How to Escape God’s Judgment
Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
The last book of the Bible records the irreversible consequences awaiting those rejecting God’s love. The love of which we speak is so beautifully demonstrated in Christ’s atoning sacrifice for our sins. Because of this amazing love, Jesus took upon himself the punishment for our sins and suffered the crucifixion in our place. The Apostle Peter says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24). Therefore, the penalty for all our sins was satisfied in Christ’s sacrificial death. Those who have turned to God in true repentance will escape the final judgment and spend eternity in God’s presence.
The names of every true child of God are written in God’s Book of Life. The book lists the names of everyone who turned to God in true repentance and through Christ will escape the fiery final judgment. Revelation 20:15 states: “Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.” If your name is not written within its pages prior to death, you will forever be separated from God in the afterlife. Some will argue that this is not a literal lake of fire but symbolic of something else. To that argument, I ask, “Do you want to spend eternity separated from God in a place that is symbolized by a lake of fire?” A place of unimaginable suffering?
It is hard for some folks to accept that a loving God would cast the unrepentant into such a horrible place as the lake of fire. Nevertheless, this is exactly the outcome awaiting anyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life. There will be no last-minute deals, reprieves, or stay of judgment. We are foolish to believe otherwise. The time for mercy, grace, and forgiveness is now—then it will be too late.
God has given the unrepentant a lifetime to hear, learn, and understand that God requires all of us to repent and receive salvation through Christ. Daily we are confronted with the message of Christ’s call to repentance. Through radio, TV, Internet, Christian literature, evangelistic ministries, Christian church pulpits, total strangers, a loving family, and caring friends we hear over and over of God’s love and call to open our hearts and repent and be baptized. It will not be possible to stand before the Lord and say, “I did not know or understand about repentance or salvation.” Sadly, and to our loss, many of us are not interested in Christ. We have no concern for Christ and little fear of being judged. How foolish we have become to reject God’s Son and our salvation.
Escaping Judgment
Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth as God’s Son was to restore us to a right relationship with the Father. Through Christ, we have an opportunity to escape the pending judgment reserved for all who reject God and his son. In John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the Father’s plan to save us from judgment and eternal separation in the lake of fire:
Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24)
Let’s take a closer look at this passage of Scripture and focus on the underlined words.
The emphatic expression very truly is translated from the Greek word “ἀμήν,” meaning “amen.” This is the same Greek word we use to say “amen,” or “so be it” at the end of a prayer to affirm we are in full agreement. The same can be said when the pastor states a significant and undeniable truth during the sermon that touches us as the absolute truth, we shout “amen” (ἀμήν). Therefore, when Jesus uses “ἀμήν” to begin this passage he is saying to us, “I assure you, I guarantee you, I promise and affirm that what I am about to say is the absolute truth!” In other words, there is no other version of the truth to consider. What I am saying is 100% accurate, so pay careful attention to my words.
Jesus said, “Whoever hears my words and believes…” Hearing and comprehending what Jesus is saying requires faith. If we choose not to believe His words we are kind of calling God a liar. Many will scoff at God’s truth and say, “There is no judgment, punishment, or lake of fire awaiting anyone.” Refusing to believe the truth, “unbelief,” generally leads to believing a lie that always ends with rejecting God. We, humans, are notorious for always hearing but not understanding and receiving the truth. Many today can quote the Bible but cannot tell you what it says or means.
We must believe that Jesus is telling us the truth and also “Him who sent me.” The difference between Jesus and all others is that He is the one and only Son of God and Savior of the world. There is no other savior. He is the alpha and omega, the King of kings, and the Lord of all. There is no one else. The Father sent Jesus to rescue us from our sins and give us eternal life.
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12)
God’s gift of “salvation” includes “eternal life” in His presence. It is not something that can be earned through good behavior. God desires to rescue us from our sins and give us a new life that is without end. We are told through the scriptures that salvation, the forgiveness of sin, and eternal life are only found in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. There is no other religion, denomination, belief, faith, doctrine, idea, or concept that will save us from the penalty of our sins and the final judgment. Buda, Confucious, Islam, Scientology, or any other religion can not save us from our sins and judgment. Only Jesus can save us. Think? Is Jesus lying to us when he says:
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
We have God’s word that followers of Christ “will not be judged” with the unrepentant and cast into the lake of fire because in this life they turned to Christ and were born again as “new creations” in Christ. Escaping the fiery judgment of God is made possible through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross. Whenever anyone turns to God through Jesus and truly repents, their name is recorded in the Book of Life. Only the unrepentant will be separated from God for all eternity which is a terrible thing beyond words.
There is no greater experience in this life than when we come to our senses and turn to God. We hear Jesus speaking of those escaping the lake of fire in the sense that they have “crossed over from death to life.” We must ask, when and how did they escape from death, judgment, and eternal separation from God in the lake of fire? It begins on the day your name is added to God’s Book of Life. Consider the following passage:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
For me, 1973 was the year I stopped running from God and turned around and ran toward His great love. It was the year that death died and a new life began in Christ.
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
Please Read
Perhaps at this very moment, you have realized that you need the Lord in your life. Maybe you drifted away or need to be born again? If so, you can stop right now and begin talking to God. Ask Him to forgive you for being a sinner and the life you have been living outside of His love. Surrender your life to Him, unconditionally. Call Him Lord and make Him Lord of every thought, attitude, and action. You can say, Lord Jesus, forgive me for all my sins, come into my heart, and take full control of my life. I am your child from this day forward. Change my heart and mind to be Christ-like in every way. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior forever.
If you prayed that prayer we would love to hear back from you.
You may be interested in this blog: Are You Really Born Again?
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