Eternity and Judgment – Notes

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One of the most crucial perspectives for us to embrace when handling money is the reality of eternity.

The Lord reveals in the Scriptures that there is a heaven and hell, that there is a coming judgment, and that He will grant eternal rewards unequally. God does this because He loves us. The Lord wants the best for us and wants to motivate us to invest our lives in such a way that we can enjoy an intimate relationship with Him now and the greatest possible rewards and responsibilities in heaven.

People who don’t know the Lord look at life as a brief interval that begins at birth and ends at death. Looking to the future, they see no further than their own life span. With no eternal perspective, they think, If this life is all there is, why deny myself anything?

Those who know Christ have an entirely different perspective. We know very well that this life on earth is brief. It’s the preface, not the book. It’s the trailer, not the movie. Yet this brief testing period will determine much of our experience in heaven throughout all eternity.

Judgment

It’s uncomfortable to think about judgment. However, because our Lord loves us so deeply, He wants us to realize what will happen in the future.

The Bible teaches that all those who do not know Christ will be judged and sent to an unspeakably dreadful destiny. “I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. . . . And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne . . . Each person was judged according to what they had done. . . . Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15, NIV).

You Can Know God Personally

A Personal Relationship

Realizing that we can know God personally changes everything. I was 28 years old when I started meeting with several young businessmen. It wasn’t long before I was impressed by their business savvy. But more than that, I was attracted to the quality of their lives. I didn’t know what they had, but whatever it was, I wanted it.

These men spoke openly of their faith in God. I had grown up going to church, but the religion I had seen modeled during those years meant nothing to me as an adult. I had concluded it was only a fairy tale until a friend described how I could enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He explained several truths from the Bible I had never understood before.

God knows you personally.

The following passages are but a small sample of how personally the Lord is involved in your life:

• God wrote every day of your life in His book before you were born. “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand . . .” (Psalm 139:16-18, NIV).
• God made you in your mother’s womb. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14, NIV).
• God is constantly with you. “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely” (Psalm 139: 1-4, NIV).
• God will personally wipe away every one of your tears in heaven. “. . . God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them . . . God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes . . .” (Revelation 21:3-4, NIV).

God wants you to know Him personally.

God desires a close relationship with each of us.

• “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
• “. . . I [Jesus] came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

Unfortunately, we are separated from God.

God is holy, which simply means He is perfect and can’t have a relationship with anyone who is not perfect. My friend asked if I had ever sinned — done anything that would disqualify me from perfection. “Many times,” I admitted. He explained that every person has sinned, and the consequence of sin is separation from God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “. . . your sins have cut you off from God” (Isaiah 59:2, TLB). People try to establish a personal relationship with God by their own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion, but fail.

God’s only provision to bridge this gap is Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, bridging the gap between God and us.

• “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6).
• “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

This personal relationship is a gift from God.

My friend explained that by faith I could receive the free gift of a personal relationship with God. The transaction appeared inequitable. I had learned in business that a transaction happens only when both sides are convinced they are getting more than they are giving up. But now I was being offered a relationship with God, and it was free! “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV).

I had only to ask Jesus Christ to come into my life to be my Savior and Lord. So I did! Nothing in life compares with knowing Christ personally. We can experience true peace, joy, and hope when we know Him. It’s the only way you can enjoy a truly meaningful life and leave an eternally significant legacy.

If you want to know God and are not certain whether you have this relationship, I encourage you to receive Jesus Christ right now. Pray a prayer similar to the one I prayed: “God, I need you. I’m sorry for my sin. I invite Jesus to come into my life as my Savior and Lord and to make me the person you want me to be. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life.”

You might have your finances in good shape, but without a relationship with Christ, it won’t have any lasting value. If you asked Christ into your life, you have made the most important decision anyone could ever make. “. . . God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I [John] write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13, NIV).

Judgment of Believers

After they die, those who know Christ will spend eternity with the Lord in heaven, an unimaginably wonderful place. What we seldom consider, however, is that the entry point to heaven is a judgment.

Scripture teaches that all believers in Christ will give an account of their lives to the Lord. “. . . we will all appear before the judgment seat of God.. . . So then, each one of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:10,12). The result of this will be the gain or loss of eternal rewards. In 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, we read, “Their work will be shown for what it is, because the [Judgment] Day will bring it to light.. . . If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss” (NIV). Our works are what we have done with our time, influence, talents, and resources.

Motivation and Rewards

The prospect of eternal rewards for our obedience is a neglected key to unlocking our motivation. The apostle Paul was certainly motivated by the prospect of eternal rewards. He wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). The Lord appeals not only to our compassion, but also to our eternal self-interest. “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great” (Luke 6:35).

The greatest reward we can receive is Christ Himself and to hear His words, “Well done, good and faithful [servant]. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21).

Can you imagine the incredible joy of meeting someone in heaven and learning that you had somehow influenced them to be there — throughout eternity — because of your prayers or the investment of your time and money?