The Bible teaches about God as a Judge, and the judgement of God.
…You have come to God, the Judge of all… (Hebrews 12:23)
The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. (Psalm 9:7-8)
God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day. (Psalm 7:11)
Judgement commenced when the first man and woman who were created, Adam and Eve, took action that God had asked them not to take. They were judged by God and received consequences for their action. (See Genesis 3)
Throughout the history of mankind, as recorded in the Bible, God judges people for their acceptance or rejection of Him, and for their actions, attitudes and thoughts against His standards of righteousness.
No-one is exempt from the judgement of God. The Bible teaches about a future judgement where:
Each person will stand before God to be judged
We will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ”So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” (Romans 14:10-12)
Jesus Christ, who is God, will be the judge
And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. (John 5:27)
God will judge the living and the dead
He (Jesus) commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. (Acts 10:42)
The day of judgement has been determined
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)
Everything we have done, thought or said will be judged including those things that no-one else knows
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:14)
This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ (Romans 2:16)
But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matthew 12:36-37)
We will be judged based on if our name is written in the book of life, which will determine our outcome
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)
[10] And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. [11] It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. [22] I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. [27] Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:10-11,22,27)
People who have received eternal life, during their life on earth, through entering into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, will have their name written in the book of life.
Jesus spoke of the future judgement and the ability to obtain eternal life when he was here on earth:
Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:22-30)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16-18)
God knows that when we face him on that future day of judgement, in and of ourselves, we won’t meet any of his holy, righteous standards, due to our human, sinful nature and that we are condemned to be separated from him forever. Amazingly, he has intervened and provided a way for us to meet his righteous requirements because he loves us so much and longs for us to be with him forever. Faith in Jesus Christ God’s Son, asking him to replace our sin with his righteousness, gives us eternal life and gives us confidence that we will be acceptable to God on that future day of judgement and as a result we will be with God forever.
Are you ready to meet God as your Judge? What will you say? Your acceptance or rejection of God while you are on earth will determine the outcome of God’s judgement – eternal life to live with Him forever or eternal condemnation and separation from God. It’s your choice…
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