Are You Really Ready?

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).

My Friends, there will be a day in which all men will be judged. There is no question that there will be such a day, nor is there any doubt that we all will be there, but, the question is, “Are we ready for the judgment day?”

Life is short, my friends, and death is coming (Jam. 4:14). As surely as we have an appointment with death, we have an appointment with judgment (Heb. 9:27). Let us seek to understand the need for readiness for that great judgment day, to the intent that better understanding will spur us on to being ever watchful.

Jesus promised He will come back (John 14:1-4), but we do not know when (Mat. 24:36). He will return, in His second coming (Heb. 9:28), as the apostles saw Him ascend (Acts 1:11). When Christ comes, He will not set foot on earth, but all (both good and bad) in the graves will be resurrected (John 5:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:50-58), and the saved will “meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 The. 4:17).

On that day, “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:9), so there will be no earth upon which man could continue to live, nor on which Christ could reign (as premillennialists falsely assert; cf. Dan. 7:13-14; Zec. 6:13; Heb. 8:1-4; 1 Cor. 15:23-24). That day will be the last day, and eternity will begin (John 12:48).

My friends, All nations will be present on that great day (Mat. 25:32). We ALL will be there. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). Christ will judge the whole world on that day (Acts 17:31), and all those who are ready will be there (Rev. 2:10), but all those who are not ready will also be present, and will be judged (2 The. 1:7-9).

Jesus Christ the Lord will judge (Acts 17:31; John 5:22; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8), and He will separate the good from the wicked (Mat. 25:32). The righteous will be told, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mat. 25:34), but the wicked will hear: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mat. 25:41).

My friends, Jesus said, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Mat. 25:46).

My friends, are you listening? There will be no “Second Chance” on (or after) the day of judgment. Christ is not coming back to preach the Gospel, for He has already done that (Mark 1:14-15). He is not coming back to invite men to come to Him (Mat. 11:28-30), for He has already done that. All men will settle up with God on that day, the last day (John 12:48), and there will be no more opportunity to hear the Gospel (Rom. 10:17), to believe in Christ (John 8:24), to repent of sins (Acts 2:38), to confess faith in Him (Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:9-10), to be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins (Gal. 3:26-27; Acts 2:38), nor to live faithfully as a child of God (1 John 1:7-10; 1 Cor. 15:58).

If one never found a convenient season before, it will be too late then (Acts 24:25). If one were almost, but not altogether, persuaded, it will be too late on that day (Acts 26:28).

If one knew better, but did not do better, it will be too late. If one had “good intentions” of obeying God, but never did, it will be too late. For church members who warmed a pew, were lukewarm, apathetic, and indifferent, it will be too late. Those who failed to watch and obey will wish forever that they had (Mark 13:34ff).

On that last day, my friends, the standard of judgment Will Not be any of the following: man’s opinions, ideas, wishful thinking, or the doctrines of men (Mat. 15:9). Likewise, these will not be taken into account: what the majority believes, likes, or wants; what loved ones believed or practiced; what the world approved; what appealed to the worldly, ungodly, carnal, or hypocritical; what synods, conventions, and forums of men decided; or what felt good, seemed right, or promoted union (not real unity).

It will not be a day of escape by placing blame on others, and there will be no appeal. The judgment will be righteous (Acts 17:31), based on each man’s deeds (2 Cor. 5:10), as compared with the books (Old and New Testaments), and the Book of Life (Rev. 20:12-15).

Jesus said: “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).

For all living in the Christian age, the basis of judgment will be the Word of Christ. Teachings of Islam, Confucius, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., will not be the basis of judgment.

Friends, God means what He says, and He will have the last word. There will be a day when Christ will judge the world (Jude 14-15). None will avoid this day when the Lord will decree eternal destinies for all. For the righteous, and those that wisely obey, there will be great reward, but for the foolish who have chosen to either "Add To,or Take Away" From His Word, and follow the foolish ways of Man and there traditions and doctrines over God's and Christ, ... the wicked, there will be eternal punishment. Certainly, it behooves us to be ready.

My Friends, I pray this day, that you will choose to Be Ready!