THE COURTROOM

"This was the sermon I preached on the R.I.O.T. tour every night before the altar call. Usually I write story songs from other people's sermons. It's the first time since 'The Champion' that I wrote one from my own." -- Carman

If tonight you stood in Heaven's court,
To seek eternal favor,
Would you face Jesus Christ as Judge?
Or would you face Him as your Savior?

There are many who don't quite know for sure,
What that verdict would be if ever,
So let's imagine for a moment,
You're standing DEAD center,
In the courtroom of FOREVER...

Sitting before you is a structure,
Massive and intense,
It's here your fate will be determined,
Before this Judge's bench;

Then a voice booms,
"This court's now in session",
And your adrenaline starts to rush,
Peering down with eyes that see through your soul,
Is God the Father, your Judge;

Then off to your left across the room,
Is the virtual silhouette of sin,
Stepping out of the shadows of condemnation,
Your worst nightmare walks in...

On his face is the smirk of evil incarnate,
His mind fixed on your destruction in HELL,
You've just been introduced to your prosecuting attorney,
None other than Satan himself...

The Bible says he's the accuser of the brethren,
So guess what he's gonna do,
He's gonna accuse you of your sins,
And he knows them all,
Both the old ones and the new;

He's prepared his case for years,
Now the golden moment is his,
So in arrogance he presents his case to the Judge,
And it comes out sounding something like this...

"God, You see this worthless piece of trash over here?
This one is a sinner to the core,
This one has committed adultery, cursed his neighbor, stolen money,
Been into drugs, alcohol and even more..."

"This hopeless wretch has even slandered friends,
And by that guilty face this whole courtroom can tell,
That to a moral certainty and beyond any reasonable doubt,
This one deserves eternal judgment in HELL..."

The words of accusation still echo,
Your every face thrown up in your face,
Then God opens the book where every deed is recorded,
And reviews your records of disgrace...

God says, "The book says you did this, this and this,
And everything you were accused of today,
Now, before I sentence you to HELL forever,
Are there any last words you have to say?"

Now, if it's true you're standing there in the courtroom of eternity,
With God to your front and Satan the prosecutor to your left,
There's one remaining eternal truth...
One that's crucial to remember...

One you should never, ever, ever forget...

That on the other side of the courtroom...

I said, on the other side of the courtroom...

You ain't hearing me tonight,
I said, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COURTROOM...

Is the one and only Son of God,
Revealed in time and space,
And He's your defense attorney,
Who has NEVER lost a case...

It's not Buddha, Mohammed, or Krishna,
Or any others who succumb to DEATH,
Ladies and gentlemen... on the other side of the courtroom,
Is JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth!

Then Jesus jumps up, says, "Wait a minute, Judge,
Now I've got something to say!
May I remind you that on a cross 2,000 years ago,
I washed his sins away..."

"I was crucified, I died, they put Me in a tomb,
But long about the midnight hour,
The power of God hit Me and I walked out of that grave,
Alive and well with resurrection power!"

Then the devil said, "It's in the book, it's written in the book,
Check the book," and God said, "OK",
Then He takes the book out, lays it open and says,
"Now, we'll see what this book has to say..."

He turns to the first page, the second page, the third,
By the fourth, the devil seems shock,
God closes it and says, "The blood of Jesus must have worked,
'Cause there is absolutely nothing in this book..."

The devil said, "Now, wait a minute, check that book again,
All his sins are written down, they're all right there",
God said, "Devil, maybe you're mistaken altogether,
Maybe it's this book down here..."

The devil cries, "NO! Not that book, not that one!"
God said, "Devil, why are you so uptight?"
God sets the book down, the dust flies,
And on the cover it says,
THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE

Is your name in that book for sure?
If you've been forgiven,
And your name is written,
Then lift your hands, praise the Lord!

Yes, my name's in that book for sure,
I've been forgiven,
And I know my name is written,
In THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE

Bam! Bam! Bam! This court is adjourned...