February 16, 2023: 1 Peter 1:17 - And if You Call on the Father
“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear…” - 1 Peter 1:17
Each one of us, believer and unbeliever, will be judged by God. For unbelievers, those who choose to reject Jesus’ free gift of salvation, which He paid for with His precious blood, they will be resurrected to life, only to be judged by their works, what they did while they lived on the earth. Because no one can earn their salvation by doing anything other than believing in Christ as their Savior, their names will not be found in the Book of Life, and they will not be denied entry into the kingdom of God, instead spending their eternity in hell, separated from Jesus forever:
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Any anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)
For believers in Christ, we are not judged by our works when it comes to determining if we are allowed to enter into God’s eternal kingdom because we are redeemed of all our sins through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, as Peter goes on to say in 1 Peter 1:18-19. However, we are judged for our works, that is, what we did for Christ while we were living on earth, so that He may reward us for what we did for His eternal kingdom. As Paul wrote in the Scriptures below, the work that we do for God must be built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ:
“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:5:15)
The Bible tells us that we will be rewarded for the works that we do for Jesus during our time here on earth:
Revelation 11:15-18: Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever! And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying:
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.”
Luke 6:35-36: But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. - Jesus Christ
Revelation 22:12: And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. - Jesus Christ
Matthew 16:27: For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. - Jesus Christ
Thus, we who are saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and who call on God the Father - who is holy, holy, holy - for His kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven, shall be holy. We should have a longing in our hearts to please God and to tell as many people we can about the precious gift of salvation that He has given us, the gift that we ourselves chose to accept. We should live our lives without hypocrisy so that it doesn’t send a stench up to heaven but we live our lives in a way that mirrors and reflects His holiness, producing a pleasing aroma to God. Just as a child desires to please his parents, so should we desire to please and honor our Father in heaven, with a reverent fear of Him. As the four living creatures in heaven proclaimed day and night, may we say to Him:
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8) ✝️