As we approach this study
of the Judgment, we wish to begin by asking
the question: “Who will be the judge?” God is going to judge the world
by the
One who resurrected from the dead on the third day after his
crucifixion—the
Lord Jesus Christ. To the Corinthians Paul wrote, “For
we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body,
according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2
Corinthians
5:10). In this passage he made very clear that the Judge of all the
earth, when
the Final Judgment comes, is the very One who is now our Savior, the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
Judgment
has passed upon people, nations and this earth in times
past. Cain was judged for killing his righteous brother. Sodom,
Gomorrah and
the cities of the plain were judged for the evil that they lived daily.
The
whole world was judged in the days of Noah. Israel was judged and
destroyed by
Assyria. Judah was judged and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Egypt,
Nineveh,
Babylon, Tyre, Sidon, Assyria, Edom and many others of whom we could
speak came
under judgment of heaven and no longer exist. In light of all the
biblical
examples, what would make us think that we too will not be judged? Why
would we
think that judgment is passed because of Jerusalem anymore than because
of the
judgment of the world in the days of Noah? This time, however, mankind
will be
judged by the very One upon whom the Jews passed judgment and urged his
crucifixion by the Romans. Man has passed judgment on him and found him
worthy
of death. It is only just that he should be the one to judge “the world in
righteousness.” Consequently, based on clear and
incontrovertible New
Testament evidence, we learn that our Judge is to be the same One who
is now
our Savior.
A second
question has been proposed is, “Who is going to be judged?” Paul told
the
heathen philosophers of Athens that the inhabited earth will be
judged—that is
to say, the inhabitants of the earth. Paul taught Timothy this same
lesson in
slightly different words when he charged Timothy to preach the Word. In
2
Timothy 4:1, Paul said in the charge he delivered to Timothy that he
was
charging him “before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the
living
and the dead...” We know of no one who has ever inhabited the earth, or
ever
will inhabit the earth, who does not and will not fall into one of
these two
categories. Perhaps, we can express it accurately this way. Every
responsible
person who has lived, is living, or will live on earth will appear
before the
Judgment Seat of Christ. We will appear before Christ to hear and begin
serving
the sentence handed down for all eternity.
There
are some who mistakenly believe that when we appear before the Judgment
Bar of
Christ, we will appear there to argue or plead our cases. The Bible
nowhere
teaches such a doctrine as that. Our case is either won or lost while
we are
here on the earth. God has given us his Word. It has even been
translated into
every language on earth so all can read it for themselves. What we hear
and do
regarding that sacred teaching will determine the sentence we receive.
We will
receive a good sentence or a bad one depending on what we did while
living in
this life. There are no second chances after death and before eternity.
The
Bible knows nothing of imaginary places to which our souls go to await
the
payment of sufficient funds to say sufficient prayers for us to be
released
from that imaginary place into heaven. Eternal life is not dependent on
whether
or not we are rich or poor. If the wicked go to an imaginary place to
await the
payment of funds and the saying of prayers, then the rich will be
released, but
the poor never will be because their families have not sufficient funds
to pay
for the prayers for one whose soul is as precious as that of a rich
person.
Such views are as foreign to the Bible as the idea that if one kills
his
infidel enemy and in the process of doing that he should die, he will
be
welcomed into paradise where he will be given 75 virgins and endless
amounts of
lamb to eat. Such concepts are heathen, not biblical!
The Judgment