Life After Death – Judgement

Life After Death

Today we begin a series examining what will happen to every one of us the moment we die. I know this makes some of you uncomfortable because to you, death is a really scary subject. Maybe you hate talking about death, or maybe you make excuses to avoid attending funerals. Maybe you have made no plans for your own eventual death.

If this is you, before we even begin the series, I want to give you a bit of hope: Death doesn’t mean Done! When you take your final breath and your heart stops beating, YOU aren’t finished. You simply cross from this life into the next. This series will help you understand this more clearly.

Not everyone shies away from the subject of death. Many in our culture seem to obsess about death and dying. Many horror movies and television crime shows are centered on death. Video games are filled with violence and shooting. Too often our local news stations carry special stories about young people who die too soon. There’s a lot of BAD information out there about what happens to a person who dies, and even Christians can fall victim to believing a lot of untruth.

Here are a few misconceptions we won’t be talking about because they aren’t found anywhere in the Bible:

• When you die, you don’t become an angel, nor do you become a butterfly or a cardinal.
• St. Peter will not meet you at the pearly gates to tell you whether you made it into heaven. That may be the basis for a lot of old jokes, but it’s not scriptural.
• Your grandma who passed away years ago does not float around this earth as a spirit with no body, trying to communicate with you. There are spirits who communicate with people, but they are by nature either demons, angels, or the Holy Spirit, not the deceased moving back and forth between two realms.

In coming weeks we will look for the TRUTH of what the Bible tells us happens when we die. I must give credit to Craig Groshel, who several years ago preached a series very similar to what I was planning. While researching for this series, I ran across Groshel’s sermons and received a great deal of help from them.

We will launch our exploration by looking into 2 Corinthians chapter 5 (NLT).

New Bodies for Our Existing Souls

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (NLT) – For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken from us [that is, when we die and leave this earthly body] we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. ²We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.

Raise your hand if you ever grow weary of aches and pains in your present body. Imagine the day when the pain is gone, when your body no longer hurts. Putting on that body will make you feel better than any new shirt you just HAD to have!

³For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.

This directly contradicts the belief SO MANY people have that their relatives float around earth as spirits.

⁴While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.

Isn’t that an interesting turn of phrase – the body is not swallowed up by DEATH, but by LIFE. Jesus came to give us LIFE, and our dying bodies are swallowed up by the LIFE He gives. Praise God!

⁵God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

I love this promise that the Holy Spirit inside of us is the guarantee that we will receive eternal life with God. Obviously the Spirit of God is eternal. If that Spirit is within us, this proves that we are eternal as well.

⁶So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. ⁷For we live by believing and not by seeing. ⁸Yes, we are fully confident,

This confidence is extremely important! The process of dying is much more peaceful when you have assurance of what will happen. Several weeks ago one of our elderly members went home to be with Jesus. In her last few weeks she had absolute peace and confidence about what would happen to her when she took her final breath. She was ready. She would fully agree with the next statement:

and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. ⁹So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him.

Side-note: So what is your goal in life? Christians must make sure we have the right goal in mind. It’s not to have enough money to retire comfortably, or to be in great physical shape and look younger than we really are, or to be successful or TikTok famous. Our whole goal in life must focus on pleasing God.

¹⁰For 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 this earthly body.

This says that how you live on this earth will ultimately impact your eternity. The “flip side” is that what you believe about eternity shapes how you live today.

Do you believe the Bible is telling the truth? If so, you should live according to what we will learn today. I think many people don’t care about how they live or whether they follow Jesus because they don’t actually believe what the Bible says about their eternity. They ignore their eternity. They cross their fingers and hope for the best.

I want better than that for all of you. That’s why I want to make sure your all know the truth about death.

The Truth About Death

1. Your Physical Body Will Die.

Hebrews 9:27 – Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. . . .

With the exceptions of Enoch and Elijah, every person in the Bible died. Lazarus died twice. Our physical bodies are not eternal. Like a set of tires, the more miles we put on our bodies, the faster they wear out. Eventually, unless the Lord returns first, all of us will have a final day with our physical bodies. This temporary tent will one day wear out. “From dust to dust,” we are told.

2. Your Soul Will Continue to Exist.

It’s important to recognize the difference between body and soul. You are a lot more than the bones, muscles, organs and tissues that give you physical existence in this world. Yes, the physical will wear out, but YOU won’t. Your soul – who you are – will continue to exist.

That’s exactly what Jesus tells Martha when her brother Lazarus has died and she is sad because Jesus didn’t come to her home earlier and heal him while he was sick.

John 11:25-26 – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Think about that – “the one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” He’s not disagreeing with our first point that everyone will die.  But he is challenging the belief that that’s all there is.  Even though you will die, you can still live.  In fact, you will NEVER die.  Through belief in Jesus, you can live forever, although not in this physical body Your soul will live forever in perfect union with God.

There is some debate as to what happens to your soul the moment you die. One minute after you die, are you with Jesus in heven?

• Some people believe in “soul sleep” and say people who die lack consciousness until Jesus’s second coming, when EVERYONE will be united with Jesus in heaven at the same single moment. They point to several spots in the New Testament where death is referred to as sleep.
• While Jesus is hanging on the cross He gives us another clue to this puzzle. While a thief hanging on a cross next to Jesus mocks Him, a thief hanging on His other side asks Jesus to “remember me when you come into Your kingdom.” While hanging there waiting to die, Jesus tells that man, “TODAY you will be with Me in paradise.”
• Additionally, the Apostle Paul writes about how he sometimes wrestles in the midst of his suffering, wondering which would be better to just die or to keep living and being constantly persecuted.

Philippians 1:21-23 – For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.

Paul, too, seems to teach that the moment your physical body dies, your soul is brought into the presence of Jesus.

Based on these verses, I am confident in saying that when we die we instantly move into the presence of God. And this leads to our final truth about death.

3. You Will Face Judgment.

In recent years some Christians have tried to make the Bible “nicer” by minimizing judgment. They either believe that since God is love He won’t judge anyone harshly, or they hope He will skip the whole judgment part (which Jesus often talks about) and let everyone into heaven. However, that is not the picture the Bible gives us.

1 Peter 1:17 –Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

• God judges each person’s work. He doesn’t just let people through without evaluating their lives.
• God judges impartially. He shows no favoritism. No one gets a free pass.

So live your life with purpose. Recognize that your time in this earthly tent is short in the grand scheme of eternity. Make the most of how you live – with the fear and respect of God in your heart.

Two Judgments

The Bible describes two different judgments for people. One is before God the Father and is for non-Christians. The other is before Jesus and is for Christians only.

(A)  White Throne Judgment – for Non-Christians.

Revelation 20:11-15 –¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books…. ¹⁵ Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire

The key to this passage is understanding the Book of Life. The name of every person who has ever put their trust in Jesus is recorded in this book. It’s a big book, and it covers all of human history. Have you recognized your sin and your need for a savior? Have you asked Jesus to forgive you of your sin? Have you committed to live your life for Him? Then your name is in that Book of Life!

However, the people whose names are not found in the Book of Life – those who have never committed their lives to following Jesus – are thrown into the lake of fire. They will experience eternity in hell. That’s our topic for next week.

I find it interesting that at this White Throne Judgment people are judged according to what they have done. Their problem (and ours as well) is that based on our actions none of us deserves heaven! None of us has done what it takes to earn our way into heaven; this comes only through being listed in the Book of Life.

So this judgment is for non-Christians, for those whose names are not found in the Book of Life. Without the free gift of mercy and forgiveness God gives us when we commit our lives to Jesus, these people earn their position in the lake of fire.

I know this is an unpopular position nowadays, but it lines up with other teaching from Jesus. One incredibly sobering lesson Jesus teaches comes from His Sermon on the Mount when He says:

Matthew 7:21-23 –Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

Church attendance, tithing, serving in the nursery – none of it will save you! The only thing that matters is that Jesus KNOWS you and has a relationship with you. Your connection with Jesus determines who judges you and how you are judged. If you have no relationship with Him, you will be judged by God, and your name will be missing from the Book of Life; but if you have put your trust in Jesus, then you will be judged by Him as described in 2 Corinthians 5:10.

(B)  Bema Seat Judgment – for Christians.

2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV) – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

This judgment seat is different from the White Throne. It is sometimes called the Bema Seat, which comes from a Greek word. It depicts the seat where the ruler of the Olympic games in ancient Athens passed out wreaths and other prizes for athletes’ performances in the contests. These athletes were not judged for guilt or innocence, but their performances were judged and rewarded accordingly.

Do you see how these two judgments differ and yet work together? The White Throne Judgment determines who is saved from the lake of fire. Those who have never received the grace of God are judged by their works, and they come up short, as all of us would.

But the names of those who put their faith in Jesus are written in the Book of Life, and they don’t have to face the judgment of God. Instead, we stand before Jesus, the One in whom we put our hope.

Throughout the New Testament we see verses that tell us we will receive honor, praise and blessings for how we live our lives on this earth. Those are rewards God has in store for us after we die. Some examples of what we might be rewarded for: treating the “least of these” with love and kindness; praying for and giving to the poor with pure motives; dealing with suffering and persecution without grumbling; and bringing others into the Kingdom of God.

The difference between these two judgments is that we are SAVED by GRACE and REWARDED for WORKS. Works without faith is what Jesus refers to when He says, “I never knew you.” Receiving God’s grace must come first. It is what saves us from an eternal judgment apart from God’s presence. Some people, however, stop there and believe faith is all that matters. They do a “bare-minimum” style of Christianity. They’re like a student who knows “Ds get degrees” and aims for the lowest passing grade. Jesus wants more than that, and He offers rewards to those who live according to the ways He taught us to live. This is spelled out for us all across the pages of the Bible.

Conclusion

In this world we are all trying to figure out how to live. Some live for adventure, fun and memorable experiences. Some live for their families; their entire schedule is wrapped up in whatever the kids want to participate in. Still others have their sights set on success, however they define that word for themselves. Christianity says that our entire lives should be not about ourselves or our families, but about pleasing our God. How we live today is about way more than today; it’s about eternity!

What you BELIEVE about eternity shapes how you LIVE today. Do you believe the verses I’ve shared with you today? If so, have you taken the most important step of beginning your relationship with Jesus by asking His forgiveness and deciding to make Him the Master – the King – of your life?

If not, I encourage you to take that step today. Stop just coming to church and listening to the facts ABOUT God. Make the decision to begin a relationship WITH God. May you never suffer the agony of hearing Him say, “I never knew you.”

Please choose today to put your hope and trust in Jesus. Don’t rely on your own actions to save you, but embrace the assurance that Jesus will write your name in the Book of Life!