In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus shares a parable about the final judgment. In this parable, the king pronounces a sentence upon the group on his left: “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
This verse is striking and raises many questions. Who are the cursed ones, and on what basis are they condemned? What is eternal fire? Why would God sentence anyone to damnation? Isn’t God love, and couldn’t He save all people – if not the worst murderers, at least the ordinary people who try to live a good life?
A just judgment is good
Almost all people live in societies governed by laws and order. Laws must be followed, and breaking them results in punishment.
Although in many countries sentences can be reduced under certain circumstances, the basic principle remains: people are judged according to the offense they committed. Other, unrelated good deeds are not considered in the sentencing. For example, if you commit theft, your punishment is not reduced simply because you previously helped an elderly neighbor.
A court evaluates the actions of the accused, and the judge delivers the final verdict. A good judge is one who judges justly: a more serious crime results in a harsher punishment than a minor one. A just judge does not acquit the guilty, nor condemn the innocent or someone who has already served their sentence.
God’s law and human guilt
God reveals His good will—His law—to people in the Bible. The Ten Commandments summarize how God wants people to live. According to Jesus’ teaching, the core of the law is love: love God above all else and your neighbor as yourself.
One of the commandments says, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). Most people don’t think of themselves as thieves, but stealing is not limited to professional robbery. It also includes failing to return borrowed items, using workplace or community property for personal purposes without permission, lying to receive aid from authorities or charities, avoiding mandatory payments to society despite being able to pay, or downloading music, movies, or software from the internet that is protected by copyright.
Another commandment states, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). Have you ever repeated a story that was only partially true, but exaggerated it in a way that cast someone in a bad light? You also break this commandment when you spread rumors without knowing the facts or blame others for your own mistakes.
Some might admit breaking a few commandments but not all. Perhaps you think: I’ve never committed adultery or killed anyone.
But Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder’ … But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment … And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:21–22)
He continues: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27–28).
If we are honest, we must admit we have broken all of God’s commandments—and we continue to do so often. We are thieves, liars, adulterers, and murderers.
“Whoever keeps His commandments lives in God”
Humans were originally created to live in fellowship with God—in Him. But because God is perfectly holy and righteous, only one who is equally holy and righteous as God can live in Him (Psalm 24:3–4). That’s why Jesus said when teaching the Law: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). And the apostle John writes: “The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them” (1 John 3:24).
God’s nature is like a crystal-clear spring from which flows pure drinking water. If even a drop of dirty water is poured in, the whole spring is no longer clean. In the same way, nothing unholy can come near God without defiling His perfect holiness—which is not possible, because God cannot stop being who He is: perfectly holy.
The final judgment and the punishment for sin
According to the Bible, every person will one day face the final judgment. At that time, “his righteous judgment will be revealed … God “will repay each person according to what they have done” (Romans 2:5–6).
Jesus himself will act as the judge, as the Father has given Him that authority: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
As mentioned before, even near-perfect obedience is not enough before God’s law. Paul writes: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law” (Galatians 3:10). Breaking even one law places us under God’s curse (James 2:10).
Those cursed by God are separated from Him and all the good gifts that come from Him. This curse ultimately leads to death—first physical death, and then eternal death in the damnation of hell: “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
The Bible doesn’t describe damnation in detail, but it uses images like unquenchable fire and outer darkness. These pictures show what damnation really means: complete separation from God, the source of all goodness, light, and life.
Humanity—meaning all of us—came under God’s judgment already in Paradise when the first humans sinned: “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin” (Romans 5:12). Because of this original sin, all people became corrupted and lost the ability and will to live according to God’s will: “death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Is there hope—how can we be saved from damnation?
At the final judgment, many will appeal to their good deeds. But just as that doesn’t work in a human courtroom, it won’t work before God. We have already noted that we are guilty of breaking the entire law. Good deeds do not erase our crimes. Everyone will be judged based on the deeds that they have committed.
The situation seems hopeless: humans cannot fulfill God’s will, and God’s justice demands eternal punishment. A righteous judge must declare us guilty and assign the sentence—eternal damnation.
The Bible describes God’s nature this way: “The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished” (Numbers 14:18).
So God’s justice cannot ignore punishment. Yet, at the same time, God longs for people and wants to forgive. He resolved this tension through the death of Jesus on the cross.
The innocent Jesus sacrificed himself on behalf of the guilty
In human courts, it is sometimes possible for someone else to sacrifice themselves and pay the fine that was originally imposed on the one who broke the law. God operates similarly: He took our place and bore the punishment that was meant for us: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).
Because the offense was committed in human nature, it had to be atoned for in human nature. Therefore, God became man in His Son Jesus, and took responsibility for the sins of all humanity: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Just like a person cursed by God, Jesus was forsaken by God and excluded from His goodness. What remained was human evil, suffering, and death—brought to full measure in the Roman instrument of torture, the cross, where Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
But Jesus lived a sinless life, so death had no power over Him: “It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24). Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, defeated the power of sin, and opened the way to eternal life for us as well: “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21–22).
Who are those who belong to Christ? They are the ones who have received faith as a gift from God, leading to lasting trust and hope that the promises of God’s Word apply to them: “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). This hope is sustained by the Spirit of Christ, that poured out on His disciples after the ascension.
Christ’s own are sent to proclaim the liberating verdict
Encouraged by the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ disciples went out to proclaim the good news of Jesus—that God has made peace with humanity and desires to forgive. They did not proclaim on their own authority, but fulfilled the mission God Himself had given: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).That same ministry continues today as the followers of Jesus proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God: Christ carried your sins and bore your punishment. You too are offered Christ’s purity as if it were your own. This purity means that at the final judgment, there is no crime left to punish, because the penalty has already been paid. Those who belong to Christ need not fear death or eternal damnation. Instead of facing a harsh judge, they will meet a merciful brother who announces the verdict: no sin remains: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father” (Matthew 25:34).
Author: Olli Saari
Photo: iStock