Talking about the final judgment may seem to be contrary to the love of God that is manifested in the ministry, death, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. We don’t want to be like the fire, hell, and brimstone preachers of the past who, in the eyes of many or at least in some instances, were very angry. On the other hand, preaching salvation in Jesus doesn’t make any sense if there’s not a final judgment. When we say Jesus saves, what does he save us from if he doesn’t save us from judgment, from the wrath of God on the last day? The gospel contains a promise of deliverance where there is no threat unless a day of judgment is coming. In the same way, Jesus’s death on behalf of sinners, where he took upon himself the punishment we deserve (Rom 3:21–26; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13), is pointless if there is no punishment. To reword Galatians 2:21, if Jesus didn’t die to atone for our sins, then he died for nothing.
I suspect one reason fewer unbelievers take the gospel seriously is their confidence that everything will be fine after they die. More and more people in the United States are convinced that if there is a God, then he is only loving and he will not punish anyone on judgment day. When we attend funerals of those who never confessed Christ as Lord and Savior, we find that virtually everyone is convinced—or trying to convince themselves—that those who are deceased are just fine, that they are full of happiness and joy after their death, that life after death continues the good times enjoyed on earth. Thus, when we proclaim that Jesus saves, it doesn’t resonate with many of our hearers.
What’s the solution to the problem we face? One option is to talk only about God’s love and to avoid references to the judgment. Some preachers take this very route, and they avoid all “negative” preaching. The problem with this, of course, is biblical faithfulness. The Scriptures emphasize the final judgment repeatedly. A few references make this clear. In John 3:36, Jesus declares, “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.” Or consider the warning in Matthew 10:28: “Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The apostle Paul preached the same message: “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30–31). The warning in Revelation reminds us of how serious this matter is: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is poured full strength into the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or anyone who receives the mark of its name” (Rev 14:9–11). The final judgment, then, is not the invention of angry preachers. When we preach the judgment, we preach faithfully the message God himself has given to us. Jesus came to save us from the wrath to come (1 Thess 1:10; 5:9).
What can we say and what should we say about the final judgment in our own day? I am not proposing anything new here. We can begin by reiterating that life doesn’t make any sense if there isn’t a final judgment. Think of the novel The Lord of the Flies—there were no standards and no authorities so that anarchy, hatred, and evil plagued the island where the children lived. If there’s no judgment, then Vladimir Putin will never be called to account for the horrific atrocities he has perpetrated on the Ukrainians and on so many others during his lifetime. Putin is infamous for poisoning and killing his opponents, and many of his critics “accidentally” fall out of windows to their death. If there’s no judgment, then rapists, murderers, abusers, and all those who have practiced evil will never face the consequences for what they have done. If that is what the end of life is like, then life on earth doesn’t really matter. Our decisions are inconsequential, life is really sound, and fury signifies nothing. The judgment, of course, isn’t limited to those who murder and rape and are terrorists because all of us “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). The gospel shocks us because it confronts with our own evil: Putin isn’t the only one who deserves to be judged. You and I will be judged for our own sin as well.
Actually, God’s judgment shows us that he is good and holy and just. In that sense, judgment is good news. What kind of God would we be worshiping if there were no evaluation of or consequences for what we have done, if people sin and mistreat others horribly and there is no accountability? It should be clear, then, that God’s holiness and justice are not bad news but good news. They are not signs of his perversity but attest to his goodness, truth, and beauty. The final judgment assures us that evil will not finally win, that goodness will prevail, that all will be well in the end. And we will rejoice in our God because we will see clearly that “the judge of all the earth” does what is right (Gen 18:25). Heaven and earth will rejoice when Babylon is judged on the last day (Rev 19:1–5), not because there is a vengeful desire to see people punished but because goodness triumphs. The joy will be comparable to the joy that erupted when Nazism fell or when the former Soviet Union’s empire collapsed.
The final judgment also reminds us to be faithful in sharing the gospel with the lost. We show our love for others by warning them of the judgment to come. We reflect God’s heart when we urge people to repent and believe. The Lord declares, “‘Why should you die, house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death.’ This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. ‘So repent and live!’” (Ezek 18:31–32). If we know about a terrible impending calamity, then we owe it to others to inform them about what is coming. No disaster on earth can compare with eternal punishment; thus, we are loving to tell others about it. Of course, this isn’t our only message or even our primary message. We focus on the amazing love of God that saves sinners, but whenever we proclaim the love of Jesus in saving us, the idea that he saves us from judgment is included. Yes, we will rejoice over God’s goodness at the final judgment, but during this life we plead with love and tears for unbelievers to repent and be saved. We remind them that Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world (John 3:17). The same Savior who atoned for our sins offers rest to all who come to him (Matt 11:28–30).
Actually, the threat of judgment also plays a role in the lives of believers. We are reminded that perseverance in faith is necessary. For instance, in 2 Thessalonians 1:5–10, Paul emphasizes God’s just judgment of unbelievers, that judgment is the destiny of those who disobey the gospel and who don’t know God. We need to remember that these words about the final judgment were not addressed to unbelievers. Those who didn’t have faith in Christ weren’t reading the letter. Paul writes about the fate of unbelievers to Christians in Thessalonica, and the latter were suffering at the hands of the unbelievers. Why does Paul write about the judgment of unbelievers to suffering believers? Not because he wanted them to rejoice over the punishment unbelievers would face on the final day. We need to remember the context in which these stern words were written. Suffering believers were tempted under the severity of their trials to abandon the faith, to forsake Christ and to cast their lot with those in the world. Paul reminds the believers that turning away from Christ in exchange for comfort in this life would lead to eternal punishment on the last day. We learn from this that the final judgment of unbelievers also functions in the lives of believers. The prospect of future judgment is one motive—not the only motive or even the chief motive!—for perseverance in the faith.
To sum up, life on earth doesn’t make sense without the final judgment. Indeed, the gospel we preach is absurd without judgment since Jesus died for nothing if his death doesn’t spare us from the wrath to come. That wrath should also move us to bear witness to the good news of Jesus’s saving work as well as remind us to persevere in faith until the end, knowing that those who continue to believe will experience the end-time reward.