Every spoken word. Every act. Every thought. God sees them all. The little white lies that we have all told to keep ourselves from getting in trouble. The rolling of our eyes at our parents or quick peak at another person’s test. The lustful glance at a skimpily dressed woman walking by. God doesn’t just remember the “big” sins. No, God remembers them all, as each and every sin screams in His face “I hate you!” Matt Chandler, lead pastor of the Village Church, is fond of using this illustration: Suppose we put a chip in your brain that could record every single thought you have in every moment of every day for a week. Then, at the end of the week, we invited all of your family, friends, co-workers, and church leaders to watch those thoughts played out on a screen. Would you stay to watch? I know I wouldn’t. With all of that shame, I’d most likely move as far away as I could and change my name, never to be heard of again.

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“There are no little sins, because there is no little God to sin against.” – Dr. John Blanchard

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Now we have a predicament. We are guilty before the throne of God, and we will one day stand before God to answer for our crimes. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that “…it is appointed for men to die once, but after this is the judgment…” Death rate is 100%. We all die. Death can be a scary thing, but what comes after death is the real threat. Jesus tells us “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Oh, so Satan is the real threat whom we must fear, you might think. Satan, however, does not rule hell. In fact, Satan doesn’t rule anything! Hell is not Satan’s realm. It is God’s. Hell is where God pours out His wrath in justice on all those who are not in Christ. Satan, like all others in hell, was sentenced there by the Sovereign God of the universe. This God is the one whom we are to fear. He is the one with all the power, and He is the one whom we must face on judgment day.

Before the face of God, there is no hiding our sin. I am a guilty man. Rightfully, I deserve Hell. What else can I say when judgment day comes? That I did a bunch of good stuff too? But if I’m honest, the good pales in comparison to the evil I have done. Should I try to guilt God into forgiving me because, after all, what I’ve done isn’t that bad and God is supposed to be loving and merciful. Actually, what we’ve done is rebelled against the King of Kings – that kind of treason sounds pretty bad to me! And it may be true that God is loving and merciful, but he is also just. What kind of  God would He be if He just let evil go unpunished? If God is good, and God is just, then come judgment day I should be sent straight to Hell for all of eternity. It is what I deserve. When I stand before God’s throne to make an account for my life, what will I say?

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“You and I are not the only things God loves. He loves righteousness, He loves holiness, and He loves justice.” – Mike Smalley

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Paul gives us our answer. We have only one hope on that day. Hebrews 9:28 continues, “…so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” One day, I will die, and upon that day I will face judgment. But God has given me hope. Jesus Christ offered Himself up as a sacrifice to God, bearing the sins of the world. Christ has dealt with sin. On the cross He cried out, “It is finished”. I have no works of my own on which I can stand. They are filthy rags before God (Is. 64:6). There is no amount of rhetoric or crafty reasoning to get myself out of this sentencing. So what will I say on that day? That by the grace of God I trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Here is an excellent sermon clip from Paul Washer on this topic.

What are you going to do when your time has come
And your life is done and there’s nothing you can stand on?
What will you have to say at the judgment throne?
I already know the only thing that I can say
There’s nothing I can do on my own to find forgiveness
It’s by His grace alone I trust in Jesus
– Trust in Jesus, Third Day

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
Jesus died my soul to save,
my lips shall still repeat
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow – Jesus Paid it All, Elvina Hall