SEVEN THINGS THAT YOU AND I WILL NOT HEAR ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

The concept of a coming day of judgment is not a fantasy or fable. Rather, it is a fact that there will be a day of judgment. The apostle Paul told the people in ancient Athens that God "hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness . . . " (Acts 17:31). All people that have ever lived on the earth will be brought before the throne of God, and His glorious Son will judge each one of them. There are some things that will be missing on that great day, so do not expect to see or hear them.

(1) On the day of judgment, no one will say, "There is no God." According to the Bible, that is what fools say while living in this world (Psalm 14:1). However, on judgment day this truth about God will be clear to all: "He is" (Hebrews 11:6). "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12).

(2) On the day of judgment, no one will say, "One religion is as good as another." On that day, all will know without a doubt that only through Jesus can people come to the Father (John 14:6). All will see that only those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb are redeemed from past sins (Revelation 5:9), and the only way for His blood to keep on cleansing a person is for that person to continue to walk in the light of His word (1 John 1:7).

(3) On the day of judgment, no one will say, "I regret that I did my best to follow Jesus faithfully." Friends, the crown of life is for the faithful, period! (Revelation 2:10). It is the good and faithful servant who will hear on that day, "Well done, good and faithful servant . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matthew 25:23). Regret such a reward? Never! Surely there will be no regrets by anyone that has given his/her all in the Lord’s service. Every service attended, every prayer offered, every minute spent in Bible study, every visit made, every mile driven or walked for the Cause – all of this and so much more, will make us think, as the old hymn says, "Heaven Will Surely Be Worth It All."

(4) On the day of judgment, no one will say, "I wish now that I had spent more time working and making money." Some folks are fortunate enough to wake up in time to see life as it really is. They come to their senses in this life and recognize the folly of "working themselves to death" in order to make more and more of "the almighty dollar." Sadly, others spend their whole lives thinking that riches and material things are the key to happiness and real meaning in life. Their number one pursuit is the building up of riches. Come judgment day, though, neither a penny nor a billion dollars will have any significance. Being a billionaire will not help a person be saved, neither will the lack of such riches cause one to be lost. On the other hand, it may be that on That Day some will regret that they, in their supposed effort to make a living, willfully failed to spend more time with their families, work more in the church, and, in general, give attention to spiritual affairs.

(5) On the day of judgment, no one will say, "I am sorry that I put forth a diligent effort to teach the gospel to lost people." People become lost due to their own sins (Ephesians 2:1). People remain lost until they obey the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9). What a thrill it is to be privileged to teach others God’s way of salvation. God wants each of His children to be involved in the teaching process (Mark 16:15,16). Brothers and sisters, there is great joy in the heart of one that sows the seed and his/her sowing results in a spiritual harvest (Psalm 126:5,6). We can perceive of Christians reflecting with great sorrow on their lives if they seldom, if ever, tried to teach the Lord’s good news to others. But, to be sad on the judgment day for spending great time and effort to try and reach hell-bound souls with the gospel? There is no way that you and I will see or hear that type of regret at the judgment.

(6) On the day of judgment, no one will say, "I am sorry now that I did not think and act more like the world." Heaven is an undefiled place (1 Peter 1:4) that has been prepared for undefiled people (2 Corinthians 7:1). While God calls us to be holy and come out and be separate from the ungodly (1 Peter 1:15,16; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18), some members of the church fall right in place and march alongside the world and do their best to act just like it. Brethren, we cannot be God’s friends and friends of the world at the same time (James 4:4). It just will not work. Yes, we can see that it is possible that on the judgment day, some worldly members of the church of the Christ will be overwhelmed with sorrow – sorrow caused by their obsession in this life with following the fashions, styles, speech, and mannerisms of the world. On That Day, though, none will regret their devotion to the Master, including their unbending commitment to be like Him and at the same time avoid the contamination of the world (James 1:27).

(7) On the day of judgment, God will not say, "I have changed my mind: the unrighteous can inherit the kingdom after all." The God of heaven, Who cannot lie (Titus 1:2), tells you and me, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?" (1 Corinthians 6:9). Our Creator also tells us something about those that have part in what the Bible calls "the works of the flesh": ". . . they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19,21). Now if the Lord says it will not happen (unrighteous/ungodly people entering into the eternal kingdom), then it will not happen. God cannot be true to His nature and His pronounced word and then later "go back on" what He has said. Let us not deceive ourselves or others by saying or implying that maybe, just maybe, God will "change the rules." If people want to be prepared for the day of judgment, then they need to get with it and live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. Do you know why? Because that is what the Lord wants every one of us to do! (Titus 2:12).

There is a wonderful place called heaven that our Lord has prepared for those that have been born again and continue to live a faithful life. Standing between humanity and heaven is what the Bible calls "the day of judgment." We have noted seven things that you and I will not hear on the day of judgment. May we all give diligence to make our calling and election sure in order that we may be blessed with the blessing of blessings: "For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:11,12).

-- Roger D. Campbell

Return to the General Articles page

Home / Bible studies / Bible Survey / Special Studies / General Articles / Non-Bible Articles / Sermons / Sermon Outlines / Links / Questions and Answers / What Saith The Scriptures /Daily Devotional / Correspondence Courses / What is the Church of Christ / Book: Christian Growth / Website Policy / E-mail / About Me /