AskFOI: What is the Judgment Seat of Christ?

Many believers picture God keeping a tally of good deeds versus bad deeds. But Scripture makes a clear distinction between the Great White Throne Judgment for unbelievers and the Judgment Seat of Christ (the Bema Seat) for believers. If you are standing at the Bema Seat, that is good news—you are there because you belong to Christ! Drawing on Jewish and Greco-Roman imagery, this judgment is not about salvation or condemnation but accountability and faithfulness. The Judgment Seat of Christ is sobering and freeing but should also be life-altering. It calls us, as believers, to live with an eternal perspective and a desire to hear the words of our Savior, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”