JUDGED BY GOD

 

JUDGED BY GOD

I Peter 1:17  And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges.  He will judge or reward you according to what you do.  So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as foreigners here on earth.  NLT

      I do not believe very many people believe this is true, at least that is the way they come across.  We tend to think of ourselves in a better light than others.  We measure our worth by our successes or who we know.  We tend to think that we earn brownie points with God because of what we do.  However, Peter reminds us that God shows no favoritism when He judges the heart of man.

       Everyone will be judged according to how he lives out what he professes.  What we do with Christ matters to God.  How well we live in Christ determines whether or not we will be rewarded by God.  If we are not living in Christ like we should be, then we will be judged accordingly.  No one will be accepted by God into His Kingdom by what he does in comparison to anyone else.  He will be accepted by God only if He lives well in Christ. 

      A person who lives well in Christ has a reverent fear of God.  He honors and respects who God is.  He takes holiness seriously in his life.  He honors God as the absolute authority over his life.  He honors God by how he approaches God in worship and prayer.  He keeps God as his first love and lives always for Christ.  Keeping his soul fit for heaven is his number one priority in life.

      God does not play favorites.  He holds everyone equally responsible for holy living in Christ.  Anyone who doesn't live a holy life will be judged as unfit for the Kingdom of God.

       God is not impressed by what impresses us.  He sees what is on the inside, not just the outside.  He doesn’t care about the fluff of our lives; He cares about the stuff we are made of.  Only the holy in heart will see God.