Some do not like the idea of God's final judgement, assuming that God's love must be too nice to hold people ultimately accountable for their choices. Jesus apparently did not share that view. He seems to have taken seriously his insistence that people follow him and obey his teaching.
But, the kinds of things Jesus mentions as the the basis for that judgment are instructive and perhaps not surprising given the commandments listed in the previous posts of this series. When Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (Matthew 4:17), these must have been the kinds of things he had most in mind as what we need to turn away from or toward in order to follow him.
Stay Alert and Endure
But, the kinds of things Jesus mentions as the the basis for that judgment are instructive and perhaps not surprising given the commandments listed in the previous posts of this series. When Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (Matthew 4:17), these must have been the kinds of things he had most in mind as what we need to turn away from or toward in order to follow him.
Stay Alert and Endure
“Keep
awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:13
“Stay
awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed
is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41
“Beware
of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are
ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:15-16
“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is
the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it.” Matthew 24:23
“You
also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” Luke
12:40
“By
your endurance you will gain your souls.” Luke 21:19
“Keep
awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” Matthew
24:42
“Everyone
will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be
saved.” Mark 13:13
Judgement Day
“Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” John 5:28-29
“Do
not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who
can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28 (cf. Luke 12:5)
“Should
you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” And in
anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire
debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not
forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 18:33-35
“But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool', you will be liable to the hell of fire." Matthew 5:22
“But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool', you will be liable to the hell of fire." Matthew 5:22
“I
tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every
careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your
words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37
“If
your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life
maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And
if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter
life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell., And if your eye
causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom
of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where
their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.” Mark 9:43-48 (cf. Matthew 5:29-30, Matthew 18:8-9)
“Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38 (cf. Luke 9:26)
“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.” Luke 12:8-9
“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” Mark 3:28-30 (cf. Matthew 12:31-32, Luke 12:10)
“Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” John 3: 5
“The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:16
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:17-18
“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
Matthew 10:40-42
“If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks!” Matthew 18:6-7
“Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” Mark 9:40-41
“If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks!” Matthew 18:6-7
“Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” Mark 9:40-41
“Then
the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that 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 something
to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me
clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited
me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you
hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when
was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you
clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’
And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of
the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he
will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me 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 nothing to drink, I was a
stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick
and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord,
when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or
in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I
tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not
do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous
into eternal life.” Matthew 25:34-46
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