Boldness on the Last Day: On the Role of Christian Faith at the Final Judgment

Mankind as a mass will stand on the Last Day before the Judgment Seat of Christ and there be judged, a judgment which Matthew 25 describes as resulting in being separated into two classes, one of sheep and another of goats. A few passages from Scripture will establish the terms of reference:

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. (Matthew 25:32 ESV)

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31 ESV)

So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous (Matthew 13:49 ESV)

The criterion of judgment appears to be works, especially works of mercy:

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. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' ... "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. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' (Matthew 25:33-36, 41-43 ESV)

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. (Revelation 20:11-12 ESV)

Those on the left are the merciless, and those on the right are the merciful. Clearly, the Final Judgment involves an evaluation of one’s works.

But one essential criterion is often insufficiently accounted for in discourse on this subject regarding the Final Judgment: the role of Christian faith. In other words, we are not going to be judged on the basis of our works simpliciter.

Why? Because such a model would deny the Apostolic faith. It would mean that New Testament Christianity is and always was irrelevant. It would mean that the atoning sacrifice of Christ was irrelevant. It would mean faith in Christ is irrelevant. 

How so? Because a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Muslim, an atheist, and a Christian would all stand equally before God and be judged, not on the basis of any faith, but on the basis of works, especially works of mercy. And yet, it is often the case that Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and atheists may do many more works of mercy than a faithful Christian does. 

If this were the case, then it would be irrelevant to claim Christ as one’s Savior, because one would not be saved according to what Christ has done, but saved according to what works one has done. Such a reading pits the Bible against itself.

In reality, we stand before the dread Judgment Seat of Christ on the basis of faith. Thus, to be judged according to works in this specific context means that the works that we do in faith will be judged according to that faith. For it is an iron law that our works are imperfect. 

And it is God's grace freely given in Christ that, through faith, covers the imperfection of our works and redeems them according to grace. Thus to speak of being judged by works must take this context into account. For when Christ looks at those who trust in Him, He sees them according to the grace that is supplied through faith, and for the sake of His atoning sacrifice does not count our trespasses against us. 

The Apostle Paul writes:

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19 ESV)

And so here we see that in the total Apostolic teaching the Final Judgment must incorporate the reality of Christ’s reconciliation. Connecting this with the notion of the Final Judgment, the Apostle Paul also writes:

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 1:5-8 ESV)

This helpfully complicates the overly simplistic picture that some create out of the Scriptural image of sheep and goats, because it places the Judgment more clearly in relation to the Gospel, the Gospel being the Proclamation that God and man are reconciled in Christ Jesus the Lord, who was crucified for our sin and raised for our justification, this salvation being received by faith apart from any works of the Law. Otherwise, what does the idea of Christ being Savior mean? The very notion of being saved cannot but refer to the only moment that being saved actually matters: the Final Judgment. The Apostle Paul clarifies this in his Epistle to Titus:

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7 ESV) 

From here the lines can be drawn more readily, for when we are in Christ by faith, we are covered by His grace such that, where we fall short, grace supplies what is lacking. As the Apostle Paul teaches, we are saved, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to God’s mercy. And so when we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, it is not to be judged simpliciter, by our works, as if we could ever dream of standing before God apart from faith in Christ. Otherwise, it would make no sense to call Christ the Savior, for if we are judged strictly according to our works, then no one could stand. As King David sings:

If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? (Psalm 130:3 ESV)

By faith, however, we abide in Christ, and so standing in our faith we will be judged according to the grace that is lavished upon us in Christ. The Apostle Paul makes this clear:

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ... In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:7-8, 13-14 ESV)

Therefore, to conclude, and taking into account the Gospel of our salvation in Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone, when we stand before the Son of God on Judgment Day, it is in the light of faith that our works will be evaluated, and so we will stand because we will be made to stand. In this way all of our imperfect works will be evaluated according to the grace of our Savior given in the Gospel itself, and be accepted for the sake of Christ. As the Apostle Paul writes: 

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (Romans 3:21-24 ESV)

Thus, although we find we fall short in all things, the righteousness of God will be accounted to us by faith. As the Apostle John writes:

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. (1 John 4:15-17 ESV)

 -Rev. Joshua Schooping