Resurrection Day has passed, Jesus is risen. He has ascended to the right hand of God and is praying for you and me. This is a big deal; our God is praying for us! Jesus is interceding for you, which means He is praying for you to endure in your faith to the end. He is praying for your maturity in the kingdom of God. He is praying for you to demonstrate your faith with your deeds.
Jesus is interceding for you
That last one is important because your deeds, what you do on earth, have a direct impact on where and how you spend eternity. In short, you will be judged by Jesus when you die. That judgement will be righteous, fair, and final. For some, the judgement will be full of joy as evidence of their faith is placed before Jesus and they are rewarded. For others, the judgement seat of Christ will be a time of dread.
He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.
- 1 Corinthians 3:8
knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.
- Ephesians 6:8
He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
- Romans 2:6-8
Jesus also talks about judgement in a parable of servants in Luke 19:12-27.
The point is, when you die you will be judged. For the non-believer who rejects Jesus on earth the punishment for sin is hell, a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. For the Christian, there is no condemnation in Jesus, but we will be judged based on our deeds. Our actions on earth will be added to the court as evidence of who our king really was. This evidence will also be used to determine our rewards in eternity.
Our actions on earth will be added to the court as evidence of who our king really was
This is a very sobering thought. If every action and thought will be judged by Jesus, if everything we do has an affect on eternity, Christians need to take evangelism seriously. Heaven is real but not everyone is going. Our deeds on earth, what we believe about God, result in an eternal reward or an eternal punishment.
Heaven is real but not everyone is going
This is the heart behind our new message series, Eternity. During the month of April we will be studying heaven, hell, the second coming, and the new heaven and new earth. We start this Sunday and will be studying heaven. If you would like to read ahead, check out Genesis 1:1-20, Isaiah 6:1-7 Revelation 5:1-5, 2 Corinthians 12:1-3, Luke 23:39-43, and 2 Corinthians 5:6-10.
God bless and have a great week!
- Marshall Ochs