Greg Laurie - What the Bible Says about Judgment Day (03/30/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie opens Revelation 20 to explain Judgment Day and hell, stressing that everyone faces judgment—believers at Christ's seat for rewards, unbelievers at the great white throne leading to the lake of fire. He urges turning to Jesus now for forgiveness and heaven, as the second death has no power over those in the first resurrection.
The Reality of Judgment Day According to Scripture
Let us turn in our Bibles tonight to Revelation chapter 20. Revelation 20. Hurry. It is at the end of your Bible. I mean it is not rocket science. Let us pray.
Father we believe your word is true. We believe what you say about this life and what you say about the afterlife. We believe what Scripture teaches on the topic of heaven as well as the topic of hell. So now as we approach a difficult subject, in some ways an uncomfortable subject, yet it is a mandatory subject. Because this is something we all want to be certain about. Make sure that we are right with you so we can see you one day in heaven. So speak to us as we open your word for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
The title of my message is, "What the Bible Says About Judgment Day in Hell." I heard about a Bible study group that was meeting and they were discussing the topic of the final judgment. And the group leader said, "You know, you never know when that day is going to come. When you could die. So you all need to be prepared." Right? And everyone agreed with them. Then the group leader asked, "Let me pose a question to you guys. Sort of a hypothetical question. What if you had only four weeks to live and then came the judgment day. How would you live for the last four weeks of your life?"
And one man said, "Well I would go out on the streets and share the gospel with everyone I came into contact with." The group leader said, "Oh that is good." Everyone thought that was a great comment. And then a lady said, "You know, I would go to my family and tell them how much I love them and get involved in my church. And I want to be serving the Lord up until the last moment of my life." And again, everyone thought that was a great comment.
And then one guy in the back was kind of waving his hand. The group leader called on him and very loudly said, "I would go to my mother-in-law's house." And the group leader said, "I don't understand that. Explain it." He says, "Well if I went to my mother-in-law's house that would be the longest four weeks of my life." So these are the jokes people. How many of you are mothers-in-law? Raise your hand up. Sorry. We love you.
Why Judgment Matters for Everyone
Well last Thursday I shared what I called a hellfire and brimstone message. Because as I mentioned as we were going through Acts and we noted how the topic of judgment was dealt with and the preaching of the apostles. But my comment was, it seems like it has been a long time since we have heard a hellfire and brimstone message. So now you can say you have heard one if you came last Thursday. And if you didn't come it is posted online. And you can watch it on our Webcast.
But now I want to go beyond that and talk about what the Bible says about the final judgment. Clearly this is no joke because the Bible teaches that every man and every woman will stand before God in a day of judgment. There are countless scriptures that address this topic. Let me just give you a few. And we will have them up on the screen so you can write the references down and look them up later.
But one of them is Matthew 7:2. Jesus says, "With what judgment you judge you will be judged. With the measure you use it will be measured back to you." Again Matthew 12:36 Jesus speaks, "Every idle word a man will speak he will give an account of on the day of judgment." Then in Romans 14:10. "Why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God."
Yes. Judgment is coming. But listen to this. There is not only a final judgment for non-Christians. There is also a final judgment for Christians. For we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:10, "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad."
What Happens When a Christian Dies?
We are going to come back to that verse in a moment. I don't want that to frighten you if you are a believer. Because if you have put your faith in Christ you have nothing to fear. Because Jesus has forgiven you and he has justified you, you can be certain you will not stand at the great white throne judgment. And we will deal with that a little bit later in our message.
But that is the final judgment for non-believers. No. You as a Christian will not be there. But you will face a different kind of judgment. But before we get to that let us just answer this question. What happens when a Christian dies? Simple answer. If you put your faith in Christ you go immediately to heaven. There is no stopovers. There is no suspended state of animation. There is no purgatory. There is no soul sleep as Jehovah's Witnesses would suggest. No. You go straight into God's presence.
The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. This is clear in Scripture. So here is the bottom line. As Christians we are all going to go to heaven one day. There are two basic ways we will get there. Either death or the rapture.
The First Resurrection and No Fear of Death
There is a generation, we do not know if we are that generation though we could be, that will not see death. But they will be caught up in a moment in the twinkling of an eye to meet the Lord in the air. This in the Bible is called the first resurrection. Revelation 20:6 says, "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power."
Now the second death is that final great white throne judgment that we will get to later. But the first resurrection. When you are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Speaking of this event, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:53, "This corruptible, meaning this body, must put on incorruption. This mortal must put on immortality."
And when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then will be brought to pass the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is your sting?" That means the believer does not have to fear death.
Let me put it another way. This means that a Christian never dies. You say, "Well no Greg you are wrong. Christians die all the time." Oh I know. I am not saying we do not die physically. I am saying this mortal, this body, will put on immortality. The soul lives on. That will never die.
And we have this hope in Christ as the Getty sang a few moments ago in that beautiful song In Christ Alone. They sang, "We have no fear in death. That is the power of God in me. No guilt in life. No fear in death." That is absolutely right. That is why Paul said to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Grieving with Hope and Reunion in Heaven
Of course when we lose a loved one we grieve like anyone else. Maybe we grieve more because our love is deeper. But the Bible says we do not grieve as those that do not have hope. And in a technical sense someone is not lost if you know where they are. Right? So we know where our loved ones that have preceded us to heaven are. And we know we will be with them.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 speaking of this event, the rapture, also known as the first resurrection, says we will be caught up together with them. That means you will just be going about your business on a given day. And without warning you will be caught up in a nanosecond, in a flash, to meet the Lord. You will immediately be reunited with your loved ones that have gone before you.
Therefore we should not put a period where God has put a comma. Death is not the end. It is a transition from A to B, from earth to heaven for the Christian. But we will be reunited again with our loved ones.
And listen to this. It would also appear we will be reunited with those that we helped lead to Christ. Because Paul said of the Thessalonians to whom he had ministered in 1 Thessalonians 2:19, "What is our hope, our joy, our crown of rejoicing? Are not even you in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?"
So Paul is effectively saying that these people that he has reached with the gospel will be his crown of rejoicing. We would have grouped around us those we helped bring to Christ.
Rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ
And some might say, "Well I am going to be really lonely in heaven." But wait a second. You do not know how wide your influence is. And check this out. It is not over till it is over.
See you think about your life and the time you have lived so far. And you say, "Well I do not know that I have reached thousands or hundreds or maybe even tens." No but wait a second. If you have followed Christ you have been a testimony and you have sown seed. Right? You have told people about your faith. You have spoken up for Jesus Christ.
And maybe that seed will not even break ground this side of heaven. Maybe that seed will not break ground until later. Or maybe one person you led to the Lord today will then go and lead twenty to the Lord twenty years from now. Or maybe that person that you impacted with the gospel will have children and they will raise their children in the way of the Lord. And one of their kids will end up being the next Billy Graham.
You know you will never know. And guess what? All that fruit that goes from generation to generation. It all comes back to you. You are connected to it. You share in it. That is a cool thing, isn't it? God is the one that gives the increase. But our job is to water. That is what the Bible says.
I think when you have invested in ministry financially you also share in the reward of it. When we receive an offering and you give in that offering you are investing in the salvation of souls. You are investing in the lives of other people. That is why Paul spoke of the giving to the work of the Lord. And he said in Philippians 4:17, "I do not say this because I want a gift from you. What I want is for you to receive a well earned reward because of your kindness."
So you will be rewarded for your faithfulness to God. So let us talk a little bit about those well earned rewards in heaven. Because I mentioned a judgment for Christians. When you get to heaven before the second coming of Christ there is going to be something called the judgment seat of Christ that you will stand before. And this is a time when you will be rewarded.
Biblical Promises of Rewards
The Bible speaks a lot about rewards. Jesus said in Matthew 6:4, "Your Father who sees you in secret will one day reward you openly." In Luke 14:14 He said, "At the resurrection of the godly God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you." Jesus says in Revelation 22, "Behold I am coming quickly and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work."
Coming back to a text I quoted now. The judgment seat of Christ. This is an important verse. 2 Corinthians 5:10 "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to what he has done whether it be good or bad."
Now understand. This is not a judgment about you getting to heaven. The fact of the matter is this judgment takes place in heaven. So you are standing before Jesus. And what are you judged for. Verse 10 of 2 Corinthians 5. According to what you have done whether it be good or bad.
What the Judgment Seat of Christ Evaluates
So God is going to evaluate your life. He is going to look at what motivated you. Why you did what you did. And what you did with what He gave you. And He is going to make an evaluation. It is interesting that when the Bible says the good or bad. When it says bad it doesn't mean so much of sin that you have committed. See. Because that is dealt with at the cross.
When I believe in Jesus and turn from my sin I am forgiven. I am justified. God has put my past behind me. So I am not going to be judged for the sinful things I have done. But this evaluation of your life whether it be good or bad is really an evaluation of well what did you do with your life that God then gave to you.
The word for bad that Paul uses could be translated evil of another kind. Another way to translate it is good for nothingness. Or even another way to translate it worthlessness. This would suggest that the purpose of the judgment seat of Christ is a public declaration or revealing of the essential character of the motives of the individual.
In other words the question is going to be asked what did you do with the life that God gave you? What did you do with the gifts God gave you? What did you do with the time God gave you? What did you do with the resources God gave you? Did you develop them and seek to multiply them and use them for His glory? Or was it all about you?
Was it just about you being happy and you finding fulfillment and you, you, you. Well if that is the case then this is going to be a disappointing day. Hey good news. You are in heaven. Bad news. Loser. You have nothing. But by God's grace you are there. But how sad that is really. Wasting your time.
Don't Be Found Lacking on God's Scales
This reminds us of the words of Daniel, what Daniel said to King Belshazzar. A wicked king. He said, "You have been weighed in God's balances and you have been found lacking." Loose paraphrase. Belshazzar you are a light weight man. You are a spiritual bantamweight.
I don't know about you but when I get on a scale I always weigh more than I want to. Right. I don't like getting on scales. But on God's scales you don't want to be a light weight. On God's scales you want to be a heavy weight. You want to have substance and meaning in your life.
I heard about a husband that stepped on one of those penny scales that tell you your fortune and weight after you drop in your coin. So he got this little card out and he says, "Listen to this." And he read it to his wife. It says, "I am energetic, bright, resourceful and very handsome." His wife looked at the scale and said, "Yeah and I got your weight wrong too."
But listen. God's scales are never off. The Lord is aware of everything that we are doing. And at the judgment seat of Christ I will give an account of what I have done with my life.
Building on the Right Foundation
Now elaborating on this Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:11, "No one can lay any foundation than the one we have, Jesus." Now anyone who builds on this foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. There is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done.
So the idea is God is going to look at your life. He is going to look at what motivated you to do what you did. According to this and other passages our presence in the kingdom of God is guaranteed by the promises of God. But our position in the kingdom of God will be earned or lost by the quality of service we render here and now.
Like an Awards Ceremony in Heaven
Let me illustrate. Because I don't know if we are all getting this. Instead of thinking of a trial where we are sentenced to say death, this is more like an awards ceremony. Think of the Emmys, the Grammys, the Oscars. And you show up and you have been nominated for an award or awards.
And we have seen these ceremonies, you know, where the people all walk the red carpet. And then they go up there and they take their seat. And you know there is always that moment where the presenter comes up and the winner for whatever award it is. And then the camera will go to split screen. And you will see every one of their faces. They are all just looking, you know, is. And they will announce the winner. And the person, oh they can't believe it. They are shocked. And the others are all smiling. They are all liars. They are actors, right?
All right. I hate this. Why am I here? You know. They wanted to win. I think it is kind of cruel how the camera wants to get that tight shot of their reaction. Losing. But this is sort of the idea. We get to heaven and rewards are given out for faithfulness.
Now we think, "Oh man, all the good awards are going to go to the spiritual heavyweights, you know. Billy Graham, Corrie ten Boom, Jim Elliott, other men and women of God I have heard about. They are going to get all the awards."
Maybe you will be surprised that the person who will sweep the awards will be the little old lady from Pasadena. I am not talking about the one on the Janet Dean song that you have probably heard on the radio. There actually was a woman from Pasadena. Her name was Pearl Good.
And she used to pray for Billy Graham. And if the Graham ever had anything close to a personal intercessor it was Pearl Good who lived in Pasadena. And for many years she prayed in secret for Billy and his crusades. And when the Graham team was made aware of this they started bringing her with them to the crusades so she could pray on sight. And she lived to be ninety.
And at her funeral Billy's wife Ruth got up and said of Pearl Good, quote, "Here lie the mortal remains of much of the secret of Bill's ministry." End quote. I mean she wasn't a missionary. She wasn't an author. She didn't have a hit song in Christian radio. But while Billy was doing his part Pearl was doing her. While Billy was preaching Pearl was praying.
And this is what we need to remember. This isn't about how big time you are or how famous you are. This is about you being faithful with what God has called you to do. That is it. Not about what He has called the person next to you to do or what He has called me to do or someone else to do. It is all about what He has set before you. Have you been faithful? And if you have been you will be rewarded in this day.
The Crowns Awaited for Faithfulness
You say, "Well what kind of rewards are we talking about here?" Well crowns are going to be given out according to Scripture. There is a crown of rejoicing that I already alluded to. We could also call this the soul winner's crown. This would seem to refer to the fact that if you have led others to Christ, there is a special crown given to you.
Number two, there is the crown of life. This is given to the man or woman who resists temptation and perseveres under trial. You know some people have harder lives than others, right? Some people skate through life relatively unscathed. They never have a huge tragedy. They never get a terminal illness. They never lose a loved one. They never have any major event of trauma happening. They just kind of skate through life.
And we say, "That is not fair because I have had such a hard life." Yeah maybe you have. But guess what? You will be rewarded for that. And if you have been faithful during those times of testing and you have honored the Lord despite your setbacks or hardships or disabilities or illnesses, or if you have resisted temptation successfully, you will receive the crown of life.
James 1:12. "Blessed is the man that endures temptation and perseveres under trial. For when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those that love him."
Number three, there is the crown of righteousness. The crown of righteousness. Paul speaks of it in 2 Timothy 4:8. He says, "The time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. Now there is waiting for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me in that day. And not to me only but to all who love His appearing."
This is the crown for faithful living. This is a crown for the person that longs for the return of Christ. This is the crown for the person that lives in the light of heaven.
The Fate of Non-Believers After Death
Okay. So that is good. It is all good for the believer. Not so for the nonbeliever. What happens when they die? Well they go to Hades. And we talked about this last time. That is what Luke 16 was all about. Remember it was not a parable because the name was used. Right? Lazarus. We do not ever find names in parables. So this is a literal story. This is a behind the scenes look at the afterlife.
And what did we learn in our study of Luke 16? Well we saw two people that died. One was a believer and one was a nonbeliever. The nonbeliever, the rich man. His sin was not being rich. It was just having no time for God. Rejecting God and being heartless. And then we have a believer, Lazarus, who was impoverished.
So what did we learn from that hellfire and brimstone message? Well number one we learned that people in hell suffer. Because Luke 16:23 says, "Being in torments in Hades that man lifted his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom."
The fact that the rich man spoke of torment indicates that suffering is a very real thing in the hereafter. The word torment is used four times in the text of the story of Luke 16. That means people in Hades, or we can also say hell, are fully conscious and in pain. Notice there is no hope of release. You can't pray the person out. You can't hope they will be reincarnated or something like that. No this is a final thing.
Hell Is Permanent and Self-Chosen
Number two. Once you have crossed over to Hades or hell you cannot cross over to heaven. It is a permanent deal. Now I know people have a hard time with this. Because the immediate thing that comes to our mind is well this just doesn't seem fair. This doesn't seem loving. Why would God who loves us do such a thing?
I like what J.I. Packer said on this topic. And I quoted this before. I will quote it again. He says, "Scripture sees hell as self-chosen. Hell appears as God's gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually choose. Either to be with God forever worshiping Him or without God forever worshiping themselves."
Listen. God doesn't want people to go to hell. He says, "He takes no delight in the death of the wicked." You are made in God's image. He loves you. And He has shown this love by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die and suffer in your place. However God has also given you a free will and He won't force you to go to heaven if you don't want to.
So the idea here is if you end up in hell this is really your fault.
The Great White Throne Judgment Described
But now we are going to read about what happens to those that reject God's loving offer. The course they have set for themselves were brought to a heavenly courtroom that is for non-believers only as they face their destiny.
There is a judge but there is no jury. There are no attorneys. There is no hope of a mistrial. There is no appeal. There is no parole. The decision that is made is perfect and binding for eternity.
Let's read about it. Revelation 20:11. "Then I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away. There was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened."
Notice it is plural. You might underline books. "And another book," notice that singular, "was opened. Which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things that were written in the books." Plural.
"The sea gave up the dead that were in it. Death and Hades delivered up the dead that were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
We will stop there. This is a future event. This has not yet happened.
The Second Death Explained
So what happens to a Christian when they die? They go straight to heaven. What happens to a non-Christian when they die? They go straight to Hades and or hell, as described in Luke 16. It is a place of torment. A place of suffering.
Ultimately, Hades will empty the inhabitants at the great white throne judgment. And that is what we are reading about right here. This is what the Bible calls the second death. Blessed are they that are a part of the first resurrection, the rapture. They will have no place in the second death.
That is the final judgment, the great white throne judgment we are reading about here. It is mentioned again in Revelation 21:8. "But cowards who turn away from Me," God speaking, "and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshippers, and all liars, their doom is in the lake that burns with fire. This is the second death."
Jesus discussed the second death as hell, which is eternal separation from God. Again let me emphasize, if you are a Christian you will not be here. You say, "Well how do you know that?" Because Romans 5:9 says, "Since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will save us from God's judgment."
Who Will Face the Great White Throne Judgment?
And since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of His Son, while we were still His enemies, we will be saved from eternal punishment by His life.
So who will be there? Who will be at this judgment? Everyone who has rejected God's offer of forgiveness through Christ. It will be as though you have been arrested, charged, and found guilty. And now you are held in jail until your day of sentencing. The appeals are over. The judgment day is coming.
And the picture before us shows everyone standing before God. God is no respecter of persons. It does not matter if these people were known or unknown. If they were kings, queens, emperors, presidents, prime ministers, rock stars, actors, billionaires. No one will be exempt.
But why are they there? Because they do not believe. Jesus said in John 3:18, "He that believes in me is not condemned. But he that does not believe in me is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the Son of God."
The Purpose of the Final Judgment
Question. If the unbeliever is already condemned, then what is the purpose of the last judgment? I mean, if their fate is sealed, and there is no hope for a pardon, why go through this? Answer. Listen. The purpose of the final confrontation between God and man is to clearly demonstrate to the nonbeliever why they are condemned.
The fact of the matter is if God was fair, which means He would give us what we would deserve, everyone would go to hell. Don't say God is not fair because the fact is God is beyond fair. God is merciful and God is gracious.
You want fair? I want justice. Oh. Why don't you restate it? Throw me in hell now. That is what you deserve. You say, "Well I don't agree with that." It doesn't really matter what you agree with. Well I don't really think that. It doesn't matter what you think. This is what God says.
I know that sometimes we choke on this, "Well if God is all loving." Well that is your definition of loving. Because the Bible teaches that God is loving. It teaches that God is righteous. It teaches that God is holy and God is just. And we don't cherry pick the attributes of God we like and throw the other ones aside. It just doesn't work that way. It is a package deal for lack of a better description.
And the Bible tells us that because God is holy He hates sin. Habakkuk 1:13 says of God "His eyes are too pure to look on evil. He can't tolerate wrong." Isaiah 59, "The arm of the Lord is not too short to save nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from God. And your sins have hidden your face so He will not hear."
Why Jesus Had to Die for Our Sins
But that is why the death of Jesus was necessary. As God in effect looked away and put the sin of the world on His beloved Son. And Christ cried out those words, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani." That is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus died there for us.
You see in God's holiness He is unapproachable. In His love He approaches us. Let me restate that. In His holiness He is unapproachable. But in His love He approaches us. He says, "Yeah, I am holy. You can't get to me. But man, I love you. So I am getting to you. And this is the way I am going to do it. I am going to satisfy my righteous demands in the death of my Son who will stand in your place."
And thus we can enter into relationship if you come to me through my Son. That is why the big issue is not how many good things have you done or how many bad things have you done. But the big issue is what have you done with Jesus.
As C.S. Lewis said, and I quote, "No one ever goes to heaven deservingly. And no one ever goes to hell unwillingly." In other words, God doesn't send people to hell. Hell was not created for people. It was created for the devil and his angels, Jesus said. So if a person ends up in hell in this final day, it is a result of their decision.
The Books That Will Be Opened
Based on what? Well the books are open. Verse 12 says. What are these books? Well we are not told. So we can only guess. But there is something written in books in heaven about you that shows that you deserve this.
And you know we record everything nowadays. My goodness. I mean on your computer all that stuff is stored on a hard drive. And they have your history of what you have done. And there are companies now that depending on what kind of phone you have they know exactly where you are and what transactions you have engaged in. And what websites you have visited last. And everywhere you go there is probably a camera mounted taking a picture of you. And then everybody has cameras on their cell phones.
I mean all this stuff is recorded. You don't think God has more high tech equipment than us? God sees and hears everything. He knows all. He is omniscient.
The Book of God's Law
So what are these books? Well maybe one of them is a book of God's law. I am speaking of the Ten Commandments. You know sometimes people will say, "Well I don't really need Jesus Christ. I live by the Ten Commandments. That is all the religion I need."
I love it when people say that. Because then I say, "You do? Really? Oh yes. I live by them. Tell me what they are. Let me think now. Thou shalt not lie." They can't remember them. You live by them but you can't remember them.
Don't feel too bad. No one lives by the Ten Commandments. There is only one person that ever has lived by the Ten Commandments. It is obviously a joke and that is why you are laughing. The only person who has ever really kept the Ten Commandments was Jesus. Everyone else has fallen short.
But understand. God didn't give us the commandments, the law if you will, to make us righteous. God gave us the law to show us we will never be righteous enough. Romans 3:19 says, God gave the law that every mouth would be stuffed and all the world may be guilty before God. The law opens our eyes and it shuts our mouth. It shows us God's high standards. And we look at them when we say, "Well shut my mouth. There is no way I can live up to that."
And that is true. You can't. Because we have all broken the commandments. You say, "Well I don't know that I have broken all of them." Yeah but you have broken probably more than you think.
You know what are the commandments? Well number one God says, "I am God. I do not have any other gods before me." A lot of people have broken that one. You love something or someone more than God. Then there is having a graven image. Then there is taking his name in vain. That means to use his name in a frivolous or an insincere manner. Then there is stealing. Then there is lying. Then there is adultery. And the list goes on.
We have broken these commandments. You say, "Okay maybe I have broken a few." Well here is what the Bible says. If you offend one point of the law you are guilty of all of it.
So the commandments were given to drive us into the open arms of Jesus.
Other Books of Record
But just for the person that would say, "I am a good person. I am good." God would say, "Alright let us open this book up. Let us see how good you are. Let us see how many commandments you have actually broken so you will realize you are not as good as you think you are. In fact you are really, really bad like everybody else."
Maybe another book that we will be judged by would be a record of everything we have said or done. Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, God will judge us for everything we do, including every hidden thing, good or bad. Jesus said, "Every idle word that a man speaks you will give an account of on the day of judgment."
Maybe another book would be a record of showing how you fail to live up to your own standards. Because there will be people that say, "Well I live by my own standards. I am not into organized religion. Read Christianity. I am into spirituality. That is what I am into."
Maybe one book would say, "You know what? You are not even into your own spirituality. You break your own lame rules. And there were not even good rules to start with. But you can even live up to your standards, much less God's standards."
And maybe another book might be a record of every time you heard the gospel and rejected it. Because some might say, "Well I never heard this about Jesus." Hold on now. You know, God could say, "Well actually you heard it a bunch. And I have got video to back that up. And here it is. And here you are through life. People confronting you with the gospel. You are blowing them off. You are laughing in their face. You are rejecting it over and over again."
And knowledge brings responsibility.
Degrees of Judgment in Hell
And so before we get to the final book, who is here? Verse 13 and 14. "The sea gave up the dead that were in it." Now I don't think this is so much speaking of people who are buried in the ocean coming to the judgment. Because in Revelation the sea speaks of the multitude.
So effectively this is talking about just humanity. All the people of humanity come here and death and Hades deliver up the dead that were in them. So for those nonbelievers that have died and are in Hades, now Hades is emptied of its occupants and they are here too. And they are judged according to his works.
And now a judgment comes. Now here is an interesting question. Does everyone get judged in the same way? Well let us turn it around and ask the question, Does everyone get the same reward in heaven?
You know we are living in a time where we want everyone to be on equal footing. And if someone is smarter we don't want to acknowledge they are smarter. Someone is better in athletics. We don't want to reward them for that because we don't want someone who isn't as good to feel bad. So we want to be very even.
You know but look, God is not that way. He just says, "Hey, you are faithful. You use what I give you. You will have more rewards than someone who isn't faithful. I am sorry. It is not going to be everybody gets the same."
No. Some are going to be rewarded more than others if you are faithful to God. And for those that are unfaithful, they won't be rewarded. But listen to this. Even as rewards in heaven vary, judgments in hell appear to vary.
So here is another way to state the question. Is Hitler going to get it worse than others? I think the answer would be yes. In Luke 12 Jesus makes a distinction between the servant who knew more than another. And He speaks of a severe judgment, a more severe judgment.
So as there are degrees of reward in heaven there seem to be degrees of punishment in hell.
The Deciding Factor: The Book of Life
But here is the most important book of all. The book of life. Verse 15. "Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
So the nail scarred hand of Jesus searches the book. And the nonbeliever's name is not there. And He says, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
The person begins to tremble. They say, "Wait, wait, wait, wait. Lord, Lord. Did I not prophesy in your name? Did I not cast out demons in your name? Did I not do many wonderful works in your name?" Or maybe some would say, "Did I not receive holy communion in your name? Or did I not be baptized in your name?"
And He will say, "Depart from Me. I never knew you, you worker of iniquity."
Hell Is a Choice – Quotes from Lewis and Keller
Back to that question. How could a God of love do this? Is this an inconsistency on God's part? Again to quote C.S. Lewis, "There are only two kinds of people in the end. Those who say to God, 'Thy will be done.' And those to whom God says in the end, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in hell choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no hell."
Timothy Keller made this statement. And I quote, "People get only in the afterlife what they most wanted. Either to have God as Savior and Master or to be their own Saviors and Masters. Hell is simply one freely chosen path going on forever. We wanted to get away from God. And God in His infinite justice sends us where we wanted to go."
That is it. So this is not what God wants. But if this is what the person wants, this is what they will get.
The Urgent Need to Warn Others
Now in light of this, we have got to warn people. Don't you think? Well yeah. But you know if I bring the topic of hell up to my non-believing friend, it will really offend them. Yeah it might. Truthfully.
But this would be like a doctor, you know, doing tests on a person and discovering they have cancer. And the doctor is saying, "Oh man, you know, I can't tell them they have cancer. They are going on vacation. I don't want to mess their vacation up or really make them miserable. I am just not going to tell them."
So they come in to see the doctor. The doctor says, "Man, tests are great. You are good to go. Don't worry about it." That doctor is guilty of malpractice. That doctor is guilty of malpractice. The doctor is not doing their job.
I know it is uncomfortable. I know it is difficult. I know the person is going to be hurt and filled with anxiety. But tell them so they can then pursue a course of treatment.
Alright. So God criticized the false prophets in the Old Testament who would not tell the people the truth. In Jeremiah 6:14 He says, "They offer superficial treatments for my people's mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when all is war. Are they ashamed when they do these things? No. They do not even blush."
So this is the idea of the preacher that says, "Hey it is good. Man I do not want to tell you you are a sinner. I do not want to beat you down. I want to just lift you up." Yeah that is nice. They are sinners. And people need to know.
Listen. My job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. My job, your job, God's job, is to warn people.
Sharing the Full Gospel with Compassion
Now I am not saying that we should just walk around with big placards with flames painted on them and tell everyone they are going to hell. As I said earlier, I think in this day and age we could use a few more hellfire and brimstone preachers.
I remember years ago I was in Hawaii and some guy was standing on a corner, you know, with a sign. It said, "The wages of sin are death." And he was literally yelling at people, "God hates you. God will judge you."
Well the problem is he was wrong. He was misrepresenting God. So I walked up to him. And he is yelling, "God hates you. God will judge you. You are going to burn." He is yelling the whole time. So I walked up to him. I said, "Excuse me. Can I ask you a question?"
He finally goes, "What?" And I said, "You know, on your sign it says, 'The wages of sin are death.' That is true. That is what the Bible says. But do you know what the rest of that verse says?"
"What?" He yells. "The rest of that verse says, 'But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' Why don't you put that in the back of your sign?"
Then he told me I was going to hell. Okay. So there are people like that. Right? That is wrong. But it is also wrong, isn't it? To share the gospel and not tell people about the consequences of rejecting Christ.
You know we say this. "Hey man. Let me tell you. Jesus Christ. He is coming in my life. He has changed me. He has given me peace. He has given me purpose. He has filled the void inside. I have a joy. It is great." And they will say, "Man, I am happy to see you found religion."
"Well you know what? It is not religion. It is a relationship with Christ. And you can find it too." And they might say, "Well you know what? I am actually not that unhappy. You know I am a pretty happy person. I live in Newport Beach. I have a pretty good life. My health is good. And you know I am glad you have found religion. It seems to have made you happier. But I do not really know that I need God."
So what do you say then? "Oh. Never mind." Okay. What you have said to them is true. But it is not the whole truth is it? You have effectively talked about the fringe benefits of the Christian life.
The Real Gospel Message
But here is the real gospel. "You know what? I was a sinner separated from God with no hope of ever being right with Him. But God loved me so much He sent His Son to die in my place and atone for my sin and absorbed the wrath of God. And He rose again from the dead and I put my faith in Him. And now I have passed from death to life. And I know that when I die I will go to heaven."
So here is the bottom line. That is what God will do for you. "Well I do not really feel I need religion." Well let me tell you why you need Christ. Because if you do not believe in Jesus you will face God at the great white throne judgment and you will spend eternity separated from Him in hell.
"Oh man if I say that they will freak out." Yeah maybe they will. But you know what? Sometimes people just need a little bit of a wake up call. Because it is the gospel of Jesus.
Now let me say when you deliver a message like this you do not deliver it with a smile on your face. You deliver it with a tear in your eye. You do not say it with glee like I have seen some of these crazed preachers do it. Like they are almost happy about it. "You are going to hell." Come on.
Just as a doctor would deliver bad news with compassion and empathy we need to do the same. Say "Man let me tell you this. And this is kind of hard for me to even say. But I need to tell you because it is the truth. And I do not want this to happen to you. But here is what the Bible says."
See people believe in hell for other people. We all want to believe in a hell when there is a Hitler or a bunch of Nazis or Osama Bin Laden or terrorists. You know people that do awful things. Or maybe they get away with a horrible crime and they never are caught. Well they will get theirs. And what are we really saying? There is a final day of judgment. They will get it.
You know and we believe that. And there is nothing wrong with it. We believe there is going to be justice some day. Well we do not like it when it is us that might face justice. But it is there.
This is not what God wants. But if you end there it is your own choice. Hell is a prison which the doors are locked from the inside by us. And therefore are locked from the outside by God.
Heaven is not the default destination of every person. Jesus said, "Broad is the way that leads to destruction. And many there are that go that way. But narrow is the way that leads to life. And few there are that find it."
You go to heaven because you make a choice to do so by putting your faith in Christ. In Christ alone. There is no other way to get to heaven. Because no one was uniquely qualified to meet God's righteous demands apart from Christ. No prophet. No guru. No religious system is going to do it.
Because Jesus was fully God and He was fully man. Thus He and He alone was able to stand in the gap for us and pay the price for our sin. And that is why the Bible says, "How can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?"
Man you blow off God's offer. That is your choice now. Now you are going to face the consequences.
Invitation to Accept Christ Today
So now in closing. Let me say to you. Are you sure you are going to go to heaven when you die? You say, "Well I have gone to church my whole life." Well that is good. But there has to be a moment where you have made a commitment to follow Jesus. A commitment to turn from your sin. You cannot live off your parents faith or someone else's faith.
So are you ready? "Well I am an American. And I am proud to be an American." Well I am glad you are an American. That does not get you into heaven. "Well I am very conscious of the environment. And I drive a Prius. And I go very slow in the fast lane." Nice. Not so nice actually. But still.
All these things we think are so important do not mean a lot to God. The big question is what have you done with Jesus Christ? He died. He rose. He is here. He stands at the door of your life and He knocks and says if you will hear His voice and open the door He will come in.
If you have never asked Jesus to come into your life why don't you do it right now. I am going to lead you in a prayer where you can make this commitment. And then you can know with certainty that you will go to heaven when you die.
Why would you not want to do this? To not say yes to Jesus is to say no. To not accept His offer of forgiveness is in effect to reject it.
So I am going to give you an opportunity to make that decision. As we bow our heads right now if you would.
Father I pray for everyone here. Everyone listening to this message wherever they are. Help them to see Lord the words we have shared are true. They are your words. And all eternity is at stake. Help them Lord to come to faith in you now and be forgiven of all of their sins we ask in Jesus name.
Now when our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying together. If you want Christ to come into your life. If you want to be forgiven of your sin. If you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven. If you are ready to say yes to Jesus wherever you are sitting would you lift your hand up. And I will pray for you right now.
Just lift your hand up where I can see it please. God bless you. Just lift your hand up. You want Christ to come into your life. God bless you. Lift your hand up wherever you are. I will pray for you today. Or tonight rather. God bless you sir. God bless you back there in the corner. Or anybody else? In the very back. In the back there. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand now. If you want Christ to come into your life. Just lift your hand up wherever you are. I pray for you. God bless you. God bless you and you. God bless each one of you.
Now while our heads are still bowed, I am going to ask every one of you that have lifted your hand, saying that you want Christ to come into your life, to just stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Jesus.
Again, just stand to your feet. So if you lifted your hand, even if you did not, but you want Jesus to come into your life. You want Him to forgive you of your sin. You want to go to heaven when you die. Stand to your feet. I am going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand up. Go on. God bless. Yes. God bless each one of you. Stand up. There are a few more of you that need to do this. Stand now. God bless you. Don't be embarrassed. You are among friends and family here. We love you and we are praying for you.
So if you need to make this commitment to Christ just stand now and I am going to lead you in a prayer. Anybody else? Stand now. God bless you. Final moment. If you are going to stand, stand now. I will pray for you. God bless each one of you. Alright. One final moment. If you want to stand, stand up. I will lead you in prayer. God bless each one of you. Alright. God bless you.
You that are standing I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. This is a prayer where you are asking Christ to come into your life. You that are watching If you are watching on the Internet you can pray the same prayer asking Jesus into your life as well.
So all of you standing now pray this prayer out loud after me. Pray this now if you would.
Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner. But You died on the cross and shed Your blood for every sin I have ever committed. So forgive me now. Come into my life. You be my Savior. And be my Lord. And be my God. And be my friend. I choose to follow You from this moment forward. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.