I know what some of y’all are thinking: Didn’t he use the same picture at that beginning of the sermon last week? Well, if that’s what crossed your mind, you’d be right. I did use this same picture last week, but I have a good reason for also using it today, beside the fact that it’s pretty obvious that my wife is just as cute as a button and personally, man, I’m out of her league and I know it. I mean, she’s major league, and I’m single A. You see, tomorrow is our anniversary. And I’ll tell you, even though we’ve been married for at least 24 years, it seems like only yesterday that we stood up, in front of the preacher, and I said, “I will,” and she said, “No, you won’t.”
But be-that-as-it-may, tomorrow will be our 24th anniversary, and even though that date will be important “‘til death do us part,” the celebration has changed over the years. I mean, now, we’re good with giving one another cards and going out to dinner. But I’ve got to tell you, that wasn’t the case back in the day. I mean, for the first few years, the anniversary gift was a big deal, at least it was for me. As a matter of fact, it was sort of like a minefield, because I felt that Debbie was judging what I gave her, and if it wasn’t right, BOOM, and speaking from experience, BOOM is never good. Now understand, this was all in my mind. You see, since I saw her as a judge of stuff received, on one hand, I was afraid that if my gift wasn’t as sentimental or sincere or, what’s the word I want, expensive as her gift to me, BOOM. On the other hand, I was also scared that if what I gave her was more sentimental or sincere or, for as unlikely as would be, expensive than what she had for me, BOOM. You see, in my mind, somehow I had to hit that sweet spot, or the Judge would bring the hammer down, and trust me, she believes in capital punishment. BOOM, or at least that’s what I thought.
And I’ll tell you, that’s what we’re going to be talking about this morning. I mean, as y’all know, we’ve been exploring The Apostle’s Creed. And to this point, we’re already looked at the importance of affirming,
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
Now that’s the stuff we’ve already covered.
And this morning, we’re moving on to the last statement about Jesus in the Creed: I BELIEVE...from there [meaning the right hand of God] he will come to judge the living and the dead. And I’ll tell you, personally, I think this is a pretty important thing about which to talk, because in my experience, a lot of Christians are a little fuzzy when they try to explain how Jesus functions as the Judge, particularly their judge. And so, during the rest of this message, we’re going to talk about how Jesus actually judges the living and the dead and how this might impact our Christian living right here and right now. And I’ll tell you, when we look at Scripture, I think there are three things we can say about Jesus as the judge.
For example, based on what I read, Jesus judges with justice. In other words, Jesus is fair at the very least. He’s a man of his word. As a matter of fact, he tells us exactly how we’re going to be judged, and I’ll let you in on a secret, I don’t think it has anything to do with us accepting him as savior or making him Lord or giving him our lives or our hearts or any other internal organ we’re pretty sure God won’t be collecting anytime soon. You see, even though I might question whether we really have the power to do any of those things, which I do, even if we did believe we had that kind of power, doing those things would affect how we live today and not how we’ve going to be judged in the future. No, I think the most clear and concise explanation of the judgement we’re going to face was offered by Jesus Christ himself. You see, according to the Evangelist Matthew, this was the last lesson Jesus taught to his disciples, in other words to us, and be prepared it’s both lengthy and frankly uncomfortable.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”
Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”
The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”
Then the king will say to those on his left, “Get away from me! You are under God’s curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me.”
Then the people will ask, “Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?”
The king will say to them, “Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me.”
Then Jesus said, “Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life.” [Matthew 25:31-46, CEV]
Now, that’s what Jesus said. And even though, personally, I wish he’d been a little less specific and concrete and a little more vague and spiritual, I think this really speaks to his sense of justice; therefore, it’s something we really need to hear. You see, in a nutshell, this is all about accountability, isn’t it; that we’ll be held accountable for what we choose to do and what we choose not to do. In other words, our actions and inaction carry consequences. And for that reason, I think we’re only fooling ourselves if we assume that we can pull the wool over Jesus’s eyes by offering a whole bunch of words that are really easy to say and making a whole bunch of promises that we probably don’t have the power or inclination to fulfill. Man, Jesus is just too sharp to be taken in by us. And because of that, instead of wasting our time trying to convince him that we’re something we’re not, maybe we should spend some real effort and energy exploring what we can actually do, you know, like helping those whom the world considers unimportant. Why? Because Jesus will judge us with justice. And that’s one.
And second, along with justice, I believe Jesus also judges with love. In other words, he feels compassion. And he shows mercy even to men and women who fall short of his ideal. You see, the Judge just plain loves us. And I’ll tell you, if you had any doubt, just listen to what Jesus said to the Pharisee Nicodemus who was literally in the dark. Jesus said,
And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as the metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert. Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.
God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! No one who has faith in God’s Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn’t have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God’s only Son. [John 3:14-18, CEV]
Now again, that’s what he said. And I think this is something else we need to remember. You see, in spite of what we read from Matthew, our ultimate judge isn’t like Lady Justice, blindfolded, with scales in her hands, judging impartially without bias or emotion. No, Jesus isn’t impartial. And he isn’t without bias. And he sure isn’t unemotional. And why do I say that? It’s because the Bible says that Jesus loves us, the accused. In fact, he loves us so much that he died for the ones who drove the nails. I mean, no matter how selfish and arrogant and obnoxious we are from time-to-time, and let’s face it, from time to time we all are, as Paul told the Romans,
“...God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.” [Romans 5:8, CEV] And I’ll tell you, that’s not going to change. You see, this is how Jesus, the judge, views us; therefore, as we look forward to that time when we’re going to have to give an account of what we’ve done and left undone, man, we don’t need to be afraid. Instead, we can approach him with confidence. And we can approach him with hope. And we can approach him with faith. Why? Because Jesus will judge us with love. And that’s two.
And third, as our judge, Jesus also judges with patience. In other words, he doesn’t rush to judgement. Instead he takes his time. He waits. He’s patient. As a matter of fact, I think we can see that patience right now. I mean, I don’t believe our judge wants us to pay the full consequences of our actions. Why not? Man, he loves us. Therefore, he gives us all kinds of time to listen and to obey, something that Peter talked about in his first letter. He wrote,
The Lord isn’t slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient, because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost.
The day of the Lord’s return will surprise us like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a loud noise, and the heat will melt the whole universe. Then the earth and everything on it will be seen for what they are.
Everything will be destroyed. So you should serve and honor God by the way you live. You should look forward to the day when God judges everyone, and you should try to make it come soon. On that day the heavens will be destroyed by fire, and everything else will melt in the heat. But God has promised us a new heaven and a new earth, where justice will rule. We are really looking forward to this!
My friends, while you are waiting, you should make certain the Lord finds you pure, spotless, and living at peace. Don’t forget that the Lord is patient because he wants people to be saved. This is also what our dear friend Paul said when he wrote you with the wisdom God had given him. [2 Peter 3:9-15, CEV]
Now that’s what Peter wrote. And because of that, I guess we can call the time we have a real gift from God himself. And I’ll tell you, this is a gift we can start using right here and now. I mean, because the time we have is so precious and so limited, I don’t think it should ever be wasted or taken for granted. And for that reason, I think it’s really important for us to put aside whatever differences we might have, remembering that Paul told the Galatians, “
Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman.” [Galatians 3:28, CEV] And then, we can come together as the Body of Christ. And finally, using all the gifts and talents God has given us, we can work in such a way that we’ll hear Jesus say to us, “
My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created.” [Matthew 25:34b, CEV] You see, this we can do right now. Why? Because Jesus judges us with patience. And that’s three.
Now, remember me talking about how, when it came to our anniversary, I used to be all worried and concerned, but now, well, we’re a whole lot more laid back. Well, it’s true. As a matter of fact, Debbie and I decided that, since she has this opportunity to spend some time with her mom, well, there’s really no need for her to cut her trip short so she can be back here by the twenty-second. Yes sir, as it relates to anniversary-related stress, PTL, I’ve received a stay of execution. Of course, I also recognize that this will all change next year when we celebrate our twenty-fifth. She’s already making both plans and suggestions.
But do you know what will never change? It’s how Jesus will stand as our judge. You see, Jesus will always judge us with justice. And he will always judge us with love. And he will always judge us with patience. And I’ll tell you, that’s why I think we can say with both enthusiasm and hope, I BELIEVE...from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
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