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Have you ever stood in front of the
Headteacher … as he sat behind his desk … with his black robe on, as our
Headteacher used to wear … as he looked into your eyes … as he looked you
‘up and down’ … and you were trying to prepare yourself for the inevitable
onslaught that would culminate in your parents being contacted regarding
your bad behaviour? … Have you ever been caught speeding? … Having to answer
for your misdemeanours is no fun! (… they tell me
J)
Have you ever not been
speeding? … Beyond all shadow of doubt everyone of us here who has driven a
car has at some time broken the rules of the road, - no matter how hard you
try; you have broken the Highway Code at some time … even if you didn’t mean
to!
Are you perfect? Are you beyond reproach? I
congratulate you if you are … but I’m not perfect … the men and women of the
Bible were not perfect. There has only ever been one Man Who walked this
earth Who was perfect. … What about this subject of the Last Judgment?
…
First of all, - before we go any further, -
there are many opinions on this subject of judgment. How many judgments will
there be? Some doctrines complicate the issue and say there are be as many
as five separate judgments, for example:
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The Judgment Seat of Christ.
They teach this is the judgment of the believer’s works. |
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The Judgment of Regathered Israel.
This will be the judgment of
the Jews for their disobedience to God and their rejection of Jesus
Christ. Apparently, during the ‘Tribulation Period’ and after the close
of the present Dispensation of Grace, Israel will pay for her sins,
being afflicted with great misery. |
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The Judgment of the Living Nations.
At the end of this supposed Tribulation Period, after Israel has been
judged, the unsaved nations of earth will be judged by Christ and His
Church. This judgment will be against the nations for their treatment of
the Jewish people. |
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The Judgment of Fallen Angels.
This is said to be the final judgment against Satan and the fallen
angels to occur after the one thousand years of the Millennium. |
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The Judgment of the Unbelieving Dead.
They call this the Great White Throne Judgment. |
Personally, I cannot see how this system of
so many judgments can be substantiated in Scripture; most adherents of
‘multiple judgments’ would come from the dispensational premillennial
stable, which often is lacking when it comes to careful exegesis of the
passages.
Our Baptist Confession of Faith
presents what is known in theological circles as the ‘General Judgment’ and
it has been consistently upheld throughout the lifetime of the Church. It
has been the view of the mainstream Church and the other theories, -
generally, - have appeared only over the last 150 years or so.
… It is better to keep our study simple and
only believe what the Bible says clearly and simply.
For that reason, - and also for the reason
that the doctrine of ‘multiple judgments’ manages to confuse a number of
clear issues, - I choose to agree with how the Last Judgment is set out in
our Confession. … First of all …
It is Inevitable
Rom. 14:10 we shall
all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Heb. 9:27 it is appointed unto
men once to die, but after this the judgment.
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Jesus spoke plainly about judgment; for
example, He spoke about the ten virgins, He spoke about the rich master
who gave his servants the responsibility of looking after the talents
until he returned (Mt. 25). |
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He taught clearly He would return again and
call this world to account, e.g.
Lk. 12:8 Also I say unto you,
Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also
confess before the angels of God: 9 But he that denieth me before men
shall be denied before the angels of God.
… Jn. 3:18 He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son
of God. |
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Peter told Cornelius,
Acts 10:42 he commanded us to
preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he [Christ] which
was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. |
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On Mars Hill in Athens Paul told the
intellectuals and philosophers of the city,
Acts 17:31 he hath appointed
a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man
whom he hath ordained. |
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Paul reminded Timothy,
II Tim. 4:1 I charge thee
therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick
and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. |
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There is coming a judgment day when every
person who has ever lived will stand before the Judgment Throne of God and
answer to Him alone for the things they have done in the flesh. …
It is inevitable. |
It is Unavoidable
Rom. 2:16 In the day
when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my
gospel.
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God is the God of order, He knows the exact
time when this world will end and He knows the Day of Judgment. We are
given the signs in Scripture as to its imminence, but no one knows when it
will be; Jesus said,
Mt. 24:36 Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of
heaven, but my Father only. |
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When Jesus comes again to herald the Day of
Judgment no one will be too busy or make excuses to appear before Him; no
one will be able to stay away from Him or reject His command to stand
before His Throne. |
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It will be such a great multitude, the
likes of which this world has never seen. |
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The dead are there, and all the millions
of the living. The sea has yielded up every corpse, and every foot of
earth teems with myriads upon myriads of long-buried men and women. |
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All eyes are turned towards the Throne,
and the Son of God sits, surrounded by an innumerable company of angels. |
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The books are opened, and the judgment
begins, heralded with the sound of the trumpet. |
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There are no ‘hard men’, - they are all
shivering with great fear. |
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Spurgeon spoke to the unsaved, “Think of
it long; picture it vividly; let it work upon your mind. Though at the
first it fill you with fear and trembling, it may conduct you to the
Saviour’s feet, and then, looking up to him with penitential faith, you
may hear how to have
boldness in the day of judgment (I Jn. 4:17).
If you fly to Jesus as your Saviour you will not fear to face him as your
King.” |
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Kings and queens will take their place,
Presidents and Prime Ministers … poor people, rich people … all
people shall stand … until the command is given to bow,
Phil. 2:10 at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and
things under the earth. |
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In one area there will be great silence …
In another area there will be great fear and weeping … |
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When speaking about how He would come again
and call the people to judgment Jesus told His disciples,
Lk. 23:30 Then shall they
begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. |
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They will try to run, but they will find no
shelter; it will be an irresistible, all powerful call of God that no one
will be able to disobey. |
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Even at this very moment every person who
has breathed life is a step closer to that day. |
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The faithful saints will come willingly;
this is the reward they know they do not deserve because of any of their
own merits, but yet they come so willingly because they know their Lord
has been preparing for their entrance into Glory. |
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They praise God that it is
unavoidable because they would not want to miss out on this occasion
when they will stand before the Throne and hear the words of the Saviour,
“Well done, good and faithful servant”. |
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It is what they want to hear because it is
testimony to how the Lord has saved them and lived through them, - He gets
all the glory and their’s is the privilege of His grace. |
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Yes, there will also be saints there whose
enthusiasm for the work of the Lord had been on the wane. |
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When the Lord called He came like the thief
in the night and they weren’t expecting Him and He caught them unawares.
He’ll catch them out doing things a Christian ought not to be doing! Many
of them will not have been watching and waiting, … as He commanded. |
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How do you think you would feel if He came
back and found you where you ought not to be or in a conversation you
ought not to be having? |
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What if He came back and found that you had
as-good-as buried what He had given you and you hadn’t made any investment
on the riches of salvation He had gifted you through grace? |
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You wouldn’t be able to talk your way out
of it … and He wouldn’t be turn a blind eye because He is perfect and He
doesn’t have a blind eye! |
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He is coming back again and when He does it
will herald the final judgment
when God shall judge the
secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to [the] gospel. |
It is Unimmaginable
Rom. 2:16 In the day
when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my
gospel.
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First of all, let us try to ‘see’ it as to
how it will affect the unsaved. |
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There will be people there who suppressed
any knowledge of Christ, - people who never showed any interest and who
didn’t want to listen. |
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There will be people who cursed the Name of
Christ, there will be others who mocked Him. There will also be those who
rejected His Gospel because they reckoned they had their own means of
salvation that would be acceptable. |
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There will be all sorts of people, and fear
and horror will drain the blood from their faces when they recognise that
all the warnings they had rejected now leaves them Christless and facing a
lost eternity in an everlasting torment of Hell. |
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Look around you … and I guarantee you no
matter how you try to imagine this picture you and I could never come
close to describing it as it will be. … Frightening! |
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Turn away though to another group, the
number of souls gathered
cannot be measured
and God says,
Hos. 1:10 it shall be said
unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. |
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It is the moment for which they have prayed
earnestly; totally undeserving but they are there because of God’s grace.
God saved them, God kept them and God brought them home. |
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None of them is boasting, “I’m here because
of the good person I am”. No, each one of them knows they are there
because of the precious blood of Christ shed for them at Calvary. |
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The blind eyes will be open. The walking
sticks and wheelchairs won’t be needed … perfected in Christ! …
You see your loved ones … there will be no more parting. |
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Christ will call you and He will judge you
“in Him” … and your entrance into Heaven is assured. |
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Yes, it is truly unimaginable, - you could
never draw an adequate picture in your mind but
Job 19:25 I know that my
redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh
shall I see God: 27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall
behold, and not another. |
Conclusion
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“What a day that will be when my Jesus I
shall see!” What a pleasure and a privilege to be able to say in the final
words of the Bible and of our Confession,
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Amen |
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