If you’ve thought much about judgment, you may have the topic wrapped in confusion, anxiety, and fear. This is how I’ve felt for many years about judgment. I was a youngster that went to the Judgment House at the local Baptist Church on Halloween instead of the haunted house. Me and my preteen friends would walk through the church, scene after scene playing before us: car accident, funeral, even hell where we’d see Satan excitedly discussing the new soul he’d soon have. It was scary. Then we’d reach Heaven and learn there was hope after all—but it was a hope born of fear.
For many Christians, the concept of judgment is cloaked in fear and uncertainty. Will I be good enough? Will my sins be exposed? But Scripture offers a better story: one of assurance, not anxiety. Judgment isn’t about God looking for reasons to condemn believers. It’s about confirming their faith and vindicating the character of God before the watching universe.
For the saints, eternity doesn’t begin after death or after the second coming. It begins the moment we place our trust in Christ.
The Adventist View of Judgment: Investigative, Not Condemning
Seventh-day Adventists believe in a pre-Advent judgment, often called the “investigative judgment.”
This cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary is a heavenly work of judgment—not for God to find out who is saved (He already knows) but to demonstrate the justice and mercy of God in dealing with sin.
The judgment reveals who has accepted Christ’s righteousness and chosen to follow Him. For those who believe in Jesus, this is not a fearful review—it is a divine vindication.
The Believer’s Position in Judgment: No Condemnation
Should Adventists look toward judgment without fear because we have this special information? Should we be more fearful because we know how serious God is about judgment?
Scripture says something different. Those who have accepted Christ stand in a place of assurance.
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life” (John 5:24, NLT).
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, NLT).
“Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14, NLT).
So, maybe, for the saints, judgment isn’t about condemnation, but confirming this reality to the universe: we are alive in Christ right now.
Clearing the Good Name of God
Judgment is not only about the saved—it is about clearing God’s name. In Heaven and on Earth, Satan challenged God’s justice, but the judgment shows God is both just and merciful.
Believers are judged not on their own merit, but on their acceptance of Christ’s righteousness. The judgment is God’s way of saying: Look what My grace has done.
For a believer, eternal life doesn’t start when you die. It begins the moment you believe.
Jesus says:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47, NLT).
“We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives” (Philippians 3:20, NLT).
As believers, we live with confidence today because our future is already secure. Our names are written in the Book of Life, not because of perfection but because of faith.
Living in the Light of Judgment
As Adventists, saints, and believers, we don’t live to earn salvation—we live to reflect it. We cooperate with the Holy Spirit in our daily life.
When you know eternity has already begun, you live with freedom. Not freedom to sin, but freedom from fear, and not freedom to coast, but freedom to grow.
A Judgment That Brings Peace
For the believer, the investigative judgment is not a courtroom horror but a heavenly celebration. It affirms the reality of salvation and the power of grace. It displays God’s fairness before angels and humans alike. For the saint, it means this: you can live with peace today because your eternity is already in motion.
Eternity begins now. Live like it.
