Three Facts About the Judgement

“Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, But he that doeth the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23)

Our day is a day of self-imposed agnosticism. That is, there are those who say one cannot know what will take place at the judgment. One cannot really know who will be consigned to heaven and who will be consigned to hell, according to a false view. One can know, for God has revealed His will on this matter (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:1). One must be obedient to the gospel in order to be saved (Mark 16:15-16). God cannot lie (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18). Therefore, if one is obedient to the Gospel, he will be saved, and if one has not been obedient to the Gospel, he will be lost! Mankind can know these things with the utmost of certainty!

From the words of Jesus, we know the speaker of the judgment. It will be none other than the righteous Judge himself, Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:23). God has “appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). Thus, the inspired words of Paul, penned by Luke, concur with the Lord. Paul, when writing to the Romans, also identifies the speaker of the judgment to be Jesus Christ (Romans 2:16).

Jesus also reveals the standard of the judgment. Jesus says the will of the Father will be the standard (Matthew 7:21). Thus, the judgment will be according to the truth (Romans 2:2) and will be impartial and righteous (Romans 2:5, 11). Those living in the Christian age will be judged according to the Gospel (Romans 2:16). The words of Jesus will judge man at the judgment (John 12:28 and that can be known beyond a shadow of doubt!

What will be the subject of the judgment? Can man know? Absolutely! Jesus says the works of man will be the subject of the judgment (Matthew 7:22). Many will think they have done things by the authority of the Lord (“by the name” or “in the name”). The point is, the works of man must be authorized by the Word of God in order to be acceptable to Him (Colossians 3:17; Hebrews 11:6; Romans 10:17). One can know that he will give an account of his works before God on that day (Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Away with all the false doctrines that say man cannot know what God requires of His creatures! Faith is not a “leap in the dark” or a “better felt than told” concept. We can know about the judgment and other things of God because these things have been revealed (Hebrews 11:1). The question should be, How have you responded in view of this knowledge of the judgment? Life is short, death is sure, sin the cause, Christ the cure.

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