“The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty.” (Numbers 14:18)
“There will be no debate about guilt or innocence. There will be a prosecutor but no defender, there will be an accuser but no advocate. There will be an indictment but no case for the charged. There will be a swift presentation of the convicting evidence but no rebuttal, a testimony with no cross examination. There will be an utterly unsympathetic judge and no jury. There will be a sentence but no appeal, a punishment with no parole in a jail with no escape.”[1]
“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth…those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28–29). These stark words are the plain and simple statements of the future for every person who do not obey the command to believe the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:5–10; 1 Peter 4:12–19).
Jesus Christ, His apostles, and many believers have been preaching repentance, and the good news of forgiveness of sins. They have been trying to save as many sinners as possible from the judgment. The prophets of the old covenant also tried to save many from destruction. Ezekiel recorded God saying, “why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord GOD. “Therefore, repent and live.” (Ezekiel 18:30–32).
The sad truth is that not everyone will repent of their sin (Revelation 9:20–21; 16:8–11). Therefore, the unrepentant will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ at the great white throne judgment (John 5:22; Revelation 20:11–13). There will be only one possible decision once the dead are judged from the deeds listed in the books: guilty. There will be only one possible sentence: death in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14–15).
|
SUMMARY • Evildoers will be resurrected for judgment
• God has been calling sinners to repent since the beginning of time
• The unrepentant will be judged guilty and sentenced to die
|
FOOTNOTES
John MacArthur, Man’s Last Day in God’s Court, Part 1. Resource Code: 66-77. 29 Dec. 2010. This Grace to You article originally appeared here, (https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/66-77/mans-last-day-in-gods-court-part-1) ↑
|
RBG Devotional 19: The Decision: The Judgment Seat of God Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. 24-Jun-21, 05:43 |