“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. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences” (2 Cor 5:10-11).
One of the great Christian teachings is that there will be a day of divine judgment for all. Such a judgment will be a fitting end to every life as God evaluates the actions of His creation. Without a day of divine judgment many people who did much evil to others in their lifetime will get away with murder, rape, slander, extortion, embezzlement, and genocide without any accountability. This will not be allowed to happen. Therefore, a day of divine judgment is certain. No one will escape. No one will be able to hide. No one will be able to excuse themselves on that great and terrible day.
The judgment will be personal. The Bible says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” I cannot pay for your sins, and you cannot pay for mine. I cannot be judged for your attitude and actions, and you cannot be judged for mine. It is characteristic of the natural fallen human nature to try to blame others when something goes wrong. Individuals do not want to be held accountable, nor take responsibility, for their actions. Still, everyone must and will.
The judgment will be conducted by Christ. It is “the judgment seat of Christ” that all must appear before for to Christ has been given all authority and power in heaven and earth. Men have tried to dismiss Christ. Men have ridiculed Christ. They have mocked and scorned Him and put Him to death. But, up from the grave He arose. He is a mighty victor over His foes. And one day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. And then every person must answer to Christ who will be the judge.
The judgment will be extensive. At the judgment seat of Christ, every deed done, every thought entertained, and every word spoken will be brought into the open for evaluation. Matthew 12:36-37, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
The judgment will be searching. What the Lord is looking for in particular as He evaluates the totality of a life is repentance. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door of Wittenberg the first proposition he made was this: In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance. Theologian Charles Hodge helps clarify what is meant by gospel repentance. “The sure test of the quality of any supposed change of heart will be found in its permanent effects. 'By their fruits you shall know them' is as applicable to the right method of judging ourselves as of judging others. Whatever, therefore, may have been our inward experience, whatever joy or sorrow we may have felt, unless we bring forth fruits meet for repentance, our experience will profit us nothing. Repentance is incomplete unless it leads to confession and restitution in cases of injury; unless it causes us to forsake not merely outward sins, which others notice, but those which lie concealed in the heart; unless it makes us choose the service of God and live not for ourselves but for Him. There is no duty which is either more obvious in itself, or more frequently asserted in the Word of God, than that of repentance.”
The judgment will be final. Once Christ has passed ultimately judgment, a person will enjoy eternal life or eternal separation from God. John 5:28-29 explains, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
The judgment need not be feared. The thought of the day of ultimate judgment can be terrifying unless a person standing to be judged has hope for mercy. There will be mercy at the judgment seat of Christ for those who have embraced Jesus Christ as Savior and bowed their knees to His Lordship. Because Christ has borne in His own body the sins of the elect, because Christ has made atonement for sins, because Christ has propitiated the justice of God at Calvary, love and mercy are free to flow. Love and mercy will be extended to all who love Christ. Let the heart rejoice for the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7). Those who pursue a life of holiness by faith in Christ will not be condemned. Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Therefore, let every person flee to the cross and there plead the blood. William Cowper did. After surviving at multiple suicide attempts Cowper was able by the grace of God to see that all his could be forgiven by Christ. With love and gratitude in his heart he wrote the following hymn.
“There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.”
