Greater Than Our Personal Salvation!!!

     Believe it or not, there is something involved in the judgment of far greater importance than our personal salvation.The honor and glory of God's own character is at stake.  The judgment is God's way of making His character transparent and His verdicts accountable to all of His intelligent creation.
   The fact is God is omniscient.  He knows everything.  He knows the contents of every heart.  He knows who has truly received Christ as Savior and who has not.  The judgment does not provide the Lord with any information He does not already have to aid Him in His sentencing.  He does not pour over the record books to gather evidence against us or to find in us something worthy of salvation.  He has no questions to which He needs answers.  But we do, and so do the angels and the inhabitants of unfallen worlds.  It is for our benefit that the record books are kept. It is for our benefit that the judgment will bring to light the true contents of every heart.
     Imagine what heaven would be like if God were to try and solve the sin problem without a judgment.  Allow me to illustrate.
     The great controversy is over.  All the saved are in heaven.  All the lost have been destroyed.  Those who are saved notice that some of their loved ones and friends are not there.  It dawns on them that people they cared for are eternally lost.  With much anguish and confusion, they turn to the Lord and ask,
     "Lord, why is my brother not here?  It seems to me that he was an honest, sincere person.  I don't understand."
     To this the Lord simply replies:  "I am God.  I know everything.  I read every heart.  Your brother's sentence is just.  You'll just have to take My word for it."
    Can you imagine how you would feel at that point?  Devastated.  I would suggest.  But don't be alarmed God will never give such an empty response to such an important question.  The record books of heaven and the judgment will make certain that every crucial question in this awful conflict between good and evil is answered to the satisfaction of all.
     The scenario will be more like this:
     "Lord, why isn't my brother here?"
     "I know it is difficult to accept the loss of those you love.  But I want you to know that I did all that could possibly be done to save each one, including your brother.  An accurate record was kept of every effort on My part and of every response on his part.  Those records were opened in the judgment as countless angels and twenty-four human elders reviewed each case.  Now those records and the results of the judgment are open for our review.  I am certain you will see that My sentence is just, and I will be eager to dry your tears."
     Our first one thousand years in heaven will be primarily devoted to answering our questions concerning the saved and the lost  The judgment will be opened to our investigation. We will have the opportunity to look into the secret history of any life; and we will discern the love and justice of God in each person's destiny.
     Only with accurate records and an open-to-all investigative judgment can the sin problem be truly and eternally solved.  Only by methods of love can justice be executed to the satisfaction of all intelligent, volitional creatures.  And only a God of love would choose to relate to us with such respect and patience.

      Father, gracious God, how wise and marvelous are all Your ways!  Thank you for building the judgment into the plan of salvation.  I really don't need to fear the judgment, for I will not stand under it's scrutiny on my own merit, but on the merits of my Savior; Jesus Christ.  Eternal pardon will be written by my name, not because I'm good, but because He loved me so much as to lay down His life for my sins.  I am joyfully in Christ.  Amen.

     (That is the end of this chapter, it was made so plain that we have nothing to fear because we are there on the merits of Jesus, not on our own merits.  Thank You Lord for saving us!!!  Grandma Joan)