************ Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 52 ************
Doctrine: The Apostles' Creed, "Return to judge the living and the dead"
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on November 19, 2000
Q & A 52
Matthew 25:31-46
"The Comfort of the Judgment"
Introduction
Topic: Judgment
Subtopic: Final
Index: 1351-1353
Date: 11/1993.1
Title:
An Atheist farmer often taunted and made fun of people who believed in God. He wrote the following letter to the editor of a local newspaper: "I plowed on Sunday, planted on Sunday, cultivated on Sunday, and hauled in my crops on Sunday; but I never went to church on Sunday. Yet I harvested more bushels per acre than anyone else, even those who are God-fearing and never miss a service." The editor printed the man's letter and then added this remark: "God doesn't always settle His accounts in October."
We do not know when God will settle accounts. We do not know whether it will be in the present or the future. But this we do know: the Christ Who ascended from earth into heaven will someday return to settle accounts, "to judge the living and the dead."
Do you know what this means, congregation? It means we must often remind ourselves and each other of a number of things:
-that this life and this world will end
-that the present form of our existence, though it is critically important, is not everlasting
-that our present possessions and positions are but temporary
-that the kingdom of God is everlasting
-that our treasure should be in heaven rather than on earth
Now, don't forget, we are talking about true faith, about saving faith. In order to be saved, in order to be washed and cleansed and redeemed and forgiven, in order to be called God's child, in order to have a place in the new heaven and new earth, we need to believe that Jesus is coming again to settle accounts, "to judge the living and the dead." Have you ever thought of it this way? Have you ever thought that you need to believe Jesus is coming again as Judge in order to be saved?
I The Vindication of Christ
A There will come a time, says Scripture, when Christ will come again. He will come from heaven (Mt 26:64; Acts 1:11; 1 Thess 4:16). The Bible passages that deal with His coming place great emphasis on the public nature of the event: the coming is often called the "appearing" of the Lord (Titus 2:13; 1 Tim 6:14; 2 Tim 4:1,8). He will be visible to all because His "sign" will be in the sky and He will travel "on the clouds" (Mt 24:30, 26:64; Rev 1:7). Trumpets will announce His arrival (Mt 24:31; 1 Cor 15:52; 1 Thess 4:16). When the Lord comes again, everyone will confess His greatness, and – whether it be willingly or reluctantly – every knee shall bend and every head bow low (Phil 2:10,11).
B At that time, He Who was judged by Pilate and the Sanhedrin will be fully vindicated – for then He will sit in judgment over all men (Jn 5:22; Acts 17:31; cf Mt 26:64). He will come, says the Apostles' Creed, to settle accounts, "to judge the living and the dead." "Even those who pierced him" (Rev 1:7) will see to their utter shame and horror that Christ indeed is King and Lord.
How vivid the Bible is in picturing this judgment of all men: the sheep are separated from the goats (Mt 25:31ff) and the wheat is separated from the chaff (Mt 3:12). The entire human race is split into two categories of people: the wicked and the righteous, the believing and the unbelieving, the followers of Christ and the opponents of Christ, the elect and the reprobate.
This judgment of all men is comprehensive: it includes all things, excludes nothing, and overlooks no secret sin of any of us. According to Paul, the innermost thoughts and motives of our hearts will be judged:
(1 Cor 4:5) ... wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts.
Jesus says our words will be judged:
(Mt 12:36) But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
And, of course, our deeds will be judged too:
(2 Cor 5:10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
According to our Scripture reading from Matthew 25, Christ will even judge us for what we have not done: a failure to show kindness to the hungry, the naked, the prisoner, the sick; He will judge us on whether or not we gave a "cup of cold water" to His little ones (Mt 10:42).
C As fearful as this may be – that motives, thoughts, words, and deeds are judged – what is even worse is that the judgment will be entirely public. There's "nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open" (Lk 8:17) for all to see or hear, whether it be good or bad. One's soul is stripped bare and all attempts to cover up one's nakedness are in vain.
This public character of the Last Judgment will be very embarrassing for us all. Imagine what it would be like for everyone to hear recordings of our family quarrels – for no one acts as silly and as foolish as in a quarrel with loved ones. I strongly suspect we would lose forever whatever respect we have for one another.
Cordless microphones are a wonderful thing. But they also have their dangers. In the last church I served the entire congregation overheard a conversation between me and one of the elders – because I didn't realize the microphone was on. The Bible reminds us that in reality the microphone is always on and at the Final Judgment every motive, thought, word, and deed will be played back for all to see and hear. Can you imagine how terrible, how humiliating, this will be?
Psychologists tell us that public humiliation is one of the most traumatic situations a person can face. That is why some prominent members of the business community would rather commit suicide after being charged with insider trading or influence peddling than undergoing the spectacle of a public trial. And, it is no accident that both President and Mrs. Nixon almost lost their life within months after he was forced to resign the presidency.
D The day and hour of the Final Judgment is unknown to us even as it was hidden from the Son of God in the days of His flesh (Mt 24:36). "Therefore keep watch," says Jesus, "because you do not know on what day your Lord will come" (Mt 24:42). To keep "watch" implies more than just waiting. It implies preparation: repentance and sorrow for sin, faith in Jesus Christ, an earnest desire to walk in God's ways. It implies faithful labor: doing the work of the church and Kingdom, reaching out to the lost, using your spiritual gifts for the good of the other members. It implies a militant stance: fighting sin and evil, resisting temptation, being equipped with the full armor of God. It implies anticipation: the hope of a new and better life in a new and better body on a new and better earth. To sum up: it means watching and waiting for the return of Jesus to settle accounts, "to judge the living and the dead."
Topic: Second Coming of Christ
Subtopic: True Attitude Concerning
Index: 1348
Date: 8/1986.12
Title: Wait and Watch
The difference between WATCHING and WAITING is illustrated by the story of a fishing vessel returning home after many days at sea. As they neared the shore, the sailors gazed eagerly toward the dock where a group of their loved ones had gathered. The skipper looked through his binoculars and identified some of them: "I see Bill's Mary, and there is Tom's Margaret and David's Anne." One man became concerned because his wife was not there. Later, he left the boat with a heavy heart and hurried up the hill to his cottage. As he opened the door, she ran to meet him saying, "I have been waiting for you!" He replied with a gentle rebuke, "Yes, but the other men's wives were watching for them!"
E When God's people think of the Final Judgment they almost always have things turned backwards and put the emphasis on the wrong place. When we think of the future, trying to anticipate what is going to happen, most of us envision our own destiny and the eternal well-being of our loved ones. In Scripture, however, the focus and goal of the Final Judgment is not our salvation, not our eternal well-being, not our future life; rather, the focus is on the glory of the Lord. The end result or goal of the Final Judgment is that not only the Spirit and the church but all the universe is to confess, in the words of Revelation 11,
(Rev 11:15) The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.
It is taking much longer for the Lord to return and for the Final Judgment to take place than early Christians ever thought it would. Whenever we read the New Testament we ought to be impressed by their vibrant expectation of Jesus' early return to settle accounts, "to judge the living and the dead." And, the longer the church has had to wait, the more her attention has shifted from His coming and His glory to our going and our salvation. Most people and many churches have far more to say and to sing about our going to heaven than about Jesus coming again to earth.
In the Bible, however, the vindication and glory of the Lord, not our future "home of bliss," occupies center stage. We cannot forget that salvation history ends not with our redemption but with God being all in all. We cannot forget that time ends with "glory to God" and not "glory to man."
According to the Creed, then, there will come a time when Christ will return to settle accounts, "to judge the living and the dead." There will come a time when Christ, to His glory, will publicly judge all men for all thoughts, motives, deeds, and words.
II The Comfort of the Final Judgment
A The Bible's teaching on the Last Judgment fills the hearts of many people with terror – after all, the Last Judgment contains within it the stuff that nightmares are made of. For others, the Bible's teaching on the Final Judgment exercises a restraining influence on their life – the consideration that someday one has to answer for every thought, motive, word, and deed restrains them from certain sinful and evil actions.
However, in discussing this doctrine the Catechism's intent is not fear and terror, nor restraint of sin; rather, the Catechism thinks in terms of comfort. It asks,
HOW DOES CHRIST'S RETURN
"TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD"
COMFORT YOU?
This, needless to say, is a most unusual approach. Who can imagine comfort and security flowing out of the teaching that Christ will publicly judge each thought, motive, word, and deed? Who can imagine comfort flowing out of what should be for all of us a time of great public embarrassment? Yet, comfort there is!
What is our comfort here?
B In answering this, the Catechism tells us three things. First,
I turn my eyes to the heavens
and confidently await as judge the very One
who has already stood trial in my place
before God
and so has removed the whole curse from me.
To better understand this we have to consider the attitude of a guilty person towards his sentencing judge. A person who is guilty properly fears his judge. He is scared of him. And, when we consider that the Judge at the end of times is the almighty Son of God, the fear of the guilty is magnified many times over.
As you all know, we are all guilty of sin and evil. Our Judge has more than enough evidence to convict us and pass sentence on us. Jesus Christ does not need to look too hard for proof of our guilt. So, our attitude towards Him as Judge ought to be fear and trembling.
Yet, it isn't. We don't fear our heavenly Judge. Rather, we who are believers await His appearance with confidence.
Why?
Because we saw our Judge as a baby, lowered to the straw, a human like us. We saw Him walk into Pilate's court as the defendant. We saw Him when He was executed for crimes we committed. And, when we stand in the Final Judgment and look up to the Judge's seat, who do we see? We see Jesus sitting there.
We have nothing to fear! Why? Because our Judge is also our Savior. We have nothing to fear! Why? Because our Judge has gone from the defendant's chair to the judge's bench. We have nothing to fear! Why? Because our Judge was Himself judged for our sin and evil; He has been found guilty and punished for what we have done; therefore, as the apostle Paul puts it, "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:1) because Jesus has already been condemned in our place.
We have nothing to fear! I have confidence that even a worthless sinner like me will survive His withering judgment – not, heaven forbid!, because I am worthy, but because He "has already stood trial in my place before God and so has removed the whole curse from me."
This is real comfort. Our Judge is our Savior. So, there is nothing to fear and everything to look forward to when Christ returns to settle accounts, "to judge the living and the dead."
C There is also a second comfort from the teaching that Christ will return to settle accounts, "to judge the living and the dead." According to the Catechism,
All his enemies and mine
he will condemn to everlasting punishment.
According to Scripture,
(2 Thess 1:7-10) This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified ...
Jesus will say to these people,
(Mt 24:41) Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Notice, the Catechism says "his enemies and mine he will condemn ..." The Catechism sees here such a complete identification or union between a believer and his Lord that the Lord's enemies are his enemies and his enemies are the Lord's enemies. We had best make sure, then, that on the Day of our Lord's return His enemies are our enemies and His friends are our friends.
What is the comfort we are to get here? The real comfort here is that someday Christ will make everything right. A world in which the rich seem to get richer, and the wicked get off scot-free, will someday be set right. A world in which poverty, crime, and all sorts of immorality seem to prevail, will be set right by the Judge. One day the oppressor will be crushed; the poor and meek of the earth will be vindicated; and justice and righteousness will reign again. That is our comfort!
D Thirdly, we can get comfort from Christ's return as Judge because,
... me and all his chosen ones
he will take along with him
into the joy and the glory of heaven.
Jesus will say,
(Mt 25:34) Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
In the Final Judgment true believers will not be condemned by God; rather, to the glory of God and His Christ, they will publicly be given the joy and glory of heaven.
Conclusion
With the church of all ages, what do we confess? We confess that someday Christ will return to settle accounts, "to judge the living and the dead." For God's people this is nothing to fear; there is comfort here.
Now, let me ask you, is there comfort here for you?
Your answer depends upon your answer to another question: Is Christ your Savior?
If Christ isn't your Savior, there can be no comfort but only fear in this teaching that someday Christ will return to settle accounts, "to judge the living and the dead." If you do not know Christ as Savior now, you will know Him as your Sentencing Judge then. If you do not by grace believe He was your Substitute on the cross, you will be rejected and convicted and condemned by Him when He sits as Judge.
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