religions. It is the idea that how you live your life will determine
the quality of life you will have after reincarnation. If you are
unselfish, kind, and holy during this lifetime, you will be rewarded
by being reincarnated (reborn into a new earthly body) into a pleasant
life. However, if you live a life of selfishness and evil, you will be
reincarnated into a less-than-pleasant lifestyle. In other words, you
reap in the next life what you sow in this one. Karma is based on the
theological belief in reincarnation. The Bible rejects the idea of
reincarnation; therefore, it does not support the idea of karma.
Hebrews 9:27 states, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after
that to face judgment…" This Bible verse makes clear two important
points which, for Christians, negate the possibility of reincarnation
and karma. First, it states that we are "destined to die once,"
meaning that humans are only born once and only die once. There is no
endless cycle of life and death and rebirth, an idea inherent in the
reincarnation theory. Second, it states that after death we face
judgment, meaning that there is no second chance, like there is in
reincarnation and karma, to live a better life. You get one shot at
life and living it according to God's plan, and that is it.
The Bible talks a lot about reaping and sowing. Job 4:8 says, "As I
have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it."
Psalm 126:5 says, "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of
joy." Luke 12:24 says, "Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap,
they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more
valuable you are than birds!" In each of these instances, as well as
all the other references to reaping and sowing, the act of receiving
the rewards of your actions takes place in this life, not in some
future life. It is a present-day activity, and the references make it
clear that the fruit you reap will be commensurate with the actions
you have performed. In addition, the sowing you perform in this life
will affect your reward or punishment in the afterlife.
This afterlife is not a rebirth or a reincarnation into another body
here on earth. It is either eternal suffering in hell (Matthew 25:46)
or eternal life in heaven with Jesus, who died so that we might live
eternally with Him. This should be the focus of our life on earth. The
apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 6:8-9, "The one who sows to please his
sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who
sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let
us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap
a harvest if we do not give up."
Finally, we must always remember that it was Jesus whose death on the
cross resulted in the reaping of eternal life for us, and that it is
faith in Jesus that gives us this eternal life. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells
us, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this
not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no
one can boast." Therefore, we see that the concept of reincarnation
and karma is incompatible with what the Bible teaches about life,
death, and the sowing and reaping of eternal life.