Jesus, the Great Judge

I am not the judge! No one of this earth is. You and I will not be the ones who make the determination of who will go to heaven and who will not. But I can learn, believe, love and share what Jesus has already taught on the subject from the Scriptures. Doing so makes a person a messenger, not a judge.

Jesus said this: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Jesus will be the Great Judge of all mankind on the Day of Judgment. 2 Corinthians 5:10 tells us, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

Please note that a common misconception is often brought about when we quote from the Bible about the judgment statements of Jesus. Suddenly, people begin to think that we are people who set ourselves up to be judges.

If you think this, please read Jesus’ statement again in Matthew 7:21. His statement tells us who is going to heaven and who is not. It is Jesus who declared, “He who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

How can we know the will of the Father? How can I be sure I will be going to heaven when I die?

It should be obvious from the above Scriptures that the only way I can be sure of heaven is to follow only the Bible! Not every man (or group) does so.

Therefore, it is important for you to study for yourself the wonderful word of God so that you may know if you are following God’s truth or not. Please notice that in verses 22 and 23 of Matthew 7, Jesus was talking about people who are very religious but are still lost. Though these had many religious practices and believed themselves to be sincere about their religion, Jesus told them, “I never knew you.”

There is a popular belief in the religious world that any path you choose to follow as a matter of religion will get you to heaven. People are often taught that such a belief and practice is okay, just as long as you are sincere. But unfortunately, this teaching is not backed up by the words of Jesus! Man-made changes to the word of God will not help us to find eternal life. Jesus said so!

Doing religious things “in the name of Jesus,” means to serve Him by His authority. It must be according to the Bible, or it is man-made. 1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Such a testing must come from examining the Scriptures for ourselves, to see if what we are being taught for obedience and worship is really authorized by God (Acts 17:11). Let’s notice a Bible illustration on this matter.

The first two sons born into this world stand as a great example concerning worship to God. Genesis 4:2-5 says, “Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering.”

Cain offered a sacrifice to the Lord, but it was not the kind God had authorized. God rejected it. Even from this very first Bible example of giving worship to God, it really did matter whether it was done according to the instructions God had given. Both men were sincere about their sacrifices, but only one was accepted by God.

Jesus said, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:8, 9).

Instead of thinking like the world does, shouldn’t we seek to honor and obey the Lord according to His commandments? How we obey and serve the Lord today must be by His authority, or else heaven cannot be ours. (See Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21).