“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” ...“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Matthew 25:31–34, 41

Standing Before the Judge

There I was, standing before the judge. The stakes were not high, fifty-two in a thirty was not going to put me in prison or cost me my license. However, I was not looking forward to a hefty fine or the points that would end up costing even more once my insurance company got wind of the verdict. Across the courtroom, the officer stood holding incontrovertible evidence of my guilt.

Many of you have been in this same place: standing before a judge, knowing our guilt, and hoping for grace. When we stand guilty before a judge, one thing becomes clear, we are not in control. At least some part of our future, a small fine, or a life-changing sentence, is in the hand of the judge. In our earthly court system, appeals are often available, but eventually they run out, and we stand before a judge whose ruling is final.  

If you are like me, this lack of control is unsettling. We want to be in control not only of our actions, but also of the consequences of our actions. We yearn to embody the poetic proclamation of William Henley, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” (Invictus). Yet when we stand before a judge, one truth becomes unmistakably clear, we are not the masters of our fate. There are moments when our future is taken out of our hands and we realize we are powerless to change it.

One day we will stand before the judgment seat of God. In that moment, we will realize we are not the masters of our fate or the captains of our souls. We do not have the power to determine where we will spend eternity. Only the Judge does. Yet we are not without hope because the Judge has told us by what measure we will be judged. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).

There will be one question which determines whether we join the sheep or the goats: have we placed our faith in Jesus Christ? Without faith in Him, we stand condemned before the Judge and will be sent, “into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” But if we have faith in Him, we have eternal life in heaven because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:24–25). 

              Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence. Put your hope in Jesus Christ, so that you may stand with confidence before the judge of all the earth.