How will God judge the believer and the non-believer?
Question:
Hi,
I have some more questions about things in the Bible that I thought of. I don't have any verses about these things right now.
Is it a bad thing to be scared of living forever, even though I know I am going to Heaven? I think about it never-ending and that would be scary to me. Would you say that this would be doubting or not fully trusting in the Lord? Is it possible for someone not to be saved if he does this? If there is any doubt in salvation, does the Lord require a person to not have any doubt? Will the Lord save a person if he doesn't fully trust in God?
Can a person still be saved if he acts like a Christian but keeps doing certain sins without stopping or repenting of them?
Does the Bible say anything about how the Lord will judge non-believers and believers? I heard that non-believers will be judged by the Law or Ten Commandments. I know the Bible says that the law doesn't condemn the person. Paul said that he would not be saved if it wasn't for the law. I don't have all the exact verses I know right now.
Will the saved be judged for their sins or only for the good things that they did? Or are the saved only rewarded for the good things that they did and not judged at all because Jesus already paid for their sins? I think I heard that God forgets all of our sins because we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus, but does He forget all of our sins or just ones before we were saved?
Does the Bible say anything about when believers will be judged and how? Does it say if believers will be judged all at once as if personally by the Holy Spirit or something or will it be like a one on one like all believers standing before God or publicly in front of every saved person? There are some things that people wouldn't want others to know of what they did that they kept secret; this is what I'm talking about. Does the Bible say anything about us knowing everything when we get to Heaven or knowing things about someone you knew or who you didn't know, like knowing their personal life?
Answer:
I suppose eternity might be disturbing if you assume nothing changes, but that wouldn't be a correct assumption. The alternative is to cease to exist and that definitely would be unchanging. "But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion" (Ecclesiastes 9:4).
Still, this type of fear is not doubting God but stems from not understanding how it will work out. God has always done what is best for men, so be confident that He has your best interests in mind. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
To not repent of sin means you believe that at least some sins are acceptable to God. But Jesus said, "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). This doesn't mean you won't sin or that sin won't be a struggle. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (I John 1:8). But the question is what is your attitude toward sin. A Christian abhors sin and refuses to stay in them. "Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil" (I John 3:7-8). The righteous person doesn't make a practice of sin, even while struggling against sin and knowing that at times he'll slip.
So what sins are you struggling with that make you think you can't overcome them?
God is clear that everyone is judged by the same rules. "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). For a detailed discussion on this see: Are Non-Christians Subject to the Laws of God?
Judgment is based on both the good and the bad that we have done. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (II Corinthians 5:10). The Christian is not exempt from judgment. "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (I Peter 4:17). God is impartial and treats all people alike:
"But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who "will render to each one according to his deeds": eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God" (Romans 2:2-11).
What God says is that He looks at people as they are and not at who they were.
"But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live? But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die" (Ezekiel 18:21-24).
Thus when a person becomes a child of God through baptism (Galatians 3:26-27), God forgives them of their past sins (Acts 22:16); however, this doesn't mean they won't sin again. If they do, God has provided a solution: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (I John 1:8-2:1).
But if someone who is a Christian doesn't turn from his sins, God has nothing else to offer him but what he has already rejected. If we, as that person's brothers and sisters, try to bring him back we'll meet with defeat -- not because he can't come back but because he doesn't want to come back. "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame" (Hebrews 6:4-6). Perhaps he'll change his mind, but God is saying, "Don't hold your breath."
You see it isn't God who rejects, but men who reject God. That can happen even after becoming a Christian. "This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme" (I Timothy 1:18-20). Thus, the warning is to be careful and don't think you are immune.
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world" (I Peter 5:8-9).
