Many people use checklists for various reasons. A grocery list, for example, helps one focus on purchasing only the items they desire and avoiding impulse buys if they are on a strict budget or diet. It’s also used to ensure one has all the ingredients they might need for a planned meal. Some checklists are made mandatory for precautionary reasons, such as a pilot’s pre-flight checklist, or a work area safety list. Indeed, checklists are quite useful because they help us to be more organized, save time, increase productivity, and aid our memories. So, what about a spiritual, or faith “checklist?”
There are various “lists” throughout the New Testament of what not to practice and what we should (cf. Gal 5:19-23), including characteristics and behaviors that the inspired writers tell us to “put on” (Ephesians 6:7; Colossians 3:12), “meditate on” (Philippians 4:8), or “add to our faith” (2 Peter 1:5-10) as Christians. We might also add the multiple commands that our Lord Jesus requires His disciples to obey, as well as, the many that the apostles gave in their writings. How are we to remember all these things? Perhaps, we could make a “spiritual checklist” to help us stay on track, identify areas to improve, or remind us of what the Lord desires us to do?
To be clear, we are not saved by simply “checking boxes,” nor by completing a “list of works.” That was a problem with the Pharisees (cf. Mark 7:8; Romans 3:27). However, as indicated above, there still are things we absolutely must do if we want to fulfill God’s will and go to heaven, because “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Cor 5:10). We will also be “judged according to [our] works, by the things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:12). Thus, our salvation does depend on what might be considered a “list” of continual “faith and works” (James 2:14-26). The things we are to do are continual, because we are never finished with the things God requires us to do until our last day (Rev 2:10). Understanding that, here are a few suggestions for your own personal “Judgment Day Guide or Checklist”:
- I obeyed the Gospel – according the New Testament pattern (Rom 6:1-4,17; 2 Thess 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17)
- I regularly attended worship services and glorified God (Hebrews 10:25)
- I regularly participated in the Lord’s Supper, discerning the Lord’s body (1 Corinthians 11:29)
- I regularly gave back to God a portion of that with which I had been blessed (2 Corinthians 9:7)
- I prayed much and often (Philippians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
- I continually studied God’s Word diligently (2 Timothy 2:15; Romans 12:2; Psalm 119:11)
- I repeatedly exhibited the characteristics of the “Fruit of the Spirit” in my life (Galatians 5:22)
- I always submitted to the elders – to those who had oversight of my soul (Hebrews 13:7,17)
- I loved my neighbor, extended mercy to others, and loved my enemies (Matt 5:7,44, 22:39; James 2:13)
- I helped those in need, hungry, without clothing, strangers, and prisoners (Matt 25:31-46; Galatians 6:10)
- I frequently attended to widows and orphans (James 1:27)
- I continually evangelized (planted the seed) my friends, family, and neighbors (Matthew 28:19-20)
- I always cared for, comforted, considered, and exhorted one another? (1 Cor. 12:25; 1 Thess. 4:18; Heb. 10:24-5)
- I was consistent in having fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7)
There are many more items in the Bible that we could add to this list. What might you would add to these?