The blessed life - it's eternal

 At the close of Psalm 34, David tells us what the ultimate, final blessing of God will be for us, His children.

The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
 he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.

 Evil will slay the wicked;
    the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
 The Lord will rescue his servants;
    no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. (vs. 19-22)

That's a whole study in one sentence, no? Take a moment and think about that one; God delivers the righteous from all of his(her) afflictions. . . . 

Those final verses of the psalm will find their ultimate fulfilment after our death. Beyond death is where God will finally and completely justify His servants and condemn the wicked. The Bible clearly teaches us that there is a great divide between those whom God will redeem and those He will condemn. 

The Hebrew word in the final two verses that is translated "condemned" means to bear one's guilt. To pay the price for one's guilt is the polar opposite of being justified. Compare the second phrase of each of these verses:

Evil will slay the wicked;
    the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
 The Lord will rescue his servants;
    no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

As we have said before when we've studied this concept, there are only TWO options! We must make certain that we have taken refuge in our Savior, Jesus Christ:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2, NIV)

Critics can name many of God's faithful servants who have not been delivered from all of their afflictions; how can we set our hope and trust in this psalm, and in that passage in Romans? Some believers have been persecuted and killed for their faith. Some are being murdered today for standing firm in their faith in Christ. Are we being foolish to say that the ultimate experience of God's blessings and His salvation will be in the life to come? My response to those who scoff is this: we are all going to die - where will you spend eternity?

If Jesus is not bodily risen from the dead, they don't need to worry about it. If that is the case, then there is no eternity to worry about. Paul tells us:

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (I Corinthians 15:17-19)

But as we know, God raised Jesus Christ, His Son, from the grave:

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:6)

and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power  by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:4)

And when He redeems us from our sins and lives in us, we are rescued from God's righteous judgment; we need not fear, for we will not be condemned for our sins!

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:11)

It's not a "cop out" to say that our final blessing and salvation comes in heaven. It's not "pie in the sky" to look forward to our blessed life in eternity! It's true. It's factual. And it's our hope as believers; it's what keeps us going, like little Energizer bunnies!

Do we want God's blessings in our lives?  Of course, we all do. David tells us in Psalm 34 to repent of our sins -- have a broken, contrite heart. Then, cry out to Jesus for salvation. Live each day by revering Him and walking in His ways.

We will experience a blessed life!