WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT JUDGMENT
1. JESUS IS THE SOLE JUDGE.
THE RIGHT TO JUDGE (John 5:22) – “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.”
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE FOR FUTURE JUDGMENT (Acts 17:31) – “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
2. SOME JUDGMENT FALLS IN THE PRESENT.
BY CAUSE AND EFFECT (Galatians 6:7-8) – “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction.”
FOR SOME SPECIFIC SINS (1 Corinthians 11:29-30) – “For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.”
3. CHRISTIANS FACE FUTURE JUDGMENT OF THEIR WORKS.
THE PLACE (2 Corinthians 5:10) – “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
THE BASIS (1 Corinthians 3:10-13) – “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.”
THE RESULT (1 Corinthians 3:14-15) – “If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”
4. NON-CHRISTIANS FACE FINAL JUDGMENT FOR ETERNITY.
THE TIME (Revelation 20:11) – “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.”
THE BASIS (Revelation 20:12-13) – “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.”
THE RESULT (Revelation 20:15) – “If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
5. THE PRESENT DECISION IS CRITICAL.
FOR THE UNSAVED (John 3:36) – “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
FOR THE SAVED (Hebrews 10:26-27) – “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”