Blog

by Charlie Wolcott

All roads lead to God. Yes, I said that, with a ministry whose goal and vision is to teach sound Biblical doctrine to the next generation. I will say it again: all roads lead to God. It actually does not matter if you believe in Jesus as Lord, Savior, and God, or whether you believe in Allah, or Buddha, or Kristna, or Voodoo, or whatever. All of those paths, all of those religions will lead you to God. It does not matter if you have confessed your sins and repented, or lived a completely Godless life; both lifestyles will lead you to God. Let me say it again: all roads lead to God… and that should scare you.

We are all going to see God one day, each and every one of us. Many think it is going to be in heaven and we are going to have one great party and Kum-bay-yah. But that’s not actually what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches we will all see God in a different location. I will say it one more time: all roads lead to God, at the judgment seat.

Every person, no matter what they believe or what they have done, is going to stand before Almighty God and give an account for their life. The Bible is very clear that every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Many of Jesus’ parables talk about the judgment day where every person will give an account for what they were given.

Now, how is this judgment going to take place? Are we all going to be alone and God is going to play a second by second video of every little thing we have done, with audio playing of every thought we have had, and even descriptions of everything we should have done, but did not do? I have no idea exactly how it will take place, but we do know “the books” will be opened and next to them is the Book of Life. What books are these? The Bible does not say, but it would not be unreasonable to suggest they would include The Law (namely the 10 Commandments), the records of our actions, inactions, thoughts, motives, etc., and anything else God may deem necessary. The Bible makes it very clear as well that no man comes unto the Father except through Christ. Those who have put their faith in Christ and have been born again will have their names listed in the Book of Life. But what about those who have never heard the name of Jesus? How could God send someone to hell if they never had a chance?

There are many attempted answers at this question. Some say that God knows in advance who is going to be saved and who isn’t. While God does have that foreknowledge, he does not enforce his will upon us as though we are puppets (though he can show to be VERY good at getting us to change our minds). There is also an age of accountability issue where someone needs to come of a certain age of maturity (different than physical age) before being held accountable for their sin. But there was one proposed answer I heard that best addresses all aspects of the issues involved.

In Adrian Rogers’ sermon “No Other Way to Heaven Except Through Jesus,” he suggests that every person will be judged by the “light” or knowledge they had. In other words, every person will be judged based on what they had been exposed to. Everyone will be held to the same standard, the Law of God, however, the jungle warrior of the Amazon will be judged based on what he knows while the church pew sitter will also be judged based on what he knows. But how would this jungle warrior know God?

Romans 1:18-20 states that the invisible things of God are clearly seen through his creation. Psalm 19:1 says that the heavens declare the glory of God. This is what we know as “general revelation.” God exists and the creation screams it loudly. There is also an inner witness that we call conscious or morality. This may surprise you, but everyone knows internally what is right and what is wrong, because God has given us his standards. The Biblical account is the only origins model that can explain why we have this knowledge and both creation and the conscious are strong evidence that not only God exists, but he upholds his standards.

If someone knows nothing but these two things and he/she wants to know the God everyone knows exists, he/she will wait and search for this God until they find him. Don Richardson’s Eternity In Their Hearts shows numerous cultures that knew of God, even though they did not know him, but have waited and searched expectantly for him. The Bible speaks of this with the Ethiopian Eunuch and with Cornelius. They knew of God and they searched and looked for him, and so God sent a messenger (Phillip and Peter, respectively). It is the same as how all the Old Testament saints were saved: they looked forward to the Messiah.

However, what about those who HAVE heard? Many people sit in church pews/chairs and don’t know God from a duck and are setting themselves up for a serious judgment. Jesus gave dire warnings to Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Capernum because they saw him in action, and if Sodom and Gomorrah saw him in action, they would have repented. Those who perished in Sodom and those of Nineveh, who repented with just one sermon from Jonah, will call God to hold us accountable for the messages we have heard. We are going to be held responsible for what we hear, on whether we obey it or not. It is not merely the atheist and the pagan who will be judged, but those who claim to be Christian too.

Now, here is a doozy. Last year, for five months, I studied and learned about prayer. Then to start this year, I wrote about the need to get back to real Christianity instead of just having an intellectual version of it. I am going to be held responsible for what I have learned on that. Putting that information into practice has been a much tougher battle than I was expecting. It’s not that I am unwilling, but I have a lot of spiritual flab that has made me out of spiritual shape and my flesh does not want to exercise at all. I am going to be held accountable for what I have learned as well as for what I teach. Likewise, you are going to be held accountable for what you hear, be it from me or anyone else that has truth.

“But what if I don’t know what the truth is?” You are one of two types of people: a lover of truth or a hater of truth. If you are the former, you either know it already or you will search until you know. If you don’t know the truth and can’t find it, it is because you are the later. If you do not know what to make of a given situation and you are a lover of truth, you will perform an honest investigation and you will follow the results, even if it costs you your job, your friends, your reputation, or anything else. The hater of truth tends to know what it is and will refuse to even consider it. We will also be judged for what we have heard and we will all stand before the Father. The only hope for any of us is to fall at the feet of Jesus and beg for his mercy. The only way to survive the judgment seat is to look upon the Savior and put all your weight upon him. If you try it in your own strength, knowledge, and legal expertise, you will be found guilty. Are you ready for judgment day?

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