The Judgment of God!

"We will not be judged only for what we have done but we will also be judged for why we did it.

Those who have not trusted Christ will be judged according to their punishment in hell. Their good deeds will not count.

Romans 2:5-6
"But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds…"

Those who have refused Christ will not be judged according to their deeds for reward but rather for not trusting Christ and their degree of punishment in hell for every evil deed. Even the good works of the unbeliever will be counted as nothing because they were done for self glorification or good feelings but not for Christ.

Those who are born again will be judged according to their works for the purposes of reward. God will burn off the dross that is not worthy of reward and the gold that is left are those works we did in the power of the Holy Spirit. We will not be judged according to our sin because Christ is our covering for sin.

Matthew 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Sadly there are many people who think their deeds don't matter in this life if they are born again. Those who defend sin are not desiring holiness, they may not be born again if sin does not make them ashamed or uncomfortable.

The born again believer hates sin and loves righteousness. They cannot remain in their sin and comfortable with it.

1 John 3:8-10 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother."

Believers are ashamed of their sin, unbelievers enjoy and defend their sin.