The Judgement of God

A lot of people today have valid questions about the judgement of God. Is there really going to be a judgement? What is judgement like? Who is going to be judged? Can a loving God really condemn people to hell? These are all great questions that the Bible answers for us.
God gives us a picture of judgement in the book of Revelation 20:11-15. Here we are told about a great white throne with God seated upon it. Then we get a look at who is present at judgement. The holy scripture says, “I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God.” So yes, there really is a judgement coming for all of us. Every one of us will stand before God for judgement regardless of our earthly status. It won’t matter if we are wealthy, middle class, or poor as a church mouse, we will all stand before God. Since we are going to stand in judgment before God, then we should want to know what His standard for judgement is going to be.

God is holy and righteous.

His judgement is also holy and righteous according to His standard, not man’s. God as the sovereign being has the right to make the rules and enforce them. We see this principle displayed over and over again in His holy word. God’s righteous judgement means that it is perfect and without flaw. We are told again in Revelation chapter 20 that God will open books at the judgement and that we will be judged according to the things in these books. One of the books at judgement is the Book of Life. This book contains the names of everyone who is saved and who is now adopted into the family of God. We are also told the fate of those who are not children of God and who are not written in the Book of Life – they are cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second death, it is eternal hell. God in His righteous judgement must condemn all those who are disobedient to Him and their final end is eternal hell.

This Book of Life sounds important.

How do I make sure that my name is written in it so that I can go to heaven? Only those who are obedient to God’s word and remain faithful will find their names in the Book of Life at judgement. Revelations 3:5 says that the ones who overcome will have their names in the Book of Life and that Jesus “will confess our names before God and his angels.” We are also told that our obedience to God includes being obedient to His gospel. The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ and is embodied in His death, burial, and resurrection. The wise and honest heart asks how one can be obedient to Jesus’ death, His burial and His resurrection.

The answer lies in the sacred and holy act of baptism.

In the Book of Romans, the Apostle Paul shows us how to walk the “Roman Road” to salvation. In chapter 6 Paul says that when we are baptized, we are baptized into Christ’s death and that we are buried with Christ in baptism. Being immersed in water symbolizes both the death of Christ and His burial. Then as we are raised out of the water, we are likened to Christ being resurrected from the grave. In this manner we are obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ and we have our names written in the Book of Life.

We are told in the Book of Acts that there is going to be a resurrection of the dead.  This resurrection of the dead includes those written in the Book of Life and those not found in that book. On that day, when we stand before Him, we will understand what the writer of the book of Hebrews meant when he said, “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
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Friend, you can make sure that when you stand before the Living God and He judges you eternally that you know that you are saved. Simply be obedient with His word by believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, repent of your past sinful life, and live for Jesus. Confess that Jesus is the Son of God and be immersed in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for the remission of your sins. Its as easy as that to make sure that your name is written in the Book of Life and that you have a mansion in heaven with your name written on it.

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