The Day of Judgement

-

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matt. 25:13).

A day will come when all of humanity will give an account. Each of us will stand before the judgment seat of God, and the book of our lives will be spread open for all to see. God will then make a judgment according to what each person has done. God’s judgment will not be questioned. He shows no partiality, and His judgments are righteous. The standard by which all people will be judged is the perfect law of God.

Against the skeptics and the secularists who assert that mankind will not be held accountable for its actions, Jesus told His disciples that one day “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:32).

God has promised that the Day of Judgment will come. It might be tomorrow or it might be in a thousand years. No one knows. The exact time of Christ’s return to judge the world is a mystery to everyone except the Father. We might not know the time, but one thing we can be sure of is that how we live in the here and now will determine God’s judgment of us on that fearful day.

Jesus tells us to keep watch over our lives, to be ready when the Lord appears again. He expounds on this warning through two parables (Matt. 25). He tells a story of ten virgins—five whose lamps are filled when the bridegroom arrives, and five whose lamps are empty. The first five join the bridegroom at the wedding feast while the last five are locked outside. Next He describes three servants whose master entrusted talents to each of them. Two put their talents to good use. The third hides his away. Upon his return, the master is sorely displeased with the third servant, and he orders him to be cast outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Those who are not covered by Christ will be condemned on the Day of Judgment. They will be cast out like weeds among the wheat. They will be gathered by the angels and engulfed in the flames of perdition. But those covered by the righteousness of Christ will be blessed by God, they will dine at the wedding feast of the Lamb, and they will dwell in the kingdom of heaven forever. How should God’s coming judgment affect your behavior (your righteousness)? Consider often today God’s judgment. Examine your thoughts and actions to see if they are not, indeed, worthy of judgment. If you are a Christian, thank God that you have an Advocate to speak in your defense.

Popular posts from this blog

Speaking in tongues for today - Charles Stanley

-
Image
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. … But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. … And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. … Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way - 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7, 28, 30—31 The Lord Jesus Christ had come and gone. The church—newly birthed—was in a transition time. The new covenant was seen as a threat to the Jewish leaders; therefore, there was persecution for those who had chosen to follow Christ. The new religion, in its infant stages, had no Bible, few leaders, and absolutely no support from the government. Astounding that it survived, isn’t it?  How in the world did it survive with so little going for it? Power. Not just a force, but mighty, visible power. Th...
Read more

What is the glory (kabod) of God?

-
Image
2 CORINTHIANS 4:17 "This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Scripture places a high value on God 's glory, and it is not hard to figure out why. Since the inherent glory of the Lord is something that He will not share with others (Isa. 42:8), we know that His glory is something that He prizes highly; indeed, He prizes it more highly than anything else. We should, therefore, set the glory of God as the goal and overarching emphasis of our lives. Whatever we lose for the sake of making the Lord's glory known will be worth it when we see the dazzling light and beauty of; the divine glory (28:5; Rev. 21:23). Glory has to do with light and beauty, but those aspects do not sum up what the Bible means when it speaks of the glory of God. Interestingly, the Hebrew word kabod , which is translated into English as "glory," has the root meaning of "weight" or "heaviness....
Read more

The Holy Spirit causes us to cry out: Abba, Father

-
Image
Pentecostés. Óleo sobre lienzo, 275 × 127 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) To bring out the same truth in another way, Paul says God sent Jesus (as a Man) to live under the Law in order “to redeem those under law, that we [Jews and Gentiles ] might receive the full rights [adoption] of sons” ( Galatians 4:5).  By “full rights” or “adoption” he means entering into the privileges and responsibilities of sonship. He uses it also of the sonship of Israel (Romans 9:4). Galatians 4:1, 2 indicate that the son and heir of a wealthy family in Paul’s day would be treated as a slave until he became of age.  Then he would receive the adoption, that is, all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that belonged to an adult member of that family. Adoption was also used in the modern sense, so that Gentiles who were not sons of Abraham became true heirs, true sons of God , by faith.  Jesus died, not just to save us from the fires of hell, bu...
Read more