Not A Word

I often hear lost folks say that when they stand before God they will "explain" and He will understand. That they can live in sin on this earth and, somehow, at the judgment they will explain to God and He will allow them into heaven.

May I say that this is a tragic misunderstanding? At the judgment there will be no explanations, no argument, no appeals, and no excuses. The Word of God says that, "there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him" (Heb 4:13). God knows everything already, God does not need people's explanations or excuses. Nor can they appeal since God's knowledge of them is perfect (Ps 139). Every deed (Rev 20:12), every thought (Heb 4:13), every motive (1Cor 4:5), and every word (Matt 12:36-37) will be perfectly judged. Then they will be punished for their sins in the lake of fire for all eternity (Rev 20:14-15). Why do they suffer that fate? Because they did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (Matt 7:21-23), they were not born of God, they were not saved.

There will be no excuses for yet another reason. That reason is the power of God. God is so grand, so glorious, so wonderful, so powerful, so awesome that all of their excuses will melt. They will attempt to flee, to hide themselves, but that is a vain effort (Rev 6:15-17, Rev 20:11). They will bow the knee and confess Jesus as Lord (Phil 2:9-11, Rev 5:13, Is 45:23-24). They will confess the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but their confession will not save. The day of grace will be over. Their confession is an acknowledgment of how wrong they were (in rejecting Christ and living a life of sin).

I once read a poem that captured this picture well. I will quote it here in closing:

"I dreamed that the great judgment morning
Had dawned, and the trumpet had blown;
I dreamed that the nations had gathered
To judgment before the white throne;
From the throne came a bright shining angel,
And he stood on the land and the sea,
And he swore with his hand raised to Heaven,
That time was no longer to be.
The rich man was there, but his money
Had melted and vanished away;
A pauper he stood in the judgment,
His debts were too heavy to pay;
The great man was there, but his greatness,
When death came, was left far behind!
The angel that opened the records,
Not a trace of his greatness could find.
The widow was there with the orphans,
God heard and remembered their cries;
No sorrow in Heaven forever,
God wiped all the tears from their eyes;
The gambler was there and the drunkard,
And the man that had sold them the drink,
With the people who gave him the license,
Together in hell they did sink.
The moral man came to the judgment,
But self righteous rags would not do;
The men who had crucified Jesus
Had passed off as moral men, too;
The soul that had put off salvation,
“Not tonight; I’ll get saved by and by,
No time now to think of religion!”
At last they had found time to die."

In Christ,
Martin.