I have often wondered how people get around revelations 20:12 : I saw the dead great and small...and all were judged by what was in the book...each according to his deeds. It seems fairly clear cut. Faith is obviously necessary...but cooperation with that faith translates to deeds...faith without works...
So God doesn’t really forgive our sins and never bring them to mind again? He actually brings them all up at the end of time anyway? How does that work?
Because context is your key....
Rev 20:11-15
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Let me take a stab at explaining how we get around that. It is rather simple. The dead standing before God, are just that. Dead, spiritually dead. Not one saved person will be standing there. It is not a judgement to determine if they are going to Heaven or Hell. That was already chiseled in stone for eternity, the day they died physicalIy. Every single solitary one of them, standing before God at the great white throne judgement, WILL go to the Lake of Fire. The judgement is only to determine their degree of punishment, nothing more than that. 😪
Nope.
Those who won’t trust Christ for salvation have nothing but their works to be judged on.
And that’s what many people want anyway. God is just judging them according to how they want to be judged.
And it isn’t going to end well.
They appeal to their works. Their works will condemn them at the last.