The NIV 365-Day Devotional Reading PlanSample

How Will Believers Be Judged?

Some wonder how believers can be judged at all, since they are justified by faith and not by works. But this verse simply underscores the responsibility of believers to live according to what they believe. Though salvation is a matter of faith, other eternal rewards depend on faithfulness (see 1Co 3:8,12 – 15).

Believers are judged righteous in Christ. But they will also be rewarded according to the things they did “while in the body, whether good or bad” (compare with Ecc 12:13 – 14). God expects our actions after salvation to reflect the glory of God within us. It does make a difference what we do. We don’t need to know the details of this judgment. We need only to know that the Judge is righteous and just (see 2Ti 4:8). Only God can fairly balance all the variables: individual gifts, cultural conditions, the uncertainties of life and the opportunities we had.

Taken from NIV Essentials Study Bible