Picture this in your mind: You are in a courtroom. There is a judge and jury before you. Behind you is a large crowd of people, many of whom you know well, and others whom you recognize but do not know personally. To your right are two doors. You are seated at a table upon which rests a single piece of white paper. On the paper, you read: "You are a Christian: How do you plead?"

Suddenly, you are aware that the Judge and jury are looking at you, and the courtroom is deathly silent! You are painfully aware that the Judge is waiting for your answer. What would you say? Before answering the Judge, you glance quickly around the room; then you turn and face the Judge. You meekly answer, "Yes." The Judge replies, "very well, call the witnesses."

The Preacher: This is the first witness, and the Judge asks: "are you the preacher for the congregation where the accused is a member?" The preacher replies with a firm nod of his head. Then, the Judge asks: "Did you preach the whole counsel of God? And did the accused here it?" The preacher replies: "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God." {Acts 20:26,27} "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." {Romans 1:16} "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ." {Galatians 1:10} "Also Your Honour," the preacher continues, "I was commanded to preach the word, in season and out of season. To reprove rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering." (2 Timothy 4:1,2) To the best of my ability, as the other witnesses can testify, I did this in service to My Lord.

The Church: The Judge motions for the whole congregation to come forward, and he asks: "Did the accused heed what was preached?" "Yes," and No," are the answers given. "Explain your answers," the Judge replies. The Judge and jury listen intently. "The accused obeyed the gospel, your Honor. That is, the accused heard the gospel preached (Romans 10:11-17); then he believed what he heard (Hebrews 11:6); this was followed by his repentance (Acts 17:30); the accused confessed Christ (Romans 10:9,10); and then he was baptized for the remission of his sins (Acts 2:38)." "Is that all?" the Judge asks. "Well, no," comes the reply. "Go on," commands the Judge. "The accused attended services on the Lord's Day, and gave a portion of what he earned; which also provided for the needs of his family (1 Corinthians 16:1,2; 1 Timothy 5:8). By and large, the accused is a good moral person." "Why then do you answer, No?" the Judge demands. (The answer was difficult to understand considering all the good things already stated).

"Truly, the accused was at the Sunday morning services, but he was rarely there at any other time we met (Hebrews 10:24,25). When there was work to be considered, or to be done, the accused was not there (Ephesians 4:16). He could not be counted on to help or to fulfill the obligations and responsibilities that truly show what it means to be a Christian" (Galatians 2:20; Romans 12:1,2). "In other words, you never really knew what you could count on the accused to do," replies the Judge.

The Judge asks the church to sit down while the facts are being sifted. Then he asks, "Are there any other witnesses?" "Yes." Please come forward to the stand.

The World: A large group approaches the Judge. One by one, they give their accounts, which could be summed up as follows: "I never knew this person was a Christian. I never heard him say a word about Jesus Christ. I worked with him, but he never mentioned Him to me. His actions and language were not what I thought would come from a Christian." Many of the world told the same story. Friends, neighbors, and those he had met seemed surprised to hear he was a Christian.

The Judge, after hearing all of the witnesses, asks if there are any other witnesses who can add to the record. The preacher comes forward carrying a Bible and says, "your Honour, Jesus our Savior, the apostles, and the Holy Spirit are also witnesses; as is the Law of Christ!" With that, the preacher lays the book on the stand in front of the Judge. The Judge then reads the entire New Testament (seeming to take an eternity)! Then the Judge gently closes the book and sets down. He looks at the jury and the accused. All the evidence has been heard, and a verdict must be rendered.

But first, the Judge talks with the jury. Then the Judge directs his words to the accused. "The charge was: "you are a Christian; how do you plead? You answered in the affirmative," the Judge declares. "And the finding of this court is: 1. Indeed, the accused heard the truth. 2. Indeed, the accused obeyed the gospel and became a Christian. 3. However, that is where it ended! It is written in the book of Law: "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" {2 Peter 1:5-8}. The Judge continues, "this, the accused did not do! According to the life he lived before the world, and the lack of true brotherly love he manifested by forsaking the assemblies and other Christian responsibilities, the charge of being a Christian is utterly false."

And now, for the first time, you take careful notice of the two doors to the right. Over the one, you read HEAVEN. Over the other, you read HELL. Suddenly, two men are at your sides; they lift you from your seat, and escort you through the door marked HELL!! No appeal, no plea bargaining; your fate is sealed!

Now, can you honestly picture in your mind what Hell will be like? It is a cold, sobering fact that we will ALL stand before the judgment seat of Christ, our Judge. We will be judged according to ALL the things we have done (2 Corinthians 5:10,11). What would the verdict be if you faced this trial today? I've heard it asked this way, "if you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" Listen to the words of the Hebrew writer: "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away." {Hebrews 2:1} You have time to prepare for this event. None of us will miss our day in God's court. Today, it is a story--tomorrow it may be real! If this story chilled you---maybe you should use the time God has granted you to make some changes.
(edited --KG)