The Daily Word of Righteousness

Judgment and Rewards, #56

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28,29)

Dear reader, when you are awakened from your sleep in the dust of the earth, what will be your recompense when you are judged?

Not once in the Gospel accounts, that we are aware, does the Lord Jesus permit or deny entrance into the Kingdom of God to any person on the basis of a theological statement of faith in Christ. The issue always is our conduct in the world.

When Christ exhorts the churches, as described in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, He states repeatedly: "I know thy works."

According to the Gospel accounts and the Book of Revelation, Christ will not refer to anyone's position concerning the virgin birth, anyone's stance regarding a premillennial or postmillennial coming, or anyone's view of the holy Trinity. The great issue of the Kingdom of God is not theological understanding, nor will our understanding or lack of it carry much weight in the Kingdom.

The concern of the Day of the Lord is our behavior. Were we a good, kind, generous person, serving the Lord Jesus faithfully; or were we an evil, treacherous, grasping, selfish individual, walking in self-will and pride? God's requirements for His fellowship with people remain unchanged from the time of Adam and Eve.

The greatest single error in Christian understanding is the belief that the people of today have been exempted from God's standard of behavior because they have professed faith in Christ; that God will accept an assent to the facts of Christ's death and resurrection in place of righteous, holy, and obedient behavior (Ezekiel 18:1-32).

This may prove to be the greatest heresy of all. Is it possible that the churches can understand, before the Day of the Lord, that they are teaching and living that which God never will accept?

To what type of destiny is your behavior leading you? What are you sowing in this life?

If you have never come to Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you must do so at once. The individual who rejects the salvation of the cross of Calvary will certainly come face to face with an angry Creator.

If you have been a Christian for a while, ask God today to give you a "report card." Ask Him to let you know in some manner how well you are pleasing Him. Ask the Father to enable you to prepare yourself to enter His royal Presence. Ask Christ to show you what to expect at His judgment seat. He will enable you to make corrections in your behavior now.

It will be too late to make corrections when you are standing before Him in the Day of the Lord.

Let us pray with David:

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalms 139:23,24)

God desires to be your God. Would you like to become His son?

You can. You can become a true son of God, an heir of all of the works of God's hands.

You can, if that is what you desire above all else. (from Judgment and Rewards)