One day God will JUDGE us for ALL our ACTIONS!
September 2 Bible Reading: Ezekiel Chapters 22-24
One day God will JUDGE us for ALL our ACTIONS!
"I, the Lord,
have spoken it; it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back,
nor will I spare, nor will I relent; according to your ways and according to
your deeds they will judge you, says the Lord God." (Ezek. 24:14)
Prophet Ezekiel was far away in Babylon, yet he knew what was
happening in Jerusalem through a revelation from God. As Amos 3:7 tells us: "Surely the Lord God does nothing,
unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." Bible historians confirm that on the very same
day the siege of Jerusalem began, Ezekiel spoke the parable of the boiling pot recorded in Ezekiel 24:1-14, which were
his final prophecies of doom against Jerusalem. This day of national calamity was
on January 15, 588 B.C., the day when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar began his
siege of Jerusalem.
In the parable, the pot was Jerusalem and the pieces of meat
were the people of Israel. The pot was about to boil, and revealed the city’s
wickedness. This pot had scum in it, which was the lewdness of idolatry. In the
fire of God’s judgment Jerusalem’s “impurities”
floated to the surface. As the fire of judgment grew hotter, only the scum
appeared on top and overflowed outside. After the pot was thoroughly emptied,
it would be burned to remove the scum. The “empty
pot” (Jerusalem without its inhabitants) was to be “set on the coals” until its rust was burned away. The city itself
had to be destroyed to remove its spiritual impurities. This was how God would purge His people of idolatry and other
wickedness!
This no doubt has an implication for the future, as well as
for the present. At the time of the end, at Christ’s second coming, full
reconciliation will be made for iniquity. "Seventy
weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the
transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to
bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to
anoint the Most Holy." (Dan. 9:24)
God’s mercy prompts Him to withhold judgment as long as
possible to enable people to repent (2 Pet. 3:8–10), but He will not wait
indefinitely. The Bible clearly teaches there will be a day of reckoning for everyone.
Hebrews 9:27 clearly says, "And as
it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” The
Bible speaks about two judgments: (1)
the judgment of the lost, which is
called the Great White Throne Judgment
(see Rev. 20:11-15); and (2) the judgment
of the saved, which is called the Judgment
Seat (see I Cor. 3:10-23). This is where rewards will be given based on
life here on earth to people who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
We need to understand that everyone will appear before God at
one of these two judgments. Which judgment one stands before is determined
simply by one fact: whether one has
believed and trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior or not. If we believe
God's word and receive Jesus as our Savior, we will be judged at the Judgment Seat to receive our rewards
from Christ and then go to heaven to enjoy our rewards. If we refuse to believe
and die without receiving Christ, we will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment and everyone there is cast into the "Lake of Fire" or Hell, and
eternally separated from God. "He
who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John
3:36)
One day God will judge us for all our actions! Let us live our lives fearfully, being aware of this fact every day of our lives. "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." (2 Cor 5:10)
