The Final Judgment
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We just have a couple weeks left in our Rooted series. Next week will finish up this series.
What we have been doing for the last 3 months is called “Systematic Theology.”
Theology simply means “the study of God, His character and His ways.” We say it’s sytematic because we have systematically gone from one doctrine to another.
We started with the doctrine of the Bible, God’s character, the Trinity and so on very systematically.
We’re now down to the final 2 doctrines. Last week we talked about what happens when Jesus returns. We slightly touched on our topic today: the final judgment.
Jesus will return one day. His return isn’t just to get His bride, the church, but also for the final judgment.
And Jesus will be the judge not God the Father.
Jesus Will Judge All People
Jesus Will Judge All People
We see that in Jn 5:22 and Jn 5:27
22 The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son,
27 And he has granted him the right to pass judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
We aren’t being judged by a God who doesn’t understand our fleshly temptations. We’re being judged by a God who has been tempted in all the fleshly ways we ourselves could ever be tempted.
The final judgment will take place after the millennial period. We see that in Rev 20:11-15
11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.
13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
After Jesus returns, after the millennium, after Satan and evil are wiped out forever, the final judgment will begin. And all of us will be there.
Jesus will judges all of us. None of us will escape the final judgment. We see that in Matt 25:31-33 and Rev 11:18
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left.
18 The nations were angry, but your wrath has come. The time has come for the dead to be judged and to give the reward to your servants the prophets, to the saints, and to those who fear your name, both small and great, and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth.
Many scholars debate whether there are separate judgments for believers and non-believers. Mostly that comes from reading 2 Cor 5:10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Those who believe there are separate judgments call the judgment seat in 2 Cor 5:10 the “Bema seat.” The Greek word bema describes a raised platform where a judge sat to award prizes after athletic competitions. This is considered the judgment for believers.
And the judgment for non-believers happens in Rev 20:11 where Jesus sits on the “great white throne.”
The fact is, it doesn’t really matter if it’s a single judgment or separate judgments. We all will be judge.
Each and every one of us will be judged by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ!
However, whether it’s a single judgment or separate judgments there are distinct outcomes depending on whether you’re a believer or non-believer.
So what does the final judgment mean for believers?
What Does the Final Judgment Mean for Believers
What Does the Final Judgment Mean for Believers
Well let’s start with what it doesn’t mean for believers. We will not be judged for punishment. Jesus already paid the price for our sins.
That means the judgment on our sins has already taken place, on the cross by Jesus Christ!!
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,
We are not condemned to eternal separation from God and hell. However, we will have to stand before Jesus and give an account of ourselves.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
11 For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God. 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
It’s a personal account. What did we do to further the kingdom in our lifetime?
How well did we live the life Jesus commanded us to live?
Paul tells us more about how we will give that account in 2 Cor 5:9-10
9 Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
The whole of our character is going to be publicly exposed before the world and before Christ. Our works are going to be exposed, not for what we present them to be, but for what they really are.
All our unbelief, pride, greed, lust, envy, and selfish agendas hidden in our works will be completely exposed. We aren’t judged by our works but there truly are no good works apart from a faith unconditioned by those works.
Without faith our works are nothing more than self-serving attempts to gain good or to assure oneself of it. Our ambition shouldn’t be doing good works, rather it is to just be pleasing to Christ.
In that Jesus will reward us for what we’ve done as seen in 1 Cor 3:12-15
12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work.
14 If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.
We will receive rewards according to the works of our faith. However, our eternal joy is not dependent upon our rewards.
Our eternal joy will be complete, because we will eternally be with our Lord which is far greater than any reward.
Our joy is in worshipping our Lord. Rev 4:10-11
10 the twenty-four elders fall down before the one seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne and say, 11 Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.
Our crowns, all the jewels and rewards received in those crowns will be tossed at the feet of our Lord as we joyfully worship our glorious Lord.
Our desire to be pleasing to God and knowing our reward awaits should cause us to encourage each other.
24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
As we come together in fellowship we should be motivating and encouraging each other onto good works. We should encourage each other to be effective for the future kingdom.
Our hearts should break for those who are still lost. Those who are still living in darkness. Because we should understand what their judgment will be.
What Does the Final Judgment Mean for Non-Believers
What Does the Final Judgment Mean for Non-Believers
Revelation 20:12 tells us we will be judged by in which book our names are written.
12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.
There is the book of life which contains the names of all who believe and the book of the dead which contains the names of all who rejected Christ.
And Paul tells us in Romans 2:8 what fate awaits those whose name is in the book of the dead.
8 but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness.
For those who reject Christ they will bear the full brunt of God’s righteous wrath. They will receive the full punishment for their sins.
Their final and eternal place is a real place called hell. And the Bible’s description of hell is beyond disturbing.
41 “Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!
Hell is a place of eternal fire.
48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
This should bring a grotesque picture into our minds. An eternal body of seemingly ever renewing flesh constantly being charred and burned by fire and consumed by worms that never die.
Luke tells us it’s never ending torment.
28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’
And look at Rev 14:11
11 and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or anyone who receives the mark of its name.
Hell is place of no relief forever.
The Bible references hell more than heaven. We can’t deny hell and say it doesn’t exist. It is a real place where lost people will be eternally punished.
The fact is, evil cannot go unpunished. If God is to be the holy God He is, there must be perfect justice where evil is punished.
15 to declare, “The Lord is just; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
There is no evil in God and there can be no evil with God. God cannot be in the presence of evil. God cannot be in the presence of disobedience.
We must realize the final judgment isn’t about God getting revenge against those who reject Him.
We are assured God is a completely fair and just God.
25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.
All will face justice and we are assured God is in control. God’s fair and righteous judgment will make everything in His creation right again!!
Knowing God’s in control and God will provide a righteous and fair judgment allows us the freedom to forgive.
We should forgive each other and not seek revenge knowing God is the judge.
19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.
Just forgive and let it go. That doesn’t mean leave yourself open for them to continue to wrong you. But it does mean we find forgiveness and let it be.
God will take care of it someday. We will all face our works both good and bad. And that should motivate us to be obedient to God everyday.
20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We should make sure the treasures in our hearts are heavenly treasures and not material earthly treasures. Obedience to God is seeking the things of heaven.
Obedience to God is the fruit of the Spirit. It’s a selfless desire to please God simply because we love Him. We love Him because He first loved us.
Our love for Him spawned by His love for us should cause us to share the good news of Jesus.
9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
Our hearts should desire God’s heart. A heart that doesn’t want anyone to perish and be separated from Him. He desires all to be in heaven with Him forever.
I must clarify something here. I was challenged the other day by someone when I said God desires all to be with Him forever.
They said if that’s what God desires then nobody will go to hell. He will make a path for everyone to be with Him.
There’s a big difference between what God desires and what God wills. When God wills something He is commanding it to happen. When God desires something it’s what His heart would like, but He’s not necessarily going to command it to be.
God desires all to love Him, but if He commands us all to love Him is it truly love?
God desires all to be with Him eternally. Eternity is real and it is forever on to infinity. That’s a long time to be joyfully in God’s presence and an even longer time to be in torment.
So we ought to be telling anyone who asks about the good news of Jesus Christ. We should always be aware of God’s presence and the opportunities He presents us to share the gospel.
When someone asks what they should do we should do what Ezek 33:11 says,
11 Tell them, ‘As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?’
Maybe not in so many words. But with gentleness and kindness we should tell them to turn from their God-less life and turn to Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
In fact, there are times we should all be reminded to turn from our God-less lives and turn to Jesus Christ!!
