The Final Judgment

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, May 14th. What will happen when unbelievers face God? Let's take a sobering look at the final judgment in today's conclusion of the series on how to choose your destiny. This message deals with the most tense field, fearful moments in all of human history. And the title of the message is The Final Judgment of God. Now, some of you are not going to be in that judgment, but some of you are going to be. That is, those of you who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of your sins, those of you who have decided to do your own thing, to live your life as you please, to put off to one of these days that you're going to do better, all of you who die without the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you who have rejected His blood, you who have shunned His book, you who have shunned the offer of salvation, have turned away your friends who've offered you the opportunity of being saved. You, my friends, who die without the Lord Jesus Christ will stand in the most tense field, fearful moments in human history, when before a righteous holy God, you listen to Him hand down the verdict, the irrevocable and eternal verdict concerning your future judgment and your eternity.

The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. And so you're going to spend eternity somewhere. And if you do not receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, if you do not accept Him and the forgiveness of your sins, you're going to stand in this judgment that we're about to read about.

You're going to have to give an account for every sin that you've ever committed. And then you're going to be cast, the Bible says, into a place called the lake of fire where you're going to spend eternity. The passage is in Revelation chapter twenty. It is almost at the end of this book of the Revelation, which God gave to the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos, to give to him the revelation of things that will come to pass in the future. And part of that is the great white throne judgment beginning, if you will, in verse eleven. And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne.

And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from those things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades, or torment, gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. And death and Hades, or torment, were thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. In God's calendar of events, according to the Scriptures, this is the way the events are going to transpire. You and I will be here in life just as we are today. Suddenly the Bible says with a shout, the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming from heaven. And the moment that happens, the Bible says that all the graves of all of those who have trusted Jesus as their Savior are going to open. And the bodies of believers all over the world, out of the seas, out of the graves, are coming up out of the graves. They're going to be transformed in the twinkling of an eye, likened and fashioned, likened to the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. We which are alive at that time shall likewise be transformed and caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And the Bible says, so shall we ever be with the Lord. Beginning thereafter will come the judgment seat of the believers where Jesus Christ rewards those believers. At the same time down here on earth, there will be a period of seven years of which the Bible calls a seven-year period of great tribulation. The Bible says, like the world has never known before nor ever shall know. At the end of that time, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back this time, not as He came for the church, but you'll notice this time the Bible says in Revelation chapter 1 verse 7, Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.

That's not true when He comes only for His church. Every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the tribulation period will be a time of destruction for those who have gone through the tribulation and who have denied God. Immediately following that, our Lord cleansing this earth will set up what the Bible calls a millennial period. At the end of that time, Satan is loose for a brief moment in time, which God judges him, and the Bible says in verse 10 of that 20th chapter, And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Now, following the end of the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, God then finally sums up all of life in the great white throne judgment as is described beginning in verse 11. So when it's going to take place is after God's entire program for the earth is finally completed at the end of His millennial reign, when Satan is released for a brief moment of time, and we don't know how long that is, and then finally cast into the lake of fire with the beast and the false prophets. Then comes the great white throne judgment.

Now the question, what is going to take place in this judgment? Well, he tells us beginning in verse 12, Now, what are these books? There are two sets of books.

One of them is the books containing the works of the unjust. The other book is the book of life, oftentimes called the Lamb's Book of Life. And even in this book, oftentimes he speaks of the Lamb's Book of Life in the very last verse of the twenty-first chapter of Revelation.

Turn over there, just one chapter. He says, speaking of heaven, So, there will be no one standing in this judgment whose name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. You say, well, why did He say in verse 15, Here's why I believe it. Because God, in all of His perfect fairness and justice, when He looks at the works of the unbeliever, it's as if God says one more time to confirm so that there's absolutely no question forever and ever and ever in the Lamb's Book of Life where it is described the name of every single believer. In the Lamb's Book of Life, when He comes to your name, and my friend, there may be many people named by your name, but God knows your name when He sees it because He is omniscient.

Your name is not there. God's one last act of divine grace. Listen. Now, what about this book of works? All through the Bible He says and reminds us and warns us that we're going to be judged according to our works, judged according to our works. Twice here He says, according to their deeds, in verse 12.

Verse 13, every one of them according to their deeds. You hear people say, well, if I'm going to hell in a way preacher, I might as well live it up and have a big time. I want to tell you, my friend, that is another of Satan's lies because he says you're going to be judged according to your deeds. It's interesting what Jesus said when He said that every idle word that men speak, they will have to give an account of in the day of judgment. God is going to hold us accountable for our words. What in the world is He going to hold us accountable for concerning our deeds?

The lost person is going to give an account for his words. He's going to give an account for his deeds. And God has a record of every single deed the evil person has done. And even things that you and I think are good, God knows the motivation behind them. Now, there's an error here that oftentimes you'll hear people use on you and they'll say, well, I do believe that one of these days in the judgment, God is going to put all of my good deeds over here on this side and He's going to weigh those. He's going to put all of my evil deeds on this side and He's going to weigh them. And I'm not worried about it because I know that I have been better, more than I've been evil, and therefore God is going to receive me into heaven.

I want to tell you, my friend, the first fallacy of that is this. The Bible says, not by works of righteousness which you have done, but according to His mercy He saved you. For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

Now, my lost friend, listen to me. When you stand before God, God isn't going to weigh your good deeds versus your evil deeds and see if your good outweighs your bad. The truth is, in the mind of God, all your deeds weigh evil because you have done nothing because of your love and devotion to Jesus Christ.

You've done it because it made you feel good, because it got you positioned or whatever it might be. But I want to tell you, you didn't do it because you loved God. Therefore, nothing you do is going to weigh good in the eyes of God. One place in all the Bible is He say that He's going to weigh good versus bad. That means you could be saved by good works, be no reason for the blood of Jesus, no reason for the cross.

Every single one of us, if we would be good enough long enough, we could work our way into heaven. But He says by grace and grace alone are you saved through faith. The judgment of God deals specifically with the deeds of men and women, not whether they've been good or bad, but He's dealing with deeds because God sees these deeds as evil in His sight. They came out of a corrupt heart that did not love God, but loved one's own self. So the very idea that God's going to weigh good versus bad, nowhere in the Scripture, not one single verse does it say that. He's going to judge many women according to the truth.

I want to tell you, my friend, every time you turn on the television, listen to the radio or listen to a tape, and you hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, you realize that you're receiving more light of truth, that you're going to be held more and more accountable because of the truth and the light that you've heard, so that all judgment's going to be fair. Somebody says, oh, but I want to know about those who've never heard. You know why you want to know about that?

Because you want to get us off the subject. That's not the issue. I can tell you about those who've never heard. My just loving Father is always going to do the just right thing about everybody, so don't you worry about that person. You need to be concerned about yourself because you have heard, you have had the privilege of being saved, but you've rejected Jesus Christ up until now. The Bible says there are going to be degrees of suffering in hell. He says it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of judgment than for those who heard the Lord Jesus Christ as He walked in His day and shunned Him and rejected Him. There will be degrees of judgment. Man's judgment, man's suffering for eternity will be based on the deeds and God's judgment of those deeds. It's interesting to me that those who say, well, one of these days we're all going to get there.

Everybody's going to the same place. That's the devil's lie. And the tragedy is not only some people believe it, but there's some people teaching it, holding up the Bible and teaching that everybody's going to make it one of these days.

My friends, you're talking about being shocked. In the judgment, the only people who are going to be in the judgment seat of Christ are the saints. Those who are going to be in the great white throne judgment are those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ.

You're never going to get to heaven having rejected Jesus. There's not one verse in this Bible that says that you will. He says every man's works shall be tried. He says He is going to reward every man according to his deeds and then the final verdict will be offered.

The judgment's going to be fair and just. As He says, according to our works and the degrees of judgment will be according to those works. Now listen to what He says, verse 15. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Now it couldn't be any simpler than that. Look, if you will, verse 8 of the 21st chapter. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and adulterers and all liars, their part will be in the lake of fire, the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

And if you go back to verse 10 of chapter 20, he describes it because in that lake of fire will be some other folks, the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever, that is for eternity, timeless, endless eternity. Now, you're going to have to make a decision. My decision is to turn off the radio. I don't have to listen to this. You're right, you don't have to, my friend.

But if you're wise, you'll listen to the last thing I want to say to you. One of these days, you're going to die. It may be in a hospital bed. It may be in your home. It may be an accident. It may be on a battlefield.

I don't know where it's going to be. But you are going to die. And the Bible says if you die without the Lord Jesus Christ, you will stand in the presence of the righteous Holy Christ who sits upon his great white throne judgment and you will give an account for your life. That isn't maybe. That isn't if. That isn't might.

It isn't a possibility. It is a living, eternal reality. Now, here's the question you need to ask yourself. If God says there's going to be a judgment and if God says there's only one way to be saved and if God says this judgment is inescapable and if God says you're going to be judged according to all of your deeds, do you not think it wise, my friend, to make preparation sure and certain for an inevitable meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ? Don't you think it wise to settle up and to make preparation for what God says is going to be true?

It isn't what I think. It's what God says is going to happen. It is inevitable. It is inescapable. It is irrevocable. God is going to hand down the final verdict in your life and he will either hand down the verdict, saved by the grace of God, lost eternally.

He's going to hand it down. It isn't what you think. It isn't how you feel. It isn't what your friends think. It isn't what you plan on doing.

It has nothing to do with your plans and your goals and your dreams. It has to do with a personal decision in your life to receive by faith the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and when he shed his blood, he shed his blood for your sin. That is the only thing in this life, the only thing in humanity that can atone for the sin of mankind, no good works, no suffering on our part, the shed blood of Jesus Christ. If you will turn your face toward him, if you will confess your sins, if you will repent of your sins, that is if you will turn away from him and tell God today, I am receiving Jesus Christ as my personal savior. I'm yielding my life to him. I surrender my life to him.

I do accept him as my savior. The Bible says that God will write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. Your sin will be forgiven and you will escape the great white throne judgment. But my dear friend, if in your pride, your arrogance, your independence, if in your unbelief, your doubt, your skepticism and your atheism, you die with the blood of Jesus Christ never having been applied to your sin, I want to warn you in Jesus' name as a loving friend, one of these days you're going to stand in that judgment. It will be too late. Nothing you do at that time will make any difference.

Too late. And you'll have to stand before God and give an account for every single deed, every single opportunity you refuse to receive Jesus Christ as your savior. Any thinking human being, any person who has any wisdom at all, any person who is a rational thinker will not take the chance on eternal separation from God.

You say, but I don't believe all that. My friend, if you'll get on your face before God on your knees and sit where you are and just say, God, I don't understand all of this, but if it's true, God speak to me, show me that it's true. My friend, listen, if you will confess your sins, God will make Himself known to you, God will forgive you of your sins, and it won't take you but a few moments, you'll know God is doing something in your life.

That's how much He loves you. He's done everything He can do divinely speaking to keep you out of hell. But one last thing, He cannot force your will.

What about it? Do you realize you may never have an opportunity to hear another sermon? Oh, don't scare me. I'm not trying to, if I could scare you, I would. If I could scare you into heaven, brother, don't think I wouldn't do it, I would do it. I'm just telling you the truth, just like God says, and I want to ask you a question. You're going to do one of two things about it. You're going to have to reject Him, not me. I just happen to be the messenger.

It could be anybody standing here. I'm just the messenger. It is His message from Him to you because He loves you. What are you going to do about God's message to you, to save you, to rescue you? What are you going to do about it? You only have two choices, receive it, believe it, yield your life to Him, or make that awful, tragic mistake of walking away from the only hope you have of life eternal. That's your only two choices. Remember, you don't reject me. I'm just the vessel. You have to reject His Word, His message, and Him.

That is an eternal mistake, and no wise person will make that. Thank you for listening to The Final Judgment. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.