Here Comes the Judge: Two Future Judgments With Different Results

Believers will one day receive new eternal bodies. Jesus is going to come back, and when he does, he’ll raise the bodies of every person who has ever lived and died on this planet. Our souls will be reunited with these new bodies, and we’ll then enter eternity. That’s what we talked about in the previous post. 

One part of Jesus’s return, though, can be a downer. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” We’re excited about getting new eternal bodies, but the word “judgment” tempers that excitement. For the believer, that shouldn’t be the case. 

First, let’s understand that judgment is coming and that Jesus will be the Judge. Here’s one of the things he said:

For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son… And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. (John 5:22, 27)

Again, in the same way that the resurrection of believers and unbelievers won’t necessarily happen at the same time, the judgment won’t happen at the same time either. When unbelievers are resurrected, they will stand before God at the Great White Throne. 

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done…And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-12, 15)

Nobody likes to talk about this. That passage isn’t one of those uplifting sections of Scripture you’ll see quoted on a greeting card. It’s sobering to think about, but it’s a truth that God wanted us to know. 

Here’s the scene as John describes it: Jesus is on the throne, and unbelievers stand before him. The book of life is there, along with other books. The book of life contains the names of all who belong to Christ, those who accepted the death of Jesus as payment for their sins. The other books contain all the works of the people standing there. If your name is not in the book of life, you’ll be judged by your works. Were you perfect? Of course not; no one is. They’ve sinned, so they’ll have to pay for their sins because they chose not to give their lives to the One who died in their place. The ultimate result of this judgment is that they will be thrown into the lake of fire: everlasting destruction, hell, eternal suffering.

That’s depressing. It’s disturbing. But it’s reality.

It’s disturbing to God, too. He was so disturbed by it that he sent his Son to earth to die for your sins so you wouldn’t have to. 

Every person at this judgment will know that they have sinned, and they’ll know why they aren’t worthy to be in God’s presence. They’ll see why they’re guilty and finally recognize that Jesus was Lord and Savior all along.

If you’re an unbeliever reading this, have you been hearing God call you to him? I pray that you would say to Jesus, “Please forgive me. I have sinned, and I don’t want to pay for my sins. I know that you died on the cross to pay for them. I accept what you did for me. I accept your forgiveness, I turn from my sins, and I give my life to you.” Is there any reason why you wouldn’t do that today? I plead with you to listen to his voice. If you hear or feel a tugging to come to Jesus, that isn’t your conscience or a voice coming from somewhere evil. That calling can only be from Jesus, who loves you and gave his life for you. Please listen to him. 

If you have accepted Christ, your judgment experience will be completely different. Believers will face the Judge, but this will be at a different place and a different time and for a different purpose. Believers will stand before what the Bible calls the “Judgment Seat of Christ.”

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

Like at the Great White Throne, this isn’t a judgment as much as a sentencing hearing. The subject isn’t whether you’re guilty or not guilty. If you’re a believer, that issue was already settled the moment you believed. There is no condemnation for you (Romans 8:1). The word “no” in that verse means zero, zilch. You’ve sinned, but there is no condemnation for you. Your sins have been paid for by Jesus. You don’t have to pay for your sins, because you gave your life to the One who paid your penalty. You will be with God forever.

What this judgment will determine is what heaven will be like for you. 

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)

Because God is grace, all who accept his forgiveness will have eternal life with him. The godliest person you know and the mass murderer who came to Christ right before his execution are both saved, because of God’s perfect mercy. One thing I need to accept right now is that I don’t deserve heaven any more than that mass murderer does, because I have sinned. Period. I am only there because God has shown me mercy. 

But God is also perfectly just, so each person’s experience of eternity will be different. It will be based on what we did with what God gave us. So the two people in the previous paragraph may both be in heaven, but their experience of it might not be the same. That’s what the Judgment Seat of Christ is all about. 

One day, believers will stand before Jesus, the Judge. And he’ll say something along the lines of, “Let’s look at your life.” And then you’ll see what all you did for him in this life with the resources he gave you. And then he’ll smile at you and say, “I’m so proud of you! I know how hard it was down there. Here’s your reward.” And you will be overwhelmed with gratitude and wonder about what you receive.

At the judgment seat, some folks are going to be rewarded really well. It’s going to be amazing. Others of us, well, we’ll be in heaven, but the reward might not be as great as other people get. Maybe I didn’t do enough with the resources God gave me. Looking at the 1 Corinthians 3 passage above, we’ll be with Jesus for eternity, but some of us might smell like smoke. That’s just a joke, but you get my point. Even then, our reward will still be incredible.

The bottom line is, though, this judgment isn’t about whether God loves you. It isn’t about whether you did enough or worked hard enough to earn heaven. Those issues have already been decided. This judgment is about what your experience of heaven will be like.

The church needs to talk more about the coming Judgment. For unbelievers, the Great White Throne should be a call to turn to Jesus. Go to Jesus while there is still time. 

For believers, the Judgment Seat is nothing to dread. It’s going to be glorious. It’s a perfect combination of God’s grace and justice. By his grace, all believers are welcome. In his justice, our works determine our experience. 

Remember, what you do in this life doesn’t determine where you’ll go, but it does determine what it will be like when you get there. So live every day with the understanding that what you do will make a difference in eternity.

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