There is coming a time when God will judge humanity for all of the sins that it has committed against God. From the smallest lie by a toddler to the biggest murder committed by a Muslim against an American soldier, nothing evil done in this life will go undjudged and unpunished by God.
Fact: God WILL judge all sin
Repeatedly throughout scripture, we are reminded that there is coming a time when God will judge all sins committed in human history.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
John 5:24-30
Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes the One who has sent Me, has everlasting life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you that an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and the ones hearing will live.
For even as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave also to the Son to have life in Himself. And He also gave authority to Him to execute judgment, for He is the Son of man.
Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all those in the tombs will hear His voice. And they will come out, the ones having done good into a resurrection of life; and the ones having practiced evil into a resurrection of judgment.
Acts 17:24-31
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."
"God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' "Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-- an image made by man's design and skill."
"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead".
Do not be deceived into thinking everyone makes it into heaven, regardless of how they choose to live their life here on earth. Entertainers pass away, football stars pass away, friends and family pass away and everyone automatically assumes...."Well, they're in a better place now." How do you know ? They had the same sin issue that you have have that we all have - so on what basis ? I'm not bringing this up to be a heartless ogre (especially if you lost someone recently), but to bring you to reality. It's a nice dream and a panacea to think that those who live a moral life or even those whose lives are a bit tainted or maybe if they had one or two good qualities, that they are now looking down on us from heaven...... but is it the truth ?
Ghandi
and Einstein were relatively moral men. Is it accurate to assume that because
these two men simply did good deeds and lived relatively good lives, that they
now rest peacefully in heaven with their Creator ? On what basis would you make
that assumption, especially in light of our discussion on the value that human
good works has with God ? Sean 'P-Diddy' Colmes said of his friend, the late
Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smallz or the Notorious B.I.G.) 'I know you're
in heaven smilin' down....' - on what basis, Puffy ? Outside of being an AWESOME
entertainer, Big was an ex-drug dealer who cheated on his wife, promoted a lifestyle
devoid of serving God, but serving self - with women, money, clothes and straight
hedonism. As a rapper, he was GREAT; as a moral example, he fell short. As an
alleged follower of God, there was never any visible fruit (Matt. 7:15-20).
What basis should we use to assume he's in heaven now ?
God takes sin very seriously. Don't be deceived into thinking that God just excuses sin and leaves it unpunished. Don't be deceived into thinking that there is such a thing as consequence-free sin. Don't be deceived into thinking that just because judgement doesn't fall upon sin immediately in every case, that God is not concerned with sin. Don't use this as an excuse to sin.
DON'T
BELIEVE THAT LIE. 
The
wheels of God's justice upon sin are like the wheel of a windmill used to crush
grain. The wheel moves slow, but when it crushes, it crushes fine, definite
and completely.
Sin is not simply a breaking of laws established by God, but a very offense to God's nature, honor and dignity. Every sin committed isn't just breaking an abstract law conjured up by some off-in-the-distance-Deity - every sin committed by humanity personally insults God. You see, the very standard of righteousness is God Himself. We've been over that point already - the very definition of true and absolute goodness is found in the nature of God - this is why Jesus told the rich young ruler that only God alone is good.
God's Judgement on Sin
Aside from being complete and total goodness, God is also complete and perfect justice. Just like goodness, the very definition of just is found in His nature. God demanded a 1-to-1 correspondence to pay for sin or atone for sin. In the Old Testament we read the following:
" For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar, to atone for your souls; for it is the blood which makes atonement for the soul." (Lev. 17:11, GLT)
Blood. Not just any blood, but innocent blood. The ceremonial laws were in place (though not as elaborately) ever since Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3. God slew an animal and used its' skin to cover up Adam and Eve's nakedness.The book of Leviticus is the guideline book in the OT that shows all of the different types of offerings for the different types of sins committed and how they should be paid for. These offerings, of course, were for those who wanted to turn from their sin toward God. For those wanting a clean conscience before God, there was an offering available.
But
those who would not turn from their sins faced the other side of God's
justice - His wrath. 
God DOES Judge Sin Right Away Sometimes
There's
an old story about a golfer who kept on swearing on the golf course, taking
the name of God in vain because he wasn't having a good game. Eventually, storm
clouds gathered overhead and rain slowly began to fall. The golfer raised his
fist and eyes up to heaven, cursing God and God sent him a not-so-friendly reminder
that you don't stand in an open field during a thunderstorm and curse the God
who controls the storm and the air your breathe. A pair of sizzling shoes were
all that was left of the man.
Now whether or not that story is true isn't the issue for us right now. What I do have are some Biblical examples of God's immediate, visible judgement on sin that you should take note of.
Case Study #1 - The Great Flood.
5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
6 ¶ The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have made them."
8 ¶ But Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD.13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.
18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark--you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. (Gen. 6:5-8, 13,17-18)
We've heard the story so
much, we sometimes become kind of dull to it and stop thinking creatively about
it. God looked down and saw that humanity's state of existence - still the same
as it is now - left to themselves, produced only evil on the earth. So God brought
down judgement upon the entire race of humanity because folk wasn't actin' right.
God's judgement on humanity came 120 years after He first warned Noah - it was
swift, powerful and no one escaped it....except Noah and his family...because
they believed God. 
Case Study #2 - Sodom and Gomorrah
2 Peter 2:4-9
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
7 ¶ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men
8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)--
9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
Genesis 13:13
13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.
Genesis 18:12-17,24-25
¶ The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here-- sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,
13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 ¶ With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them.
17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"24 ¶ Then the LORD rained down burning sulphur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the LORD out of the heavens.
25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities--and also the vegetation in the land.
Jude 7
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
No commentary necessary.
The texts of scripture speak for themselves. Sodom didn't happen because the
men of Sodom were inhospitable, as some homosexual advocates like to argue.
Sodom happened because of their sexual practices. Looking at the language used
in scripture, I doubt it was ONLY regular homosexuality that went on in the
town. I'm betting (and this is my speculation) that every possible type of sexual
act that could be done was done. Imagine a whole 'town' (probably about 200-300,
since there were many cities on the plain that were destroyed) coming out for
romp with the two new visitors in town. So controlled were they by their lusts
and passions, that they wanted to rape every and anything new in town 
.
Case Study #3 - The Fall of Israel to Babylon
Lamentations Chapter 1
1:1 ¶ How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave.
2 Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is none to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
3 After affliction and harsh labour, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no-one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she is in bitter anguish.
5 Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The LORD has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe.
6 All the splendour has departed from the Daughter of Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; in weakness they have fled before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no-one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction.
8 Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honoured her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away.
9 Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. "Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed."
10 The enemy laid hands on all her treasures; she saw pagan nations enter her sanctuary--those you had forbidden to enter your assembly.
11 All her people groan as they search for bread; they barter their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. "Look, O LORD, and consider, for I am despised."
12 ¶ "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering like my suffering that was inflicted on me, that the LORD brought on me in the day of his fierce anger?
13 "From on high he sent fire, sent it down into my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long.
14 "My sins have been bound into a yoke; by his hands they were woven together. They have come upon my neck and the Lord has sapped my strength. He has handed me over to those I cannot withstand.
15 "The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled the Virgin Daughter of Judah.
16 "This is why I weep and my eyes overflow with tears. No-one is near to comfort me, no-one to restore my spirit. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed."
17 Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no-one to comfort her. The LORD has decreed for Jacob that his neighbours become his foes; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.
18 "The LORD is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command. Listen, all you peoples; look upon my suffering. My young men and maidens have gone into exile.
19 "I called to my allies but they betrayed me. My priests and my elders perished in the city while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.
20 "See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is only death.
21 "People have heard my groaning, but there is no-one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my distress; they rejoice at what you have done. May you bring the day you have announced so that they may become like me.
22 "Let all their wickedness come before you; deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my sins. My groans are many and my heart is faint."
Wow. The prophet Jeremiah wrote these words in 586 B.C. during the fall of Israel to the Babylonians and as millions of Israelites watched their city burn to the ground and they were led away into captivity by the Babylonians. A very sad picture, indeed. But verse 18 (and other verse I have highlighted) serve as a warning - God does and will directly deal with sin during this lifetime.
Sometimes, as judgement, God hands people over to their own desires, allowing the consequences of their actions to be the penalty in this life and THEN to face eternal judgement in the next - other times, God directly sends visible judgement against them in this life so they may see the results of their disobedience. In either case, the judgement of God is not something to take lightly.
To Each One According to His Deeds
God, being just, is going to give every person exactly what their sins deserve. Every person - Christian and non-Christian - will stand before God and be judged for their actions on earth, whether good or bad (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Don't be decieved into thinking it won't happen. I keep mentioning this because our society and culture has so bombarded us with immorality and every concievable type of sin that we have grown insensitive to the nature of our sins and their effect on us. Much like prostitutes who no longer feel that same first thrill they used to have during sex, we have grown callous to the severity and seriousness of the topic of sin. And because we don't see people just explode instantly, we believe our behavior is okay with God and we won't be punished.
OR
maybe what you're seeing IS God's judgement. 
Did
you know that God sometimes hands people over to their sin and the consequences
of their sin as a form of judgement ? 
It's true. Read through Romans 1:18-2:6 in the NIV. We find that:
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
19 ¶ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is for ever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worth while to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;
31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practise them.
2:1 ¶ You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realising that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 God will give to each person according to what he has done.
Notice
the pattern and progression of this thing: God's truth is revealed (1:18-19).
Humanity rejects God's truth (1:21-23) and their thinking becomes dulled, darkened
and foolish (Ps. 14:1). God gives them over to this behavior (1:24,26,28)- that
is, He takes His hand of restraint out of the way and lets people have what
they want - consequences, judgement and all. And they STILL have to answer for
their choices one day (1:32, 2:5). Rejecting God's
truth is a dangerous thing - it brings judgement of a more subtle
kind upon you. A hardened heart is no longer open to hearing warnings about
potential danger. I cite an old friend from high school as an example. He dipped
and dabbled in homosexuality for an extended period of time, despite growing
up in a church. "I can't lie to myself - I just have to be true to me.
I don't think God thinks what I'm doing is wrong", he told me. And what
felt 'weird' and 'not right, a little uneasy, but good' to him at age 15 became
flat out good to him by 24. Five years ago (1998), he tested positive for AIDS.
I haven't been in contact
with him for a while. Last I heard, he was defiant to the end about his lifestyle,
still taking risks, still engaging in homosexual behavior and active in the
local politics regarding homosexual rights. I weep for his soul and pray that
he would soon repent and turn towards the truth. But his heart has been hardened
- God has handed him over to his desires and now they master him (John
8:34).
God's judgement - whether direct or indirect, is nothing to scoff at or turn your nose up at. Don't pretend that it won't happen or that you won't have to one day stand before Him (Revelation 20:10-15).
A Biblical Picture of Hell and
This Smiley Ain't It....
Some people are under the
misperception that there's demons with pitchforks running around hell torturing
people and that Satan himself rules hell. Others think hell will be a party
- 'All my friends will be there!' That may or may not be true.... but you won't
see them. 
Hell is a place where God's perfect justice is carried out in full. No one gets more than they deserve, no one gets less than they deserve.
Rev. 14:9-11
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."
The apostle John, writing the words of the angel he sees in a vision regarding the future, points out several things that we should note in this passage:
1. Notice whose wrath gets poured out here - God's. This same lake of fire has hell thrown into it later in the book of Revelation 20:14. The same hell that the beast and false prophet and eventually Satan himself get tossed into (Rev. 19:20, 20:10).
2. The duration of hell is eternal - the person who ends up in hell will be there forever. Now, someone wouldn't mind getting away with what they wanna get away with if they knew that all they had to do was a few hundred years...or maybe even a few thousand years...because eventually their torment would end. But what if you would be tormented and punished for your offenses for eternity ? No rest, day or night ? No parole ? No break ? Told you the judgement of God was a serious thing. Offend an eternal being, pay an eternal penalty. Break an eternal law, pay for it eternally. And because the very essence and standard of goodness and righteousness is part of who God is, every broken law is a personal offense against Him. .
3. Hell isn't a party.
'The smoke of their torment rises...FOREVER.' Sound like fun to you ? 
Matth. 25:29-30
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away.
30 And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
Repeatedly (Matt. 3:12; 13:41,42; 25:41,46; Jude 7) Jesus and other writers in scripture describe hell in the worst possible. Probably the strongest three passages that warn of the terrors of hell are found in Matthew 25:41-46, Revelation 14:9-11 and Revelation 20 -
20:1 ¶ And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.
2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 ¶ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
So
what ? Do you mean there's a literal fire with literal brimstone that doesn't
ever burn out ? That's a hard one to believe! 
Maybe. Maybe not. God is
omnipotent - He's created stars that burn for billions of years on end, so creating
something that constantly recycles its own material is a simple task. We are
talking about the God who has atoms holding together somehow and the particles
are not just repelling each other. And the energy from splitting just one atom
is enough to provide 90 Megawatts (that's the same as 9000
100-watt light bulbs) of electricity for 11 days 
.
So the God who can hold these things and control these forces should have no
problem with creating something that burns into the ages of ages.
All I can say is this: even
if the language is only symbolic of what hell will be like, them
some scary symbols.
This means that hell will be at least as bad, scary, horrid, painful
and hopeless as it is described in scripture.
Still wanna go ? 
We summarize....
So
now we're stuck with a bunch of sinners, no desire to serve God, no ability
to serve God, whose good works (no matter how numerous) cannot save them, hopelessly
on their way to hell, right ? 
But God had mercy.
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