When You Stand Before God

There is a day coming when every person will stand before God in judgment. Every person has two unavoidable appointments - death and the judgment. The Bible says, "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment."

Most of the appointments that you now attend to are not mandatory. You can break them if you choose to do so, or the other person can cancel the appointment. But the day is coming when all men must die and then they must meet God in judgment. The Bible says, "As I live saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Romans 14:11,12. I have talked to a few people who have stated that they will never bow their knees to God. They refuse to acknowledge God. They think they are unbelievers. But the claim of unbelief does not alter what God has said.

In the great judgment day there will be both a glad reunion and a sad departure. Jesus said that He will say to some, "Come ye, blessed of my Father," and to others He will have to say, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." What do you want to hear in the judgment day? Naturally, if you were certain of a day of judgment you would want to hear a word of welcome and praise. Well that day is coming because Jesus said it will come. All that Jesus foretold when He was living among men, has either already come to pass or it still is in the future.

There will be nothing hid from the eyes of God when you stand before Him. Every sin that has been committed in secret and which men have tried to conceal will be brought before us in the judgment day, unless we have repented of it this side of eternity and have sought God's forgiveness. You cannot hide one thing from God. There will be many who will cry for the rocks and the mountains to cover them from the face of God in the day of judgment, but it will be too late then. Those secret sins will be made manifest in the day of final reckoning and all those who refuse the Saviour will be cast into a devil's hell.

But for the Christian who has trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, the story will be different. The judgment day will be a day of great rejoicing, a day of praise, and a day of unending glory. Heaven will be the final home for those who have been true to God and those who have received Christ as Saviour and Lord. Jesus said,"I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am there you may be also." Heaven is a prepared place for a people who are prepared to go there, because they have trusted Him who prepared it. The Bible clearly tells us, "Prepare to meet thy God."

Heaven is a glorious place. It is the eternal dwelling place of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven is the eternal home of all those who have lived and died with faith in Christ. The Bible speaks of heaven as a place of purity, a place without sorrow, without tears, without pain. It is a place without hunger or thirst. It is a place where there will be love without jealousy, peace without sorrow, joy without heartache. From its presence all sin will be barred, and all those who have lived and died without the Saviour's forgiveness will be forever shut out. Heaven is the eternal home for those whose names have been written down in the Lamb's Book of Life when they were converted to Christ and cleansed from sin. The Bible clearly states that "whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." I ask you, is your name written today in the Book of Life in heaven?

What will you do when you stand before God? What will you do with Jesus for neutral you cannot be? One day your heart will be asking, "What will He do with me?"

Today Jesus wants to be your Saviour, your Friend, your Lord. One day He will be your Judge. What you do with Him here will determine what He will do with you there. You must make the choice. You can reject Him and push Him aside. You can neglect Him and refuse to answer His call, but to neglect is really to reject. Or you can fall on your knees and accept Him as Saviour and Lord. I hope you will do this today. "Behold, now is the day of salvation."