The Daily Word of Righteousness

Too Hard!, continued

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 good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. (John 5:28,29—NIV)

Every Christian should live in terms of the Day of Resurrection. There is coming a time when we are going to be raised from the dead. What kind of resurrection we have will depend on how we have served the Lord. There will be a vast difference in the Day of Resurrection between the believer who has obeyed Christ and the believer who has lived in the flesh. Don't let anyone talk you out of it. There is no scriptural evidence whatever that grace and mercy will intervene in the Day of Resurrection. What we have sown we are going to reap.

It may be that Christ will choose to save some who are marginal and cast others into the Lake of Fire. These decisions are up to Jesus Christ. He knows the hearts. But do not let anyone tell you that you are not to fear the Judgment Seat of Christ! That person is in delusion and is destroying the work of God.

If you listen to Paul in the third chapter of the Book of Philippians and attain the first resurrection, the resurrection from the dead, you will not be judged in the Day of Resurrection. Your judgment will already have been accomplished in this life as you have suffered under the hand of God, obeying the Spirit, confessing and repenting of your sins.

If however you do not live with the strictness Paul describes, leaving all to gain Christ, living by the power of Christ's resurrection, sharing His sufferings, then you will be raised at the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age. You will stand before the White Throne and be judged according to your behavior. The judgment that will take place after the thousand-year Kingdom Age is the principal administration of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Have you ever sat in court? I have. A jury decided my fate. I was being sued for more than my insurance was able to cover. Let me tell you that this is not pleasant. All you think about is the maximum penalty that can issue from the court.

The maximum penalty that can issue from the White Throne is eternal residence in the Lake of Fire. Imagine how you will feel as you wait for your time to appear, realizing that the maximum penalty is eternal separation from God, from all that is lovely, all that is wonderful, beautiful, desirable, to take your place with Satan, his angels, the demons, and the wicked of mankind.

You will be numb with fear.

This is why the Apostle Paul persuaded men. He knew what it will be like to stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Paul stated clearly that Christians who continue to live in the appetites and lusts of the flesh will not inherit the Kingdom of God; also that those who do not put their sins to death through the Spirit will drive out the eternal life they received when they came to the Lord.

To be continued.