Judgment without leniency

Hell is a jail for the lost, but it's not their ultimate state. Revelation 20 says, [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

[14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
[15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

"Do lost people get out of hell? They do and they're released for the purpose of going to trial, to court, at the Great White Throne Judgment, says David Reid, a long-time successful corporate lawyer and preacher (Columbus Bible Church, Columbus, OH).

"At the time of the Great White Throne Judgment there will be people who've been punished in hell for thousands of years. After this judgment, people will be placed in the 'lake of fire' for eternity. So in order for God to be just, the Great White Throne has to be an absolutely convincing proof of guilt.

"Matthew 12:36-37 says, [36] But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
[37] For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

"The Great White Throne Judgment is not just about felonies people have committed. It's about every single little thing. There's no injustice too small to escape the justice of God. The books that are there contain everything people have ever done. Every nasty word, every evil thought. It's just absolutely horrifying.

"Luke 12:47-48 says, [47] And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
[48] But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

"When judgment occurs, it is based upon the responsibility that was given to people.

"Matthew 11 says, [21] Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
[22] But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
[23] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
[24] But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

"Not only does God know everything that ever happened and everything that will happen, He also knows everything that would have happened.

"The Lord destroys Tyre for their sins and it was just, but what He says to Chorazin at Bethsaida is, 'Guys, woe unto you. Your sin is so grievous the works that have been done in you make you deeply accountable.'

" 'You've seen things that are an absolute demonstration of the truth and you've rejected it. These demonstrations are so profound that, if they were done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented, and yet those cities were destroyed! You guys have seen greater signs.'

"In verse 22, he's saying, 'To whom much is given, much is required.' Sodom was so wicked God couldn't find 10 righteous men there. So Sodom, as evil as it was, would have repented if those works had been performed.

"There are degrees of judgment because there are degrees of responsibility and information given. There's degrees of sin, and if God is just, there have to be degrees of punishment. It's inescapable.

"What would you think of a judicial system that punished parking tickets the exact same way as murder? Wouldn't you say that's unjust? Doesn't the punishment have to fit the crime? Isn't there just a basic proportionality to things?

"If you read the Old Testament, you see that again and again and again. There are different sins that have different punishments. That same principle plays out at the Great White Throne Judgment.

"Here's the real truth. You ready? What we all think about ourselves, especially the lost, is, 'You know, I'm basically a good person. I've done some things I shouldn't have, but basically I'm a good person.'

"The Great White Throne Judgment, with the books open, demonstrates your thousands of sins in conclusive detail. Can you get to the end of that and still say, 'Yeah, I'm basically a good person'? You can't. You're shown to be guilty beyond any sort of doubt.

"It's utterly terrifying, there's no escape clause, there's no leniency, there's no free pass."

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"Some folks teach annihilation, saying that what happens to the lost in hell is not torment; they're destroyed and they cease to exist.

But what do the verses tell you? Revelation 20:10, for one, says, [10] And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

"The word 'torment,' when you look in the dictionary, means torture. The verse says the lost are 'tormented day and night forever and ever.'

"The lake of fire, if you will, is the trash can of the universe. God throws into the lake of fire everything He hates. Death and hell are cast in there and then, as Revelation 20:15 states, 'whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.'

"Revelation 21:8 says, [8] But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

"How many murders do you have to commit to be a murderer? How many lies do you have to commit to be a liar? According to that verse, all liars shall have their part.

"Let's say you went through life and the only sin you ever committed was to lie a single time. Where would you end up? In the lake of fire.

"Now, your punishment would not be as severe as someone who sinned more, but one sin by itself is sufficient to merit the lake of fire. So then you just extrapolate that and think about what happens to people who live their normal human life being the normal sinners we are? Well, the punishment has to be just devastating.

"Romans 2 says, [3] And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

"That verse is identifying exactly how people think. They have this vain hope that they're going to somehow escape the judgment of God. It's wishful thinking.

"Verse 4: [4] Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

"On that verse just think about the dispensation of grace. When Stephen is stoned, he says, 'I see the heavens opened and the son of man standing.' In Acts 2, Jesus Christ is seated, but in Acts 7, He's standing. Why? He's standing to judge His enemies.

"Stephen sees the son of man standing and it's an absolutely clear testimony to everyone hearing his voice that judgment is coming. Anyone with a brain ought to have expected that what was next on the agenda was the pouring out of God's wrath. But what God does, in His incredible grace, is He says, 'Time out, I'm going to give this time of longsuffering in grace.'

"Verse 4 is what happens to the lost man who rejects the dispensation of grace. Imagine living during this time, where God offers amnesty to the world as a free gift by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and someone says, 'Nah, I'm good. I'm a good person. I don't need that.'

"You despise the riches of goodness and forbearance and longsuffering! Do you see how brash and bold and ridiculous that statement is?!

"See the end of verse 4? Verses 5-6 say, [5] But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
[6] Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

"Verse 5 is the reality for everyone who has rejected what Jesus Christ did for them. 'After thy hardness.' That's what you have to be to reject the gospel. Notice it says you 'treasurest up unto thyself wrath.'

"Have any of you ever cleaned out the house of an elderly person after their death and realized they kept everything? They had all this stuff they didn't want to get rid of. People like to collect things, don't they? Some people collect Hummels, or little statues, or jewelry. It's man's desire to treasure and to collect and amass; it's a form of lust.

"Once you sort through all that physical nonsense, you know what's really happening with lost people? What is the one thing they're really treasuring up? According to that verse it's wrath.

"Which is better? Is it better to die as an infant or to live a long and full life as a lost person? You know what you've done in your long life? You've treasured up wrath. The longer you live the more you accumulate.

"Is anyone so naive to think that they go a 24-hour period without sinning? What happens with every extra hour of life you have? You add more sin, and when the books are opened, Revelation 20:12 says what happens? You just keep writing new chapters! There's more sin after more sin after more sin.

"Is God a righteous judge? He is. Is there any of those He can just say, 'Well, look, I already caught him on three felonies, so I'm going to let him skate on this one.' He can't. It's inconsistent with His character.

"When people show up at that judgment it's going to be exhaustive. It's going to demonstrate beyond any doubt all their crimes; all their wrongs against God. It's going to demonstrate, I believe, every single time they rejected the gospel. Think of how that would burn?

"If the gospel is a command to believe, then the failure to perform that command is in itself a sin, so at the Great White Throne Judgment people are shown every time they rejected the provision Christ made for them. The fact demonstrated is there was all this evidence, all this information given them that they discounted and discarded."