In response to a recent doctrinal sermon on eschatology, the doctrine of the last things, the following question was put to me by e-mail.

In last week’s sermon you said that on the final days of judgment, when all things will come to light and no longer remain hidden, we shall all give an account for our lives. As already forgiven people, who will be face down before our Holy God claiming full responsibility for our lives and clinging to Christ as our only hope, will God again go through our forgiven sins asking for an explanation before everyone in heaven?

The question is essentially what will happen to believers on the day of judgement?

I’m cautious about speculating and going beyond what’s clear in scripture. And so to some of these questions I must respond ‘I don’t know’. We must also acknowledge that even though it’s wonderful to know that we’ll face Christ as a forgiven sinner many of us are understandably horrified at the prospect of our sins being displayed for all to see.

As I understand it, the scriptures assert the following three things

1. All the world will be held accountable

Every human being who has ever lived will have to appear before the final judgement seat of Christ. Consider the following passages.

• In Matthew 25:32 the gospel writer records that Jesus taught that all the nations will be gathered before him.
• In Romans 2:5&6 Paul explains that every man will be judged and recompensed for their works.
• Later in the same letter Paul asks a rhetorical question anticipating that his readers would accept that God will judge the world.
• In the judgement scene of Revelation 20:12&13 it’s clear that no one misses out on appearing before the throne of judgement.

It therefore seems fair to infer that if all men are to appear before the judgement seat of Christ this must include all believers. In fact the New Testament explicitly teaches this.

• In 2 Corinthians 5:10 Paul explains that we all appear before the judgement seat of Christ so that we may receive what’s due to us. He was writing to Christians.
• In Hebrews 10:30 the writer of the letter argues that the Lord will judge His people, namely the church.
• In Romans 14:10 Paul, in writing to the church in Rome, says that they will appear before the judgement seat of God.

Though Christians must appear before the judgement seat we have no need to be anxious. We must remember that, as Paul teaches in Romans 8:1, there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ. But we cannot avoid the conclusion that the entire world will be judged.

2. All the things we’ve done will be assessed

The purpose of the final judgement is not investigative. We commonly assume that the purpose of the final judgement is to determine each person’s future destiny. But God knows that already! He does not need to examine our lives to find out who will be saved and who won’t. He is sovereign and He knows His elect [Ephesians 1:4]. However, for God the day of judgement God has other purposes

a. To display His own glory

The purpose of the final judgement is not investigative but declarative. The events of the judgement will declare the God’s glory in the destiny of each person. Until the last judgement the final destiny of each individual is hidden. At that event that destiny will be revealed. It will also bring to light whether an individual exercised faith, pursued good works and sought the glory of God. When these things are published God’s grace will be magnified as He saves His people and God’s justice will be magnified as He condemns His enemies. Therefore what’s central on the day of judgement is not the destiny of individuals but the magnificent, majestic glory of the sovereign Lord.

b. To reward His people

In 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 Paul implies that there will be degrees of reward for Christians depending on how they’ve faired in the judgement by Christ. The varying degrees of punishment or reward bestowed on individuals are related to the lives people have lived. What is given will be settled at the final judgement. I’ve written elsewhere on this http://richardperkins.blogsome.com/2006/10/20/rewards-for-the-christian/.

c. To execute His judgment

God will assign to each person the place where they must spend eternity. Therefore, even though at the final judgement God does not investigate our lives to decide our eternal destiny, there will be an assessment. Paul is clear on this issue in 2 Corinthians 5:10 where he argues that we will be held accountable for everything we’ve done whilst ‘in the body’. We will be held responsible for the way we’ve lived. This will include our words [Matthew 12:36], our thoughts [1 Corinthians 4:5] and our deeds [Matthew 25:35-40, Revelation 20:12]. This is a massive motive for godliness. We see this idea again in 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 where Paul defends his ministry against the accusations of his opponents. He answers his critics by saying that his principle concern was not the assessment that they had of his ministry but the Lord’s assessment at the end of time. This day will be one on which God will bring to light those things now hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of the heart. He was writing to Christians about Christian ministry. Some may try to escape the implications of these verses by taking refuge in the specific contextual issue of Christian ministry. But we mustn’t be reductionistic in our description of what is entailed by Christian ministry. Serving Christ is a far broader remit than simply explaining the Bible in a congregational setting. As Romans 12:1 suggests, our whole lives are Christian ministry motivated by love for the Lord who saved us.

3. All the things we’ve done will be revealed

The straightforward implication of Jesus’ words to his disciples in Luke 12:2&3 is hard to avoid. Jesus said, ‘Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known’. This appears to be the general principle from which a specific application for his disciples is then drawn. ‘Therefore what you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the rooftops’. To my mind, Jesus promises a wholesale unveiling of our secret sins. Does this make me uncomfortable? You can bet your life it does. But I assume, from the Bible’s doctrine of sin, that I’m not alone in my discomfort. We struggle to comprehend how it could be that the sins of believers could be mentioned on the Day of Judgement. Doesn’t the Bible reassure us that God has pardoned, blotted out and forgotten all our iniquity? We’d certainly prefer it not to be the case. However, Jesus’ words are pretty clear. There is nothing hidden which will not then be revealed. That’s a pretty comprehensive uncovering! It must therefore mean that the concept of God’s ‘forgetfulness’ of our sins refers not to His absent mindedness but His determination that they should not affect His attitude towards us. He has forgotten our sins in that He will not let them be an issue to come between us. Hoekema makes the point that if even our best works as believers are tainted with sin how could any of our works be brought into the open without some recognition of sin and their imperfection. That’s pretty persuasive. In other words even as God assesses and rewards our good works He can’t simply gloss over the sin that spoiled them [Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:23, James 3:2].

Conclusion

The idea that we will be assessed is not supposed to provoke fear but provoke godliness. The Lord’s judgement of His own people indicates that we must never take His grace as permission to sin. The precise form the unveiling of our sins will take I do not know. We ought not to speculate. But I don’t think we can deny that it will happen. However, we can be certain that whatever happens, the Lord will do the right thing.

Further Reading

• ‘The Final Judgement’, The Bible and the Future, A. Hoekema, Eerdmans
• ‘The Final Judgement and Eternal Punishment’, Systematic Theology, W. Grudem, IVP
• ‘The Final State’, Know the Truth, B. Milne, IVP