Two Resurrections

John 5:28-29

“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds, to a resurrection of life, those who committed evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

We all have a natural curiosity about the future. Here Jesus helps us understand that we are eternal beings. He explains that everyone will be raised from the dead and will stand before Him in judgment. However, there are two different judgments. Those who have trusted Him as Savior will be judged based on their works for Him. It is called a rewards judgment (bema judgment). If our works were done for His glory I Cor. 3:12 refers to them as “gold, silver, and precious stones”; but if they were done with the wrong motive they are called “wood, hay and straw”. We will be privileged to return those rewards to Jesus because of our love for Him.

Those who have not trusted Jesus as their Savior will stand before Jesus at the “Great White Throne judgment” (Rev. 19:11). The basis of that judgment will be whether their names are written in the “book of life”. The names in the “book of life” are those who trusted Jesus as Savior. Rev. 20:15 explains that “if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown in to the lake of fire.”

Those of us who know the Lord Jesus have a responsibility to pray for and to share our faith with those who do not. It is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to convict them of their need to place their faith in our Savior. If we are faithful in sharing we have accomplished our purpose. I can share from personal experience that it is a tremendous thrill to have the privilege of leading someone to the Lord.

I encourage you to memorize Scripture that will allow you to share your faith from God’s Word. I would suggest Romans 3:23, 6:23, John 3:16; Romans 5:8, 10:9-10, I John 5:13 and John 5:24. I also suggest you write out your own personal testimony of your salvation on one page so that you may effectively share it with someone.