"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 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 did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who did the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
John 5:25-30 NASB
Be sure of this fact. One day we will all stand before God, to face judgment for how we have lived in this lifetime. We have this lifetime only in which to live our lives, and once we die it is over. We cannot change our lives, we cannot go back and try to undo all of our wrongs. We can be certain that we will stand before God's judgment to receive what is due us according to our deeds (Hebrews 9:27; 2 Cor 5:10; Romans 2:5-13; Rev 20:12-13, 22:12).
You can count on God to be perfectly just and fair to everyone who appears before Him. See what the Psalmist has to say about God's absolute justice.
He summons the heavens above, and the earth, to judge His people: "Gather My godly ones to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." And the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge.
Psalm 50:6 NASB
The heavens declare the righteousness of God. As a righteous judge, He will make no mistakes, He will not be swayed by any excuses, bribes, or show any partiality.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne.
Psalm 89:14a
Righteousness and justice are what His rule is founded on. It is impossible for God, the holy, righteous judge, to render an unjust decision. It cannot be any other way. This is a great comfort to those who love and follow Him, those who have suffered at the hands of evil men. At the same time it should strike a holy fear in the hearts of all those who do not know God, nor obey the gospel (2 Thess 1:4-10).
Paul speaks of the justice of God.
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
Who will render to each person according to his deeds.
Romans 2:4-6 NASB
God is patient, waiting for souls to come to repentance, to turn their hearts from selfish, sinful pursuits, to Him and His service.
The blame lies squarely on us. We are the stubborn unrepentant ones who will not give up our sins and follow Christ. God will be perfectly just on that day when the books are opened and our deeds are laid bare for all to see.
Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God.
Romans 3:19 NASB
God's broken law will be the standard on that day. We will not be able to say that we are good people at heart. We will not be able to say that we are not truly sinful, or wicked. We will have no excuses. We will not be able to blame others, or claim we were born that way, or even that God made us that way. Every mouth will be closed on that day as God judges us according to our deeds, lining our lives up against His holy standard found in His law.
The law that condemns idolatry, blasphemy, the dishonoring of our parents, dishonesty, theft, murder, covetousness, and adultery, will be the standard that God will use as He righteously judges our deeds.
Where does this leave you or I, as we all know that we have broken some if not all of these commandments. This only shows us that we have wicked hearts, as it is out of the heart that these evil deeds proceed (Mark 7:20-23).
Our only hope lies in the offering of Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us, to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2). For those who confess and forsake their sin, there is mercy and forgiveness. Our past is forgiven, forgotten by God. If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:9). We can be forgiven and start over with a clean slate. We do not have to stand before God with our past condemning us, if we are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
We now have the ability to walk in a manner that pleases God. We do not have to fall into the same pattern of sin that previously ruled our lives. We have victory in Jesus to live above the power of sin. By allowing the Holy Spirit to empower and lead our lives, we find that the righteous requirements of the law are now fulfilled in us (Romans 8:4).
The new covenant promises us that the law will be written upon our hearts (Hebrews 10:16-17). In other words, we will want to do the things that God requires of us in His law. We will love Him, and desire to please Him. Such an individual with a love for God, who orders his life by the Holy Spirit's leading will find himself fulfilling the law as he loves his neighbor as himself (Romans 13:8-10).
This is the new birth, a new creation in Christ. A sinful person forgiven and transformed. Such a one will not dread the judgment, but will look expectantly for the return of Christ (Hebrews 9:28).
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