I. The Person Of The Judgement
II. The People At The Judgement
III. He Proceedings Of The Judgement
I. The Person Of The Judgement, vs. 11

A. This is the Sovereign God. His is the one before whom every other judge shall stand. You will not be your own judge. Your enemy will not judge you. This is the omniscient God of the universe before whom nothing is hidden

B. This is the Sacrificial God. He gave His own Son to deliver men from this judgement and condemnation, Jn. 3:16. Those who appear at this judgement have rejected the gift of God’s only Son.

C. This is the Sinless God. Before Him sin uncovered, unatoned for, cannot stand. To see how God hates sin go to Calvary where the sinless One became sin for the sinner. It is before this God that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord...but, it will be too late. Before us is a scene of…

A. The Renegade Sinner... those who live day by day as though there were no God, no Bible, no Church, no Heaven, or Hell. There will be no bribes, kickbacks, loopholes, or legal maneuvering in this courtroom.

B. The Respectable Sinner. The good man will be there who does not think he needs a savior or intended one day to be saved but put it off until later, but now it is too late.

C. The Religious Sinner… the religious crowd that was never Born again… the professors but not possessors. Please notice…

III. The Proceedings Of The Judgement, vs. 12b. In every court trial there are five things...the charges, the evidence, the defense, the verdict, and, where guilty, the sentencing. The unsaved shall be confronted with…

A. The Charges...Romans 3;23, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." "He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God," John 3:18.

B. The Evidence, vs. 12, "the books were opened…" Your biography is being written. Your story will be told! Recorded will be every lie, every evil deed and thought...every sin. Recorded will be every opportunity you had to be saved but rejected...every excuse you gave. Recorded will be every decision and choice you made.

C. The Defense. You will be your own defense. There will be no slick attorney, no room for doubt , no plea bargaining, and no acceptable excuses. You will not be able to say you did not know or you had no opportunity.

D. The Verdict, vs. 13c, When your name is not found in the Book of Life, the social register of "Who’s Who" will not matter. No person at this judgement of the lost will avoid the horrible verdict of "Guilty." Guilty of unbelief, rejection, procrastination, and loving sin more than the Savior.

E. The Sentencing, vs. 14-15, "Depart...and whosoever was not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."

Conclusion: The difference between the saved and the lost is the saved have settled their case out of court, their advocate is Jesus Himself, His righteousness is their righteousness, and He has fully paid the price for their sin. God has accepted the supreme payment at Calvary with the "Amen" of the Resurrection and the promise of eternal life to all who believe, John 3:16. I plead with you today to settle your case out of court!