In the 3rd message of the God's Love, God's Judgment series we are going to wrestle with a perplexing topic: how Christians will be judged. Following is a short correspondence I had with a good friend of mine who is a committed biblical scholar. The dialogues illustrates how intriguing this subject is because it is open to a wide variety of perspectives. My question: I would appreciate your guidance for this message on how Christians will be judged. On the one hand, we stand with Jesus in his grace, on the other hand, there are scriptures (e.g, II Cor 5:10) which refer to us all being judged for our deeds. Not to mention Matthew 25 (the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats) and Jesus' description of what seems like works-righteousness. Would you recommend any particular passages of scripture? Any especially helpful books? His response: Matt, that is a tough one! I really do not have any well-formed clear answer about the apparent disparity if not contradiction. On the one hand, believers do not enter judgment in the sense of condemnation; on the other hand, we must give account to God. It seems to me that we have dual bits of revelation here: our life choices are significant and have consequences, and the other view is also true that our labor is not in vain in the Lord and no good thing is wasted. God be with you! So, my dear West Houston brothers and sisters, we will have our work cut out for us on Sunday morning. As always, bring your Bibles!