The Day of Judgment

I. It is obvious from the scriptures that there will be a day of judgment.

A. It will not be the separation of a group of people chosen by God before the creation of the world who would be saved or lost regardless of how they lived (Unconditional election)

B. It will be a judgment of all people based on how they lived.

II. God is the judge

A. When we look at the day of Judgement we must first consider the Judge – God.

B. God is a perfect Judge

C. God is all-knowing, Hebrews 4:11-13.

D. We are finite in our knowledge. We are often quick to judge others saying, “I know why they did such-and-such” but only God knows the hearts of men. In a court of law we collect evidence, try to determine a means and motive for a crime, and try to discover the truth of a matter. However, in our criminal system is not perfect: sometimes guilty people get away and sometimes innocent people are wrongly convicted of crimes. He knows all things done in secret, the thoughts and intents of our minds, and every action. He will know all of the facts when He makes His judgment. That should be comforting to us, but should also cause us to be careful about what we think and how we live.

E. God is an impartial judge

F. On this earth judges can be bribed. The Old Testament prophets frequently condemned Judah and Israel because the people bribed the judges and thus justice was taken from the land. God will not give leniency to a person because of his wealth, popularity or power on this earth. He will not regard these things but will judge fairly. This should cause us to have comfort. We can stand next to the most powerful person on earth and we will receive an impartial judgment from God.

G. We must be careful how we live, for God will also be impartial when judging His people.

H. 1 Peter 1:17-19 – This should cause us to live holy.1 Peter 4:17-8 – Judgment will begin with us!2 Corinthians 13:5 – We must examine ourselves (judging ourselves) to make sure that we are in the faith. Just as students take tests during a course in preparation for a final exam, we must test ourselves while we live so we know where we stand and where we ought to be in preparation for our final exam.

I. What will happen on the day of judgment

J. All shall bow before God, Romans 14:10-11

K. All shall appear before God and give an account before God.

L. Hebrews 4:13 Matthew 12:36-37 What is pictured here is not a passive judgment where we are placed before the court, evidence is presented and sentence is given. What is pictured is us standing before God giving an account of how we have lived.

M. It is like the men in the Parable of the Talents where the master comes back and asks his stewards how they used his money.

N. (Matthew 25:14f – reference only)“I gave your x talents, what do you have to show for it?” The servants gave an account of how they used the talents. He was pleased with those who used their talents to make more talents and the one who did not use his talent to make more talents was cast into outer darkness.

O. If we were to give an account before God now for our lives, what would we say?

P. Think about our lives and what we have been given.

Q. We have been born into the most prosperous nation on earth. The poorest of us is rich compared to the world.

R. Nicaragua – storm rebuild government gave: 3 pieces of lumber, a tarp, and a piece of tin: built fourteen square foot houses. Most of our garages are bigger than that…and are full of clothes and other possessions!

S. I gave you x years on the earth. You were not brought up in a time of wartime (most of us) and could move about the country freely. Transportation is very easy. I gave you x years of good health. I gave you a good congregation of God’s people to worship with and faithful people to support you. I gave you my word that could be clearly understood in your own language.

T. God could say, “I have given you all of these things, what have you done for me?”

U. Did you waste it on yourself? Did you help the kingdom grow? We must give an account before the Great Steward on how we lived. We must take an accounting of ourselves in preparation for judgment. If we are not pleased with our account, we must make changes to our lives.

V. Separation of the righteous and the unrighteous to eternal punishment.

W. In a sense there is a judgment that has taken place in Hades.

X. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, when the rich man died he was in torments, when Lazarus died he was in Paradise, and there was a gulf fixed that separated them. This was not the final dwelling place but an intermediate place before the day of Judgment However, Lazarus was already being comforted and the rich man was being tormented. However, on the Day of Judgment there will be a formal separation of the wicked and the righteous into eternal reward and eternal damnation. Matthew 25:31-46 (summarize depending on time)

Y. The judgment will also be a time where those who are hypocrites will be separated from the true children of God.

Z. We must remember that not all who attend our services and claim to be Christians will go to heaven. Matthew 13:24-43 – (Summarize) Parable of the Tares Tares are a poisonous species of rye grass that looks like wheat until the ear appears.“Gather out of his kingdom” - There will be some who are in the church, who appear to be like Christians, but are really children of the devil and not the children of God. This should cause us to be very careful to make sure that we are truly children of God. Similar to Matthew 22:1-14 – wedding feast; the man who was not prepared (no proper garment) was cast out. Kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet (Matthew 13) where the good fish and bad fish are separated. These are parables of the kingdom! We know the lost will go to eternal punishment but so will those in the church who are not truly children of God and those who have not prepared themselves.

III. How will we be judged?

A. Revelation 20:11-15

B. Judged by their works. Can presume that some of the books were the books of scripture. If we are going to be judged by our works, it is the scriptures that tell us how we should live. John 12:48 – (summary quote) Judged by Jesus words2 Timothy 3:15 (summary quote) Scripture is profitable for doctrine and instruction and righteousness.

C. Romans 2:4-11 (READ THE TEXT AT POINT 3)

D. Those who teach unconditional election teach that no matter what man does, he will be saved if God has chosen him. Here, Paul teaches plainly that our actions will determine our eternal dwelling place. Read the text emphasizing action.

E. The first action that we must undertake is obedience to the gospel.

F. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Acts 8:37 and be willing to confess that before me, even if it costs you your life. Repent of your sins, Luke 13:3 (except you repent…perish) Be baptized, Acts 8:38-39 (Philip and Eunuch went into water), Acts 22:16: “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”2 Corinthians 6:2 – Today is the day of salvation Then living faithfully before God for we will be judged by our works.

G. 2 Peter 3:11-12 – What kind of people should we be?

IV. (TAKE OUT SONGBOOKS) STORY OF THE SAVIOR AND THE JUDGE

V. Savior and Judge

VI. Author Unknown

VII. Some years ago in one of our great cities, and upon one of its crowded streets, a young man was suddenly pulled back from the path of a speeding truck, and his life was saved by a venerable looking man. When he had gotten his voice, he thanked the man and was soon lost in the crowd.

VIII. Two weeks later, in a crowded courtroom, a young man stood in the prisoner’s box to be sentenced for murder.

IX. “Young man, have you anything to say before the sentence of death is passed upon you?”

X. “Why, yes, yes Judge. You know me.” A silent wave moved over the courtroom.

XI. “I’m sorry, sir. I cannot place you,” said the judge.

XII. “Yes, sure. You remember. Two weeks ago. At Main and Seventh streets you saved my life. Surely, Judge, you can do something for me now.” The silence in the courtroom was painful.

XIII. “Young man, I remember. But that day I was your savior. Today I am your judge.

XIV. The Lord Jesus Christ who today offers to be your Savior will one day be your Judge. Accept Him today without delay. Tomorrow may be too late. Let Him save you from sin today. If you wish to accept that invitation of salvation that Jesus is offering you, please come forward and make that request known while we stand and sing.