There will come a day when Christ will judge all men and women in his court. We as Christians often want to emphasis the merciful Savior and put aside the notion of Jesus judging people and sentencing those who are not written in the Book of Life to hell. But God's throne is upon both Mercy and Justice (Righteousness). There will be those who are saved and those who are sentenced to damnation.
The Church in America and Abroad has become uncomfortable with the thought of the Almighty "separating the sheep from the goats." (Matthew 25:31-46). The Universalist doctrine of demons that claims, "all roads lead to heaven and everyone regardless of the god they serve will be saved," is popular and persuasive to merciful people. But the truth is that not everyone will be saved. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, the only way to the Father is through me." (John 14:6). The Lord also said, "narrow is the path that leads to heaven and broad or wide is the path that leads to death and hell. Few will find the narrow path." (Matthew 7:13-14). This doctrine of everyone is acquitted and pardoned despite what deity they serve is refuted by those two verse alone, not to mention this verse where it says, "But they will have to give an account to Him (Jesus) who judges the living and dead," (1 Peter 4:5) and "All nations shall be judged." (Joel 3:2). There is even verses that tell us we shall judge the angels! (1 Corinthians 6:3).
The truth is that there are two courts for judgment. One is the White Throne of Judgment (Revelation 20:11=15), where the Father will judge people. This court of the Father is where those who are not written in the Book of Life shall go and have their deeds cross examined. Here in the White Throne of Judgment people will be judged according to the Law of Moses, which states, "if you have broken one commandments, you have broken all of them." (James 2:10). At this court the sentence will always be guilty, because no human being can be perfect and not break one of the laws of the Lord; an example being "Thou shalt not lie," everyone has lied in their lifetime and that lie will convict you in court.
The second court is The Mercy Seat or Great Throne of Salvation. Here Jesus Christ presides and opens the Book of Life. If you are found at this court you are not guilty because the Blood of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) covers your sins and you are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The Mercy Seat I picture being next to the Great White Throne and people approach the Father first. The Father looks at each person and if He sees his Son, Jesus Christ, in them He looks to Jesus who opens the Book of Life and affirms they are indeed on the list; the believer then moves to another life infront of Jesus and The Mercy Seat. If the Father does not see His Son in you; you shall stay in the line in front of Him and be judged harshly by the Law.
The Book of Life is an important text that contains every single Christian who really knows Christ in it. This Book can only be opened by Jesus Christ. If your name is written in the Book, you then are guaranteed to go to heaven and dwell with the Lord in the new Earth. However, at the Mercy Seat of Christ, you shall be cross examined and judged. This sentencing is not that you go to hell, but rather to determine if your lfie reflected Christ's light and to analysis your good deeds. The result of this examination is not to determine admittance in Heaven, but to assess if you did the work the Lord called you to do. Jesus says, "But I tell you everyone will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every empty, idle, careless, and worthless word they speak. For by your words you will be acquitted (declared innocent) and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37). My interpretation of this process is that Jesus is trying to point out where we could have impacted others for Him or the opportunities we forsook out of fear and other things. I do not see it as reprimand or the Lord raking a believer over the coals, but showing us that there are things we could have done had we been obedient. Those careless words and idle speech is when we did not speak the Gospel and when we choose not to move our lips in the cause of Christ.
The balance of Mercy and Justice under the Most High is hard for us as Christians to understand. We tend to go to one extreme over the other. We either think of God as pure mercy and that He does not want to judge anyone and will make an escape for everyone or we see Jesus as Judge enthroned ready to chastise and condemn people on a whim. The truth is that our Lord has extended his Mercy on the Cross and anyone who chooses Him and follows Him has that Mercy. But anyone who does not go to the Mercy Seat of Christ's cross shall find themselves at the Throne of the Father's Judgment. For Jesus said, "For the Father (God) so loved the World, He sent His only Begotten Son (Jesus Christ) and who ever believes in Him shall never die, but have everlasting and eternal life. But anyone who does not believe this is already judged and condemned." (John 3:16,18).
Without justice we do not have security and safety. If the Lord does not condemn evil and sentences it to hell; we then feel as we do on Earth that criminals are among us and that they can hurt us more. Without Mercy in the form of the cross, we all perish! It is important that we look to Jesus Christ and seek to counted in His Book of Life. We need not fear the Judgment of Revelation 19 or being caste into the Lake of Fire in Revelation 20. No, if we believe, trust in, and follow Jesus Christ we shall be counted among his saints and not be sentenced to the Second Death. Do not let your vision be clouded by scenes of a mean Savior seeking every opportunity to send you to the pit. No, our Lord desires "that not one should perish," and He wants "all people to be saved and come to the truth." (2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4 ). Our Savior Jesus wants everyone to be saved, but the reality is that many will reject Him because they love the world and the wickedness in their own hearts. We should be afraid of falling away and into the judgement of God! It is healthy to revere the Lord who can "destroy both your body and soul in hell!" (Matthew 10;28). But that fear should not be terror or a tainted view of an angry God. Rather it should be healthy desire to not turn away from Him as St. Peter says in his letter, "those who have known the deep mysteries and having turned away from the faith, how can they be saved again?" (2 Peter 2:13-21, NASB Trans. 1971).
We need to guard our salvation with "fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12). Our fear should not be of the Lord, but of leaving the Lord! For Jesus wants to be close to us and let his unlimited, unconditional, and unceasing love pour over us. But He does warn us about leaving Him! Jesus will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), but you can leave Him! The Lord does want you to be close to Him, but he will not violate our free will or control us to love Him. So beware and guard your faith in Christ will all due diligence! Do not fall into deception or follow doctrines of devils! Instead, "finish the race," "keep the faith," and follow the Jesus Christ tell you are with Him in Heaven!
Addendum:
We do not need to be afraid of losing our salvation in Jesus Christ every second of every day. If we love the Lord Jesus Christ will "all our heart, soul, mind, and body," we shall not perish. The point is if you really love Jesus you will not fall away, but be aware that you can fall away if you continue to walk in sin and listen to Satan's lies.
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