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All will die someday. At death, the spirit leaves the body and goes to hell or heaven. When Christ returns to earth, dead believers are raised from the dead with glorious new bodies reunited with their spirits. We groan (not moan) in our present bodies. Christ reigns for 1000 years. Then everyone else is raised and judged.
If their names are not in the book of life, they are sentenced to hell. Note three false theories about hell:
annihilationism – existence ceases
universalism – all will be saved
second probation – can be delivered from hell
However hard the doctrine of hell seems to our mind and sentiment, the bible clearly states the terrible nature of hell. This should motivate the mission of the church to reach the lost. We all will stand before God for judgement. Judgement is not necessarily punishment but more evaluation to determine reward or punishment.
Hebrews 9:27  “It is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment.” There is immediate judgment upon death, based on acceptance or rejection of Christ. Thereafter there will be two great judgments:
1. The Judgement of Non-Believers See first message. Those who reject Christ will be cast into hell. In hell, there will be different levels of punishment. See Matthew 11:20-24 , Luke 12:47-48 , Revelation 20:12 – why judge the spiritually dead according to what they have done if there are not levels of punishment?
Hell is awful but it will be more awful for some. Thus, the judgment of non-believers is a judgment of punishment for sin.
2. The Judgement Oof Believers 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies.”
Note: evil is actually ‘kakos’ in Greek and means worthless. e.g. that’s a bad paint job. Romans 14:10b,12 “Each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God…each of us will have to give a personal account to God.”
WHAT WILL CHRIST JUDGE?
Firstly, he will NOT judge; Salvation John 5:24 “He who hears my words and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” Sin Hebrews 10:17 “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”
Secondly, this is not a judgment of SALVATION but of SERVICE. Christ will judge words Matthew 12:36,37 , works ( Ecclesiastes 12:14 ), secrets and motives ( 1 Corinthians 4:5 ). Revelation 22:12 “I am coming soon! My reward is with me and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” {bibile}1 Corinthians 4:5b{/bibile} “And then God will give to everyone whatever praise is due.”
Thus, the judgment of believers is a judgment of rewards for service. {biible}Hebrews 6:10{/bibile} “For God is not unfair. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love for him by caring for other Christians, as you still do.”
HOW WILL OUR SERVICE BE JUDGED?
By fire. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 “Because of God’s special favour to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have – Jesus Christ. Now anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a special reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.”
Jesus is the foundation given to us. Good works of service and growth in character will be rewarded. Bad (worthless) works will be burned up. Note:
1. This is not a judgment of comparison but potential.
2. This not a judgment to decide if we are fit for heaven. v.15: “The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.” Two categories of works, v.12: "Gold, silver, and jewels Wood, hay, and straw Fire will consume wood, hay & straw but gold, silver and jewels will remain."
What are these? 1 Corinthians 13:13 – faith, hope, and love remain. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 - “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Anything we do in faith, hope, and love will be safe in the fire. Gold – enduring trials for example, working at staying pure, though you may not perfectly succeed. Matthew 10:42 : “If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.” The tiniest thing done in love for Jesus will be rewarded.
The extreme worst case is if all is burned up. Person is still saved but there may be grief and regret for a time over lost reward (suffer loss). Remember too that the first shall be last and the last first. There will be some big surprises on judgment day. Our modern world pays much attention to high profile ministries. But there are many who labour who are unknown, who will not ever appear on TV or write a book, or feature in a Christian magazine.
The faithful parents raising children, the unknown evangelist in rural China, the intercessor who prays in secret – all will be rewarded openly on that day.
The judgment of believers is not a competition but more like a graduation ceremony – all have passed but with different grades. Many believe that the gold, silver, and jewels left will be made into crowns to be given to believers (six different crowns mentioned in the bible). Whether these are literal or symbolic, it infers that we will rule in the resurrection and there will be different levels of ruling based on what we have done. See also the rewards Jesus promises to overcomers in Revelation 2&3 .
OUR ATTITUDE
We should not be fearful of judgment. We all make mistakes - they will disappear in the fire. However, this should sober us and motivate us to live lives of purity and purpose. If the Holy Spirit is allowed to work in our lives, he will save us from the wood, hay, and straw and burn them out of us before the Day of Judgment.
Jude 24 “Now unto him who is able to keep us from falling and present us without blemish before the presence of his glory…”
Colossians 3:23,24 “Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ.”
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