Unavoidable and Inescapable!
Death and Taxes! These are two things that men have jokingly referred to as unavoidable for many generations. Yet the above verse reminds us that there is a third unavoidable and inescapable event in which every individual must and will participate, and that is the judgment of their lives before God. Romans 14:11-12 states quite clearly;
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
People have many false conceptions of what that judgment will be like. Some think that there will be a weighing of their good and bad deeds and whichever is greater, that will determine their eternal destiny. Others think that because God is “love” and “mercy” that no one will be condemned to hell, at least no one they know, and everyone will be in heaven. Both views, and all variations in between, are wrong. God’s judgment will not be arbitrary, or unjust, or on-the-spur-of-the-moment! The truth is that your judgment will be settled before you ever stand before God at the end of your life, and by that time it will be too late to change the outcome. Listen to the words of Jesus;
John 3:16-18
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
In Christ Jesus, God has clearly set before everyone a choice – to believe, follow, submit to, love, obey Jesus; or not! Verse 18 clearly states that anyone who rejects a submitted relationship with Jesus is already condemned. The person who knows about God, yet continues in their sin and selfishness has already chosen his or her own eternal judgment. There is also this passage;
Matthew 5:25-26
“Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”
Here, Jesus is advising us to realize that we are wrong and that God has enough evidence on us to convict us. He also warns that if we just ignore the evidence and wait for our “day before the judge”, hoping that it will all work out, we will end up paying the full penalty. Jesus also urges us to settle the matter before we get to judgment; in other words, accept God’s assessment of your life and yield to His way of salvation, which is found in following Jesus. This salvation requires that you change your lawless ways and begin doing what God says is right and good. If you want to escape the unavoidable judgment of God at the end of your life, allow God, through His Holy Spirit and Word, to judge you now and give you salvation.
John 5:24
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My Word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
If you won’t submit to Jesus now, then you will feel the full weight of the whole judgment of God when you stand before Him. On that day there will no one to blame but yourself because you will have determined your own judgment by what you did with Jesus!
Consider carefully the unavoidable and inescapable!
