Tag: Judgment of Deeds

Will Judgment Day Recount All Our Deeds?

The content discusses the concept of forgiveness from God and the impact of sin. While God’s forgiveness frees individuals from eternal judgment, temporal consequences of sin remain. Judgment Day will assess believers’ deeds, not for salvation but for reward. Actions matter, motivating individuals to live humbly and purposefully in faith.

It feels very good to know that you are forgiven by God. Many of our common, day-to-day type sins don’t bother us nearly as much as they should. Big mistakes that alter our lives and the lives of others can remain a millstone around our necks for the rest of our lives. Feeling forgiven is nice. Not having an eternal judgment on us is much better.

We receive forgiveness from eternal judgement in one way only. Jesus experienced our eternal judgment (being forsaken by God) for us on the cross. As long as we are connected to Jesus by the mystical union that God creates at our baptism, then that part is done. Is there any consequence of sin that is not done?

Certain sins definitely create problems in this world that are not undone by God’s forgiveness. Crimes still have their penalties. Damage to relationships may persist. This is what we call the “temporal” consequences of sin. They don’t impact eternal judgment once forgiven through Jesus.

What I want to write about is the Judgment Day impact for even forgiven and saved individuals like myself. For those saved by Jesus, Judgment Day is not about whether we are going to Hell or not. The Bible still does refer to Judgment Day as a judgment of our deeds (Psa. 62:12, Jer. 17:10, Mat. 16:27, 1 Cor. 3:10-15, 2 Cor. 5:10, Rev. 20:12,22:12) The question is whether this is a “filtered” list of deeds for those covered by the blood of Jesus or an embarrassingly unfiltered list?

The passages above use words like “reward” and “deserve”. As sinners saved by grace, we can rightly say that just being saved is more that we “deserve”. Still, to say that the conduct of our lives is inconsequential either positively or negatively doesn’t seem to fit the whole of Scripture. The “reward” isn’t entry into Heaven and the New Earth. That is a gift. I have written about Judgment Day for the redeemed here: https://afterdeathsite.com/2023/10/03/judgment-day-for-the-redeemed/ I now want to explore just one aspect. Are the sinful aspects of our lives just burned up and forgotten or do we have to face them in some way?

Our motivations for doing good with a humble servant’s heart are many. I love God. I love others. I believe in and desire to do good. It is my God-given purpose. God commands it. I may be rewarded. The one motive not on this list is to merit my salvation or God’s love. Is there the motive to not have to face my sinful action or inaction on Judgment Day?

There are the Old Testament promises,

as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:12 (ESV)

I do have to note that on a sphere East and West do meet again. Then there is this:

17 then he adds,

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

Hebrews 10:17 (ESV)

The context is about the need for further sacrifice, however. Jesus has made the sacrifice and that is done. Remembering the deeds seems applied to the Law and eternal judgment.

The theory that all of our deeds now disappear, and we are just seen as an extension of Christ doesn’t seem to reconcile with 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. The context of this passage is about the fruit of specifically called workers. Their life’s work can be wood, hay or straw. In other words, false teaching, no teaching, worthless actions, minimal or no impact for the Kingdom. Or it can be gold, silver and costly stones (truthful teaching, active use of time, good stewardship, loving actions, humble service of Christ). Their actions matter on Judgment Day. They are not merely judged in light of Christ when it comes to their reward.

In light of more general passages about the judgment of deeds like those listed above or the stewardship of life like the Parable of the Talents, I think 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 fits us all. This is not just a process for called preachers. We are all the product of teachers to an extent, but we are then able to teach others and put that teaching into practice.

If this is the experience is for all of those who are built on the foundation of Christ, what will the “revealed by fire” be like? Maybe it passes quickly leaving only the good. If the amount of good is small, we are ashamed of it. I expect that it will be more detailed, if only for our benefit. We will not know for sure until we experience this ourselves. The implication for our life remains. I am motivated to know the truth purely, put it into practice humbly but vigorously, not count anything as my entitlement, and leave as little as possible undone.

The Parable of the Talents and Judgment Day

In Matthew 25, Jesus gets His disciples ready for Judgment Day. In a series of stories He tells them what they should be doing now in preparation for that unavoidable day. One of the stories is the Parable of the Talents. It links for us the importance of good stewardship to Judgment Day results.

Stewardship is the idea that God has put us (humans) in charge of certain aspects of His creation, and we are to be good caretakers and managers of these things while we are alive. The parable of the talents uses money as a metaphor for all of these things. What things are we talking about?

Money is one of them. God has created a planet that sustains an economic system and places us with certain abilities to earn money, which God expects to be managed in a certain way. We are to be wise and efficient, generous, but not trusting or dependent on money rather than God.

There are other stewardships as well. We are stewards of our time, our abilities (both learned and supernaturally given), our bodies, the planet itself, and the knowledge of God that we receive. In general, we are to acknowledge that these things are from God, we want to help others with them, we want to respect the asset itself, but we never want to confuse the asset for God himself.

So here is the Parable of the Talents:

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 25:16-30

Notice that the three stewards are given unequal amounts of money (a talent is about 20 years wages for an average worker). We have different portfolios made up of money, time, talent, relationships, health and natural resources. We are only responsible for what we have. The more we have, the more the responsibility and expectations.

Two of the three make the most of the opportunity. They use their lives well and bring a proportional return that would represent good done with the right attitude and motivation, bringing people to the forgiveness and eternal life that God offers, strengthening the faith of others and enhancing their discipleship, raising genuine praise for God, respecting His creation and resisting evil.

Their life work doesn’t save them. Like everyone, we are saved by Jesus’ life work. We are saved by a gift that covers the multiple failures and many sins. The Judgment Day evaluation of our stewardship is for the sake of reward. Since we are saved as a gift, do we deserve a reward? Absolutely not, but God does it anyway. What reward? The Bible is vague about this, but notice that the Master offers to put the faithful stewards in charge of even more– an impact that they will experience in the New Earth.

The third guy is the interesting and scary one. Who does he represent? He receives something, but in the end there is no return. Can somebody really produce nothing with their lives? This man represents those who hear God’s plan to save them but don’t believe it. They may even be culturally Christian, but they don’t expect a Judgment Day or eternal life, they only live for this life.

The Master seems angry and harsh, but consider the lengths that God has gone through to save us. Jesus’ death on the cross is no small thing. To reject it is a great offense on top of all of our sins. The unfaithful steward is bound and thrown into “outer darkness”, a place where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” I don’t think I need to explain where that is.

It is interesting to compare this unfaithful servant with a representative person described in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, which is also a Judgment Day picture. That will be the topic of the next blog entry.