The author of Hebrews has given us a rundown of six foundational Christian principles in the beginning of chapter six.
We saw that they made a progression which we follow in the Christian life. First, we repent from dead works, and then direct our faith toward God. We are faithful to be baptized, and spend our lives as believers in the laying on of hands - as we impart the guilt of our sins to Christ and transfer blessings to others. And one day, these bodies in which we live will cease to work. As we saw last week, that is not the end of the story. For every human being is eternal, and experiences resurrection - a raising from the dead.
And from that resurrection, we come to the sixth and final foundational truth: eternal judgment.
Of course, you wouldn't feel at home if I didn't give you a quick Greek lesson, now would you? We are again dealing with just two words: "ahee-O-nee-os KREE-mah," or, "eternal judgment."
"Eternal" is a far more powerful word than we usually give it credit for. We might say, "that teacher is so boring, his class feels like an eternity." Or, "My daughter takes forever to put on her shoes." But in reality, we use these words far too flippantly.
The word "eternal" means "without an end," "that which is never to cease." Our minds cannot fathom what eternal really means, for we have no way to gauge it. But I would like to try and stretch our understanding of it a little, to get a little perspective.
Do you remember the Y2K scare? It seems so long ago, doesn't it? But really, it was only 18 months ago.
Do you remember when the space shuttle Challenger blew up? That was just 15 years ago.
The television was invented less than 80 years ago.
The pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock less than 320 years ago.
Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai less than 3,500 years ago.
In other words, what seems like an eternity ago was really nothing at all in relation to eternity. This is because eternity is not bound by a certain number of months or years. It is literally without end.
We can't even say that 3,500 years is a "drop in the bucket" compared to eternity, because no matter how long it lasts, there are never any drops in the bucket - it will never fill up!
John Newton made an incredibly accurate statement when he wrote this lyric for the song, "Amazing Grace": "When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun."
So, as we begin to see what the Scripture says about eternal judgment, we must keep in mind that we're talking about something that has no end, that lasts longer than high school did, longer than your lifetime, longer than the entire history of the world. It is quite literally, forever.
Now the word judgment in Greek is "KREE-mah." The word is translated as "damnation, condemnation, and judgment" at various places in Scripture. It is just what you think it is: standing before God while He judges you for what you have done in this life.
A common belief among Christians is that as believers, we will not stand in judgment. However, the apostle Paul did not believe that. He told the Corinthians,
2Cor. 5:9-10 ...we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
All will stand before the judgment seat. He said the same thing to the Romans:
Rom. 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.
Jesus also reiterated this, saying,
Matt. 12:35-37 "The good man out of {his} good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of {his} evil treasure brings forth what is evil. And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned."
These Scriptures tell us that every person, Christian or non-Christian, shall stand before God for judgment. We will all have to give an account, and be recompensed for what we have done.
The author of Hebrews will remind us in chapter nine that,
Hebr. 9:27 ...it is appointed for men to die once and after this {comes} judgment
Having been to two funerals in the last six days, it is very much at the forefront of my mind that we all die. Some will die of old age, others will suffer what we call an "untimely" death - by disease, accident, or crime. But we can all expect to die unexpectedly. And when we die, we will stand before God in judgment.
John the apostle saw the judgment of every human being that will take place in the future. He wrote,
Rev. 20:11-1 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 books were opened; and another book was opened, which is {the book} of life; and the dead were judged from the 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 gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one {of them} according to their deeds. And death and Hades 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.
John saw that every human being will stand before God's throne to be eternally judged. What kind of standard will God use? The standard of righteous perfection.
People will be judged for what they have done. If they have sinned, they will be separated from God forever, thrown into the lake of fire.
Now, this obviously presents a problem, since the Bible says,
Rom. 3:23 ...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
No one can pass the standard of perfect righteousness if they have sin on record.
But fortunately, not everyone has their sins kept on record. There are those who have their names written in the Book of Life that are not condemned. Their sins have been erased. The book of Romans says,
Rom. 4:7-8 "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT."
When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord, your name is written in the Book of Life, and your sins are erased. They are not taken into account.
And when you have no sin on record, God judges you for what you have done well. Your deeds will be tested.
1Cor. 3:13-15 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is {to be} revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.
If you have had your sins erased, then you should be thinking about this eternal judgment - the judgment of rewards. You should be living a life that is investing wealth in eternal life.
Some say that they're not interested in rewards. But Jesus commanded that we should be. He said,
Luke 12:33-34 "...make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
He knew that if you are interested in heavenly treasure, then your heart would be in heaven as well. So live life with heavenly treasures in mind.
John wrote that because we have a Savior, and are abiding in Him, we...
1John 4:17 ...have confidence in the day of judgment...
But the one without a Savior can look forward only to an eternity of unspeakable suffering.
Does this sound frightening? If you have not been born again, it should. We see in Scripture that those who did not know Christ were greatly troubled at the teaching of judgment.
When the apostle Paul was arrested and brought in before Governor Felix, he was bold and witnessed about sin and the cross and judgment. Felix...
Acts 24:24-25 ...heard him {speak} about faith in Christ Jesus. And as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, "Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you."
The subject of judgment is frightening to those who do not have Christ. And it is supposed to be. The angel who preaches the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth during the Great Tribulation proclaims...
Rev. 14:7 ...with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come..."
The fear of eternal judgment scares some into glorifying God. That is not something to be ashamed to admit - God certainly isn't. Fright is an effective deterrent, since judgment is ultimately your choice, your decision to make.
God is not squeamish about judging because people bring it on themselves. Jesus said,
John 12:47-48 "And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the Word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day."
People will be judged by the very Word of God which they knowingly rejected. Paul and Barnabas told the Jews,
Acts 13:46 ..."It was necessary that the Word of God should be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles."
They had judged themselves by rejecting the Word and doing evil.
Rom. 2:2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
This morning, you have heard the simple truth of God's Word. You will spend eternity somewhere, and it will never come to an end. The destination is completely your choice.
You can reject what you have heard, ignoring your fears, disbelieving the Word. The Bible promises that all will...
2Ths. 2:12 ...be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
That judgment, if you choose it, is to spend eternity in the lake of fire, where
Matt. 13:42 ...in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Or, you can decide that your eternal judgment will be a reward for the good things you have done. But for that to happen, you've got to have your sin erased and your name written in the Book of Life. Jesus said,
John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Are you ready to believe in Jesus Christ and have your name written in the Book of Life?