"Will Christians be judged on the last day?"

“Will Christians be judged on the last day?”

As we hear the question posed, we jump to say, “No, Jesus paid the debt for our sins.”

And while it is true that Jesus paid the debt for our sins – and He credits us with His righteous life, the question must be clarified:

If someone is asking, “Will Christians be judged on the last day to see if they earn salvation?”  Then the answer is, “no.”

But if someone is asking, “Will Christians be judged on the last day to see how well they have kept the moral law of God?”  Then the answer is, “yes.”

Paul tells the Corinthians:

             

            “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.  For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (I Corinthians 3:10-15, ESV).

             

            So, the Christians works will be judged – and the reason we will be judged – according to this text – is for the receiving of a reward.

             

            What does that mean?  What are the rewards?

             

            The best answer we can give is that every Christian will be glorified and spent eternity with Jesus.