For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead (Acts 17:31). … There is a day on God's calendar marked as judgment day for the world. There have been and will likely continue to be smaller judgment days for nations and people groups, but the ultimate judgment day is yet to come. It will be a day of justice.
The purpose of Judgment Day is not to determine who will go to heaven or hell (John 3:17-18). Judgment Day will reveal the hidden things of life (Luke 12:2-3). Judgment Day will confirm the righteousness of God’s judgments (Romans 3:4, 19). … When we die, our eternal destination is sealed and we'll go there right away. We'll have been in Paradise or Hell before judgment day actually comes. The judgments won't determine where we go, but they will show how righteous God is in His judgments.
On Judgment Day, believers will not give an account for sins that have been forgiven (Isaiah 43:25). We will give account of unrepentant sins (1 John 1:9). We will give an account of what with our lives (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). … Some believe God will reveal all our sins and then pardon us for them, but it seems more likely that the sins we have repented of will not be brought up as that seems to fit better with the nature of God's forgiveness. Repentance is more than just confessing a sin, it also includes turning from that sin and not doing it again. Ongoing sins are unrepentant because we keep doing them even if we confessed them. We will also give an account of our lives. Judgment day will bring to light what we did in our lives. Jesus died for us. What have we done for Him? Have we done it well? Will our works be refined or burnt up by the fire that tests it? It seems as though this fire may determine what reward we receive in Heaven.
What does this mean for our lives?
Judgment Day satisfies our longing for justice (Galatians 6:7). … Everyone desires justice. Unfortunately, justice isn't always achieved in this world. Fortunately, God is a God of justice and on judgment day, justice will be served. That justice will either fall on the person or on Jesus, depending on if the person repented.
Judgment Day enables us to forgive others (Romans 12:19). … Sometimes forgiveness is hard and we want revenge. God says vengeance is His. He is a much better judge than we are and will deal out justice as necessary.
Judgment Day enables us to reserve judgment (1 Corinthians 4:5). … This doesn't mean we don't exercise church discipline. In the very next chapter Paul judges a church member for committing adultery. However, we can't know if someone is destined for Heaven or Hell. We don't know the heart, we don't have the full picture, and we have no authority to judge where someone will spend eternity.
Judgment Day motivates us to serve God (Matthew 25:21). … Every day matters. We should take every opportunity to serve God.