Edited by Jim McCrory, Tuesday 9 December 2025 at 21:00
The Greatest Question We Need to Ask
Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.
James 4:17 (BSB).
Sin, we don’t like that word. We don’t hear it often these days. The word “sin” peaked in the 1800s. It began a steady decline in the early-to-mid 1900s. Its usage today is a fraction of what it once was. This doesn’t just reflect religious belief—it reflects how people choose to frame moral ideas in public language.
Let’s Imagine, for a moment, whether you are a Christian, an atheist, an agnostic, or a follower of another faith, that the last day has arrived. History has closed its concluding chapter. The noise of the world has gone silent. There are no arguments left to win, no social masks left to wear, no way left to manage, or air brush the story of who we were. You cannot blame others; you have a conscience. Only truth remains. And now we stand before the great judgment.
In that moment, the only question that matters are not what we believed about ourselves, but what is true.
A quiet illusion follows every human being through life. Psychologists call it the Lake Wobegon Effect, the belief that we are above average, more loving than most, more honest than most, more moral than most. It whispers to us that whatever judgment may come, we will surely be on the right side of it. Others, aware that a final judgment awaits, drift into a self-sabotaging procrastination and say, “One day I will get myself right.” Between quiet pride and quiet delay, the heart learns how to avoid urgency like those living in Pompei before they became a living museum.
But the first question that echoes through eternity is not about morality, reputation, or intention. It is about Christ.
Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already.” In that moment, belief is no longer an idea or a cultural identity or a Sunday habit. It is revealed for what it always was, trust of the heart or rejection of it. Another voice speaks with unmistakable clarity: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Not one of many roads. Not the best of several options. The way.
Then the record of our lives is opened, not what we intended to be, not what we said we valued, but what we did. Scripture declares that the dead are judged according to what was recorded in the symbolic books, that God repays each person according to what they have done, that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive what is due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. Every choice matters here. Every word spoken in haste. Every moment we chose convenience over conscience. Every time we loved at cost, and every time we refused to. There is no comparison now, no refuge in “at least I wasn’t as bad as them.” That shelter quietly collapses.
Then the judgment moves deeper, past what we did and into why we did it. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. Every empty word spoken is summoned into the light. Here, motives are stripped of their disguises. Generosity revealed as pride. Silence revealed as fear. Kindness revealed as self-protection. Even our best deeds stand trembling under the weight of truth. The Lake Wobegon illusion finally shatters like thin ice beneath our feet. We were not as pure as we thought.
Now the judgment turns our eyes outward toward the lives around us. The hungry. The sick. The imprisoned. The abandoned. The orphan. The widow. The foreigner. And Jesus Himself speaks whatever you did for one of the least of these chosen ones of of Mine, you did for Me. The warning follows with equal force: judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Here, neglect carries weight. Indifference carries weight. The countless chances to love when it cost us something rise like witnesses in the room. We begin to see how often we chose comfort over compassion and called it wisdom.
Finally, we stand before the standard itself, God’s moral law. Even conscience becomes a witness for or against us. No one stands clean. Not the religious. Not the sceptic. Not the kind neighbour. Not the proud moralist. All fall short. We need grace.
And then grace enters the courtroom like a welcome visitor. Scripture says it is by grace we have been saved, through faith, and this is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. No one is saved by performance. No one is rescued by reputation. No one is justified by comparison. Only by grace. And that grace does not excuse an unchanged life, it creates a transformed one.
At last, the final truth settles over every soul. No one can stand perfect before God on their own. But through Christ, forgiveness is offered freely. The judgment is not about punishment alone. It is about truth, healing, justice, and restoration. At the centre of it all stands a Savior bearing scars, not only as Judge, but as Redeemer.
That imagined courtroom is not meant to paralyze us with fear. It is meant to awaken us. Because today, the books are not closed. Today, mercy is still offered. Today, faith is still possible. Today, a life can still turn around.
And so, the greatest question we need to ask ourselves is not, “Am I better than most?” But this: “If the last day were today, would I be ready to stand in truth?”
Some verses to ponder on
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” — John 14:6
“The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” — Revelation 20:12
“God will repay each person according to what they have done.” — Romans 2:6
“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
“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” — 1 Samuel 16:7
“For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” — Ecclesiastes 12:14
“Everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” — Matthew 12:36
The Greatest Question We Need to Ask Ourselves
The Greatest Question We Need to Ask
Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.
James 4:17 (BSB).
Sin, we don’t like that word. We don’t hear it often these days. The word “sin” peaked in the 1800s. It began a steady decline in the early-to-mid 1900s. Its usage today is a fraction of what it once was. This doesn’t just reflect religious belief—it reflects how people choose to frame moral ideas in public language.
Let’s Imagine, for a moment, whether you are a Christian, an atheist, an agnostic, or a follower of another faith, that the last day has arrived. History has closed its concluding chapter. The noise of the world has gone silent. There are no arguments left to win, no social masks left to wear, no way left to manage, or air brush the story of who we were. You cannot blame others; you have a conscience. Only truth remains. And now we stand before the great judgment.
In that moment, the only question that matters are not what we believed about ourselves, but what is true.
A quiet illusion follows every human being through life. Psychologists call it the Lake Wobegon Effect, the belief that we are above average, more loving than most, more honest than most, more moral than most. It whispers to us that whatever judgment may come, we will surely be on the right side of it. Others, aware that a final judgment awaits, drift into a self-sabotaging procrastination and say, “One day I will get myself right.” Between quiet pride and quiet delay, the heart learns how to avoid urgency like those living in Pompei before they became a living museum.
But the first question that echoes through eternity is not about morality, reputation, or intention. It is about Christ.
Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already.” In that moment, belief is no longer an idea or a cultural identity or a Sunday habit. It is revealed for what it always was, trust of the heart or rejection of it. Another voice speaks with unmistakable clarity: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Not one of many roads. Not the best of several options. The way.
Then the record of our lives is opened, not what we intended to be, not what we said we valued, but what we did. Scripture declares that the dead are judged according to what was recorded in the symbolic books, that God repays each person according to what they have done, that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive what is due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. Every choice matters here. Every word spoken in haste. Every moment we chose convenience over conscience. Every time we loved at cost, and every time we refused to. There is no comparison now, no refuge in “at least I wasn’t as bad as them.” That shelter quietly collapses.
Then the judgment moves deeper, past what we did and into why we did it. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. Every empty word spoken is summoned into the light. Here, motives are stripped of their disguises. Generosity revealed as pride. Silence revealed as fear. Kindness revealed as self-protection. Even our best deeds stand trembling under the weight of truth. The Lake Wobegon illusion finally shatters like thin ice beneath our feet. We were not as pure as we thought.
Now the judgment turns our eyes outward toward the lives around us. The hungry. The sick. The imprisoned. The abandoned. The orphan. The widow. The foreigner. And Jesus Himself speaks whatever you did for one of the least of these chosen ones of of Mine, you did for Me. The warning follows with equal force: judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Here, neglect carries weight. Indifference carries weight. The countless chances to love when it cost us something rise like witnesses in the room. We begin to see how often we chose comfort over compassion and called it wisdom.
Finally, we stand before the standard itself, God’s moral law. Even conscience becomes a witness for or against us. No one stands clean. Not the religious. Not the sceptic. Not the kind neighbour. Not the proud moralist. All fall short. We need grace.
And then grace enters the courtroom like a welcome visitor. Scripture says it is by grace we have been saved, through faith, and this is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. No one is saved by performance. No one is rescued by reputation. No one is justified by comparison. Only by grace. And that grace does not excuse an unchanged life, it creates a transformed one.
At last, the final truth settles over every soul. No one can stand perfect before God on their own. But through Christ, forgiveness is offered freely. The judgment is not about punishment alone. It is about truth, healing, justice, and restoration. At the centre of it all stands a Savior bearing scars, not only as Judge, but as Redeemer.
That imagined courtroom is not meant to paralyze us with fear. It is meant to awaken us. Because today, the books are not closed. Today, mercy is still offered. Today, faith is still possible. Today, a life can still turn around.
And so, the greatest question we need to ask ourselves is not, “Am I better than most?”
But this: “If the last day were today, would I be ready to stand in truth?”
Some verses to ponder on
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” — John 14:6
“The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” — Revelation 20:12
“God will repay each person according to what they have done.” — Romans 2:6
“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
“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” — 1 Samuel 16:7
“For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” — Ecclesiastes 12:14
“Everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” — Matthew 12:36
All verses from the Berean Standard Bible