Those who by their actions reject Christ, no matter with what plausible excuses they may try to disguise the fact, stand self-condemned before God.  The Day of Judgement, which the forthcoming season of Advent brings before us, will make it all too plain whether our answer to Christ’s claim, to exercise full sovereignty over our hearts and actions in this life, has been Yes or No – and it has to be one or the other.

Those who have turned down that claim will have their decision confirmed by Our Blessed Lord himself, when as Judge of the living and the dead he will pass sentence on all.  It will be completely fair and completely just.

Those who by their own deliberate choice have kept themselves separate from him in this life will be separated from him for ever in the next.  As they have invited him to depart from them, so will he take them at their word and they will hear his final verdict on them, “Depart from me” (Matthew 7:23).

Even those who have been ashamed of Jesus Christ will share in that condemnation as he himself has explicitly warned us, with no exceptions, “Those who are ashamed of me and of my words…of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (NRSV, Mark 8:38).

And likewise he promised, again with no exceptions, “Everyone…who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven…” (NRSV, Matthew 10:32).