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| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) Psalter 128 - The Lord of Hosts Psalter 16 - The Lord the Righteous Judge (1,3,4,5) TH 546 - The Sands of Time Are Sinking |
The Last Judgment
Rev 20:11-15, 2 Cor 5:10, Matt 25:31-46, BC 37
Last week, we dealt with one of the most controversial articles in the Confession - on obedience to civil government. Today we examine another controversial issue - the final judgment. But while the topic of civil government has always been controversial, the topic of final judgment was not really controversial for most of the church’s history until the last 2 centuries. Through a hyper literalist reading of the Scripture, not a literary one, many theologies have been spawned about Christ’s second coming and judgment. What do I mean? A literary reading takes into account the genre of the particular book or passage. Sometimes it’s a parable - where not every detail is meant to convey a theological truth - but the whole parable has a meaning. Other times it’s apocalyptic literature - with its fantastical pictures, which are meant to be symbolic, not literalistic. Failure to distinguish these symbols have led to fantastical ideas of Christ’s coming - focusing on differences in then passages rather than their similarities, looking for hidden code, and hidden meaning. And that has spawned ideas that Christ’s coming in the clouds won’t be a single event - that he won’t come once, but 1 1/2 times; the initial coming being a half-way coming in the clouds; and his final judgment will not be one single event, but 2 judgments at different times, catered to 2 different kinds of people.
But our Confession summarizes the historic position which essentially states that on judgment day, Christ will come to judge the living and the dead. Everyone will appear before this judgment seat. They will be resurrected or changed to give an account of their lives and works - whether good or bad. The judgment will be terrible for the wicked, but a comfort to the righteous. Why? Because the wicked will be punished eternally in hell and the righteous will be rewarded in heaven and vindicated. Their reward is unspeakable glory. That’s why we look forward to judgment day. In preaching from these passages today, we shall follow the 3 divisions of the Confession. Firstly, Christ is the final judge. Secondly, all will be judged for their works. Thirdly, all will receive their recompense.
Firstly, Christ is the final judge. Revelation 20 pictures Christ on his throne. Verse 11 - “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” Matthew 25:31-32 tells us that this happens after Christ comes to gather to himself all nations in all his glory with his holy angels - “then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.” 2 Corinthians 5 calls this throne the judgment seat of Christ. So all of these verses tell us several things. Firstly, we see that it’s a great throne - meaning, it’s large in size. But the largeness is meant to symbolize Christ’s authority; because who sits on a throne except for a king? So it’s a large throne because he’s an important king. Next, we see that it’s white. Now, the Bible’s not describing heaven’s color scheme or interior decoration. Rather, the color white is used to symbolize the king’s purity and victory. The book of Revelation says in other parts that Christ conquers on a white horse and all the saints in heaven are dressed in white. So whatever is done from that throne is holy and victorious. But what’s done from this throne? We see that this victorious and holy king will judge. The throne is a judgment seat. And this means that his judgment is holy and it will not fail. This implies, among other things, that Christ can’t be bribed. He knows what’s right and what’s wrong. And therefore, the judgment he makes will be right. And no one can pervert him to make a wrong judgment - no one change his mind. All this tells us that his justice will triumph. And we also see he’s alone on his throne. While the angels surround the throne, they’re not making judgment with him. He needs no jury. His judgment is final.
Additionally, we see his judgment is ultimate. In Matthew, Jesus called it the throne of his glory. On one hand it shows the destructive power of Christ’s judgment. When Moses wanted to see God face to face, God told him no flesh could see his glory and live. No wonder the heaven and earth fled from him. And the fact that everything fled from his presence shows that there’s no place for anyone to hide from that glorious judgment. On the other hand, this glorious throne shows the constructive power of Christ’s judgment. He rewards his people with life eternal. So this signifies the end of all things, where heaven and earth will be destroyed and recreated. Lastly, this judgment is eschatological, meaning, it’s final. Whatever was prophesied would be fulfilled on that day - a day ordained by the Lord but unknown to all creatures. Why do we say that? In Matthew, the Lord used his title “the Son of man.” What does this mean? We know that Jesus had many titles in the Bible. Each of them has a different emphasis. Now, theologically, he’s God - God the Son; he’s the second person of the Trinity who’s uncreated, eternally begotten, self-existing together with the Father and Spirit. But he’s also the Son of God. This refers to him as God’s son - he was born to be a better son, a better man than Adam. He’d fulfill as a man what Adam could not. But he’s also the Son of Man - this refers to him being the promised Divine conqueror - the ultimate God-king, where from this throne, he will once and for all subjugate all his earthly enemies, putting his foot on their necks. This term is found in Daniel 7:13-14 - “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” So when Jesus used the term Son of Man, he was referring to his conquering status as God - who has dominion over all people. That’s why the throne is not only great, white, glorious, but everything fled from his presence - because he’s God alone. And this judgment was the mother of all judgments - the Day of the Lord.
Secondly, we see what happens at this judgment seat - Christ will judge everyone for their works. Matthew clearly tells us that at this throne, Christ shall gather all nations (meaning everyone) and he shall separate them into 2 groups, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. Interestingly, it says his sheep but the goats. The sheep belong to him as he’s their shepherd, but the goats do not hear his voice. And Revelation 20 records for us what would happen to these goats - the wicked ones. Verse 12 - “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.” Verse 13 - “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.” How do we know they’re wicked? The goats? Verse 13 speaks of the sea, death, and hell. And these are 3 literary ways of describing the place of the wicked dead. Sea in apocalyptic language refers to the place of God’s enemies. The false prophet came from the sea to deceive people on earth. That’s why, in the New Heavens and Earth, there’s no more sea. And the phrase “great and small” also refers to the wicked. In Revelation 19, during the last battle, birds ate the flesh God’s enemies - the kings, captains, the mighty, free and slave, the great and small. But the righteous are also there. Matthew 25 speaks of the his sheep. And Paul himself said in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” The “we” there refers to the apostles who serve God despite all the persecutions they faced - because one day they’d appear before that throne to be judged for their works. So both believers and unbelievers; sheep and goats will appear before that throne.
And we learn there are two stages of judgment. Revelation 20:12 says there are 2 kinds of books out of which they’d be judged. It says the books were opened and also the book of life - and the dead were judged out of things written in the books, according to their works. So we see the first stage of judgment - the book of life. They were judged on the basis of their faith - whether, as verse 15 implies, their names are found in that book. And their names were recorded inside that book before the foundation of the world, Revelation 17. And they’re the names of those who belonged to the Lamb - who was slaughtered for them, Revelation 13. Meaning, these are believers for whom Christ died. Those who trust him for salvation. The elect. Which is why in Matthew 25, when Christ separates the sheep from the goats, he’d put the sheep - whose names are in the book - on his right; and he’d put the goats - whose names are not in the book - on his left. The goats are those who did not believe.
Then there’d be the second stage of judgment - after having separated them, he’d judge their works out of the other opened books. All the passages we read describe it this way. Revelation 20 - “and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 5 - “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” To be clear, our salvation is by faith. But there’ll still be a judgment of works. What are these books? Probably not literal books but metaphors describing God’s comprehensive knowledge. Their contents were complete records of each person’s works, thoughts, and words; so judgment would be based on facts, not feelings. So it’s not an arbitrary judgment. This is described in various other places. 1 Peter 1:17, God is just, “…who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work.” Psalm 62:12, “…thou renderest to every man according to his work.” So God judges believers and unbelievers based on their works. But not just our works, but our words. Matthew 12:36-37 says “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Not just words, but intentions. Jeremiah 17:10 - God searches and tries the heart and inner part to reward man for what he has done. That’s why Article 37 says that the secrets and hypocrisy of men will then be publicly uncovered in the sight of all. Everything will be known. But there will be a different thrust for the sheep and goats.
Now remember, while everyone is judged for their works, their salvation is not based on their works. In Matthew 25, the nations are separated not on the basis of what they’d done, but who they were - sheep or goats; believers or unbelievers. So when Jesus judges his sheep - his believers - he sees their good works. In Matthew 25:34 - Christ says to the sheep - come and inherit the kingdom. Why? Because he saw and approved of their works done to him. He saw their love for him. But the sheep were surprised by his comments - “what did we ever do?” “when did we do them?” So he reminded them - when they loved their brethren, they were loving Christ. You see, they weren’t doing these works out of an expectation of reward. They did them because they loved. That’s the mark of a sheep - a believer. Their words, works, and intentions were marked by love. But on the other hand, the goats were so separated to the left because they were unbelievers - not because they failed at works per se. But they also failed in their works. The king said to them that they didn’t love him by not loving others. But they were shocked and taken aback by this evaluation. “Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?” You see, they may have done many good works, but they weren’t for him. Good works which are done are not good enough works - they do not count. But this is where we see grace upon grace. Good works done by believers unto the Lord are counted as good works by him. So while the sheep asked when they did good works; the goats asked when they didn’t do any good works; because in their minds, they’d done much. Goats say - “Lord, Lord, have we not in thy name done many wonderful works?” But in actual fact, they didn’t serve him. That’s why the Lord counted everything they did as nothing, and everything they didn’t do as sin. On the other hand, sheep say - “We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” In the believers’ mind, they hadn’t done enough. You see, those who are sheep, who have genuine good works out of love - they didn’t need those works to be saved. But those who thought they had good works, didn’t actually have any genuinely good works at all. And would be judged. So what’s the recompense for such faith and unbelief, obedience and disobedience?
Thirdly, we see that all will receive their recompense - their just rewards. In Revelation 20:14, we see that death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And verse 15 says - “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Now concerning the goats - 2 things will happen. Firstly, the temporary place of the wicked is now cast into a permanent, final, and eternal lake of fire. Secondly, the goats will be cast into that permanent and eternal judgment. Matthew 25:46 says that “these shall go away into everlasting punishment.” Why? Because their names were not written in the book of life. They didn’t believe. And because of the absence of any good works. Conscience wise - they do not believe and have not done good works that count. As our confession says, “The wicked will be convicted by the testimony of their own consciences and will become immortal, but only to be tormented in the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Now concerning the sheep, the king said about them in Matthew 25, that the righteous would enter into life eternal. Their works were found to be genuine because of their faith. It’s not that their sins were not revealed - they’d be - remember, every idle word will be revealed. Every heart intention, every work, every thought. But rather than these things being counted against us, they’ve been covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ - they’re forgiven. Instead, all that they’ve done, are rewarded. The word judgment seat is bema in Greek. It was the raised platform on which judges would sit to view sports competitions. They’d hand out awards based on how well athletes performed. It wasn’t a place to punish. Every passage in the Bible that speaks of the saints’ reward is encouraging. Matthew 10:32 says Christ will acknowledge them before the Father. Revelation 21:4 says that God will wipe every tear from their eyes. And so many other passages that describe the pleasures of heaven. And therefore believers look forward to that great day with a great longing.
As we come to the end of the Belgic and this article, how can we apply the Word of God? We’ve learned all these doctrines - and we must emphasize that it’s not an academic exercise. What we confess must affect how we live. If we confess that there’s only one God, and we know him through his Word, and that he’s sent a savior to die for us, rescuing us from sin - original and actual - and how by so doing, he recovers fallen men - then how shall we live? If we know that we’ve been made righteous through faith, and Christ prays for us that we may be sanctified, as holy members of Christ’s church on earth, accountable to each other and to the officers, then it matters how we live. It matters how we stay away from sin. It matters how we love Christ and each other. Our good works are a mark of our faith. How we live, knowing that Christ will judge us for our faith and our works, matters. It shows our confession - our belief in the doctrines we’ve learned. But because of our works we’re seen to be reprobates, then perhaps that’s what we are - goats instead of sheep who know their master’s voice.
For if the knowledge we confess that Christ is that great judge and loving shepherd won’t restrain us from our sins, then nothing will. But if we see him in all of his glory for who he truly is, and continue in the work of the gospel - to believe and repent - then will we be a confessing and believing church. May the Lord be merciful to us.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
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