This episode of The Flatline offers a deep dive into the teachings of Christ concerning judgment and the afterlife. Rick explains the distinctions between human good and divine good, and how these concepts relate to the rewards received at the Judgment Seat of Christ. As you listen, understand the significance of spiritual growth and how divine viewpoint can shape your purpose and direction in life, leading to a life of fulfillment beyond earthly existence.
Welcome to The Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
SPEAKER 01 :
Good morning and welcome to The Flatline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, I’d like to invite you to stay, just stick around, stay with me. It’s just 30 minutes of motivation, some inspiration, a whole lot of education. And if you’ve listened before, you know we do this without manipulation. which means we don’t ask for money. We’re not trying to sell you anything. We’re not asking you to join anything. We’re just asking you to listen up as we give you some accurate information about the Word of God. Hopefully, it’ll let you verify and identify God’s plan for your life, and you can orient and adjust to the plan. Let’s remember God gave us two Ns. I always want you to remember that. One to think with, one to sit on. And success in your life depends on which one you use. Heads you’ll win and tails you’ll lose. So I want to talk to your head this morning. I want you to learn something. I want you to understand how it’s possible to keep living even though you may die. That doesn’t sound like it’s possible, does it? To keep living even though you may die. Here’s what the Bible says in John 11, 25. Jesus said to her, to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies. How about that one? He who believes in me will live even if he dies. That statement that our Lord made to Martha, who was the sister of Lazarus who had died, stated, she stated, she was pretty vociferous about this, that if he had been there, if Jesus had been there when he should have been there, then Lazarus wouldn’t have died. She was upset that he didn’t come immediately. In verses 3 through 6 of John chapter 11, the story goes like this. So the sister, not the story, the narrative is what I want to say. The sister sent word to him saying, Lord, behold, the one you love is sick. That’s referring to Lazarus. And when Jesus heard this, he said, this sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it. Now Jesus loved Martha, loved her sister Mary, and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. He didn’t drop everything and immediately come running to where Lazarus was. because he knew the plan. You know, it’s funny sometimes, I’m varying a little bit here, but sometimes when people get ill or get in the hospital, they want the preacher to drop everything he’s doing and come run pray over them. And that’s not always necessary. Sometimes it’s necessary that we use our faith to handle the situation and trust God’s timing. And sometimes the pastor has to let the deacons do the visiting, whose job it is to start with. I mean, how can a pastor study and teach if he’s running around the hospital visiting people all day long? But be that as it may, our Lord corrected her statement when she said, if you had been here, he’d still be alive. And in verse 26, he said, whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Do you believe this? Yes. He who believes in me shall never die. How about that? The apostle Paul made it pretty clear in Philippians 1.21 when he said, For me, living is Christ, dying is profit. This is what the passage is actually teaching. is that we will all die, we all have to die. You don’t think about it when you’re 20 or when you’re 30, and maybe when you’re 40, but when you crack that 70, if you make it that far, you’ll think about it. We all are going to die. Hebrews 9, 27, in as much as it is appointed unto men to die once, and after this comes the judgment. Since we have Adam’s original sin, we will die. Adam had to die when he was forced out of the Garden of Eden. If he had not sinned, if he had not have eaten that forbidden fruit, he never would have died. He would have had eternal life in the garden. But that wasn’t the plan to start with. Satan thought he had won a victory, and he did not win a victory because Genesis 3.15 promised a Redeemer would come. to redeem man from his fallen state. And the Lord Jesus Christ is the Redeemer. But we all must die, and after that comes the judgment, the Bible says. There are two judgments after death taught in the Bible. I don’t know if you’re aware of that, but one judgment is for believers, and one judgment is for unbelievers. The judgment for believers is found in 1 Corinthians 3, 11 through 15. If you die, you will go to the grave, your body will, your soul and spirit will go to heaven. Now, this judgment that I’m talking about will not take place when you get there. It will take place after the rapture of the church during the seven years of tribulation that the Bible talks about on this earth. Israel’s final seven years from Daniel’s prophecy. So here we go. If you die today or tomorrow or the next day, you will, if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, you will go straight to heaven. You’ll be face to face with the Lord. However, you will be there in a soul and a spirit. Your body’s back on earth in the grave. I think you must have some sort of interim body while you’re there. You’re not going to be a cloud just floating around wherever heaven may be. But once the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to this earth, you will be reunited with a new resurrection body. And it’s after this event that this judgment takes place. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid. That’s 1 Corinthians 3, 11 through 15. Now, if any man build upon the foundation, now keep in mind we’re using a builder’s metaphor here. So let’s think about a home and somebody laying down a concrete foundation for the home and then framing in the home on top of the foundation. This verse says, if any man build on the foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw, And then it goes on to say, each man’s work or whatever he’s built with will become evident. For the day will show it, it will be revealed by fire, and fire will try the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he’s built on the foundation burn up, he will suffer loss. But if it remains, he will receive a reward. But if it’s burned up, he will suffer loss and he himself will be saved, yet so is by fire. What does this mean? Here’s what it means. The foundation is faith alone in Christ alone. Building on the foundation, gold, silver, and precious stones or wood, hay, and stubble refers to two things, human good or divine good. Human good are the things you do for God and the energy of the flesh alone. not filled with the Holy Spirit. Divine good are the things you do for God in the filling of the Holy Spirit, and they are rewardable. They’re called gold, silver, and precious stones. That’s why you may have heard me say that a right thing must be done in a right way, and that’s called the protocol plan of God. Is it right to pray? I have told you many occasions, yes, yes, you should pray. Well, is there a right way to pray and a wrong way to pray? Yes, there is. The Bible said, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. So if you’re praying and you have unconfessed sin in your life, then you’re doing a right thing, but you’re doing it in the wrong way. And so it’s wood, hay, and stubble. It’s not going to be rewarded. Let’s say you give money. Let’s say you tithe to your church or you give a love offering to your church. If you do that with unconfessed sin in your life, it’s wood, hay, and stubble. It’ll be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ. And you say, but I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t dance, I don’t fornicate, I don’t do this, I don’t do that. Listen, there are some sins people are not aware of. Did you know that? For example, when the Bible says, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Study is a mandate. It’s not a request. It’s a mandate. When the Bible says, grow in the grace and the knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, grow is a mandate. When the Bible says, take my yoke and learn of me, my yoke is easy, my burden is light, it’s a mandate. So if we’re not studying, if we’re not growing, if we’re not learning, we’re sinning. We’re disobeying the word of God. This is where people get involved in playing church. It’s ritual without reality, and it’s meaningless. You become just a conventional Christian. the nod to God crowd, and it becomes just a caricature of Christ, not the real image of Christ. You are supposed to represent Christ in your life, not be a caricature of Christ. Represent him by thinking like he thinks. Philippians 2.5, let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. That means you must learn to think divine viewpoint. You must learn the word of God. That’s what the 10 problem-solving devices are, divine viewpoint. That’s what the FLOT line is based on, learning divine viewpoint. And so when you are judged at the judgment seat of Christ, you will be evaluated on those things that you did while you were filled with the Spirit. And did they glorify God to the maximum? Were they wood, hay, and stubble, which would be burned up? Or were they gold, silver, and precious stones, which is rewardable? Let’s assume all of your good works are burned up. Are you still saved? Yes, the Bible does say you are still saved. Listen to the last word. He himself will be saved, yet though as by fire. So you’re not going to lose your salvation, but you’re going to definitely lose any rewards you might have had in eternity. And I know, I can hear your self-righteous religious attitude already. I don’t want any rewards, brother. I love the Lord. Well, that’s great. But you have nothing to lay at the feet of the Father. You’ll be standing there with your hands in your pocket, kind of looking a little sheepish and not hearing, well done, my good and my faithful servant. So we’re all appointed to die, and after that, the judgment. That’s the first judgment, and that’s the judgment for believers, and that occurs after the rapture of the church. Where’s the rapture of the church, you say? 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through 17. I don’t want you to be ignorant, Paul wrote, concerning those who have died or have fallen asleep, lest you have sorrow as others that don’t have hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, that’s salvation, faith alone, and Christ alone. Even so, God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. In other words, those who are already dead and already in the presence of the Father. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain shall until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep, those that have already died. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, the voice of an archangel, with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Your grandmother, your grandfather, your aunt, your uncle, your parents, anybody who’s a believer in Jesus Christ, they will zap out of the grave right here. And then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus shall we always be with the Lord. This is where you get your exit resurrection, your new body. You will be transformed if you’re alive immediately into your new body. And anyone who’s dead and already in heaven will be reunited and given a new resurrection body. This is the rapture of the church. But there’s a second judgment found in the Bible also. This judgment is for the unbeliever, the one who rejected the knowledge of the Savior, the one who did not believe in Jesus Christ. Revelation 20, verses 11 through 15. And I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. And the books were opened. Books, notice, plural. The books were opened. And then another book was opened. That is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which are in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged each man according to his works. And then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death and anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. What is the book of life? Your name is written in the book of life when you are born. If you die without accepting Christ as your savior, Your name is blotted out of the book of life and you’ve died the first death. The second death is here. Anyone whose name was not found written in the Lamb’s book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the Bible says, verse 14. So the evaluation of the unbeliever is taking place here now after the millennial reign of Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior for 1,000 years. For the unbeliever, the disadvantaged person, death, excuse me. For the unbeliever, the disadvantaged person, death is the door to doom, no doubt about it. But for the believer, the one who has accepted Christ as Savior, death is the door to everlasting life. In 1 Corinthians 2.9 says, As it is written, the eye has not seen, nor has the ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. Those are the believers, those who have trusted Christ to be their Lord and their Savior, those who demonstrated faith alone in Christ alone. What will take place? Well, Revelation 21.4, God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. No more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, for the former things have all passed away. That’s the eternal state. And that’s an amazing state for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ. It’s important you understand it. that you believe in Jesus Christ, that you accept him as your savior. The Bible says, this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who sees the son and believes in him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. There’s the promise. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. It’s not by works. The book of works that we talked about, the books of works. Let’s look at this picture. Here are the unbelievers standing before the great white throne of God. trying to vindicate why they should be allowed to come to heaven. And so the books of works are opened up. Okay, you did this and you did this. You never missed Sunday school. You never missed church. You tithed. Did you have faith alone in Christ alone? Or did you say, I’m being saved because I’m a good person? The Bible tells us clearly that there are none that are good, no, not even one. That all of our righteousnesses are like a filthy rag in God’s eyes. If you try to add something to faith, you will cancel the faith out. It’s simply faith alone in Christ alone. That’s all it is. It’s not faith plus baptism. It’s not faith plus tithing. It’s not faith plus I don’t drink and I don’t smoke and I don’t fornicate and I don’t cheat on my taxes. It’s faith alone in Christ alone. Now, when you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that is the single most significant decision you’ll ever make in your life. Because John 3.18 says he who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. It’s possible that you may be walking around a condemned man already because you have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. If you’re not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you might not be in hell yet, but you are sentenced and on your way. Not because God is mad at you. No, God loves you. The Bible clearly says, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. The reason you’re on your way to hell is because you’ve rejected the rescue that God offered you. You’ve rejected the forgiveness that God offered you. When Christ went to the cross, he paid for all of your sins, every sin you ever did or ever will do. And not only mine, but for the sins of the whole world. He died for all because the Bible says God is not willing that any should perish. You have rejected that. You found a better deal. You don’t believe God exists. You listened to somebody else who was an atheist and they convinced you that it’s all a bunch of hogwash. Or maybe, maybe you have an alternative lifestyle. and you don’t like what the Bible says about your lifestyle, so you’ve chosen to disregard it. All I can tell you is that you are responsible for your decisions. It’s your life. It’s your decision. You’ve got to make the right decision. You’re responsible for your destiny, and I’m telling you, the Bible says he who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already. you may be already condemned because you have not believed in Jesus Christ. You have put that off. You’ve neglected that. You don’t want to think about it because you’re afraid that it’s going to challenge your lifestyle and make a demand on your change. There’s no demands here. All you have to do is put your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. What happens after that is between you and God. Nobody told me when I accepted Christ, now you’ve got to straighten up and fly right from now on out, little man. You’ve got to quit doing the things you used to do, and you can’t do those things anymore now that you’re saved. Nobody told me that. They just told me that God loved me and Christ died for me and that if I would receive him as my Savior, I could have eternal life, and I wanted that. The rest of it comes later. Listen to 1 John 5, 11 through 13. This is the testimony. God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life, and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. The question is, do you have Christ right now? Because the Bible says Christ in you is the hope of glory. This is an amazing thing. This is an amazing mystery that was not known in the Old Testament, that the Shekinah glory of the tabernacle of Israel, Jesus Christ himself will come and live in you. Live in you. He is your best friend, the one you never even knew. He died for you. So he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I’ve written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. Believe, that’s all it takes. Not believe and quit drinking sodas. Not believe and don’t eat any more peanuts. He who believes. in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know, K-N-O-W, know, not hope, not try, not wish, know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. You have eternal life by faith alone in Christ alone. It is the prayer of the flatline, that’s me, that you will make this decision and you will receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. The decision is the door to a new life for you. You can have a reboot in time. How would you like that? A reboot of your life. It happened to me. I had the chance at the age of 22 to start my life all over again. I wasn’t a bad person, but like so many people, I floundered around trying to find meaning or purpose or searching for happiness in life in all the wrong places. But when I believed in Jesus Christ and asked him to save me, I can tell you this. I went to bed that night with peace in my heart. I had peace with God. I wasn’t ashamed anymore of the things I’d done. I began a new destiny. I had no idea where it would take me, but my life began to change and doors began to open and I had to make some decisions about going back to school and going back to college and getting involved in the ministry and just finding my wife who the Lord sent along for me. I mean, all of these things, and it was just like watching it all unfold and watching it all happen. You have a magnificent life in front of you, and it’s all there for you if you reboot. If any man is in Christ, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, 17, He’s a new creation. Old things will be passed away and all things become new. A new spiritual birth, a new spiritual life. That divine reboot gives you a divine direction for the rest of your life. What is the direction? Here it is, 2 Corinthians 5, 14 and 15. For the love of Christ compels us because we judge this, that if one died for all, then all were dead. And if he died for all, then all should live no longer to themselves. but for him who died for them and rose again. Your new purpose is to live for Christ, to represent Jesus Christ to your family, to your friends, to represent Christ through your local church and your community. That’s the challenge. This is how to live even if you die. Even if you die, yes, you’re going to die. But the Bible says you don’t have to worry about that. It’s just like walking over the bridge onto the other side. There is a life continues. It’s not over. It’s just beginning. It’s walking from time into eternity. And that’s the amazing thing the Lord Jesus Christ told Martha and Mary. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be there in a couple of days. He’s not dead. He will live. And he was resuscitated. He rose from the dead. Later, Lazarus died again like anyone else would die. Later, he was dead just like the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross. He had to die in order to redeem us out of the slave market of sin. Remember me telling you about that thief on the cross? Father Jesus, remember me. When you come into your kingdom and Jesus said, you will be with me today in paradise, all he did, all that thief on the cross did was believe in the words that Christ said. He could tell this was the Messiah. The Roman soldiers could tell this is the Son of God. And you can tell it too. Jesus Christ, the anointed Son of God loves you. He died for you. He took your place. And even if you die, you can live eternally in Christ. You’re guaranteed eternal life through faith alone in Christ alone. I hope you’re listening. I hope you will ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save you in a simple prayer. Until next week, I am your host, Rick Hughes, and I would like to thank you for listening to The Flotline and ask you to come back next week, same time, same place. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
