Each one of us is accountable for how we will respond to Jesus as the ultimate judge. There are two questions we will need to face.

First, did we reject or accept Him as Lord and Savior? This is the judgment of salvation we will all be held to. Christ came into the world to save it, not to condemn it (see John 3:17), but we are each responsible for how we respond to His offer of salvation. Our acceptance or rejection of His saving gift will be the starting point of the account we each must give for our lives.

Second, if we accepted His gift, how did we live after we received new life in Christ Jesus? Did we live to serve Him? Or did we use grace as a license to sin? Did we “make the most of every opportunity in these evil days” (Ephesians 5:16), striving to let others know about Him?

Our lives matter to the judge. He wants us to live in the right ­way—­the way He originally created us ­to—­and have fruitful lives. But whatever we do, we must give an account to Him. For Christians, our lives are truly not our own, but in Christ, we can walk in the good works He created us to do and “do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10).