Following Death, Judgment

What happens when we die?  We fall asleep.
What happens when we awake?

Hebrews 9:27-28 (ESV)

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment

God is just.

He cannot let people get away with wrongdoing and evil. So all of it will be judged. We will enter a world whose very nature is Righteousness , Purity, Truth, Fairness, Justice. The opposite values have no place there and will not be permitted to exist there.

But God has delegated that responsibility to a man:

Why do we have to talk about Jesus as a Judge Pastor Dave? I don’t like to picture him in that way:

Acts 10:42 (ESV)

And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he [Jesus] is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

Judgment begins here;

Conscience is already at work accusing:

Galatians 6:7-8 (ESV)

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

• In 1942, when London was being blitzed, an article appeared in one of the British newspapers, which was widely quoted on this side of the Atlantic.  —Christian Bus. Men’s League

 “We have been a pleasure-loving people, dishonoring God’s day, picnicking and bathing—now the seashore is barred; no picnics, no bathing.

“We have preferred motor travel to church-going—now there is a shortage of motor fuel.

“We have ignored the ringing of church bells calling us to worship—now the bells cannot ring except to warn us of invasion.

“We have left our churches half-empty when they should have been well filled with worshippers—now they are in ruins.

“We would not listen to the way of peace—now we are forced to listen to the way of war.

“The money we would not give to the Lord’s work now is taken from us in higher taxes and high cost of living.

“The food for which we refused to give God thanks—now is unobtainable.

“The service we refused to give God is now conscribed for our country.

“Lives we refused to live under God’s control—now are under the nation’s control.

“Nights we would not spend watching unto prayer—now are spent in anxious air raid precautions.”[1]

For example, refusal to work can result in poverty, and overindulgence can result in poor health. Some activities bring their own penalties. Christians should not conclude, however, that the presence of calamities in a person’s life must indicate a specific judgment of God against a particular sin. God can use calamities in the life of a Christian to guide him providentially to the goal of eternal life[2]

Judgment Begins with Believers:

1 Peter 4:12-19 (ESV)

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Paul said some are sick and have fallen asleep because they have invited God’s discipline.

But upon the Second Coming of Jesus, all will awake to judgment:

Acts 1:11 (ESV)

11and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Matthew 25:31 (ESV)

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

Matthew 16:27 (ESV)

27For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.  TALK IS CHEAP. WITH GOD, WHAT YOU DO MEANS EVERYTHING!!

Romans 2:6-8 (ESV)

He will render to each one according to his works: 7to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

Proverbs 24:12 (ESV)

If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?

Jeremiah 17:10 (ESV)

“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Romans 14:10 (ESV)

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat  [Bema] of God;

2 Corinthians 5:10-11 (ESV)

For we must all appear before the judgment seat  [Bema] of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 11Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.

1 Peter 1:17-19 (ESV)

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Revelation 20:12-13 (ESV)

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

Revelation 22:12-15 (ESV)

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Romans 14:12 (ESV)

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

1 Peter 1:17-19 (ESV)

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

What About US? Do We Come into Judgment?

Philippians 3:20 (ESV)

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

John 5:24 (ESV)

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 (ESV)

and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Why does He not Judge us?

Hebrews 10:17 (ESV)

then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

Hebrews 9:27-28 (ESV)

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28so 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.

Romans 8:1 (ESV)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So Why Do We Stand Before His Throne and Judgment?

To be separated and Rewarded.

We Are Given Wages (Repayment) or suffer the loss of “what could have been”:

1 Corinthians 3:8 (ESV)

He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

1 Corinthians 3:14-15 (ESV)

If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

When I Stand at the Judgment Seat

When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ
And He shows me His plan for me;
The plan of my life as it might have been
Had He had His way, and I see
How I blocked Him here and I checked Him there
And I would not yield my will,
Shall I see grief in my Savior’s eyes;
Grief though He loves me still?

Oh, He’d have me rich, and I stand there poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While my memory runs like a hunted thing
Down the paths I can’t retrace.
Then my desolate heart will well-nigh break
With tears that I cannot shed.
I’ll cover my face with my empty hands
And bow my uncrowned head.

No. Lord of the years that are left to me
I yield them to Thy hand.
Take me, make me, mold me
To the pattern Thou hast planned.

The Judgment seat “is meant for us professing Christians, real and imperfect Christians; and it tells us that there are degrees in that future blessedness proportioned to present faithfulness.”

  - Alexander Maclaren, 1826–1910.[3]

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[1]Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers (Garland TX: Bible Communications, 1996, c1979).

[2]Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Tyndale reference library (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 762.

[3]10,000 Sermon Illustrations, electronic ed. (Dallas: Biblical Studies Press, 2000).