"They were judged every man according to their works"

Revelation 20:13

The Lord our God declares, "I give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jer. l7:10). There is a day coming in which God shall judge all men. Everyone will be judged according to exact righteousness and justice. The standard by which we shall be judged is the holy law of God himself. We will be judged according to the books of God, in which are recorded all our earthly thoughts, words and deeds (Heb. 9:27; II Cor. 5:l0-ll; Rev. 20:ll-l2; Matt. 25:3l-46). In that great and terrible day of the Lord, everyone will receive exactly what is due to him. None will be punished who do not deserve to be punished. And none shall be received into heaven's eternal glory who do not deserve to enter.

Those who are found guilty of sin, or any infraction of God's holy law, shall be forever 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, at the bar of God, 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 for any. He will not be merciful to any. He will be gracious to none. The Lord God will judge all men according to the facts before him. He will not consider anyone's age, extenuating circumstances, ignorance, or inability. 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 you and I 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" (Prov. 13:21). "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:20). He that "hath done that which is lawful and right shall live" (Ezek. 33:16).

These are the facts. No matter what opinions we may have, no matter what men may say, the Word of God plainly declares that God will by no means clear the guilty. And he will not punish the righteous. For the guilty, there is no hope. For the righteous, there is no cause for fear.

Don Fortner