Breaking the Ice
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)
The Great White Throne Judgment described here is a future event for people who refused to receive Jesus as personal Saviour. There will be no acquittals at the Great White Throne. Small and great people will be there, as the passage says. People will be there who had been important during their lives. Yet what they did in life will not matter at the Great White Throne. What will matter is that they had never received Jesus as Saviour. They will be judged by their works, condemned, and cast into the lake of fire.
No one will be there because God wanted them there. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is…longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Ezekiel 11:33 also says God has “…no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live:”
If you have received Jesus as your personal Saviour, you can be glad that you will never have to stand in condemnation at the Great White Throne. What a wonderful relief! People who have received Jesus as their personal Saviour can now “…rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)
Eternal life is exactly that: eternal, thank God! Jesus said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:28)
You probably know people who, as far as you know, have not received Jesus as Saviour; maybe family members, relatives, friends, co-workers, or neighbors. You may like or not like them. How you feel about them does not matter. How Jesus feels about them matters. Without Jesus, they will one day stand at the Great White Throne and be cast into the lake of fire. Does that thought bother you? It should. After all, Jesus loves them and died for them as well as you. He wants them saved, just as He wanted you saved.
Jesus’ love is why He died for our sins on the cross, was buried, and rose again. He gave Christians a standing order often called the Great Commission: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) The gospel is the good news that Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Jesus commands us to share this good news with others so they will receive Him as their personal Saviour, too.
Talking with people about eternity can be scary. Yet you need to obey the Lord. One way to do this is to carry tracts that explain from Scripture how to be saved. When an opportunity arises, you can simply say, “May I invite you to our church? This tract also has Scripture about going to heaven that I hope you’ll enjoy.” The Lord can use the Scripture in the tract to show people their need to receive Jesus as Saviour.