NOT NOW? THEN WHEN?
So many people say, “When I stand before God I am going to
tell him…..” Or, “When I stand before God I will just take whatever comes.” And
for others the reaction is more like, “I know I need to do something, but not
right now.”
Please, look closely at this verse, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books
were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books, according to their works” (Rev 20:12).
Notice very carefully that those who come into the presence
of God on the Day of Judgment…are silent.
Nobody is asked to defend their position, or to explain their situation or, and
more importantly, nobody on that day is offered a second chance. The only thing
that happens on that day, before God passes judgment, is “the books were (or
will be) opened.” And if you read that verse one more time you will also notice
that “another book was opened” also. Why two sets of books?
Today, as you read this, your name is in a book in heaven. And today, while you
are still here on this earth and alive, you can decide which book your name is in. If we could go up into heaven right now,
if we could enter God’s judgment hall today and open the books of heaven, your
name would be in one of those books.
Far too often people get the idea that somehow if they can
just do a few really good things God
would let them into heaven. Which good
things would that be? How many of those good
things would it take? How would you know when you have completed just
enough of those good things? And what
if you died just before you finished that last really good thing? But, it just isn’t true. That is not the way God
designed it. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus died as our sacrifice for sin so that our
names might be written in the Book of Life. Jesus paid the debt for our sin.
Our work, or our effort in any form, cannot ever pay for our sin. God will only
accept the sinless blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf:
Romans_3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission
of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God….
Hebrews_9:22b …and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Hebrews_10:18 Now where remission of these is, there is
no more offering (needed) for sin.
Looking at these passages, our names are already in His books if our
sins have been removed by the sacrifice of Christ. Your name is either in the “books”
or your name is in the “book” as we
arrive at the judgment seat. The distinction between the “books” and the “book”
is given in verse 15, “And whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” The dead, those who are not
saved, are judged out of the things written in the books (v.12-13). The final judgment is eternal and that
judgment will be horrible if your name is in the books. It may be worse for one than for another but, eternity
in hell is horrifying no matter how you may view it.
I have heard so many make jokes about it. I have heard people say, “Well,
at least I will be with my friends and we will party when we get there.” In
reality, it is more likely that we will blame one another for being there. And we
will undoubtedly be praying that none of our family members ever have to join
us there.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus shares the only instance we
have of a real life record of a man going to hell. His response is not what so
many joke about today. Instead, the man in hell (Luke 16) is in torment and begs
for even a drop of water to cool his thirst. And his final thoughts are on his
family. He pleads with Abraham to send someone to his five brothers who are still
alive on earth to warn them about this horrible place. Abraham’s response is unbelievable,
but so true, especially when we understand how evil the human heart can be. He
said that if they will not listen to the Word of God being preached here, while
they are alive, they would not listen even if a ghost from hell appeared before
them as a testimony.
How many times have you heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ
preached? Every time you heard it you were given an opportunity to move your
name from the books of judgment to the Book of Life. As you read this today you
are being given one more chance. It could in fact be, your last chance. God
does not owe us even one chance to be saved. If you have ever heard the Gospel
of Jesus Christ and been given one opportunity to be saved and have your name
placed in the Book of Life, that was one more chance than God owes any of us.
Did you receive Christ at that time? Did you get saved that day and have your
name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Or, did you say, “Not now.” Will you
wake up tomorrow morning and have one more chance? Or, will you discover your
name was written in the books of judgment as God reads from their
pages and proclaims, “Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels”
(Matthew 25:41)?
If not now, then when? Normally, none of us plan to die. Most
of us go to bed in the evening fully expecting to wake up here, on earth, in
the morning. But, will we?
If you died today are you sure heaven will be your home for
eternity? To find out how you can have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of
Life go to: http://christxalted.blogspot.com/2016/01/how-to-be-born-again.html
