Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser
“11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (Rev. 20: 11-12).
Life is not a practice round for another life sometime where you don’t keep score. It’s serious business, the score is being kept. The accountant in Heaven is working and looking at what you do with your life, so that everyone will give account of his life (Rom 14:12). God keeps the score. How do you stand on the score card of the Lord? All unbelievers who have ever lived will stand before a great white throne and they will be judged. Indeed, it’s a “great white throne”, representing God’s power, purity and authority.
All unbelievers, great and small, all people through all ages who rejected God’s gift of salvation through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, will be made to stand before Him and receive judgement. Charges will be read to each and every unbeliever before sentencing. God knows every minute detail of what each of us has done and how we have lived. Nothing in our lives escapes God searching eye (Ps. 139:1-4).
Never think that at the Great White Throne Judgment, you will be able to complain and give excuses to God. There will be no debate over your guilt or innocence. God sits on the throne as Holy judge in the person of Jesus Christ. You will stand before Him as guilty and condemned prisoner. Thankfully, we who believe in Jesus Christ and have received Him as our Lord and Saviour have our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and have absolutely no reason to fear. Our punishment has already been taken by Jesus on the cross. We are assured that we will enjoy heaven with Him forever.
" Those who depend on their own efforts to reach heaven will instead find themselves in the lake of fire - eternally separated from God. "
In order for your name to be recorded in the Book of life, you must reject the notion that your own righteousness will be sufficient. “16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” ( Gal 2:16). Christians whose names are written in the Book of Life are never judged by their deeds and will not be present at the great white throne judgement.
As part of the proceedings, a set of books will be opened in addition to the Book of Life. So what information is in this set of books? Revelation 20:12 tells us that another set of books records the good and bad deeds of every person. At the end of the age, everybody will be judged by the contents of either the Book of Life or the set of books recording their deeds. All of us have the option to reject the Book of Life and have our lives judged by the deeds recorded in the other books. Everyone is judged according to whether or not they’ve accepted Christ as their Saviour and their name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Those who have been redeemed are welcomed into heaven. Those who refuse to believe in Christ must bear the penalty of their sin and are cast into the lake of fire (John 3:18; Rom. 6:23). There is no board of appeals in heaven. Once we appear before Christ, our character and eternal destination are fixed.
If anyone has only good deeds recorded there, with no sins whatsoever, that person will be worthy of heaven. However, God’s standard is complete moral perfection. If He finds just one sin recorded there, no matter how small, the sentence will be an eternity of suffering in the lake of fire. No one except Jesus Christ has ever lived without sinning (2 Cor. 5:21). The trouble is, nobody can keep God’s perfect moral standard. You haven’t loved the Lord with all your soul and all your mind, which is the first commandment and the greatest of all the commandments. We all haven’t, we’ve come short of God’s requirement. We’ve fallen short of what God says we have to do to go to heaven. It has to be provided for us and that’s what Christ did for us through His death and resurrection. He has given us His righteousness that we don’t deserve ( 2 Cor. 5:21). We deserved Hell but believers will go to Heaven because of what Christ did and what He offers (Eph. 2:8-9). We must not trust anything else, but many want to throw away the rule book, which is the Bible.
The good news is that you have the opportunity today to choose which record will be used at the end of the age. However, when you die, it will be too late. In order to have your name permanently written in the Book of Life, you have to accept God’s gift of salvation simply by placing your faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins. There is a reward in heaven. I know I’m going to heaven because of what Christ did on the cross. God took my sins and laid on Him to die a terrible and shameful death. He loves you, He is willing to save you and change your life. Open your heart to Jesus in a new way for Him to transform you to a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17).
“And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15). All judgment has been committed to Jesus Christ (John 5:22) because He knows us perfectly and is just, holy, honest, and trustworthy. Those who place their faith in Him will never be disappointed. Rather, their names are permanently and irrevocably written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 21:27). Those who depend on their own efforts to reach heaven will instead find themselves in the lake of fire – eternally separated from God. This is the final hell, a place of eternal punishment for unbelievers who reject the gift of salvation through Christ our Lord. No one who rejects Christ will escape the lake of fire.
Deciding which destination (heaven or hell) we will find ourselves has been left to us, a choice to be made only in this life. When all of us stand before God, believers to receive rewards in heaven, and unbelievers at the great white throne to receive eternal punishment in hell. God will just mete out the consequences of the choice we made while on earth. The only way to receive eternal life which is life with Christ, life with God and life in heaven, is through Jesus Christ, and now is the time to receive Him if you haven’t already done so. This decision must not be postponed because we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Anyone’s life can end before tomorrow morning. Tomorrow doesn’t exist for everybody so choose wisely, receive salvation now.
And if you will, you may pray this prayer:
Dear Lord: I recognize that I am a sinner and need to be saved.
I understand that Jesus died in my place and suffered the judgment of all of my sins.
I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and He is at the right hand of the father.
Lord Jesus, I surrender my Life to you.
Come and Live in my heart and be my Lord and saviour.
Thank You for saving me. AMEN!
If you have received Christ as your Lord and Saviour, now is the time to share the good news of the gospel with someone you know who has not yet chosen to join the family of God. Make this your top priority. Let’s remember that we are the light of this world, and as we think of the plight of others, however, we can let our light so shine in such a manner that they will perceive the presence of Jesus in our lives and be drawn to His love and forgiveness.
