“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.” Revelation 20:12-13 NKJV
Every man or woman who ever existed will one day stand before the Judgment Seat of God Almighty.
All roads lead to God’s Throne. Every man or woman who ever existed will one day stand before the Judgment Seat of God Almighty. The wicked, the righteous; the intelligent, the dumb; the prideful, the humble; the loving, the hateful; the rich, the poor; the schooled, the uneducated; the wise, the fool; the famous, the unknown; the celebrated, the marginalized; the straight, the homosexual; the strong, the weak; the saint, the sinner; all will stand before the Judgment Seat and give an account to Him Who rules and reigns over all.
As our life is displayed upon Heaven’s screen, every action, motive, word, and thought will be exposed.
Many on that day will be called. One by one we will stand before Thee Infinite, Omnipotent God. There is no escaping. Each one of our names shall be called and we will give an account. As our life is displayed upon Heaven’s screen, every action, motive, word, and thought will be exposed. Every impious thought will be seen and judged. Every time we projected self-righteousness in public, but spent time behind closed doors watching pornography will be seen. Every enactment of hate and murder within our thoughts towards another person will be disclosed. Every slanderous word uttered in the crevices of our hearts will be exposed (Matthew 12:36). There is nothing that will be hidden. “And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13 ESV).
We will stand naked and exposed before Him Whose eye looks not merely at the physical, but directly into our soul.
It would be nice to think that our family and friends would be next to us when we stand before God Almighty. This will not be the case, however. We will have no advocate from those in this life. We will have nothing to depend or rely upon in the flesh. We will stand naked and exposed before Him Whose eye looks not merely at the physical, but directly into the soul. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV).
When we stand before Christ, which side of eternity will He cast us on?
God’s Word will not merely judge what the world judges by (which is what is seen). God will expose and reveal the intentions of every act we did. God will bring to light every thought that we believed to be kept forever secret. God will judge every motive behind everything we ever did. As we stand alone before God’s Throne, are we confident we are truly saved? When we stand before Christ, which side of eternity will He cast us on? Who will we eternally dwell with? Do we believe ourselves to be good people, when God looks within? Do we believe we have no corruption or wickedness within us? Do we dare point the finger at what is obvious as sin in the world, but neglect to look within ourselves?
On that day, whatever Christ utters will be final. There is no re-do to life. What God says, God means. Those who refused to act on the Truth of Scripture and listen to the conviction from the Holy Spirit that Jesus Christ is Lord will be sent to the second death. “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15 NKJV).
Whatever we have done, whether believed it was hidden or would never be found, will be revealed by God.
We may believe that we got through this life undetected by our sins. We could hide our drugs and drunkenness from our parents. We may have hid our adultery and fornication from our friends. We may have even for a season been prideful in exposing our narcissism and pride on social media and to the world. Whatever the action, whether believed it was hidden or would never be found, will be revealed by God.
We can become emotional and backlash the Truth, but eventually the Truth will judge our very lives before every soul.
What life are we living, then? What do we base the eternal salvation of our soul on? Ourselves? The world? Our riches and money? Or is it the only One Who can save men from eternal damnation; is it the One Who loved the world and offered Himself as a living sacrifice in hopes that all would come to genuine repentance (John 3:16, 2 Peter 3:9); is it the God-incarnated man: The Lord Jesus Christ? We can become emotional and backlash the Truth, but eventually the Truth will judge our very lives before every soul. Would it be that all men would repent and believe in Christ, for it is by grace through faith that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8). What a tragedy it is that multitudes will have committed the greatest sin: a rejection of Christ's atoning sacrifice that He so freely did and offers. It is the sin of rejecting Thee Infinite God (Who by grace and mercy did what He did not have to do) which sends men to Hell.
As C.S. Lewis once said, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.” It is imperative that we see the seriousness of God’s Word and act upon it. It is essential to believe that He is a God of Love, but He is also Thee Holy Judge. God will not tolerate sin and those who reject His Son’s gracious atoning sacrifice.
Those who are humble enough to see themselves for who they truly are apart from Christ, will call out to Him and will receive new life.
The choice now lies with us. What will we choose with the conviction that the Holy Spirit is speaking? Are we too prideful to answer the call of Christ? “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate” (Proverbs 8:13 NKJV). This is not an hour to tempt God. This is eternal life or eternal death. Those who are humble enough to see themselves for who they truly are apart from Christ, will call out to Him and will receive new life.
If we refuse Christ, we will regret our negligence throughout eternity.
Don’t choose to be sentenced to eternity with all “the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars” who “shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8 NKJV). Our very soul depends upon it. If we truly desire goodness and love (which is God Himself), we will choose to believe in Him Who changes man internally. If we refuse Christ, we will regret our negligence throughout eternity.
PRAYER
Lord, You are the Merciful and Gracious God. You desire that none should perish, and yet, many choose. Lord, help us to act on what the Spirit has spoken. May we take seriously that we all will stand before the Judgment Seat. May we repent of our sins. May we come to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. May we love You the way You have loved us and are calling us into a living relationship with You. Bless us with a spirit of the fear of You, that we may walk in purity. May we hate the things of the world and the things that would damn us. Draw us close to You now, Lord. May we continually live and move and have our being in You, knowing that You see the deepest and darkest parts of our being. May the Truth of knowing that You will expose every word, deed, motive and thought motivate us to live for You and desire the things of You. May the Truth of knowing that nothing is hidden from You give us an inner desire to change. Only by Your Spirit can You give us such conviction and transformation. Do what only You can do within, that we may enter into a new beginning with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lance VanTine
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