Revelation 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

I’ve been thinking about sin this week and it seems appropriate to end the thoughts with final judgment. I have search the scriptures and find it difficult to find a clear statement about being judged for our sins. Here in Revelation 20 we see that all were judged for their works. It leads some to believe that there is some scale of justice, weighing good and bad deeds, as if the scales could be tipped in favor of good, you could escape the second death. The scriptures do not support that claim.

Revelations 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

They were casts out because their name was not found in the book of life. It does not say anything about judging sins against good works as is the assertion of many who do not know God’s Word. Even some who do have a better awareness of the bible still cling to that notion. Yet judging is used in the sense that some evidence must be presented to make a determination. The determining factor is not if ones guilt or innocence is in question but rather if ones name is written in the book of life.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The judging of works is to determine if they were wrought by God in Christ Jesus wherein we had access to walk in them. The only way we have access to those works is if we are in Christ.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

That is the life referred to in the book of life.

Hebrews 9:8-10 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Hidden in the middle of these marvelous verses is a catch phrase, “as pertaining to the conscience”. God having dealt with sin via justification, is satisfied, and no longer has a problem with sin, we still have a problem with sin. The conscience tells us we have a problem with sin.

Hebrews 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

The conscience is directly related to the condition of the heart. An evil heart has an evil conscience. The conscience reflects the condition of the heart. Once we come to Christ on His terms we are given a new heart in accordance with Ezekiel 36. While the conscience is nothing more than a reflection of the heart, its former trainer was a corrupt heart and needs to be retrained to answer to that new heart condition.

Sinister thoughts are not recognized as being rooted in sin until the conscience is retrained, just as the mind is retrained. The quote above from Hebrews 9 ends with reformation. We are being reformed and at the root of that reformation is faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God. At the center of this struggle we have with sin is the Word of God.

God has given us every tool necessary for us to win the battle against sin. It is our battle, not God’s. It is a long and tedious battle for sure, but one we can win if we may attention to what God is doing in us to reform us, to conform us.