DAILY DEVOTIONAL FROM PASTOR WESLEY May 29, 2024
Reassurance About Judgment
Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord-- for we walk by faith, not by sight-- we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
The Bible describes two kinds of judgments—one for those who don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ and one for those who do. For believers, judgment is an evaluation of the person’s life. While that may sound alarming, we can find comfort in these truths about our judge:
Identity. According to John 5:22, our judge will be Jesus. We can trust the One who laid down His life for our sake, brought us into God’s family, speaks to the Father on our behalf, and intercedes for us faithfully.
Character. Christ’s holy nature ensures that He will be fair. His omniscience means He can’t make decisions based on inadequate or faulty information. And His character is perfect, so He won’t make mistakes or treat certain people more favorably than others.
Purpose. Jesus will evaluate our life according to what we’ve done on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10). But because He already bore the punishment for our sin at the cross, our judgment has to do with rewards, not chastisement (1 Peter 2:24).
Christians can look forward to a new body that will never experience pain or death. What’s more, we will enjoy Jesus’ presence forever (Psalm 16:11; John 14:3). We do not have to fear judgment, because we can trust our Judge and His intentions.
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