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The Bible teaches that there will be a great Day of Judgment when Jesus Christ returns and that He will be the Judge on that Great Day:
But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats (Mat. 25:31–32).
He will judge us by “the Word he has spoken” (John 12:48) and according to the way we have lived:
For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10).
In light of these statements of Scripture, we will do well to ponder some statements that will not be heard at the Judgment:
- “I am an atheist.” Men are free thus to claim while they live on earth, although the Bible calls them fools (Psa. 14:1). However, at the Judgment, “every tongue shall confess to God,” but the atheist shall do so in vain (Rom. 14:11).
- “I don’t believe in Jesus.” Men are free to reject and deny Him now (John 12:48), but all will be face to face with Him at the Judgment. He will deny and reject those who have denied and rejected Him here (Mat. 10:33).
- “I don’t believe the Bible is the Word of God.” Millions believe it to be the collected works of mere men—a product of literary evolution. “Why should I be bound by the words of ancient times and men?” They will then understand that “all Scripture is inspired of God” and that it is in force “even unto the end of the world” (2 Tim. 3:16–17; Mat. 28:20).
- “Christianity is not the only way to God.” So goes the modern mantra (e.g., the “COEXIST” bumper stickers). The pagans of the ancient world learned “the hard way” that God’s way is the only way (Egypt, Canaan, Babylon, et al.). All will learn at the Judgment that there is/was only one way to God; His Son (not Buddha, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, or some Wiccan high priest) is that one way (John 14:6; 1 Tim. 2:5).
- “I regret that I obeyed the Gospel and lived for Jesus.” At the Judgment, having so done is all that will matter. Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Only those who do the will of the Father will hear the welcome words of God’s Son: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Mat. 25:21).
[Note: I wrote this article for and it was published in the Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton, TX, May 6, 2016.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
