“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.”
~ Revelation 20:12
Let’s face it! We live in a fallen world, a world that ranks and divides people in many ways, such as status, power, wealth, achievement, or the lack thereof. These cultural divisions form upper and lower classes of people, also called the “haves” and “have nots.” The Bible tells us about a day to come when every one shall stand equal before God.
Death is the great equalizer among all people. Whether people are wealthy or not, influential or voiceless, famous or unknown in this life, the Bible says it is appointed unto every person once to die, and then comes the judgment. Those who chose to follow Jesus as Lord will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. However, that is not a judgment of sin but a judgment of deeds, i.e., what the believer did in this life with the resources God has given them.
Those who accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord in this life will already be in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. We, too, will one day face judgment or account for our actions or inactions in this life. Apostle Paul wrote, ” For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).
in that context, believers will be examined on whether we served, prayed, and offered to others with the heart of Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves, i.e., the good. Or, on the other hand, did we serve, pray, and give to others begrudgingly with a hateful or envious attitude. Paul further states that a person’s deeds that survive the test of fire shall be rewarded for those deeds; however, for deeds that burn in the fire, that person will suffer loss in that no reward will be given.
Those who rejected Jesus as Lord will all stand on equal footing that day as they stand before God, a sovereign, righteous, and holy judge. It will not be a judgment that offers a plea bargain or an acquittal. Instead, those who stand before the great white throne stand condemned already.
They are condemned because they harbor unconfessed sin and hold onto unrepentant souls, and they are not covered by the blood of the Lamb. That means they are subject to the law, and the Bible states that the penalty for sin is death. Those who face the great white throne will be cast into the lake of fire, separated from God for all eternity. It’s a fate of their choosing, not God’s. It is what Scripture refers to as the second death.
The question is, do you know which line you will stand on? In this life, God provides hundreds of opportunities for people to accept His Son, Jesus, as their personal Savior and Lord. However, after physical death, there are no more chances. At that time, a person’s eternal fate is decided based on whether he accepted or denied Jesus. The good news is this: It is not too late!
Today is another chance for you to accept Jesus, for as the Bible says, “Now is a day of salvation!” (2 Cor. 6:2) If you know Jesus as your Savior, rejoice, for our day of redemption is ever so near, the day Jesus returns to call His bride, the church, to meet Him in the clouds and go home to be in God’s presence forever. What a joyful, glorious day that will be!
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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