Judgment Day
2 Cor. 5:10 & Rev. 20:11 - 15
By: JB Hall
• People find many ways to divide and distinguish themselves: by gender, color, nationality, economic standing, social status, educational level, etc.
• God, though, only recognizes 2 divisions; only 2 designations of people. All people fall into one of these 2 categories: saved, or lost.
• One of the most misunderstood teachings of scripture is that of the judgment.
• There are many types of judgments recorded in the Bible: God’s judgment against cities, nations, individuals, and even the entire world.
• Today, though, we want to talk about God’s final judgment of individuals.
• The most common misconceptions are:
1. that there will only be one judgment;
2. that all people will stand before the same judgment
3. that it will be the time of determining whether one gets into heaven, or is condemned to hell.
• The Bible, though, describes 2 different judgments.
• Neither will be a time of determining whether one goes to heaven or hell.
• That determination will be made by each person in this present life; by the personal choice he/she makes concerning whether or not to receive Jesus Christ into his/her life as personal Savior.
• John 3:36 says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
• Here, the 2 different divisions of individuals are described.
• Please notice the words hath and abideth.
• First, we can see by this verse that everlasting life is a present possession for those who believe on the Son; on Jesus.
• This is not a determination that will be made after he leaves this present world.
• But second, the wrath of God is also a present condemnation abiding on all who do not believe the Son.
• Likewise, this is not a determination that will be made after one dies.
• Therefore, determining whether you go to heaven or hell is a choice that is made by the individual in this present life.
• Thus, we conclude that the time of judgment that everyone must face is not a time of determining his eternal destination.
• Rather, it is a time of evaluating his works and rewarding him accordingly; but his eternal destination has already been settled before he is judged.
• The Bible teaches that there are 2 judgments: the judgment seat of Christ for the Christian; and the great white throne judgment for the lost.
• Let’s examine each and see what is involved, and why we will be judged.
1. The Judgment Seat of Christ
A. Romans 14:10b says, “…for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
B. This is talking about all Christians as we shall see in a moment.
C. II Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
D. I Corinthians 3:11 – 15 describe in detail this Judgment Seat of Christ that all Christians will stand before.
E. Verse 11 says, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
F. This is pretty self-explanatory.
G. This discourse is speaking expressly and exclusively of Christians.
H. Jesus is the foundation that the Christian life is built upon; and there is no other foundation upon which to build. Jesus is the only foundation the Christian can build his life upon.
I. Good works are not the foundation for the Christian life.
J. In other words, we were saved unto or to do good works; but we were not saved by them.
K. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
L. So, here we see that we were created (saved) in Christ Jesus; but that we were created (saved) unto, or to do, good works afterward.
M. I Timothy 6:18; II Timothy 3:17; Titus 2:7; Titus 3:14; I Peter 2:12; also, all inform us that we have been saved to do good works.
N. Titus 3:8 says, “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works…”
O. Notice it says that “…they which have believed in God [past tense]…” “…might be careful to maintain good works [after they have believed in God, or were saved]…”
P. So, good works are not the foundation for your life; not the base upon which your Christianity rests; instead, they are the outgrowth of your Christianity; the result of your salvation.
Q. Jesus is the only foundation upon which you can build your Christian life; any other thing that one attempts to lay as a foundation for his salvation will simply not support him when he stands to give account of himself.
R. In Matthew 7:22 & 23 Jesus made this clear, “Many shall say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
S. I Corinthians 3:12 informs us that there are 2 types of building materials that we can use to build the building of our lives, as we (Christians) build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ: indestructible materials, and destructible materials.
T. Each of these categories of materials is divided into 3 subdivisions.
U. The indestructible materials include gold, silver, and precious stones.
V. Each is a little lower in value than the one mentioned before it; but each is indestructible.
W. Fire applied to each one only serves to refine it; removing the impurities so that the perfected material remains.
X. The destructible materials include: wood, hay, and stubble.
Y. Again, each is a little lower in quality than the one mentioned before it; but each is destructible.
Z. Fire applied to each one will destroy it; stubble the fastest, hay next, and wood last; but all are destructible materials, and will be destroyed by the fire that is applied.
AA. Verse 13 tells us that every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it.
BB. Please notice that it is his work, not his salvation that is being judged.
CC. Manifest – def. 1. Plain, open, clearly visible to the eye or obvious to the understanding; apparent; not obscure or difficult to be seen or understood.
DD. It says that “…it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”
EE. The fire of God’s judgment applied to his work will reveal the sort, or quality, of his work.
FF. Verse 14 says, “If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon [speaking of building upon the Lord Jesus], he shall receive a reward.”
GG. But, Verse 15 says, “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss…”
HH. Please understand that the rewards he receives or loses are eternal rewards; meaning if he receives them, they will remain for all eternity; and if he loses them, they will have been lost for all eternity.
II. So, the Judgment Seat of Christ will be to determine our rewards, or loss of rewards, not to determine if we qualify to enter heaven.
JJ. The last part of Verse 15 makes this clear: “…but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
KK. The Christian may lose eternal rewards, but he will still be saved when the judgment is finished; he will never lose his salvation.
2. The Great White Throne Judgment
A. Revelation 20:5 informs us that there will be at least 1,000 years between the judgment of the saved and the judgment of the lost.
B. It says, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”
C. Look at Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”
D. We must understand what death is in order to understand that there can be 2 deaths.
E. Death means separation; not ceasing to exist.
F. Physical death is the first death; and is the separation of the soul and body.
G. The soul does not cease to exist; it simply separates from the body and goes somewhere to continue to exist.
H. Spiritual death is the second death; and is the separation of both soul and body from God, to be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone; but will continue to exist there, fully aware and sensitive to the pain of the fire, for all eternity.
I. Sadly, the hopelessness of being permanently separated from God, from Whom all things good come, will be greater agony than the fire itself.
J. Now notice, the first part of Verse 7 says, “And when the thousand years are expired…”
K. So, the judgment of lost people, the great white throne judgment, is separated from the judgment of saved people, the judgment seat of Christ, by at least one thousand years.
L. Verse 11 then begins to describe The Great White Throne Judgment.
M. Verse 11 says, “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.”
N. Notice that the earth and heaven fled away from this throne; and that there was no place for them to hide.
O. Christians will not be standing here; only those who have rejected Jesus Christ as personal Savior; and there will be no place for these Christ-rejecters to hide.
P. Evaluation time has come, and there is no place to hide from it.
Q. Verse 12 says, “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.”
R. This makes it clear that this is not a trial; but rather a sentencing.
S. Notice that books (plural) were opened; and a book (singular) was opened.
T. The books contain records of the works of those who stand to be judged.
U. The book, described as the book of life, is not consulted at this point; only the books are examined.
V. The dead are now being judged according to their works, which were recorded in these books.
W. Verse 13 says, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
X. Again, here we’re reminded that wherever there are dead, meaning spiritually dead, they will be gathered to stand before this judgment.
Y. No lost person will escape this evaluation of his/her life.
Z. So, even lost people will be judged according to their works; not to determine their eternal fate; but to determine the level of punishment.
AA. Notice Verse 14, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
BB. Death and hell (their inhabitants), were cast into the lake of fire. This is called the second death.
CC. The first death was physical death (meaning the separation of spirit and body).
DD. But remember? The second death is spiritual death, separation of both soul and body from God forever.
EE. So again, death is not ceasing to exist; but rather, separation.
FF. Verse 15 describes the book of life being consulted for this part of the sentencing phase.
GG. It says that “…whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
HH. So, the spiritually dead, those who are lost, those who have refuse receive Jesus Christ into their lives to be their personal Savior; even after being judged according to their works, will still be cast into the lake of fire.
II. This is the everlasting punishment of those who reject the only salvation available to us – the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Conclusion:
There will be 2 judgments. Genuine Christians will stand to be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Lost people will stand to be judged at The Great White Throne Judgment.
Neither will be a place of determining your eternal fate. That will already have been settled before you leave this present life, by the choice you make to either receive Jesus Christ into your life to be your Savior, or to refuse to have Him rule over you.
The 2 judgments will be a time of evaluating our works and rewarding us accordingly.
Only our works will be judged at these 2 judgments; but then afterward, the sentence of our decision, made while still in this present world, will be eternally honored.
Which judgment will you stand before?
