Will Confessed Sins Be Judged at The Judgment Seat of Christ?

Summary

Grace in Focus Podcast Summary

Episode: Will Confessed Sins Be Judged at The Judgment Seat of Christ?

Date: February 12, 2026
Hosts: Bob Wilkin & Ken Yates
Podcast: Grace in Focus (Grace Evangelical Society)

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode addresses a crucial theological question: Will confessed sins—specifically those forgiven according to 1 John 1:9—be brought up at the Judgment Seat of Christ? Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates explore varying viewpoints within evangelical circles about the fate of both confessed and unconfessed sins at the judgment, providing biblical references and illustrations to clarify Free Grace theology on this vital issue. The conversation aims to distinguish between justification and sanctification, eternal destiny and eternal rewards.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: The Listener Question

[00:54]

• Tom’s question references 1 John 1:9 about the confession and forgiveness of sins:
  “If I'm a believer and I confess a sin, will that sin be brought up at the judgment seat of Christ?”

2. Evangelical Perspectives on Sin at Judgment

[01:24-02:13]

• Wilkin notes most evangelicals who believe in the Judgment Seat of Christ would say confessed sins will not be brought up.

• Some even argue unconfessed sins won’t be addressed, since "Jesus paid for all of our sins," making the issue moot at judgment.

  Bob Wilkin [01:43]:
  "I would say you have a fairly large amount who would say even unconfessed sins will not come up at the judgment seat of Christ because they'll say Jesus paid for all of our sins... But certainly confessed... would not be brought up."

3. Confession, Fellowship, and Legalism

[02:13-05:26]

• Yates expands on 1 John 1:9, noting “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” covers more than just confessed sins.

• He humorously illustrates the stress legalism can produce: a pastor who set a timer every 10 minutes to confess any possible sins, which led to neurosis not peace.

  Ken Yates [04:48]:
  “That would turn me into a neurotic mess.”
  Wilkin [04:50]:
  “Guess what it did with him—turned him into a neurotic mess.”

• Yates emphasizes the Holy Spirit’s role in convicting believers when confession is needed and defines confession (Greek: homologeo) as agreeing with God about the nature of sin.

4. Will Sins Be Brought Up at the Judgment?

[05:28-07:02]

• Yates’ view: Neither confessed nor unconfessed sins will be brought up at the Judgment Seat of Christ or the Great White Throne Judgment.

• He references Revelation 20:11-15, where judgment is "according to their works"—the word “sin” is not used, supporting his argument.

• Bad deeds versus sin:
  2 Corinthians 5:10 says we will be recompensed for “the things done in the body, whether good or bad,” but Yates differentiates between bad deeds and sins as technical terms at the judgment seat.

5. Nature of Rewards, Rebuke, and Consequences

[07:03-08:44]

• There are misconceptions that only bad works appear at the Great White Throne Judgment; in truth, “unbelievers are going to have lots of good works.”

• For the believer: John 5:24 assures “the one who believes in Him will not come into judgment.”

  Ken Yates [08:02]:
  “We will be judged, but not to determine our eternal destiny, to determine our eternal life reward.”

• Bad deeds, confessed or unconfessed, may be presented to determine rewards or lack thereof, not eternal destiny.

6. How Does Judgment Work for Believers?

[08:45-11:07]

• Not all bad deeds yield blanket rebuke.

• 1 John 2:28 and Matthew 24:45-51 indicate shame or rebuke may occur, especially for failures in perseverance, but this isn’t universal.

• Degree of reward/rulership (e.g., parable of the minas; Matthew 6:19-21) depends on one’s faithfulness and work quality, not confession status.

  Ken Yates [10:44]:
  “I like to think of it this way, that... there’s going to be degrees of rulership. And the same thing is true with treasure we laid up... Depending on how much treasure we laid up, that's how much treasure will be there.”

• "Bad works" are not rewardable and may reduce reward, but eternal destiny remains secure for the believer.

7. Worthless Works and Motivation

[11:07-12:08]

• Worthless (though not sinful) works (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15) receive neither reward nor rebuke.

• Using the example of Bob’s race walking medals: good things not done for eternal purposes don’t count for reward.

  Bob Wilkin [11:35]:
  “Well, I don’t know, you might. They look awful pretty over there.”

• The fate of bad deeds at judgment serves as motivation to “be someone who is pleasing to the Lord day by day.”

8. Perseverance and Assurance

[12:08-12:34]

• Perseverance is emphasized for reigning with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12).

• The critical message: Know you have eternal life and live each day in light of Christ’s return.

  Ken Yates [12:08]:
  “But the key, the absolute key, is I've got to persevere to the end, because if we endure, we'll reign with him.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On legalism and confession:
  “That would turn me into a neurotic mess.” – Bob Wilkin [04:48]
• On God's intent:
  “God never intended for us to set off a beeper to go every 10 minutes. In fact, we have the Holy Spirit living within us.” – Ken Yates [04:54]
• On judgment for believers:
  “We will be judged, but not to determine our eternal destiny, to determine our eternal life reward.” – Ken Yates [08:02]
• On reward and ruling:
  “There's going to be degrees of rulership. And the same thing is true with treasure we laid up.” – Ken Yates [10:44]
• On accountability:
  “We will give an account. That's the bottom line.” – Bob Wilkin [12:34]

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Key Timestamps

• [00:54] Listener question about confessed sin and judgment
• [01:43] Wilkin: Evangelical views on confessed/unconfessed sins
• [02:13] Yates: 1 John 1:9 and confession
• [03:41-04:54] Illustration: Pastor with the 10-minute timer
• [05:28] Discussion: Will sins be mentioned at the judgment seat?
• [06:45] Reference: 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 on believer’s judgment
• [08:02] Key: Judgment determines rewards, not destiny
• [10:44] Parable of the minas and degrees of reward
• [11:29] Worthless works and race walking medals
• [12:08] Importance of perseverance

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Summary Table

| Topic | Host Insight | Scripture/Basis | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------|---------------| | Confessed/Unconfessed Sins at Judgment | "Most say confessed sins not brought up; some say none are." | 1 John 1:9 | 01:43 | | Legalistic approaches to confession | "Setting a timer for confession leads to neurosis not holiness." | Personal story/Illustration | 04:48 | | Sin vs. Works at Judgment | "Judged according to works; 'sin' not mentioned (Rev 20)." | Revelation 20:11-15 | 05:28 | | Degrees of reward/rulership | "Rewards relate to faithfulness; not all rebuked." | Parables/1 John 2:28 | 10:44 | | Motivation | "Let the reality of judgment motivate daily life." | 2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 6:19-21 | 12:08 |

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Conclusion

Wilkin and Yates make a nuanced case that at the Judgment Seat of Christ, confessed sins are not the focus—rather, believers will be evaluated for rewards based on their works, good and bad, in the body. Confession remains important for fellowship but doesn't erase all consequences for reward at judgment; legalistic approaches to confession are discouraged in favor of Spirit-led conviction. The discussion closes by reminding listeners to live in light of accountability, knowing eternal destiny is secure, but rewards are tied to perseverance and faithfulness.

Transcript

[A]

The following is a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society. What will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ? Will confessed sin be brought up? How about unconfessed sin? Well, thanks for listening to Grace in Focus. We're glad you're with us. This is the Grace Evangelical Society's podcast and broadcast ministry. We're a focused free grace organization and our website is Faith Alone. At that website you'll find our bookstore many great books, including Bob Wilkins latest. The Gospel is still under siege and you can find out about our upcoming national annual conference May 18th through the 21st. All the details are there for you. Find them at faithalone.org events now with today's question and answer discussion, here are Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates.

[B]

We have a great question that's From Tom about 1 John 1:9. Let me just read that verse to start off. In 1 John 1:9 John says if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Tom's main question here is, okay, if I'm a believer and I confess a sin, will that sin be brought up at the judgment seat of Christ?

[C]

Okay, and what is the normal evangelical answer? If they believe in the judgment judgment seat of Christ, which is a small number of people. But of those who believe in the judgment seat of Christ, what would be the answer to Tom's question? Will our sins be brought up at the judgment if they're confessed, would they be brought up?

[B]

Well, they would say, well certainly if you've confessed your sin, it's not going to be brought up. I would say you have a fairly large amount who would say even unconfessed sins will not come up at the judgment seat of Christ because they'll say Jesus paid for all of our sins and therefore it's not going to be an issue when we stand before him our sins. So whether they're confessed or not. But certainly with this question, the confessed 199 whatever percent would say is not going to be brought up in Jesus.

[C]

And I would agree with your point also about unconfessed sin because stop and think about it first. John 1:9 if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins, that is the ones we confess, right? And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The all unrighteousness is bigger than the sins we confess. 90% of our sins we don't confess. It's a true story. It's kind of sad, but kind of funny, there was a pastor in the Iron Range of Minnesota and a friend of mine who is a pastor in Dora Lake knew this guy. And he said this pastor bought a watch that had a countdown timer. And so he would set it on 10 minutes, and at the end of 10 minutes it would beep. And this person believed that he was out of fellowship with God if he committed a sin and failed to confess.

[B]

It within 10 minutes?

[C]

Well, no, anytime. So let's say, for example, that he confessed his known sins just before he went to bed. So he wakes up in fellowship with God, but he gets up at 6am and at 6:15 he commits a sin, but he's not aware of it. And it's not until 10am that he commits the sin he's aware of and he confesses it. So in his view, between 6:15 and 10, he was out of fellowship with God that whole time.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

So the pastor came up with this idea of, I don't want to be out of fellowship with God for more than 10 minutes. And so what he would do is he set the timer, the timer went off at 10 minutes. And if he couldn't, he would think, give a quick moral inventory. Did I sin in the last 10 minutes? And most of the time his answer would be, I can't remember anything. So you know what he would do. What would you do if you thought, if I've committed an unknown sin in that 10 minutes, I'm out of fellowship with God even though I don't realize it? What would you do?

[B]

Well, I think you could do a couple things. I'm trying to think of a legalistic crazy mind here. One would be, is I'm going to commit a sin and then I'll confess it and then I'm going to be forgiven of the sins that I'm not aware.

[C]

That wasn't his idea. I'm just thinking out of prison, but that would be one idea I'm going to.

[B]

One that. Yeah, because that'll cover the ones like.

[C]

The guy who wants to go back in prison. He's like, I'll commit a small crime soon. Right, Right.

[B]

Or he's just going to, I'm assuming, just say, lord, forgive me of any sin I'm not aware of.

[C]

Exactly.

[B]

Right.

[C]

So that's called confession of the unknown sin. So he did this and then he reset his timer.

[B]

Boy, that would turn me into a neurotic mess.

[C]

Guess what it did with him turned.

[B]

Him into a neurotic mess.

[C]

About 10 days later, he threw the watch away and quit doing that. Why? Because it drove him nuts. Literally drove him crazy. God never intended for us to set off a beeper to go every 10 minutes. In fact, we have the Holy Spirit living within us. And the Holy Spirit is capable of convicting us of sin. And when he does, we are to acknowledge it. We are to agree with God. That's what to confess. Hamalage means basically, to agree with or to say the same.

[B]

Say the same thing.

[C]

And so we agree with God that what we said or did or our attitude was wrong. It was sin. But now, coming back to Tom's question about the judgment seat of Christ, in my view, I don't believe that sins will be brought up at either the judgment seat of Christ or the Great White Throne Judgment. Because when you read about the Great White Throne judgment in Revelation 2011:15, we see that books are opened and each one was judged according to what was written in the books. They were judged according to their works. But the word sin is not mentioned in Revelation 2011:15.

[A]

It's coming. It'll be here before you know it. What am I talking about? The Grace Evangelical Society's National Conference 2026, May 18th through the 21st at Camp Kopas, an absolutely beautiful campground in North Texas, right on the lake with lots of recreation, great food, a great place to stay, wonderful fellowship and wonderful free Grace Bible teaching information and online registration [e-mail] events. First timers waive registration fees. Faithalone.org.

[C]

The same is true with the judgment seat of Christ. Second Corinthians 5, 9 and 10 says we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. We all meaning believers.

[B]

Believers, yeah.

[C]

That each one may be recompensed for the things done in the body according as done, whether good or bad.

[B]

And the recompense there is paid.

[C]

Right.

[B]

You're going to receive a wage.

[C]

So we're going to be judged for our bad deeds, but not for our sins. And by the way, a lot of people have this naive notion that at the Great White Throne judgment, unbelievers will only have bad works. That's nuts. Unbelievers are going to have lots of good works, and they'll be judged according to their works, good and bad. But that's going to be to determine their degree of torment. Anyone not found in the book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. They're not cast into the lake of fire because of their deeds, whether good or bad, or whether their good deeds outweighed their bad deeds. That none of that's the issue. The Issue is they didn't believe. So their name's not in the book of life. And in terms of the judgment seat of Christ, we're not even going to be judged to determine our eternal destiny. That's not an issue. John 5:24 says, the one who believes in him will not come into judgment. So we won't be judged to determine.

[B]

Our eternal but has already passed from death into life.

[C]

Right. But we will be judged, but not to determine our eternal destiny, to determine our eternal life reward. So I would argue that, yes, our bad deeds will be brought up at the judgment seat of Christ whether they're confessed or not confessed. And that bothers some people because they're like, well, David confessed his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, right? But yet it's in the Bible forever. And don't we preach about that and don't we teach about that?

[B]

And so the question this is something I don't think you and I have ever talked about before, too. And it comes up in our, in different Bible studies that I'm involved in. So what will that look like? We're at the judgment seat of Christ and our bad works, 2nd Corinthians 5:10 come into play. How would you word it? Would you say that? Okay, well, then you're not going to be rewarded for that. Okay, so you get no reward for that. You get rebuked for that? Or would we say that it is, you know, if you had been in fellowship during that time, this is where you would have been. You know, this is the maturity that you would have gained. Go back to David during that time when he was a hypocrite and he was a murderer and an adulterer. What would he accomplish for the Lord if he hadn't done those things, that kind of thing, Would you word it like that, or would you word it a different way?

[C]

Okay, so I think what I would say is in terms of rebuke, we know from various texts, like the parable of the just and the unjust servant in Matthew 24:45, 51, or First John 2:28, My little children abide in him so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink back in shame at his coming. There's not going to be a global rebuke except for believers who fail to persevere. If a believer fails to endure to the end of his or her Christian experience, then that person is going to be rebuked. But will there be rebuke? For example, if I murdered someone, you know, if I was doing Something that was really like David with murder and adultery. I would think there will be some level of shame or rebuke for things we've done that are displeasing to the Lord, but that's not going to be our overall experience, because First John 2:28 says, we'll have boldness or confidence at his coming. And so I would see it like if you think of the parable of the Minas, the one guy goes from 1 to 10, he hears, well done, 10 cities. The second guy 1 to 5, he doesn't hear, well done, but he hears.

[B]

You also be over five, but you get five cities.

[C]

Yeah. So I like to think of it this way, that both those guys, they're not going to be rebuked, but there's going to be degrees of rulership. And the same thing is true with treasure we laid up. Matthew 6:19 21. Depending on how much treasure we laid up, that's how much treasure will be there. Now, if you ask.

[B]

So the bad works would be not rewardable.

[C]

Right. And there's probably going to be some negative consequences for that. It may take away some of our eternal reward. I don't know. But the other issue is worthless works. First Corinthians 3:10 to 15. Like, say, for example, I like doing race walking. I don't think I'm. And you know, I got all these medals here. You like to write.

[B]

I like to put them around to mess with him.

[C]

Yeah. But the thing about it is, I'm not getting eternal rewards for those, am I?

[B]

Well, I don't know. You might. They look awful pretty over there.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

He told me if I have five of these and $5, I can get a cup of coffee, right?

[B]

At some places.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So in any regard, I think there's a lot of things we do that are worthless. But I don't want my bad deeds to come up at the judgment seat of Christ. But if they are, and that's the way I read 2nd Corinthians 5:10, then I accept that. And that certainly motivates me to be someone who is pleasing to the Lord day by day. Right.

[B]

Amen.

[C]

But the key, the absolute key, is I've got to persevere to the end, because if we endure, we'll reign with him. 2nd Timothy 2:12. I'd encourage you to pray about this, study this issue. You may not agree with us. That's okay. You're an independent student of the Word of God. You're an independent servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the key is know for sure, you have eternal life and then within that live each day in light of his soon return.

[B]

Because we will give an account. That's the bottom line.

[C]

Whether you agree with all I'm saying, we will give an account. We're accountable.

[B]

Well, thanks Tom, for the question. I think it was a great one. And until next time, keep grace in.

[C]

Focus.

[A]

Be our guest and subscribe to our 48 page magazine, six issues per year, also called GraceInFocus. It's free by emailing your name and snail mail address to gesaithalone.org that's faithalone.org maybe you've got a question or comment or feedback. If so, please send us a message. Here's our email address. It's radioaithalone.org that's radioaithalone. And when you do, please make sure your question is as succinct and clear as possible. That would be a great big help. And on our next episode, what's the difference between forgiveness and Cleansing? Please join us. And until then, let's keep grace in focus.

[B]

The proceeding has been a listener supported.

[A]

Ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.