ORTHODOXY – PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Part Five
The Great and Final Judgment
Everything that God creates and forms is good and perfect and it could be no other way. He has His perfect plan for the entire universe which He created and He confided His plan to us in these words: “Let us create man in our own image and according to our likeness.” Every human being in the world is welcome to take advantage of the generous offer of God. He sent His Only-begotten Son Jesus Christ into the world to teach and inform us what we are offered by God. More, He came into the world and voluntarily suffered crucifixion in order to effect our salvation and through the Cross we are saved. We have the freedom to accept or reject God’s wonderful offer, but we are also warned of the day of the great and final judgment, wherein each of us will be judged by Jesus Christ. We will saved by our faith and judged according to our works, for faith is evident by works.
The entire race of man is subject to our Creator’s perfect law, whether they agree or disagree. Our Lord encourages us to accept and work toward our eventual destination and threatens us with punishment if we reject to conform and follow His law. The reward for faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and keeping His commandments is everlasting life, but the penalty for rejecting Him and His commandments is everlasting condemnation.
Those who deny the future judgment, everlasting life and everlasting punishment also deny the existence of the perfect law which expresses the perfect volition of the perfect being – God. But when they deny the perfect volition of God they also deny the existence of God, and then hold that the principle of creation and beginning of the universe is the work of non-being matter or some other blind and brute force acting at random.
The fools disregard the harmony and order of heaven and earth. Using their minds they call themselves learned and think that they are thoughtful in what they say. Yet they foolishly assert that the principle of all things is mindless and senseless. They deny the justice of God, and yet if they become victims of injustice, they protest in the name of justice!
Such insanity prevails today throughout many schools of the West; and they foolishly praise it as being some sort of exceptional wisdom, yet they do not give their attention to the law of God, nor do they take any notice of the wrath that threateningly hangs over their heads. God, being righteous will continue to do His part. He made a law, and stated His will to all the nations to which it was possible to state it; subsequently He will also judge the nations according to the law stated in the fixed day of judgment, and woe to them who have disregarded it and not behaved in accordance with the law!
The sophists of this age, who make and obey laws made by men with its promises and threats, are suffering from delusion when they deny the law of God with its future promises and threats. Many deny the existence of God and attribute the universe to impossible sources such as mindless matter which some describe as being the eternal source of all that exists, thus making matter into their god, replacing worship of the true God with worship of matter.
Orthodox Christians, who have the true faith, if they have behaved in accordance with the law they follow will be justified, and enter into everlasting life; but if not, they too will be condemned, and will go together with the impious into hell everlasting. Consequently, among Christians the most important question is as follows: Are they living in accordance with the requisite law of God or not.
It is unwise to await death to find out these are important truths for then it will be too late for there is no repentance or change possible after death. Today is the day of salvation; today is the day of believing and keeping the commandments of our Lord, and whoever seriously does this will know the truth for God reveals truth in the heart of the believer.
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