‘well done’ are guaranteed to each of us. How does that fact impact you? Does it encourage you to lay aside every distraction or hindrance to ‘running the race’ of life in service to our God? [Heb 12:1-2]. Is your current level of devotion and service to Christ and His Kingdom as good as He’s ever going to get from you?

CJS