do you know what's going to happen after you die?
The Bible tells us very clearly,
it is appointed for man to die once,
and after that comes judgment.
That means that judgment is just as certain as death.
And we know that everybody dies.
Death is the one common denominator of all people.
We need to be equally clear that all will be judged.
That's what we're going to look at this morning.
What judgment will be like for everyone.
I'm talking about both believers, Christians, and unbelievers.
I want us to begin where we left off last week in Ecclesiastes chapter 3.
If you're new, we're going through a study of the book of Ecclesiastes.
And in this book, we're reminded over and over again that we're going to die.
And we need to live life in light of the fact that nothing in this world is permanent.
But the writer of Ecclesiastes, Solomon,
refers to himself as the preacher throughout the book.
He also brings up the subject of judgment from time to time.
Look, chapter 3, verse 16.
Today I'm going to put all this on the screen
because we're going to be looking at a lot of different passages from throughout the Bible.
So it's going to be on the screen this morning.
Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice,
even there was wickedness.
And in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.
He's talking about in the place where justice was supposed to be.
In the place where righteousness, that which is right,
where it was supposed to be happening.
It was not.
Then verse 17.
I said in my heart,
God will judge the righteous and the wicked,
for there is a time for every matter and for every work.
The first thing I want us to think about this morning is
a time of judgment is coming for all people.
That's what He's saying here in verse 17.
That's really going to be the main focus of this morning's message.
God is not going to just judge unbelievers.
We, as Christians, we will be judged.
And we're going to look at some of that this morning.
But before we do,
I want us to look at the last part of this chapter
and clarify what is said about life after death.
Because if you just read it
and don't think about who's talking
and other things that He said,
you might get the impression
that this preacher is really an unbeliever,
an agnostic even.
So let's look at point two next.
A time of judgment is coming,
but only if people experience life after death.
He's going to raise the question,
do people, does everyone,
do humans, as He will say it,
do they go up?
Or are they just like the animals
and just die and put in the ground?
Let's look at it.
We saw last week that the preacher began this section
by calling attention to the unfairness
and injustice in this world in verse 16,
what we just read.
We all know life's not fair.
That's just a fact.
But what He's calling attention to is
there's some places where life is supposed to be fair.
There's some places where God intends for justice to be done.
He's talking about a court,
the legal system,
before a judge.
That's where we are to expect justice to be done.
That's where we expect the right thing to always be upheld.
But in that day and in our day,
we know that's not always the case.
Sometimes you can't get a fair shake before a judge.
Sometimes the legal system is just not really fair or just.
And what Solomon is saying here is,
where there's supposed to be justice and it's not,
that's real evil.
Wickedness is the word he uses.
He wants us to understand, to be real clear.
There should be justice.
There should be a sense of fairness in this world.
But there's not.
But God has so ordered society
in every era, every period of time,
in the ancient world up until today,
there are supposed to be places
where you can count on justice being done.
And where it's not,
God takes personal offense.
It is wicked.
It is evil.
It is totally immoral.
And as we saw last week,
that's one reason why God exercises judgment.
One day God's going to right all wrongs.
One day justice will prevail
except for where we experience mercy.
We'll talk about that a little bit later.
We, we don't always want to get what we deserve, do we?
Not before God.
That's where the mercy comes in.
That God graciously doesn't give us what we deserve
because Jesus took our punishment.
See, God can never be unjust.
God's going to either be just
and give us what we deserve,
or He's going to show mercy to us
and not give us what we deserve
because Jesus suffered the punishment
that we deserve.
Let's move on into verse 18
for what we're looking at now.
The time of judgment is coming,
but only if people experience life after death.
In verse 18, it seems that the preacher's saying
that since people have no more regard
for their fellow man than to be so unjust,
treat people that way.
We treat one another that way.
It seems like we're no better than the animals.
Look at verse 18.
I said in my heart with regard to the children of man
that God is testing them
that they may see that they themselves
are but beasts or animals.
It's the fact that humans and animals
share one thing in common.
We're going to die.
That's what He's talking about in verses 19 and 20.
Look at it.
For what happens to the children of man
and what happens to the beasts is the same.
As one dies, so dies the other.
They all have the same breath.
And man has no advantage over the beasts
for all is vanity, futile.
All go to one place.
All are from the dust
and to dust all return.
Here's what He's saying.
We all, humans and animals,
we stop breathing.
We go to the place of death.
We all return to dust.
But the preacher then goes on in verse 21
to ask a question
that makes him sound like
an agnostic
or even an atheist.
Look at what he says.
Who knows whether the spirit of man
goes upward
and the spirit of the beast
goes down to the earth.
That sounds like he's not sure
about life after death for people.
Who knows if
the spirit of a human being
goes up before God,
if that spirit of man
will continue to live,
or if we're just like animals.
We just die and are buried.
If that's all you know about
this preacher,
as he calls himself,
you just wonder,
well,
who does know?
But that's not what he means
because
he makes it clear
in other places
that he believes
in life after death.
He believes
there's going to be a judgment
and there's only a judgment
for people who continue to live.
Look at verse 17 again.
I said in my heart,
God will judge the righteous
and the wicked.
If there's no life after death,
there will be no judgment.
So he doesn't believe
that when we die,
we're just going to be dead,
buried,
returned to the dust
like an animal.
He also,
in the last chapter
of Ecclesiastes,
he uses the same language
that we see here
in verse 21
to describe the fact
that people
will continue to live
after death.
Look at it.
The Spirit returns to God
who gave it.
In chapter 12,
verse,
the first seven verses,
Solomon's talking about
how we all just going to
get old
and age,
become decrepit
and die.
Gloomy picture,
but the reality is,
look in the mirror,
no matter what your age,
it's going to get worse.
If you live,
it's going to get worse.
I mean,
that is a fact.
We're going to deteriorate
and we're going to die.
But the point is,
the Spirit returns to God
who gave it.
Here in verse 21,
he's talking about
what death looks like
from the perspective
of life lived
just under the sun.
If all we know
is what we see
and feel,
if all we know
is what we experience,
then we don't know
that there's life
after death.
Everybody that you've
ever known and loved,
when they died,
you saw,
if you saw them die,
you saw them stop breathing.
And that's it.
That's all you saw.
They were buried.
That's all you know
for a fact
by what you observe,
what you see.
From a purely
earthly perspective,
no one does know
what happens after death.
But,
human beings
are different
from animals.
We are a higher
form of life
from animals.
We're more important
than animals.
We're above animals.
Only human beings
are created
in the image of God.
That's what makes us
different.
In Genesis chapter 1,
beginning about
verse 26,
the scripture's
very clear
that when God
created human beings,
He created human beings
differently
than everything else
under creation.
It's only men
and women,
male and female,
human beings
that God created
in His image.
And that's what
makes us
different.
The preacher
describes
how we're different
in one way
in chapter 3,
verse 11,
like this.
He says,
God has put
eternity
into man's heart.
We looked at that
two weeks ago.
Because God
created us
in His image,
we know,
we just know
innately
that there's more
to life
than what we see.
Human beings
have always been
spiritual beings.
We've always believed
in a higher form
of life.
Even people
who are not Christians,
who are not Jews,
every culture,
every people,
no matter what
they worship,
they worship
something besides
themselves.
We know
there's more
than what we see
can touch.
It's because
God has created
us that way.
In fact,
Paul tells us
in Romans chapter 1
that God
has so created
this world
that everybody
can understand
there is a God.
It's called
natural revelation.
Chapter 1,
verse 18,
and following,
Paul talks about
everybody's without
excuse
in terms of
we know
there's a God.
And what we know
about God,
we really rebel
against.
We don't really
want to honor
this God.
We want to live
life our way
rather than His way.
So he talks about
the universality
of sin.
In other words,
all people in this
world,
God makes it clear
to them
something about
Himself,
but we don't
act upon
what He shows us
in a way
that would
honor Him.
And that's what
makes us
sinners
without excuse
before God.
He even goes
on in chapter 2
to say that God
has so put it
in your
conscience,
in your heart,
a general
awareness of
His law,
of what's right
and wrong.
Because human
beings are created
in the image of
God,
we know innately
that there's some
things,
I'm talking about
just basic things,
that are right
and wrong,
good and bad.
That's how God
made us.
So God has put
eternity into our
hearts.
He has made us
such a way that
we know there's
more life than
what we see.
But there's a
whole lot about
life we don't
understand.
That's what He
went on to say
in chapter 3
verse 11.
Look at it.
God has put
eternity into
man's heart,
yet so that he
cannot find out
what God has
done from
beginning to
the end.
That's His way,
the preacher's way
of saying,
we're never going
to figure out
everything about
life.
There's things
that are going
to happen in
this world,
there's things
that are going
to happen in
your life,
and you're just
going to think,
I don't understand
why this happens.
I don't understand
how a great and
good God could
allow this or
cause this,
and we're going
to go to our
grave with those
questions.
We're going to
go to our grave
with a lot of
unanswered questions
because God has
not chosen to
reveal everything
to us.
He's God,
we're not,
and we cannot,
we could not
understand all that
He would even make
known to us if He
chose to,
because we're not
Him.
we don't have
His mind.
But we do
know there's
more to life
than just what
we see under
the sun.
Most of what we
know about life
after death is
what God has
actually revealed
to us in His
Word and in the
resurrection of
Jesus.
Let's look now
at some of the
things that God
has revealed about
judgment, about
life after death.
So this is what
we're going to
do actually is
go back now to
point one.
A time of
judgment is
coming for all
people.
And I want you
to note how the
preacher emphasizes
the comprehensive
nature of God's
judgment.
It's going to
include all people.
Again, verse 17,
God will judge the
righteous and the
wicked.
Look at what He
says at the end
of Ecclesiastes.
The very last
verse, chapter 12,
verse 14.
Judgment is going to
include everything
we've ever done.
For God will bring
every deed into
justice, into
judgment, with every
secret thing, whether
good or evil.
Let's just be real
honest.
You've got some
secrets.
You've got some
secrets that nobody
in this world knows
about.
And so do I.
You know what some
of mine are?
You're an idiot if
you think I would
tell you.
They're secrets.
And I don't want
you to know.
And you've got
secrets you don't
want me to know.
There are secrets
that only Lisa
knows about me.
You've got some
secrets that only a
few people know
about you.
It might be your
spouse.
Some of you, you've
got some buddies,
some friends.
They know some real
secrets that get you
in a lot of trouble.
They're going to go
to their grave.
They're not going
to tell it.
Well, here's the
unsettling part.
The things that I
don't want you to
know, the things
that you don't want
me to know, it's
going to be made
public on the day
of judgment.
I don't know all
about what that's
going to mean.
But this is not
the only place that
the scripture is
clear that everything
about us is going
to be laid bare.
we're not going to
hide it.
We're not going to
keep it covered.
We're not going to
be able to because
God knows.
God knows what we
think.
He knows what we
feel.
He knows what our
attitudes are behind
our actions and our
words.
Jesus even said on
one occasion that
we're going to give
an account on
judgment day for
every word, every
idle word we've
spoken.
You know, the
things that are
said in the Bible
about judgment, even
for us as Christians,
it should get our
attention.
It should make us
just stop and think,
it matters how I
live.
And even though I
can get by with
some things and
keep some things from
some people, I
can't keep it from
God.
And one day I'm
not even going to be
able to keep it from
anyone.
scary thought,
humbling thought.
Jesus also taught
that all people will
be judged, both
believers and
unbelievers.
And the most lengthy
and detailed
description is found
in Matthew chapter
25.
Look with me,
beginning in verse
31.
Jesus said a lot
about judgment,
actually.
He said a lot of
little statements
here and there
about, we'll give
an account for
every outer word
and that kind of
thing.
This is the
lengthiest one,
beginning in chapter
25, Matthew,
chapter 25,
beginning in verse
31.
I want to encourage
you to write that
down, read that.
We're not going to
look at the whole
thing today, but
it's important.
It's serious.
Look at verses
31 to 32 now.
Jesus said,
when the Son of
Man comes in His
glory, that's His
favorite way to
describe Himself.
Speak of Himself.
When the Son of
Man comes in
glory and all the
angels with Him, then
He will sit on His
glorious throne.
That's the second
coming of Jesus
Christ.
Before Him will be
gathered all the
nations, all the
people.
And He will
separate people one
from another as a
shepherd separates the
sheep from the
goats.
One day Jesus is
going to come back
into this world in
power and glory.
And it will be an
awesome sight and
it will be an
awesome day.
Judgment will take
place when Jesus
comes back.
He's going to
really be the one
to exercise final
judgment.
Jesus explained how
all this works.
In John chapter 5
verses 22 and 23,
look at it.
For the Father
judges no one but
has given all
judgment to the Son
that all may honor
the Son just as they
honor the Father.
God the Father has
delegated judgment to
God the Son.
Some places you read
in the Bible about
God's judgment, the
Father's judgment.
Sometimes you read in
the Bible about the
judgment of Jesus, the
judgment seat of Christ.
Both are correct.
God judges through
His Son, Jesus.
Now Matthew 25
describes how Jesus
is going to exercise
judgment with an
image that everyone
there that day
understood.
We don't ever see
this.
But He was talking
about how a shepherd
separates the sheep
from the goats at the
end of the day.
evidently in that day
a shepherd had sheep
and goats and they
just grazed together
out in the pasture
land.
But at the end of the
day when He brought
them in they didn't
stay all mingled
together.
He separated the
sheep on one side,
the goats on another.
He would put one pen,
one in another pen
evidently.
Well that's the image.
See, Jesus was a
master of painting
pictures, word
pictures for us to
understand what He was
talking about.
Note how Jesus
says this.
He's going to divide
people in two
categories immediately
when He comes.
Look at it.
This is verses 22
and 33.
32 and 33.
For Him will be
gathered all the
nations and He will
separate people from
one from another as a
shepherd separates the
sheep from the goats.
He will place the
sheep on His right and
the goats on the left.
Think about what the
image is.
Jesus returns.
All people are before
Him.
He separates one group,
His people, that He
refers to as sheep, on
His right.
And then the others who
are not His people
designated the goats on
His left.
what I want us to
understand is when
Jesus comes, He
doesn't determine, or
out of this whole big
group, some of them
are sheep and some of
them are goats.
The determination has
already been made.
When Jesus comes, there
are sheep and there are
goats.
Judgment Day is not
going to be the day
when people are designated
to be believers or not.
Judgment Day is just
going to reveal who the
believers are and who the
believers are not.
Judgment Day just reveals
who the sheep, who His
sheep are, who they are
not.
The people on the right, the
sheep on the right, as He
uses the term, they're the
people who trusted Jesus as
their Lord and Savior
before He arrived.
They had a relationship
with Him before He
arrived.
And when Jesus came, He
knew His sheep
immediately.
Those on the left, they
didn't have a relationship
with Jesus when He
arrived.
And when He arrived, it
was too late.
And they were put on the
side separate from the
sheep immediately.
This makes it clear that
everyone's eternal destiny
is decided before Judgment
Day.
On Judgment Day, Jesus
makes it, just makes it
known who's who.
Now I want you to look
next at the destiny of the
sheep and the goats.
Look first at the sheep.
Verse 34, still in Matthew
25.
Then the King will say to
those on His right, come,
you who are blessed by my
Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the
foundation of the world.
Those on His right, those
who have a relationship
with Him, those He is
designating as sheep, they're
eternally blessed.
They're going to inherit the
blessings of the kingdom of
God forever.
Now note the destiny of the
goats, those on the left,
those who are not the sheep.
Then He will say to those on
His left, depart from me, you
cursed into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his
angels.
It's going to be too late on
the Day of Judgment for those
who are not believers.
They're going to be eternally
condemned right then.
And Jesus makes it clear that
these final states, they are
eternal.
Look at the last verse that
we're talking about in Matthew
25.
And these, He's talking about
the goats now, these will go
away into eternal punishment.
That's the wicked, the
unrighteous.
But the righteous into eternal
life.
Look at that word, eternal
punishment, eternal life.
On the Day of Judgment, our
relationship with the Lord will
be made known.
It will be permanent.
There's not one thing anybody
can do about it.
So let's just make this real
personal right now.
What would happen if Jesus
came back today?
Which group would you find
yourself in?
If you have a real relationship
with Christ as your Savior and
Lord, all is going to be well.
You don't have to fear the
judgment.
You're going to find Jesus to be
a very gracious and merciful
shepherd who's going to bless
you with an eternal inheritance
in the kingdom of God.
It'll be an awesome sight, but
it's going to wind up well for
all who truly trust Jesus and are
His.
But if you don't have a
relationship with Jesus, all will
be lost.
You will find Him to be a just
judge who will condemn you to
eternal punishment in hell as a
result of your sinful choices,
your own personal decisions to live
life your way and not God's way.
We all know that we're going to die
one day.
We know that.
Well, we need to also let it sink in
that judgment is just as certain as
death.
None of us know when our death's going
to come, so none of us know when our
judgment will be.
But we can be ready whenever it is
by having a right relationship with God
through faith, trust, commitment to
Jesus Christ as our own Savior and Lord.
You know, the New Testament often
encourages us to be ready for the day
of judgment by pointing out something
very positive, that God's going to
reward His faithful people.
That's the last point I want us to look
at this morning, the rewards of the
righteous.
You know, there's several, many actual
passages of Scripture that talk about
rewards for Christians in some way.
I want you to look at a very clear-cut
example from Peter.
Some things happened.
The rich young ruler that Jesus had an
encounter with, he seemed to be
interested in being a follower of Jesus,
but when Jesus told him the real story,
what he needed to do, he just walked
away.
And it caused Peter to think and have a
question.
I want you to look at it.
Peter's talking to Jesus.
Then Peter said in reply, see, we have
left everything and followed you.
They left their family, they left their
jobs, they left life as they knew it.
We've left everything and followed you.
What then will we have?
And Jesus said to them, truly I say to
you, in the new world, when the Son of
Man will sit on His glorious throne, you
who have followed me will also sit on 12
thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel and
everyone who has left houses or brothers or
sisters or father or mother or children or
lands or anything.
For my sake will receive a hundredfold and
will inherit eternal life.
You know, you could think Peter was a, Peter was the real
deal.
He was a faithful follower of Jesus.
Earlier in Matthew, Jesus had commended him because he
said, he made this great declaration of faith, speaking on
behalf of his disciples, of all the disciples.
We believe that you are the Christ.
You are the son of the living God.
And, and, and Jesus just commended him.
God has shown you that Peter.
That's not something you figured out.
God has opened your eyes.
You and all these who follow me.
God has made it known to you.
You are true believers.
He commended them.
They were not in it for wrong motives or anything.
They were genuine followers of Jesus because they, they
believed in him.
They loved him.
They were committed to him.
They wanted to serve him.
They wanted to do God's will.
But on one occasion, Peter just said, we've given up everything
in this world to follow you.
Will we get anything in return?
Will we be rewarded?
And Jesus didn't put him down.
Jesus didn't say anything, not even hint that there was
anything wrong with Peter asking that question.
The fact is, Jesus said that his faithful followers will be
rewarded, what, a hundredfold?
We rewarded in all kinds of ways, some in this life.
But ultimately, and most importantly, we're going to be
rewarded with eternal life.
You know, we don't know a whole lot about the kinds of rewards
we'll experience in heaven.
There's going to be something in heaven.
Heaven, let me rephrase that.
When all is said and done after Judgment Day, there's going to be
a new heaven and a new earth.
We're going to live and know people and be known.
We're going to do stuff in heaven.
We're not going to be sitting around on these clouds playing a
harp like some kind of stupid illustration you've read or seen
somewhere.
That's just ridiculous.
We're going to live forever in the presence of God and with
other people.
We're going to do stuff in heaven.
There's going to be rewards.
There's going to be categories of rewards.
I don't know a whole lot about what that's really going to be
and nobody else does either.
We can all have some thoughts and opinions.
There's not a whole lot of concrete ideas, evidence of what it
will exactly be like.
But we can be certain of this.
All rewards in heaven are based on God's grace.
We don't deserve them.
We don't deserve our salvation.
We're saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, period.
Everything that we have from God is a gift of grace, so we need to
understand that.
But Paul said two things about eternal life that will be our greatest
reward.
He said it in the context of describing the second coming of Jesus to the
Christians in the church of Thessalonica because they were concerned
about some of them had loved ones, family members and friends who had died, and
they were wondering what has happened to them.
So Paul, in chapter 4, he tells them some things about what's going to happen
at the second coming.
He tells them some things about their family members and their friends.
They're going to see them again.
But I want you to note there's two things he says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 about
how we're going to be blessed in heaven, and these are the ultimate rewards.
Number one, verse 17, we will always be with the Lord.
Heaven is where Jesus is.
Heaven's where the Father is.
And we're going to be with them for all eternity.
That's going to be the number one blessing and benefit of heaven.
But number two, note verse 17, he says, we will always be with the Lord.
Who's he referring to with that we?
He's talking about Christian family members and friends that you know and love and will
see and spend eternity with.
I want you to look at how he describes this.
Christian family members who have died, what's going to happen?
Look, we're going to read in chapter 14 or chapter 4 beginning in verse 13.
Paul says, we don't want you, members of this church, we don't want you to be uninformed
brothers about those who are asleep, that's people who died, that you may not grieve as
others who have no hope.
Christians grieve.
Don't you ever think that it's something wrong with somebody you know and love you're close
to when they die and it breaks your heart?
Well, that's just the way God made us.
When somebody you know and love dies, they're not here.
You know they're in heaven, but you still, you grieve, you're hurt because they're not
here with you.
And that's normal.
That's natural.
That's being a human and a Christian human.
It's okay to cry.
It's okay to grieve.
It's okay to be sad.
It is not unspiritual.
The person who doesn't grieve is the one who something's wrong with.
But we don't grieve like people who don't have a clue as to what happened to their family
members.
We don't grieve like people whose family members were not believers.
Look what he says.
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring
with him those who have fallen asleep.
Your family members, friends who've died as Christians, when Jesus comes back in this world,
they're going to come back with him.
Look at the next part.
And the dead in Christ will rise first.
That's when they get their new resurrected body.
Look at the next one.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
That's when we get our new bodies if we're alive, when Jesus comes back again.
And there's that last phrase.
And so we will always be with the Lord.
Paul intended for that to comfort or encourage us.
Look at the last verse.
Therefore encourage or comfort one another with these words.
Here's the point.
Our greatest rewards in heaven will be relationships.
We will be there with those we love the most.
The Lord Jesus, our Heavenly Father, and our Christian friends and family members.
People we shared life with in this world.
We're going to share eternity with them as well.
I read several articles, I'm sure you have too, about the death of Billy Graham.
Well, Franklin Graham, his son, describes where his father is right now
in a way that emphasizes the truth of what I'm bringing out about Paul
and about relationships in heaven.
Franklin said this about his dad after he died.
What joy he has to be welcomed by God the Father
and be reunited with my mother in the presence of Jesus.
That's the great reward.
To be in the presence of Almighty God and the Lord Jesus Christ
with your friends and family members who were Christians.
It'll be great.
It'll be great fellowship.
Real relationships forever and ever in a perfect place.
You know, seeing what Franklin Graham said about his dad,
how will your family members think of you following your death?
And what I'm asking is, what kind of hope will they have?
Everybody that I've ever known and loved when they died,
as I thought about them,
I've always thought about where they were right then.
If they were Christians, I've always thought they're in the presence of the Lord.
And while I may be still sad,
there's a whole lot of peace in knowing that they're in perfection,
in paradise now with the Lord.
How do you think of yourself following your death and judgment?
Do you have comfort?
Or are you afraid?
One thing that we need to be, must be clear about,
our salvation is not based on our good works.
Understand, if you don't hear anything else this morning,
the New Testament clearly teaches
that your salvation is not dependent upon you being good or bad.
Your salvation, your home in heaven,
is not a reward for the good deeds that you do.
It's not something that God does because you do more good than bad in the world.
Our salvation is based on the goodness of Jesus Christ.
Our salvation is based on who He is and what He's done.
You see, Jesus lived the only perfect, righteous life that's ever been lived.
And when we trust Him as our Savior and Lord,
His perfect life is credited to us.
Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
He lived a perfect life.
He didn't deserve to die, but He chose to die as our substitute.
He chose to take our sins upon Himself
and incur God's wrath against our sin,
to incur God's punishment.
He chose to suffer the pain and punishment of hell,
separation from God, for us,
so that if we will trust Him,
His death for sin will count as our death.
And that's how we get to be forgiven.
We're saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus and Him alone.
Look at what Paul says.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
We who are Christians should not fear death.
We should not fear the judgment.
But I want you to be real clear about what it means to be a Christian.
The New Testament teaches that saving faith is continuing faith.
The New Testament knows nothing about somebody just making a profession of faith
or getting baptized,
and nothing ever changes about them.
The New Testament tells us that what God starts, He finishes.
Look at how Paul describes it in Philippians.
And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you
will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus saves a person, He changes that person from the inside out.
Now, no one is instantaneously changed and made perfect.
It's a lifelong process.
But people who have been born again by the Spirit of God
will be gradually changed by the Spirit of God.
Slowly but surely, if the Spirit of God lives within us,
we will be developing the fruit of the Spirit,
the character of Jesus,
which is things like love and joy and peace and patience and kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
There's not a person in this room who fully demonstrates this full-blown fruit.
But if the Spirit of God lives within you,
there is within you a desire to develop such character,
to grow in the development of such character.
There will be a desire within you to put forth the effort
to cooperate with God as He works in you
to develop that kind of character.
And if the Spirit of God has been living in you for any length of time,
there will be some signs of such fruit in your life now.
Sometimes, you know, you can see some evidence,
but then there's some times you sort of go back
and you don't see quite as much.
But over time, we ought to see how God is chipping away
at our old sinful, selfish ways
and developing these spiritual fruit qualities,
character qualities in us.
Jesus said clearly,
By this my Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit,
and so prove to be my disciples.
On Judgment Day,
our lives will be evaluated,
not by an empty profession of faith,
but by a fruitful demonstration of faith.
Does your life bear spiritual fruit?
This is how we know who is truly saved
by the grace of God through faith in Jesus.