Judgement Day: How will God judge Christians versus non-believers?
Harvest Christian Fellowship Pastor Greg Laurie recently addressed the differences between how God will judge Christians and how God will judge non-believers during the End Times.
In his Aug. 20 sermon preached as part of a series on the End Times, Laurie said that while “everyone will face judgment one day, Christian and non-Christian,” these two groups will face “different kinds of judgment.”
“For the non-believer, they will face the Great White Throne Judgment,” Laurie said, referencing Revelation 20:15. “And a book is opened, which is the Book of Life, and whoever doesn’t have their name written in the Book of Life is cast into the Lake of Fire.”
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“That’s the judgment for the non-believer. If you end up there, there’s no turning back. It’s the final judgment.”
Then Laurie addressed “the judgment for Christians,” telling his congregation to “think of it more as an awards ceremony where we’re awarded for our faithful service to the Lord.”
Laurie further drew a parallel to the awards people get for athletic achievement or degrees for academic success, noting that some awards are just handed out for participation.
“God didn’t save you so you would just say, ‘Thanks for my salvation, I’m going to live my life and I’ll see you later,’” he continued. “When I’m saved, I realize God has a plan for my life. Now, my primary purpose for existence is to bring glory to God.”
“You need to be the best version of you. I need to be the best version of me.”
Laurie emphasized that “if you’re a Christian, you’ll stand at the judgment seat of Christ,” and in that situation should not “panic” because “that’s when rewards are given out.”
“But if you’re a non-believer, you’ll stand at the Great White Throne Judgment and there’s no second chance after that,” Laurie warned. “That’s why you want to decide now what you’re going to do. You decide in this life where you will spend the afterlife.”
Laurie stressed that “it’s not going to be how good of a life that you live,” taking issue with the belief that one is saved if “my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds.”
“What is that based on? I have no idea, but it’s not in the Bible,” he said. “There’s no reason whatsoever to believe something like that, but so many do believe it.”
“I would challenge this: Do your good work really outweigh your bad works? Do they really? I don’t think they do,” Laurie added, noting that “Heaven is not for good people, Heaven is for forgiven people.”
The pastor also encouraged believers to lead a transformed life after being saved, noting that a true believer produces good “spiritual fruit” seen in “the way you live” as a Christian.
“People should be able to see by your fruit, by your actions, by your works, that you are a Christian,” Laurie said.
Laurie’s remarks were part of a sermon series centered on topics related to the End Times and primarily focused on the New Testament book of Revelation.
In a sermon preached earlier this month, Laurie offered three possible explanations for why the United States is not mentioned in Revelation, including the final battle at Armageddon.
Laurie’s reasons included the U.S. being destroyed in a nuclear war, the nation simply declining as all countries eventually do, or the nation experiencing a great revival in which, because of the rapture, few people are left behind.
