"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. 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 (II 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. And 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, unwaivering, 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. And he will not
punish the righteous.
In the light of these
facts, most plainly set forth in the Word of God, it is obvious that the only
hope any sinful person, any child of Adam, has of eternal salvation and
acceptance with God is that he might be saved by the infinite merits of an
able, all-sufficient Substitute. AND
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).
Don Fortner