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Any person who enjoys American television crime and legal dramas such as The Practice, Law and Order and Boston Legal knows how integral the courtroom trial and the final verdict are to the excitement and satisfaction of the storyline. A sigh of relief is exhaled when an innocent person prosecuted by an overly zealous prosecutor on the basis of flimsy police evidence is declared not guilty. There is satisfaction that justice has been served when a plundering and morally bankrupt multinational corporation which has caused harm to society for the sake of financial gain is fined millions of dollars by the court.

In 2 Cor. 5:10, the Apostle Paul reminds us that we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that we may receive what is due for what we have done in the body, whether good or evil. This statement is often puzzling to Christians. Elsewhere, Paul speaks of justification by faith. How then does justification by faith fit in with judgement according to deeds? It is important to realize that the gospel does not rule out a coming judgement according to our deeds. Rather, when a person believes the gospel, confessing Jesus as Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead, the future verdict of “righteous” is brought into the present. There is no longer any condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1) because God has condemned sin in Christ, so that there is no ultimate condemnation for those who are in Christ. In addition, God has given his Spirit to Christ’s people, and the Holy Spirit will enable them to become the people that he has already declared to be just. It follows then that unless we believe in the gospel and become Christ’s people, the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21), there will be condemnation when we stand before the judgement seat apart from Christ. Therefore, Paul exhorts us – knowing the fear of the Lord, we have to persuade the unbelieving people in this world to believe in the Lord (2 Cor. 5:11).