Attend a typical church building, or read a regular study or commentary and you will eventually come across the doctrine of the Judgment Seat (or Bema Seat) and rewards doctrine – which is typically explained as various “crowns” which people will receive (or not receive) based in some way on how they performed on the earth.

They say that there are two different judgments, one which they call the Great White Throne judgment… where those who do not know Jesus and are not in the Book of Life, will be “judged” (i.e. condemned) while believers will be sectioned-off for a second judgment to determine how many rewards (or crowns) we receive or don’t receive based on our life.

So in-essence, even though Jesus has totally and completely forgiven and removed all sin from us, and made us completely new creations in Him, you still must worry about your performance on some level, because your eternal rewards in Heaven, are still dependent on your performance. Or so this doctrine would have you believe.

In this study today, we will be taking a look at this common doctrine of the Bema seat, and Crown rewards, and see what the scriptures actually say about it.