The Basis For Our Judgment

One of the most common warnings in the Scriptures is that God will judge
all mankind in the last day. Preparation for this day is the most
important activity of our lives. If God rejects us at the Judgment, then
absolutely nothing else in this life will matter. No amount of
possessions, fame or even love for another person will be worth hearing
our God say, "Depart from me" (Matthew 7:23). Since this is such a
serious subject, we all should want to know what we can do to get ready
for that day. Finding the right answers and acting upon them now will
determine whether we enjoy being in the presence of God in heaven or
suffer the horrors of hell for eternity. We could well ask, "What must I
do to be accepted at the Judgment?" Another way to ask the same question
is, "What must I do to be saved?" We must begin answering this question
with the foundation of our salvation. To be saved, we must believe in
Jesus. Without this, all the good works one might do will not get him
into heaven.  One of the most common misconceptions people have today is
that we are saved by faith alone. Yes, faith is absolutely essential for
our salvation, and the Bible mentions it on numerous occasions, but
whether God accepts or rejects us at the Judgment is not based only on
whether we believed in Jesus. Even most of those who teach that we are
saved by faith alone are not consistent with their doctrine. When
someone dies, at the funeral there is usually an attempt to comfort the
mourners by assuring them that the deceased in now in a better place. On
what is this based? Do you not hear the speaker talk about how good of a
husband, father, neighbor, etc., the deceased was? They will always try
to find something good the person did while alive. This is an
acknowledgment of the obvious, that is, not only must we believe in
Jesus, we must also live an obedient life. This is not to say we work
our way into heaven. No man can do this. But we must strive to conform
our lives to God's standards, knowing it is still by the grace of God we
can be saved because we will fail to obey perfectly. There are several
passages that describe the Judgment and how it will be conducted. In all
these passages, none of them say the basis for acceptance or rejection
is based on whether we believed in Jesus or not. They ALL teach that
Judgment will be based on our actions. Yes, we are saved by faith, but
the only kind of faith that saves is an obedient faith (Romans 1:5 and
16:26). In Matthew 25:31-46, there is a Judgment scene given where
Christ will separate the sheep from the goats. In this passage there is
not one word about whether people believed in Jesus or not. The basis
for their Judgment is how they treated the brethren of Christ in this
life. We can believe in Jesus all we want to, but this passage clearly
teaches that how we treat other Christians also determines whether we
will be accepted or rejected at the Judgment. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 tells
us, "Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well
pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the Judgment seat of
Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, accord
ing to what he has done, whether good or bad." How hard is it to
understand this passage? James 1:26 tells us, "If any man among you seem
to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own
heart, this man's religion is vain." Notice that as James writes to
Christians, he says, "if any man among you", meaning a man among the
Chris tians. Even though he may believe in Jesus, if he does not get his
tongue in control, believing will not do him any good at the Judgment.
Also, 1 Timothy 5:8 teaches that any man who believes in Jesus but does
not provide for his family is said to be worse than an unbeliever and he
has denied the faith. Once again, here is a man who believes in Jesus,
but he has denied the faith by his unwillingness to provide for his
family. One of the greatest Judgment scenes found in the Bible is in
Revelation 20:11-15. Notice what the basis of Judgment is according to
this passage. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found
no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before
God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is
the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which
were written in the books, according to their works."  Certainly, belief
in Jesus will be a major issue, but this alone is not enough! James was
making this same point when he wrote that even the demons believe (James
2:19). In the opening pages of the Bible, we can read of God telling
Cain, "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do
well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should
rule over it" (Genesis 4:7). The New Testament begins with the Sermon on
the Mount in Matthew  5-7. Jesus concludes this great sermon by warning
us: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom
of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven... Therefore
whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to
a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the
floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not
fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these
sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who
built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was
its fall" (Matthew 7:21-27). The Bible closes with the instruction in
Revelation 20:11-13 that at the "great white throne Judgment", everyone
will be judged according to their works. It is because of the fact that
the Judgment will be based on our lives is the very reason we need
Jesus. None of us have lived in such a way that we might be accepted by
God because of our good works. All of us have failed. We all are in
desperate need of forgiveness. This is why Jesus had to die. He paid the
penalty that belongs to us so we might go free. This is the good news of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, this good news does not mean we are
free to not be concerned how we live our lives. God never intended that
His Son would die so that we would only have to believe to be saved. The
Bible still says, "...He became the author of eternal salvation to all
who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9). Writing to Christians, the Hebrew writer
also warned, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation
which will devour the adversaries... For we know Him who said,
'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. And again, 'The Lord
will judge His people'. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
the living God" (Hebrews 10:26-31). Why do we have such a serious
warning if our actions do not matter after we become a Christian? Those
who teach that all we have to do is believe to be saved at the Judgment
are deceivers who ignore many passages in God's Word to their own
destruction. They follow the words of their father who told Eve that if
she disobeyed, "You shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4).  Eve never
stopped believing in God. Even then, belief alone was not enough. Eve
learned the hard way that the life we live also makes a difference.
Anyone can say they love Jesus. Jesus said, "He who has My commandments
and keeps them, it is he who loves Me" (John 14:21). Do you truly love
Jesus? Wayne Wells



There are several passages that describe the Judgment and how it will be
conducted. In all these passages, none of them say the basis for
acceptance or rejection is based on whether we believed in Jesus or not.
They ALL teach that judgment will be based on our actions.




Wayne Wells wayneliz@twave.net http://users.twave.net/ncc