Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
Romans 14:11-12 “It is written: ‘As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
I pray that you are all well. As I get older and older, the thought of meeting Jesus plays in my mind. How will that meeting go? Over the past few years, I have had a few close friends, a mom, and church people die, and all of them, as far as I know, knew Jesus. How did those first few minutes in heaven go? How did the judgment go for them as they entered the presence of our Lord? In 1 Corinthians 11: 31-32, the apostle Paul tells us to judge ourselves:
“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”
Paul tells us to judge ourselves; we should always be making an assessment of our living in Jesus. Are we maturing? Are we becoming more like Jesus? Are we like Galatians 5:22-23?
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
Do we see this fruit in our lives? Are these evident in our lives? The goal here is not to become a ‘holier than thou’ group but to be humbled by either the distance we have come or the distance we have to go. Those of us who truly believe that Jesus is real, that He will come to get us soon, and that we will have to give an account of our lives to Him should be constantly assessing ourselves, constantly judging ourselves, and repenting as we get closer and closer to meeting Him.
Would you say that your life has this ‘fruit’ clearly showing in it? Many of us are better at some than others, but these attributes are described as ‘fruit,’ singular. They should all be developing in our lives and showing to those around us. I take a look at my life, and some of these are growing, others are not as prominent. I don’t always have good self-control, I am not always long-suffering, I am not always kind, and on I can go. How about you? Jesus has given us all of these benchmarks to check ourselves and with which to make an assessment of our growth in the Lord.
In 2 Corinthians 5:10, we are reminded by Paul that we will give an account to Jesus of the things ‘done in the body’ as we worked and waited to meet Jesus. In Romans, Paul tells us that we are to be sure that we will give an account to Jesus, and again, in Hebrews, Paul tells us that judgment comes after death. There is no escape here, no way out, no avoidance. You and I, as children of God, will be judged according to the scriptures about how we lived for the Lord once we were saved. This is not about Heaven and Hell. If you are at this judgment, you are saved, and the assessment is about how you lived out the salvation that Jesus purchased for you. In 1Corinthians 3:13-15, we have this warning from Paul:
“His workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames.”
We can see here that there is reward and there is loss at this judgment, but one is saved even if he suffers loss. I cannot imagine what this judgment will be like for me; I wonder. What will it be like to have Jesus judge my life? What will stay, and what will burn up? I think about these things. I have not always lived for the Lord, have you? What if you and I took this judgment seriously? According to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, we have all been gifted within our abilities, and we will be judged on what we did with those ‘talents.’ There is no escape here, no way out, no bargaining; all of us will stand to be judged by the Judge of the Universe.
If you, by having put your faith and trust in Jesus as the Messiah, are at this judgment, you are far ahead of the billions who denied Him. Rejoice in this. But even more so, let us live out with diligence the life that Jesus bought for us, and let us serve Him willfully and honestly, knowing that we must all stand before Him and be judged for how we lived out our saved lives.
God bless you,
Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
How to Connect with Us
Online: https://mmbchurch.ca/
Email: seangooding@mmbchurch.ca
Join us on Zoom every Sunday (10:30 am) for Sunday Service AND every Tuesday at 8:00 pm for Bible Study: Meeting ID: 700 794 460 Passcode: 032661; https://us02web.zoom.us/j/700794460?pwd=M3NFRG91ZW5Sa2Z3amVyWkFnYXd6QT09
You can support our Ministry at https://tithe.ly/give?c=6452630 OR eTransfer at mmbchurch9@gmail.com (if you are in Canada)
My friend Todd Hampson has produced yet another superb edition in his ongoing ministry of highly creative, Christ-centered entertainment on behalf of his Lord. I am therefore most pleased to present his latest effort with my full endorsement. You will not go wrong bringing into your reading orbit this work revolving around that Majestic, Eternal Place in which all Believers in Jesus will one day reside!