Last week we had a look at what judgment looks like for believers. We talked about rewards for good works. I thought this week we would look at what judgment day looks like for those who believe in Jesus but do nothing else with their faith. We talked about the parable of the talents last week but there are some other examples in our Bible that are much clearer in meaning.
Let’s start with John 3:36 which says, “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” First thing to note; I don’t think God is angry because of their sin, but I think that God may be angry because of their stubbornness in refusing to make Jesus Lord of their life.
Did you realise that the verse says “anyone who believes has eternal life” but it doesn’t say “anyone who doesn’t believe remains under God’s angry judgment”? It says anyone who doesn’t “obey the Son”. Most translations use the word “obey” there. Some say “reject” but that is a scary word right there. It is not just believing in Jesus that is going to get us eternal life in heaven. It is believing and obeying.
James 2:19-20 says, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?” In the Passion Translation verse 19 says, “You can believe all you want that there is one true God, that’s wonderful! But even the demons know this and tremble with fear before him, yet they’re unchanged— they remain demons.”
We believe in God because we have not seen Him. Demons are one step ahead, they have seen Him and they know He is God. So what separates us from demons? Obedience. Demons are in rebellion to Jesus Christ and His Lordship. If we want to escape God’s angry judgment, we need to believe in Jesus and obey Him. There needs to be evidence of His Lordship in our lives. If we believe and remain unchanged, we are no different to the demons that live in rebellion to God. Ouch.
Heaven is a real place and so is hell. Demons will never enter heaven. Hell was created for demons. However, if we will not obey Jesus and submit to His Lordship, we will have to endure the wrath that was set aside for the devil and his demons. Hell was never made for people. God does not want any of us to perish (2 Peter 3:9) but if we choose to rebel against Jesus, we choose hell for ourselves. Rebellion may feel good for a short while, but the end result is death and separation from Jesus forever.
Matthew 25:31-32;41 says, “When the Son of Man appears in his majestic glory, with all his angels by his side, he will take his seat on his throne of splendor, and all the nations will be gathered together before him. And like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats, he will separate all the people… Then to those on his left the King will say, ‘Leave me! For you are under the curse of eternal fire that has been destined for the devil and all his demons.”
We can conclude that eternal fire is a reference to hell there. Hell was never meant for people. But why does Jesus say these people were destined for eternal fire? Matthew 25:42-43 says, “For when you saw me hungry, you gave me no food, and when you saw me thirsty, you gave me no drink. I had no place to stay, and you refused to take me in as your guest. When you saw me poorly clothed, you closed your hearts and did not clothe me. When you saw that I was sick, you didn’t lift a finger to help me, and when I was imprisoned, you never came to visit me.’
This takes us back to James 2:20, faith without works is dead. Faith is a good starting point, but we must progress to obedience and then submission. Matthew 25:44-45 goes on to say, “And then those on his left will say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty and not give you food and something to drink? When did we see you homeless, or poorly clothed? When did we see you sick and not help you, or in prison and not visit you?’ “Then he will answer them, ‘Don’t you know? When you refused to help one of the least important among these my little ones, my true brothers and sisters, you refused to help and honor me.’ And they will depart from his presence into eternal punishment. But the godly and beloved ‘sheep’ will enter into eternal bliss.”
The scary part about verse 44 is that the people called Jesus, “Lord”. So these are not outright sinners who didn’t believe in Jesus. These are people who believed but did not obey. They did not submit to the Lordship of Jesus in their lives. Jesus said this in Luke 6:46, “What good does it do for you to say I am your Lord and Master if you don’t put into practice what I teach you?”
That ought to make us pause and reflect on our lives. We serve a real God and there are real consequences for the decisions we make in this life. Let us be people who not only believe in Jesus but people who obey Him and are submitted to His Lordship in every way. Not out of fear of eternal fire, but reverence for who He is. We must obey the word to ensure we are never separated from the One who loves us more than we can measure or understand. Can you imagine an eternity without the love of Christ? Now that will be hell.
(Apologies to anyone reading this who believes hell is a swear word, it is not a swear word in Australia.)
Love and blessings,
Melissa Tsingano.
Heavenly Whispers Blog 
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