John 12:47-48 NLT
[47] “I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. [48] But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.”
We have, somehow, developed the idea, that, on Judgment Day, when all people stand before God to give an account of their lives, God will interrogate them thoroughly, digging through all their words and actions to uncover attitudes and motives. This sounds like a very long process, given the vast number of all who ever lived and will still live. Imagine the terror of having to wait your turn!
What does the Bible say about Judgment Day?
First, Jesus said that we will be judged by His words…
John 12:48 NIV
[48] “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.”
He also said that we would be judged by our words!
Matthew 12:36-37 NIV
[36] But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. [37] For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
As I was pondering this statement, several Scriptures came to mind.
First, everyone will judged by the standard of God’s Word, Jesus Himself.
Revelation 19:13, 16 NIV
[13] “He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God…
[16] On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.”
Second, what about our words? Jesus asked His disciples one question that everyone must answer…
Matthew 16:15 NIV
[15] “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Every human will have to give an answer by which he/she will be judged.
John 3:18 NIV
[18] “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Paul said,
Romans 10:9 NIV
[9] “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is the only response God requires of us to be saved from the ravages of our sin.
However…this confession is only the first step. Some words spoken can be empty, that is “idle” or “careless”. To authenticate this confession, there must be a lifetime of confirmation.
Luke 6:46 NIV
[46] “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
Matthew 7:21-23 NIV
[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ [23] Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
To stand before the Judge, then, and to be declared, “Not guilty!” requires only two steps…
Faith in Jesus as Lord,
Obedience to His word.
Long before we ever face the Lord on judgment day, the Apostle John assures us…
1 John 3:19 NIV
[19] “This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:”
1 John 3:23 NIV
[23] “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”
The New Covenant has condensed all of the 613 laws and requirements of the Old Covenant into two simple commands.
The evidence that our confession of Jesus as Lord is true, lies in the way we have obeyed His teachings and confirmed our union with Him.
John 14:18-21 NIV
[18] I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. [19] Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. [20] On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. [21] Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
Jesus speaks of an intimate union with Him that demonstrates the truth of His declaration,
John 15:5 NIV
[5] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.”
Judgment Day, then, is not about how good or bad we have been. For the unbeliever, his sinful life will expose his unbelief in Jesus as Lord. For the believer, his union with Jesus as close as a branch in the vine, will be on display by the fruit of that union…God’s love at work through him.
Let’s look at it this way. Simultaneously, every person appears before the Lord. What does He see? Light and darkness…that’s all. Those who have embraced Jesus as Lord and lived by His Word will be alight with His light. Conversely, those who rejected His word and loved by their own standards will be in darkness.
1 John 1:5-7 NIV
[5] “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. [6] If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
And so, Paul encourages us,
Ephesians 5:8-10, 12-13 NIV
[8] For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light [9] (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) [10] and find out what pleases the Lord.
[12] “It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. [13] But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.”
Joyfully or reluctantly,
Philippians 2:10-11 NIV
[10] “… At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
…those who are proved true disciples according to His Word and our words, or those who are judged and condemned by the Word.