This post was last updated on May 25, 2025
Day 29, Year 1
God Judges People According to Our Works
“If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth.” (1 Peter 1:17 NASB)
The Most High God will judge all people on earth according to our behaviors instead of our inner intentions. This reveals a powerful truth, which is that any beliefs that align with the truth must be put into action, and only then do we count to deserve eternal life in the eyes of God. Some people mistakenly separate beliefs from behaviors, suggesting that faith in the heart is more important than actions—but this is a grave error. Indeed, for all who have faith in Jesus Christ, our faith must inevitably be manifested in our actions.
“Fear” in today’s verse, phobos in Greek, is also translated as “respect, terror.” Its root, phebomai, originally means “to be forced to flight due to terror.” The term “phobia” in English is derived from these words. In other words, this verse implies that when we know our Father God will judge according to our behaviors, we naturally become fearful of doing wrong and even to the extent of refraining from committing any sins, but only doing good in the eyes of God. This fear of God’s judgment could drive us to walk on the path of His righteousness.
Why should we choose life? It is because not choosing life means heading toward death. If we do not avoid things that bring death, which is all forms of unrighteousness, we risk being ensnared by the spirit of death. God “impartially judges” every one of us. It means that He does not show favoritism based on race, such as being Jewish, or to those who claim to be Christians, thereby granting them easier entry to heaven. This implies that God’s judgments apply equally to all, with a consistent standard of fairness. This helps us to understand that His righteousness has a powerful influence, He gives life to people who pursue righteousness and frees us from the influence of death (Proverbs 12:28). Contrarily, unrighteous deeds have an influence that causes death, which is something every Christian should strive to avoid.
The word “judge” in Greek is krino, a verb in present continuous tense. Therefore, doing evil and reaping its consequences is not necessarily in the far future; immediate retribution could happen at any time. Conversely, choosing life and making decisions according to God’s righteous principles would undoubtedly be richly blessed by Him, even in this earthly life.
Reflection questions:
1) Do you think a person’s faith and behaviors could be counted separately? Why?
2) Would you strive to avoid doing all unrighteous deeds due to the coming Father God’s judgment? If you will, where do you need to change accordingly?