“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
God, the Father, gave all power and authority and judgment to his holy son Jesus. And the gospel that Jesus preached is the standard by which the whole world is judged. The problem that most people have is not knowing exactly how or when this judgment will be. Rather than listen to the word of God, they let their imagination turn their mind toward the future. They see no fulfillment in God’s word today so they incorrectly assume that it will happen later, at “the last day.”
The last day is the last time that God will call to the inhabitants of this earth. His son Jesus has spoken the will of the Father for the last time. This last day dawned with the coming of Christ, and it will close with your death.
“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” (John 5:22) How does the son judge? “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48) During this last day, while we live.
“And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.” (John 9:39) They that cannot see are given sight by the Holy Spirit, and now see the fulfilling of God’s word. But they that see and do not obey have received “strong delusion” from God and are allowed to believe a lie, which blinds them. (2 Thessalonians 2:11)
When does judgment come? Two thousand years ago, Jesus said these words, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” (John 12:31) Now, “at the present time.”
John the apostle wrote, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” (Revelation 20:11) Why was there no place for them? Because, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15) When? As Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world.” Do you see or are you blinded?
Where is the great white throne? “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” (Isaiah 66:1) Seeing that the earth is his footstool, and heaven is his throne, where does that place the inhabitants of the earth? “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” When? Jesus said, “now.” There is no place to hide from the all-seeing eyes of the Lord and his judgment.
Jesus said, “he that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words” will be judged by the same words that they reject. How do they reject the words of the gospel? They reject them by refusing to obey them.
The word says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) The fact is, most church members do not study God’s word. Therefore, they are guilty of ignoring these words of the Lord, and these same words have judged them, now.
Jesus said, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) But the truth is, most professing Christians do not love their enemies, they do not do good to them, mostly they ignore them, or seek revenge by bitter words or deeds. They are judged already by the words of Jesus.
The gospel tells us, “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” (Romans 14:21) “Any thing” that another is offended by. Words that should never be said. Deeds that should not be done. Habits that are offensive. These things are a stumbling block to weaker brothers and sisters. Those that do such things have rejected the words of the gospel and are judged guilty by the same words. Now!
Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) The truth is, most people in church congregations accumulate all the wealth they can, for as long as they are able. They never reach a place to stop. They pay little attention to the words of Jesus, and because their time and energy is spent for earthly gain, their heavenly treasures are lacking. What is their judgment? The words of Jesus.
We are told that if we do not forgive others their trespasses against us, neither will our Father forgive our trespasses against him. (Matthew 6:14-15) Yet some will not forgive, but expect full forgiveness for themselves. But the word has judged them guilty.
These are just a few of the ways that people ignore God’s word, there are many more. You can expect these things from worldly men and women who don’t know God’s will, but what about those who claim to follow the scripture?
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) What is the will of the Father? That we should not reject the words of his Son, which are the words of life. But, if we reject them, the same words find us guilty. We live in the very last day that God will deal with earth’s inhabitants. Now is the judgment of this world, but so very few realize it. The problem is, their eyes have not been opened by the “Spirit of truth.” They wait for all things natural.
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) There are those who are dead in Christ, who have crucified the flesh. (Galatians 5:24) And the word says to them, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3) And there is another class of dead. Those that are dead in trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1) But, if they turn their heart to the Lord, they are brought up out of the grave of sin and made alive in Christ.
Thus, Jesus said, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” (John 5:25) The voice of the Son of God is the gospel he preached. The born again hear it, and the awakened sinner hears it, but some will never hear it. All are judged by that voice. Now!
If the judgment is future, as most people suppose, then when were the saints judged, who came out of the graves after the resurrection of Jesus? (Matthew 27:52-53) They went from the grave directly to the holy city of God. They were saints, and they were sleeping for a little season, waiting for Christ to call them out. And he did when he said, “now is the judgment of this world.” And they heard him say, enter in my good and faithful servant. They were judged and found worthy two thousand years ago.
