A Day of Reckoning for All
Every life ends in an appointment that no one can cancel or postpone. It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Death is not the end of the story. It is the door to the courtroom.
That truth can sound frightening, and for anyone without Christ it should. But for a believer it is a promise as much as a warning. The One who sits on the judgment seat is the Saviour who died for him. “I will answer to God for this one day” should not make a Christian afraid. It should make him faithful, and it should fill his days with purpose.
We believe that every person will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers will appear at the judgment seat of Christ, after He takes His church to Himself, where their works will be tested for reward. Unbelievers will stand at the great white throne after the thousand-year reign of Christ, where they will be judged according to their works and cast into the lake of fire. Your judgment day will not decide your salvation. What you do with Jesus before you die decides that.
God's appointed reckoning, carried out by the Lord Jesus Christ, in which every person gives account of his life: believers for reward at the judgment seat of Christ, and unbelievers for condemnation at the great white throne.
If you stood before Christ today, would you be there to receive a reward, or to answer for your sins?
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For Deeper Study
- Your Eternal Reward: Triumph and Tears at the Judgment Seat of ChristAmazon Erwin W. LutzerA warm, readable pastor's study of the judgment seat of Christ: what will be evaluated, what can be lost, and how to live for reward.
- Things to Come: A Study in Biblical EschatologyAmazon J. Dwight PentecostA classic dispensational survey of prophecy that distinguishes the judgment seat of Christ, the judgment of the nations, and the great white throne.
- Understanding End Times Prophecy: A Comprehensive ApproachAmazon Paul N. BenwareA clear premillennial, pretribulational guide that explains the order of the last things and fairly surveys the other millennial views.
- The Bible and the FutureAmazon Anthony A. HoekemaThe amillennial case for one general resurrection and judgment, stated at its best by a Reformed scholar. Read it to understand the view this article answers.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Eternal State
God will make a new heaven and a new earth, where the redeemed will dwell with Him forever; all who reject Christ will be punished forever in the lake of fire.
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