"AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT"

Hebrews 9:27

 

There is a day coming in which God shall judge all men. Every man will be judged according to exact truth, righteousness, and justice. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.

 

The Standard

 

The standard by which we shall be judged is the holy law of God himself. We shall be judged according to the books of God, in which are recorded all our earthly thoughts, words, and deeds (2 Cor. 5:10-11; Rev. 20:11-12; Matt. 25:31-46).

 

In that great and terrible day of the Lord, everyone will receive exactly what is justly due to him. None will be punished who do not deserve to be punished. None will be received into heaven's eternal glory who do not deserve to enter in. Those who are found guilty of any sin, or infraction of God's holy law, shall be cast into hell. Those who are perfectly holy, holy as God himself, shall enter into heaven (Ps. 24:3-4; Rev. 21:27; 22:11).

 

In that day the Judge of all the earth, who must do right, will do right. He who sits upon the great white throne will not show any lenience, partiality, or favoritism. He will not bend his law. At the bar of God there will be no mercy and no grace. The judgment seat is not a place of mercy. It is a place of strict, unbending, unwavering, immutable justice. Only the facts will be considered when we stand before God. Guilty or not guilty, righteous or unrighteous, holy or unholy, these will be the only matters of consideration in that day. "Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed" (Pro. 13:21). "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:20). He that "hath done that which is lawful and right shall surely live" (Ezek. 33:16). God will by no means clear the guilty. Neither will he punish the righteous.

 

Our Only Hope

 

In the light of these facts, most plainly set forth in the Word of God, it is obvious that the only hope any sinner has of eternal salvation and acceptance with God is that he might be saved by the infinite merits of an able, all-sufficient Substitute.

 

That Substitute is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God! Christ, by his precious blood, has completely washed away the sins of his people, so that they are no longer recorded in the book of God's law and justice against us (Isa. 43:25; 44:22; Jer. 50:20); and his righteous obedience to God is imputed to all who believe on him, making us worthy of eternal life (Rom. 5:19; Col. 1:12).