In the other two messages we have talked about:
I. THE MAJESTY OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
II. THE MULTITUDES OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
But today we want to talk about TWO more things that will be involved in this judgment.
First, let’s look at-
III. THE METHOD OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
In the first sermon on the White Throne Judgment, we found out that the Lord Jesus, the Son of man, will be the Judge.
HOW WILL HE JUDGE?
Notice, several things about this judgment.
A. GREAT SINNERS WILL BE THERE
It is called the GREAT White Throne Judgment because every sinner that will appear before the Lord, will appear before him as a GREAT SINNER.
Now perhaps some are saying, “Preacher, there will be some who will be there who have only committed small sins, HOW CAN YOU SAY THEY ARE GREAT SINNERS?”
The reason that all appear before Him as Great Sinners, is because that is exactly why they are there.
We live in a society that categorizes sin. That is, we see some folks as:
• Small Sinners
• Big Sinners
But the fact is, God does not categorize sin or sinners.
Illus: Legend has it that a man stood at the gates of Heaven, and asked St. Peter to allow him to come in. Saint Peter asked him why should he be allowed to enter in, and he said, “Because I joined the First Baptist Church and I am a very good member!” Then Saint Peter said to him, “There are no Baptists in here!” The man thought and said, “Are there any Episcopalians in there?” St. Peter said to him, “No, there are no Episcopalians in here.” “Are there any Methodists in there?” He said, “No, there is no Methodists in here.” He was really getting concerned and he said, “Are there any Pentecostals in there?” Saint Peter said, “No Pentecostals are in here!” The man said, “Who is in there?” Saint Peter said, “Only Believers!”
• HEAVEN will be filled with BELIEVERS.
• HELL will be full of UNBELIEVERS!
All who have chosen a life of sin are unbelievers.
Sin in the sight of God is sin, and ALL SIN is so bad that it cost the life of the Lord Jesus on the cross.
He did not just die for men like Hitler, Nero, Stalin, Osama Bin Laden, Castro, and Saddam Hussein! The fact is, He died for every sinner.
We make a mistake when we categorize sins as BIG SINS and SMALL SINS!
• When God looks at the godly who have been cleansed by the blood of Christ, all he sees is the precious blood. That is, at Calvary, Christ took our sins and we took His righteousness.
• When God looks at the ungodly who have rejected His Son, all he sees is Sinners who have rejected His beloved Son.
You see, we have already talked about this in a previous sermon, but no sinner is going to Hell:
• Because they are a LIAR
• Because they are a RAPIST
• Because they are an ADULTERER
• Because they are a THIEF
All sinners will die and go to a devil’s hell because they would not come to the Lord Jesus, and allow Him to save them from their sin.
The reason that all sinners at the Great White Throne Judgment will be there, is because they all committed that one BIG SIN, they all REJECTED HIS BELOVED SON!
Every one of them is guilty of committing this ONE UNFORGIVABLE SIN!
God will forgive a person of their sins, no matter how gross those sins may be, but God will not forgive those who REJECT HIS SON!
It is called the GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT, BECAUSE THERE WILL BE ONLY GREAT SINNERS THERE.
GOD CALLS IT A GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT for another reason.
B. A GREAT JUDGMENT WILL TAKE PLACE
There will only be GREAT SINNERS THERE, and God is going to deal out justice to them in a GREAT MANNER.
GREAT SIN will require GREAT JUSTICE.
Sinners will get JUSTICE when they stand before the Lord at the Great White Throne judgment.
Illus: Some of the most unjust things that have ever been done, take place in some of the court rooms in this nation.
While we like to brag and boast about our judiciary system as being the best in the world, and it is, the fact is that many unjust things have taken place in our courts.
MURDERERS, RAPISTS, CHILD MOLESTERS AND THIEVES have caused much harm to the society in which we live, but they walked out of the court room with a smile on their face, knowing they were guilty but had gotten away with their crime.
But at the Great White Throne Judgment, there will be no one walking away with a smile on their face.
The WHITE stands for the purity of God’s judgment.
Every sinner who stands before Him can rest assured that he will get 100% justice.
• There won’t be any crooked lawyers to represent them
• There won’t be a crooked judges to stand before
• There won’t be any closed door meetings before the trial ever takes place
Now, as a sinner, a man can call upon God and get MERCY, but one day he will stand before God and only receive JUSTICE!
Some might be saying, “I have never done terrible things like killing someone, lying about someone, stealing from someone, I DO NOT DESERVE TO BE THERE.”
If you did not deserve to be there, you would not be there. But the fact that a person will appear there means they deserve to be there!
If you have not received Christ as your Savior, YOU WILL BE THERE!
God’s Word says, the SMALL and the GREAT will be there.
Who will be at THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT?
• The skeptics, the mockers, the atheists, the agnostics, the Hindus, the Moslems, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Spiritists, those that practice Yoga, the Buddhists, the Mormons, the Unitarians, the astrologers, the fortune-tellers, and all other cults will be there.
• Those that believed in living for "self," who trusted in gold and silver, idols, reincarnation, and in "just being a good person," will find themselves at the great white throne judgment.
• All who did not die "in Christ," who were Catholics, Protestants, Presbyterians, Methodists, Wesleyans, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Baptists, Church of God, Foursquare, Assemblies of God, Church of Christ, Seventh-Day Adventists, Pentecostals, Charismatics will be there. All that did not die "in Christ," from all over the earth, will stand before the great white throne.
• All that chose to live for this world, but not for the world to come, shall be there.
• Those that worshiped the beast and his image, and took the mark, and died before the judgment of the nations will be there.
• Cain will be there. The rich man, in Luke 16, will be there. The unrepentant Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees, and Herodians will be there.
• Those that nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross will be there. Those that shouted, "Crucify Him, crucify Him," will be there.
• Those, today, that oppose God's work and God's people, if they don’t repent, will be there.
• Multitudes of preachers, priests, Sunday school teachers, Gospel singers, elders, and moral people that were not "in Christ," will be there.
Every one that appears at the Great White Throne Judgment will be there because they DESERVE TO BE THERE!
It is called a GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT BECAUSE GREAT SINNERS WILL BE THERE TO BE JUDGED FAIRLY!
Also, it is called the Great White Throne Judgment because -
C. THE GREAT LORD WILL DO THE JUDGING
Some of the judges in this country:
• Are fair and others are not
• Are lenient and others are not
But when the Lord rules from the Great White Throne Judgment, never in the history of the world has there be any greater judge to rule.
You see, many times when someone appears in court down here, the Judge and the jury hears what some crooked lawyer wants them to hear.
And based on the misinformation that they receive, they make an unfair judgment.
But the Lord Jesus will have the record books open and there will not be any false information presented.
God is Omnipresent, and if anyone standing before the Lord Jesus denies doing something, the Omnipresent Lord will say to them, “You did do that, I was there and I saw you do it.”
Every one who stands before Him at the Great White Throne Judgment will get 100% justice.
The METHOD OF JUDGMENT will be 100% JUSTICE. There will be no MERCY, JUST JUSTICE!
We have looked at the:
• The MAJESTY OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
• The MULTITUDES OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
• The METHOD OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
But before we leave the Great White Throne Judgment, let us look at one more thing, and that is-
IV. THE MISERY OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
In 2 Tim. 4:1, we read, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.”
The Bible, speaking of the lost, says that at the Great White Throne Judgment, God will judge the “Quick” (those who are alive) and the “Dead”.
If you are lost today, there is no human way to escape the Great White Throne Judgment except through Jesus Christ.
Some might be saying, “Preacher are we going to see our LOST loved ones and friends stand before Him and hear Him say to them, ‘Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire’?”
Yes, we will see and hear the Lord say that to them.
But the reason we will be able to see Him do this and not raise the least opposition, is because at this time we will be in our glorified bodies.
Instead of us opposing God, we will be honoring Him for the JUSTICE that He dispenses.
Look at Rev. 15:3-4, we read, “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”
We will be on the side lines, and will watch these things take place, and notice, we believers will be there in our glorified bodies. While God is judging all the SINNERS who appear there, we will be stating, “Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints…”
• There will be dads and moms in their glorified bodies, who will watch lost relatives appear before the Lord at the Great White Throne judgment, and hear the Lord sentence them to a devil’s hell, and they will say that the Lord is TRUE and JUST in all His Ways!
• There will be loving grandparents in their glorified bodies, who will see their lost grandchildren stand before the Lord, and hear the Lord sentence them to a devil’s hell, and they will say that the Lord is TRUE and JUST in all His Ways!
• There will be believers in their glorified bodies, who will have lost brothers and sisters, and hear the Lord sentence them to a devil’s hell, and they will say that the Lord is TRUE and JUST in all His Ways.
• There will be Sunday school teachers who have shed many tears for people they tried to win to Christ, but when the Lord sentences them to a devil’s hell, they will say that the Lord is TRUE and JUST in all His Ways.
WHY WILL THOSE WHO ARE IN THEIR GLORIFIED BODIES RESPOND IN THIS FASHION?
Because at the Great White Throne Judgment, only justice will prevail. Who we know, and who our parents might be, will have no influence on the decision that is going to be rendered.
Rev. 20:12-13, we read, “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.”
Conclusion:
Today, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord, I want to plead with you to come to Christ before it is to late.
Christians who know the Lord, I plead with you to witness to family members and friends before it is too late, and tell them they are going to appear before the Great White Throne Judgment.
I. THE MAJESTY OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
II. THE MULTITUDES OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
III. THE METHOD OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
IV. THE MISERY OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
