Romans 14:9-12

• 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
• 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.
• 11 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'Every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"
• 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

"For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (I Peter 4:17)

Introduction: Christians often argue about how many judgment days there are. Depending on your outlook on Eschatology (the doctrine of the last days), you have different answers. We read in the Bible about the Judgment seat of Christ. We also read of the Great White Throne Judgment. Also, there is the Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats. Some people say these are three separate judgment days. For most of Christian history the Church has said that there is only one Judgment Day, and that these three titles are refer to the same thing. Personally, I believe this to be the case.

But today, my intention is not to prove there is only one Judgment Day. Rather, I want to talk about Judgment Day for Christians. How can there be a Judgment Day for us, if Jesus has died for us? But Paul says to the Roman Christians, "...we will all stand before God's judgment seat...each of us will give an account of himself to God." Since there IS a Judgment Day for Christians, how can we get ready? And what should we know?

I. Make sure you are one of Christ's sheep.

There is coming a day when Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-46)

• 31 ¶ "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
• 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
• 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
• 34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
• 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
• 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
• 37 "Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
• 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
• 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
• 40 "The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
• 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
• 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
• 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
• 44 "They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
• 45 "He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
• 46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Have you repented of your sins? Have you believed in Jesus, and asked Him to be your Savior and Lord? Are you a sheep or a goat?

II. Do good works to serve the Lord and your fellow man.

Please note carefully. This not how you become a Christian. This is not how you gain salvation. We are not saved by good works, but good works are the necessary sign of faith.

• 14 ¶ What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
• 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
• 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
• 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
• 18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
• 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
• 20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
• 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
• 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
• 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend.
• 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
• 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
• 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
  (James 2:14-26)

• 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-
• 9 not by works, so that no-one can boast.
• 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
  (Ephesians 2:8-10)

III. Be concerned and dedicated to good works, but don't be anxious about your works being good enough!

Justification is by faith alone! Remember Jesus' story about the tax collector and the Pharisee?

• 9 ¶ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:
• 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
• 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector.
• 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
• 13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
• 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
  (Luke 18:9-14)

Good works don't have to be spectacular to please God. Remember the verses we just read in Matthew? What were the good works that pleased Jesus? Visiting someone in prison. Giving someone a drink of water. Helping someone find food to eat. The righteous didn't even know that they had done some good works that really pleased God. But God noticed!

And let's beware of doing our good works to please or impress MEN.

• 1 ¶ "Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
• 2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
• 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
• 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
• 5 ¶ "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
• 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
  (Matthew 6:1-5)

IV. God wants to reward you for your good works, and it's OK to want to be rewarded.

"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works."
(Matthew 16:27)

• 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
• 25 He chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.
• 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
  (Hebrews 11:24-26)

• 24 ¶ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
• 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever.
  (I Cor 9:24-25)

• 27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
• 28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
• 29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
  (Matt 19:27-29)

V. Some Christians will get very few rewards.

I'm sure you will agree with me that there are many Christians who don't lead very godly lives. There are many Christians who are living in a "backslidden" state. There are many "prodigal sons" who are still wandering away from the Father. They will be saved, but they will not get many rewards from God in Heaven.

• 10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
• 11 ¶ For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
• 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,
• 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.
• 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
• 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
  (I Cor 3:10-15)

Conclusion: There is a Judgment Day coming, even for Christians. God will judge our rewards by our works. Our good deeds will be rewarded. Our bad deeds will be burned up. But every Christian will be saved. God saves us NOT because we DESERVE salvation because of our good works, but because of His mercy, and because our salvation depends on what Jesus did for us on the cross, not on what we do for Him. Still, how do you want to look on Judgment Day? Do you want to be saved by the skin of your teeth, and enter Heaven with no rewards? Or, out of gratitude to Jesus, and out of respect and love for God, would you like to have some good works, and hear Him say "Well done thou good and faithful servant?" Will you be ashamed on Judgment Day? Or will you be happy to be there?