Christ, the Supreme Judge
An earthly judge is a civil officer invested with authority to hear and determine causes, civil or criminal, between parties, according to his commission. First he hears the information presented to him from both sides to form an opinion. Then he compares those information, discerns in between the lines, makes an accurate determination of the facts, and finally come to a verdict. It is the same with God.
Genesis 18:25 "… Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
Notice the capital 'J' for 'Judge' in this verse? That is because God is the Judge of all the earth, and his will is to "do right." True justice demands righteous judgment, and it is also the same with an earthly judge whose commission is to "do right." An earthly judge will exercise judgment by the law of the land according to the statutes and commandments prescribed by the state for her subjects. It is the same with God. For example:
Deuteronomy 28:15 "¶ But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:"
The Judge of all the earth will execute judgment according to his commandments and his statutes which are found in his book of the law — the 66 books of the Holy Bible. Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), and every sinner is a transgressor, and will be judged according to God's law, both Jews and gentiles.
Romans 2:14-15 "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)"
The work of the law is written in the hearts of every man, which is why there are laws which punish murder, stealing, adultery, etc in every nation and every age in the history of mankind, even though these nations may not know the God of the Holy Bible, nor do they acknowledge him as their Creator.
Romans 1:18-19 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them."
Every man, Jews or gentiles, know it is against the law to murder, to steal, or to commit adultery, etc because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shewed it unto them. Even in primitive tribes of Africa and other places, there are laws against murder, stealing, adultery, etc. How do they know to do right? The answer is because the works of the law is written in their hearts.
Romans 1:20 "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"
The "invisible things of him," the work of the law written in the hearts, are clearly seen and understood by every man, so that no man has an excuse when he stand before the Judge of all the earth, and God will judge every man according to their works. It doesn't matter if it is a small sin or a great sin. Every sin has a penalty, and God will judge accordingly.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 "¶ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
In Genesis 3, Adam failed in his duty to keep God's one and only commandment to him, and the penalty was death.
Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
This verse tells us that every man who was born of Adam is a sinner before God, and so death passed upon all men. The judgment of God, which is righteous and true, continues to this very day. The question is: Was the penalty fully paid at the death of the body? The answer is a definite 'No.' I will take a quote from this passage:
Luke 16:22-23 "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
The rich man died, and his body was buried, but his soul was carried by the angels to hell where he continued to pay for the sins that he had committed during his lifetime.
Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"
That was the judgment of God. The rich man had an appointment with the Supreme Judge to appear at the court upon his physical death, and the Supreme Judge passed the verdict, which was how he ended up in hell to be tormented for his transgressions. Jesus tells us in:
John 12:48 "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
There is a "last day" for every man who has every lived, and the last day of a man on earth is the day of his physical death. In his last day, the body of the rich man was passed from life unto death, but his soul continued to live. The reason why a man will end up in hell is because he "rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words." Jesus gave us a glimpse of what hell is like in these three verses:
Mark 9:44 "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Mark 9:46 "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Mark 9:48 "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
The worm is the soul of a man, and it dieth not. But in hell, the fire is not quenched, and so the soul continues to be tormented in fire. Prophet Isaiah tells us:
Isaiah 66:24 "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."
The context of this verse is when death and hell was already thrown into the lake of fire at the second death, but notice: the souls of transgressors that were already in hell continues to be burned in the future lake of fire, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. That is the judgment of God, the Supreme Judge of all the earth. Apostle John tells us in:
Revelation 20:11-13 "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. 12 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. 13 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."
This is a picture of God's Supreme Court and the Supreme Judge sitting on a great white throne. There will be a day, when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God, and will be judged out of the things which are written in the book of life, according to their works. Every sinner will be found guilty in transgressing against the law of God written in their hearts.
Matthew 25:46 "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
Their sentence is "everlasting punishment" in the lake of fire. True justice demands righteous judgment, and God cannot be wrong in his judgment. Therefore, Knowing that man cannot fulfil the demands of the law, God in his love gave his only begotten Son to be a sin offering for us, whosoever believeth in him.
John 3:16-17 "¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
God the Son was born the Son of man to die for our sins, whosoever believeth in him. God did not send his only begotten Son into the world to condemn us, but that we through faith in him, might be saved. This is the gospel in a nutshell.
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Jesus Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1; 1 John 5:7), and therefore faith is also faith in the word of God - the 66 books of the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is God's gift to us, and it was freely given to us by the grace of God. God was the one who inspired the words and preserved them for us. Man did not author those words nor did he preserve them, and so no man should boast.
John 5:39 "¶ Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
Apart from the words written in the scriptures, there is no eternal life. That's why we are to search the scriptures, because therein are the words which testify of Jesus Christ, from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Christians who don't search the scriptures don't know the real Jesus, and they are susceptible to fall for a lie and another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4). The fake Jesus will lead them to hell and the lake of fire, all the while assuring them that they are saved from God's wrath.