Judgement Day: Who Will Be Judged?

August 10, 2009

~Denise Grant

 

 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”  2 Corinthians 5:10

 

 

     Answer: Everyone who has ever lived.

 

     To so many, this offers a hornet’s nest of dilemmas: What about those who never heard of Christ? What about those who lived before the time of Christ and who never heard of His gospel? Will they be judged as well? Answer: Yes, but I believe by a different standard.

 

     People will be judged on the basis of the knowledge they have had, not on the basis of knowledge they never knew. The person in the most remote jungle, who never heard of Jesus, will be judged differently than the person who is only a television or radio broadcast away from experiencing the gospel. 

 

     The greater your privilege - the greater your responsibility. As much is given to you – must is expected of you. In other words: If the gospel was plainly presented to you, yet you clearly rejected it, you will be judged within that knowledge. What’s the theory here? God’s judgment is based upon our response to the message we have received. God will never hold you accountable for what he doesn’t tell you. He is a just and fair God!

 

     At the same time, He will not let you die without giving you the opportunity to hear His Word and accept His invitation to salvation. Even those who never heard of Christ are given a message about the character of God through His handiwork and creation. “The heavens are telling the glory of God; they are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship. Day and night they keep on telling about God. Without a sound or word, silent in the skies, their message reaches out to all the world. The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it and moves out across the skies as radiant as a bridegroom going to his wedding, or as joyous as an athlete looking forward to a race! The sun crosses the heavens from end to end and nothing can hide from its heat.” Psalms 19:1-6 TLB

 

     Our natural world is God’s first missionary. Where there is no Bible - there are sparkling stars. Where there are absent ministers – there are sensational seasons. Where there is no testament of Scripture, there is a testament of breathtaking sunsets. If there is but one soul who has nothing but nature itself, then nature is enough to reveal something about God to that one soul. “Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power. So they will have no excuse when they stand before God at Judgment Day.” Romans 1:20

 

     I’m sure you’ve heard this common objection multiple times: How can a loving God send anyone to hell, especially someone who never heard the Good News of Jesus? If people suppress God’s truth in order to live their own way, they will have no excuse and must endure the consequences of ignoring it.

 

     Tomorrow: “What will be judged?”

 

Heavenly Father,

 

     Those of us who have accepted Your invitation to salvation need never fear Judgment Day, but anxiously anticipate it. Our prayer is that we may one day hear “Well done thy good and faithful servant”.  Help us hold steadfast to our faith in these trying and evil times. You are truly all we need. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Denise Grant - Just "clay" in the Master Potter's hands.

 

"If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under." ~Ronald Reagan

 

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14