The Judgement of Jesus for Christ Followers?

June 12

Read: Hebrews 9:27, 28 , 1 Cor. 3:10-15, Rom. 14:12, Rev. 14:13, 20:12

The Judgement of Jesus for Christ Followers?

(Old Law vs. New Law; part 4)

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Heb. 9:27,28)

If it is true that our sins have truly been done away with in Christ (and it is) and that God remembers them no more, then we may be wondering what sort of judgement is waiting for us as Christians? We see throughout the scriptures that there is a judgement before God that ALL humans will experience. The important thing to understand is that not all humans experience the SAME judgement. (cf. Rev. 20) Nevertheless, “it is appointed unto mankind to die once and then to be judged.” So what exactly does judgment for us in Christ look like?

The scriptures mention on multiple occasions (your readings for today are a good sample) the idea that what we do in this lifetime matters. How you live the life given to you by the Lord has an impact in how you will enter into and experience eternity. Life in the new heavens and the new earth is not a “communist” sort of proposition… not everyone experiences it the same way. While it is true that we all receive the same foundation which is Christ, what we build on that foundation makes a big difference. ( cf.1 Cor. 3) There is both the potential for reward as well as the potential to “suffer loss”. Our deeds in this word do in fact echo into eternity… they “follow us”. (cf. Rev.14:13) We are judged according to what we do in this lifetime. For the Christ follower, this judgement is not a determining of salvation or not (Christ decided that long ago for us, cf. “book of life” in Rev. 20) but rather a measuring of how we lived our lives…How did we “run the race” that was set before us? (cf. Hebrews 12:1,2, 1 Cor. 9:24-27, 2 Tim. 4:7)

There are two types of judges that we are familiar with. There is the judge in a courtroom determining guilt and handing out punishments and there is the judge at a sporting event or awards ceremony who observes performance and hands our awards, trophies, and medals. There is a sort of judging is determining between punishment and guilt vs. innocence and freedom. There is another sort of judging that is a matter of understanding the game fully and determining who gets the trophy or award. In Christ, our guilt vs. innocence has been decided… WE ARE FREE, innocent, forgiven, declared so by the Lord himself. We are now running the race of life that is set before us. In the same way that judges at the Olympics are not courtroom judges of law, our judgement in Christ is not a legal scene… it is more like an awards ceremony at the games. The same way that a judge at the local swim meet is not judging whether your child is a criminal or not … and does not determine whether they are going to jail or staying free… so is the judgement waiting for us in Christ.

We DO NOT earn our salvation, it is a gift from God. (cf.Eph. 2:8,9) That being said, God does call us as his children to walk in the “good deeds he has set apart for us.” (cf. Eph. 2:10) God is calling us to build well on the foundation given to us in Christ. (cf. 1 Cor. 3) We do not earn salvation, but we do earn “reward”. (cf. Matt. 6) What you do with your life matters. Do not waste it. Christ is working in you and through you to carry out the good deeds he is calling you to do. Your transformed life and faith will always spill over into your words and actions in this world. Let us “compete as though running the race to win the prize”. This is the exciting life we have been given in Christ. There is great reward waiting for us as the children of God. We can endure suffering in this world and live courageously generous lives knowing that there are precious rewards in store for us. There is indeed a “judgment” waiting for the children of God but it is NOT a rehashing of our sins - that is DONE and FINISHED. What it is, is an awards ceremony for how we have lived our life. There is great reward waiting for everyone who is in Jesus Christ. Do not squander the gift of life that you have been given. Jesus is working IN YOU to empower you and lead you into the good works he has for you! We need not fear the fact that “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment”. Love you guys! - JDP