There is coming a Judgment Day when both the righteous and the wicked will be judged to either be rewarded or punished, in accordance with what they did on earth. It is this subject of the eternal judgment that will be discussed here.
The Bible says that when the seventh and last trumpet is sounded (after the tribulation), the saints on earth will be raptured to heaven, together with the resurrected saints. They all will then be judged and rewarded for their works (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 11:15-18).
One thousand years after the judgment of the righteous, at the end of the millennial reign of Christ on earth, all the wicked who ever lived and will be suffering in Hades at that time will also be resurrected and judged. They will be judged in accordance with their evil deeds recorded in the books of heaven before being cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12-15). While in the lake of fire, the wicked will eternally suffer to the extent that they sinned against God. The Bible teaches that although sin is sin, sins are not equal, and therefore sinners will not be punished to the same degree although they will all be in the lake of fire (John 19:11; Matthew 11:21-24; Hebrews 10:28-29; 2 Peter 2:20-21). This principle is also clearly seen in the law God gave Moses. Big sins were punished more severely than the small ones.
To you who has faith in Jesus, please live with the consciousness that Heaven is watching, recording everything you do, and you will one day give account for your actions. Yes, “All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). Even your words are being recorded in heaven! That is why Jesus said that, “For every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).
Related Sermon:
Therefore, make it your aim to always be well pleasing to God. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). And, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord,” (1 Corinthians 15:58) – it will be rewarded on the Judgment Day.
Lastly, live by the Spirit of God inside you, who helps you to live a holy life. This do, knowing that Christians who practice sin will, together with the wicked, not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21) – they will end up in the lake of fire and be punished to the degree that their sins deserve. If you sin, repent and also ask God for forgiveness. Because “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,” (1 John 1:9), He will completely erase those sins so that they are not held against you on the Judgment Day.
God bless you.