How Will You Be Judged When You Die?

What kind of judgment will you face when you die? How often do you even think about that?

OUR TYPICAL DAY

Most of us wake up with a full schedule. If you have kids, life can be hectic, chaotic and busy. Others become consumed by work. A good friend told me years ago, “You can’t outwork the work.” He was right. There will always be something else to do.

But then you run across verses like these, and they make you stop:

“But those who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse, because the Scriptures say, ‘Anyone will be cursed who does not always obey what is written in the Book of the Law.’ … Christ took away the curse the law put on us. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse.” (Galatians 3:10-14 NCV)

So what does that actually mean?

A DEBT YOU OWE, BUT IT’S BEEN PAID

Jesus lived the life I couldn’t live, and died the death I deserved to die.

The Greek word Paul uses for “curse” is katara—condemnation resulting from breaking God’s law. And Paul’s argument is brutally simple: if you want to stand before God based upon your own obedience, the standard isn’t “pretty good.” It is perfect obedience.

That eliminates every one of us.

But Jesus lived under that same law and fulfilled it perfectly. He never sinned. Then He went to the cross and took the curse that belonged to us. As Paul says, “He changed places with us.”

That may be one of the simplest explanations of the Gospel in the Bible.

His perfect life in place of my imperfect life. His death in place of the judgment my sin deserved.

LIVING FREE

And when you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God gives you His Holy Spirit—the Helper. The Spirit begins changing how you think, helping you overcome things that once controlled you, convicting you when you’re wrong, teaching you truth and giving you wisdom to live differently.

Does that mean Christians will never answer for how they lived? No. Scripture says believers will stand before Christ and our lives will be evaluated. But there is a huge difference between evaluation and condemnation.

“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 NCV)

My salvation doesn’t rest on whether my record was good enough.

It rests on His record.

IT’S YOUR CHOICE

So here’s the question I keep coming back to: Which record do you want to stand on when you face God—yours, or Jesus Christ’s?

I know my answer.

Mine contains sin, selfishness, mistakes, failures and things I wish I could take back. His contains perfect obedience, perfect righteousness and the perfect payment for sin.

Because of Jesus, His righteousness covers me.

And if life is hard today, stop for a moment and count your blessings. As a follower of Christ, your greatest blessing isn’t your house, your health, your money, your family or even another day of life. Your greatest blessing is that you have been rescued from death, hell and eternal punishment.

I know that can sound overly religious, but it’s simply what the Bible teaches.

And sometimes people ask, “How could a loving God allow someone to spend eternity separated from Him?” Yet God has already provided the rescue. Jesus came, lived the life we couldn’t live, took our sin upon Himself, died in our place and rose again.

He doesn’t force us to receive Him.

That choice is ours.

CONCLUSION - REAL FREEDOM

In the end, there really are two paths: Christ, or facing judgment without Christ. Rescue, or remaining under the consequences of our sin.

You might say it even more simply: Jesus or hell. It’s your choice.

That doesn’t make me careless about how I live. It makes me grateful. It makes me want to obey Him, follow Him and allow His Spirit to keep changing me.

That is freedom.

I don’t have to spend the rest of my life wondering whether I’ve finally done enough to make God accept me. Jesus already did what I could never do.

GOD — said simply, thank You for Jesus Christ, the ultimate free gift. Thank You that I don’t have to stand before You depending upon my record, but upon His. Help me never take that rescue for granted. When life feels hard, remind me of what You have already saved me from and what You have promised me for eternity. Help me live grateful, obedient and faithful because of what You’ve already done for me. IJNIP amen ♥️

(Traveling with my wifey ♥️)