Listen:  106.6

Let’s begin by reading Revelation 20:11-15, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 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. 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.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”  This great white throne judgment is where those who have never accepted Christ as their savior will receive the judgment of a sin-hating God for all the sins they have committed in their lifetime.  When we read of the dead in this portion, it is speaking of the spiritually dead.  Those who were deemed small in life and those who were looked on as being great…all these will stand before God to be judged according to their works.

Notice that there are two sets of books that are opened at this judgment.  One book is the book of life.  No one standing before the Lord at this point has their names in this book.  The absence of their names shows they had never accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior and received eternal life.  The other books contain all the sinful acts of the unbelievers.  Can you imagine listening to the judgment of God as He brings out every single sin that you ever committed?  Not one sin will be overlooked.

For those who know the Lord Jesus as their savior, we have this precious promise in John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”  Can you imagine being totally beyond the reach of God’s fierce judgment?  This is the grand privilege of those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus…absolutely no condemnation, no judgment.

Everyone will either be justified by faith, or judged according to their works.  Romans 5:8-9 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”  Christ died for us so that we would not have to receive the judgment of God for our sins.  Hebrews 9:28 tells us that, “…Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many…”  He came to die for our sins.  He was the perfect sacrifice, acceptable to God for the putting away of our sins.

So, my friend, we see that we will either receive the full wrath of God for our sins, or we will receive no wrath at all by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior.  Romans 10:9 assures us, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”  1 Thessalonians 1:10 tells us for certain that the Lord Jesus has, “…delivered us from the wrath to come.”  Salvation is a free gift of God to all who will simply receive it by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior.

While the Lord desires that all that are saved are also baptized, baptism has no part in our salvation.  Baptism is an act of obedience from one who is already saved.  For more information about the purpose of baptism, please go to our website: www.answersfromthebook.net and type “Is baptism necessary for salvation?” into the search box.  (106.6)