13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
Judgment has a measuring rod and that rod is the things we have done. Punishment will be given according to those actions. Many evil actions will bring more punishment than few evil actions. This is an important principle. Justice requires there to be different punishments for different severities of crimes. It would not be just to punish a mass murderer the same as a kid who stole someone’s lunch money. They both require punishment, but stealing lunch money is not as severe as killing millions of people. But some people don’t get their lives examined like this because their names are written in the book of life. Those don’t get judged like this. As followers of Jesus, our names are written in that book of life. Our sins have already been judged. There is no record of our sins, since they have already been forgiven. So we are not receiving judgment based on what we did or didn’t do during life. I picture it this way. We stand in a line at the airport. At some point we are asked if we have a certain type of ID. If we do, we are placed in a separate line, a line without inspectors. We pass through the entrance to the outgoing flights without any hassle. Those who don’t have that ID must go through extensive inspections. The more bags they have, the greater the extent of the inspection. They are inspected according to the baggage they are carrying. Few bags, few inspections. When we become a Jesus-follower we get a new identity and consequently have a new ID. We pass right by this judgment. The sad thing is that everyone in that other line never even gets to step into heaven. Because they don’t have a new ID they are automatically excluded from the privileges of heaven.
The Arnold Journey 