-
So brethren, if you would,
-
I too would have you open
to the book of Hebrews
-
just as a launching place
-
for the message this morning.
-
In our theology class a week ago
-
we got to talking about judgment day.
-
And I thought not only because questions
-
came up then pertaining to judgment day,
-
but I think also as we draw
-
to the close of another year,
-
perhaps, there are few better ways
-
that we can test ourselves,
-
no better test maybe that
we can apply to ourselves
-
in order to discover the true quality
-
of our present Christian life,
-
and to evaluate where we are
-
in the sight of God
-
than to examine ourselves
-
in light of the reality
-
of the coming judgment.
-
Judgment day.
-
The author of Hebrews.
-
Hebrews 9.
-
Hebrews 9:27 -
-
familiar to many of us.
-
Often quoted by many of us.
-
And yet, it's interesting
that in the context,
-
the fact it's appointed to man once to die
-
and then the judgment
-
isn't the primary thought.
-
The primary thought is that Jesus came
-
once already and died for sin once,
-
and that He's going to come again
-
to save, to retrieve His people.
-
That's what you find in Hebrews 9:27.
-
Christ appeared once to suffer.
-
He'll appear a second time
-
to retrieve His people.
-
And the point of the author here is this:
-
that His first suffering,
-
then coming to save His people -
-
that sequence,
-
the one following after the other
-
is just as certain.
-
It's almost like the
fact we're going to die
-
and then face the judgment
-
is the thing that we already know.
-
It's already established.
-
It's the thing that he's seeking to prove
-
is that Christ died once for sin
-
and then after that, He's
going to come for His people.
-
And it's just as certain
-
as judgment follows death.
-
And notice, "it is appointed for man
-
once to die, and after
that comes judgment."
-
Obviously judgment upon everyone
-
who is in that category of man.
-
Man is a general term.
-
I think every one of us should say
-
and come really face to face with this.
-
Man - it's so easy to say that.
-
"Appointed to man once to die..."
-
You say it to yourself.
-
It's appointed for me to die.
-
There's going to be that first Sunday
-
many of you meet together
-
after my funeral.
-
I am going to die
-
and after that, my judgment.
-
This is a very individual
and sobering reality.
-
And we're all moving on to that.
-
All of us.
-
We shall all stand face to face with that.
-
What's that?
-
I mean, there is a white throne.
-
There is a great throne.
-
We are going to stand
face to face with God,
-
with the greatness of God,
-
with the justice of God,
-
with the holiness and righteousness of God
-
and you can't run away from that reality.
-
You cannot run away from it.
-
You can try to convince yourself
it's not going to happen,
-
but that doesn't free you from this.
-
You can put it off. You can ignore it.
-
You can put your head in the sand
-
like the proverbial ostrich.
-
It's not going to help.
-
We are moving on and on.
-
It's like the sands of time are sinking.
-
They're sinking.
-
They're going.
-
Just the last moments
since we've been in here,
-
you can't stop time.
-
It's moving.
-
We move to that appointed time.
-
This appointed reality.
-
And the plain teaching of the Bible
-
is that my eternal destiny
-
is going to be proclaimed on that day.
-
Now your eternal destiny
-
and my eternal destiny,
-
they are being established and fixed
-
now in this life,
-
but on that day,
-
it is going to be proclaimed.
-
That's the reality of Scripture.
-
There's a verdict.
-
We are all going to stand trial.
-
I know some don't like this teaching,
-
but we can't escape this reality.
-
Look, the Jews in the Old Testament,
-
they were familiar with this reality.
-
You can read through the Psalms.
-
I don't want you to turn
there, but just listen to this.
-
Psalm 96,
-
"The Lord comes,
-
for He comes to judge the earth.
-
He will judge the world in righteousness."
-
And this is just such a powerful text.
-
We hear this quoted from time to time.
-
Solomon gives us this one.
-
We just sang in that song:
-
"careless sinner."
-
Listen to what Scripture says.
-
"Rejoice," somewhat in a sarcastic tone.
-
"Rejoice, O young man, in your youth.
-
Let your heart cheer you
in the days of your youth.
-
Walk in the ways of your heart."
-
Just do your heart's desire.
-
Fulfill the lusts, the
desires of your heart.
-
Just do that.
-
"Walk in the ways of your heart.
-
Walk in the sight of your eyes."
-
Just whatever you think looks good -
-
you see a beautiful woman,
-
you see money looks good,
-
you see a beautiful car, beautiful stuff.
-
Just pursue it all.
-
"But know that for all these things,
-
God will bring you into judgment."
-
Have you ever read that text?
-
There's another place in Ecclesiastes
-
where the preacher says this:
-
"God will bring every deed into judgment."
-
Wow!
-
Just in the time I've been here at church,
-
I walked through the door,
-
I talked with Brother
Jonathan Sanguinetti.
-
That conversation is going to be brought.
-
I went out and got a bag
of golf balls for Steve.
-
I filled my coffee.
-
I talked with some sisters out here.
-
I talked with David over here.
-
You think about that.
-
Every deed.
-
God will bring every deed into judgment
-
with every secret thing.
-
So it's not like it's just
going to be the deed.
-
It's going to be my mind, my motives.
-
It's going to be opened up.
-
Every secret thing whether good or evil.
-
No foreign doctrine in the Old Testament.
-
Of course, you know, when we
move into the New Testament,
-
our Lord Jesus Christ -
-
He doesn't even seek to prove this.
-
It's a given.
-
He just expected that the Jews
knew their Old Testament.
-
So this was already a given
in the Old Testament.
-
Listen to how He speaks.
-
"Truly, I say to you,
-
it will be more bearable
-
for Sodom and Gomorrah"
-
than for that town.
-
What's He talking about?
-
I'll tell you this,
-
that when people come under
-
the sound of the Gospel
-
and they refuse the Gospel,
-
it's going to be more tolerable
on the day of judgment
-
than for Sodom and Gomorrah.
-
And we often think "Sodomites!"
-
Boy, they're bad!
-
God burned up the whole city.
-
It's going to be more bearable
-
it says in one place, more tolerable,
-
on the day of judgment -
it's just a given.
-
There's a day of judgment coming
-
and it is going to be
more tolerable for some
-
than for others on that day,
-
which means some are
going to be punished more.
-
How about this?
-
"I tell you..." Jesus, again,
just speaking truth.
-
"I tell you on the day of judgment
-
people will give account
-
for every careless word they speak."
-
Boy, there is something about that
-
for every one of us
-
that ought to make us tremble.
-
And listen, I think
that's our Lord's point.
-
This is serious stuff.
-
How you live here is serious
-
because there's coming a day
-
when we have to give
an account for all of this.
-
You know what?
-
This, I'm certain, is the primary
motivation for atheism
-
and for wanting to believe
that we evolved from apes.
-
You've got to push God out of the picture
-
because this is unsettling,
-
and it is especially unsettling
-
if you have spent your
whole life just pursuing sin.
-
Jesus says this,
-
"The men of Nineveh will rise up
-
at the judgment with this generation
-
and condemn it, for they repented
-
at the preaching of Jonah,
-
and behold, something
greater than Jonah is here.
-
The Queen of the South
will rise up at the judgment..."
-
You get the point.
-
This flowed from Jesus'
preaching and teaching.
-
In John 16:8, speaking of the Holy Spirit,
-
the Comforter -
-
"...Who is to come,
-
when He comes..."
-
what was He going to convict the world of?
-
Sin and righteousness and judgment.
-
And I'll tell you this,
-
the Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost.
-
And when those apostles
took forth the Gospel
-
there in the book of Acts,
-
what sort of things did they say?
-
In the power of the Holy Spirit,
-
here's Paul declaring,
-
"God has fixed a day on which
-
He will judge the world in righteousness
-
by a Man whom He has appointed
-
and of this He has given assurance
-
to all by raising Him from the dead."
-
And you know,
-
out of all the things that
Paul could have talked about,
-
he comes face to face with that ruler
-
Felix the governor,
-
and it says that he reasoned with him
-
about righteousness and self-control
-
and the coming judgment.
-
Felix was alarmed.
-
And he had a right to be.
-
The idea of judgment is alarming.
-
And I'll tell you this,
-
we should be a church,
-
we should be a group of people
-
who lives governed by this reality.
-
We should think about this.
-
And we should live in
light of this reality;
-
not be ignorant to it.
-
Nothing we do is done in secret.
-
Everything is going to be
brought out into the open
-
and each of us is going to answer
-
for what he or she has done.
-
Listen to our Lord plainly,
-
and He said this to His disciples,
-
"Nothing... nothing is covered
-
that will not be revealed,
-
or hidden that will not be made known."
-
Brethren, the certainty of it,
-
the reality of it.
-
Paul says, "knowing therefore
-
the terror of the Lord"
in speaking about this.
-
The impossibility of escaping this.
-
Should that not appeal
to every single one of us?
-
Does that not demand the attention
-
of every single one of us?
-
Should this not govern the life
-
of every single one of us?
-
God help us to not live
sloppy and carelessly
-
in light of this sobering reality.
-
I have to die.
-
And then... then, my judgment.
-
Judgment.
-
Look, you can't say:
-
"Oh, well, I'm a Christian."
-
"I'm somehow exempted." No, you're not.
-
No, you're not.
-
And the Apostle Paul was especially clear
-
on this reality.
-
Listen.
-
Listen to how he speaks
to the Corinthians.
-
And notice the use of the pronouns.
-
"Yes, we are of good courage."
-
You need to ask yourself:
-
who is he talking to?
-
"We are of good courage.
-
We would rather be away from the body
-
and at home with the Lord."
-
Who are the "we"
-
who when they're absent from the body
-
are at home with the Lord?
-
We.
-
"So whether we are at home or away,
-
we make - we - make it our aim
-
to please Him
-
because - for we must all appear
-
before the judgment seat of Christ."
-
That's why we make it our aim.
-
See, that's a motivation.
-
You recognize that.
-
That's how you use that conjunction there.
-
Because. We aim to please Him, because...
-
You say, well, that's the word "for."
-
Yeah, it's because.
-
We aim to please Him, because...
-
And then in the very next verse, it says,
-
"knowing therefore the
terror of the Lord."
-
That's how the King James reads.
-
"...We persuade men."
-
Because we know. We know.
-
That is a day of terror.
-
If you are outside of Christ,
-
that is not a good day for you.
-
The certainty of all this.
-
And listen, you remember in Romans 14,
-
Paul's distinctly speaking to Christians.
-
And he's saying, look,
-
you shouldn't be judging each other.
-
Remember?
-
They were wrestling over
-
the observance of a day.
-
They were wrestling over
whether they should
-
eat meat or should not eat meat.
-
He says this, "Why do you pass judgment
-
on your brother?"
-
See, he's clearly speaking
to Christians here.
-
"Or why do you despise your brother?
-
For we will all stand
-
before the judgment seat of God."
-
You know there in Matthew 25, it says,
-
"When the Son of Man comes in His glory,"
-
what is going to happen?
-
"The angels with Him,"
-
He's going to sit upon a glorious throne
-
and all the nations are going to be
-
brought before Him.
-
And you see He divides them.
-
Both are there.
-
Both.
-
Those on the right. Those on the left.
-
They're all there.
-
None exempted. None excepted.
-
Christian, we're not exempted from this.
-
There's no way out.
-
It says of Jesus Christ
-
that He is ready to judge
-
the living and the dead -
-
those who are alive in Christ,
-
those who are dead in their sins.
-
We must all appear.
-
All must appear
-
before the judgment seat of Christ.
-
And you just imagine that in your minds.
-
All must appear.
-
What a vast assembly! No one missing.
-
It made me think.
-
Sometimes I'll ask is Darrell here?
-
Is Matt here?
-
If there's a question about
what the deacons are doing,
-
and no hand comes up.
-
Somebody says oh, his family's sick.
-
Not on that day.
-
Nobody's missing.
-
Nobody's out.
-
Nobody happened to be
late or family's sick.
-
None excepted. None.
-
Can you imagine Adam and Eve?
-
They're in there too.
-
Can you imagine?
-
I don't know how much they'll look around.
-
I don't know how much
they'll be able to take this in.
-
I don't even know honestly
-
where they're at spiritually.
-
I have my theories on that.
-
But I can just imagine them.
-
What have we done?
-
Vast ocean of humanity,
-
and they condemned that whole human race
-
aside from those who
have been rescued out.
-
What have we done?
-
Think about it.
-
The Romans will be there.
-
Pilate will be there. Nero will be there.
-
Caligula will be there.
Claudius will be there.
-
Tiberias will be there.
-
All the Caesars will be there.
-
Those who sat on the Roman senate.
-
Those who were the slaves.
-
Remember all those when Jerusalem fell,
-
they led away multitudes - captive Jews -
-
they'll all be there.
-
The Jews that exodus-ed
out of Egypt. They'll be there.
-
Those that came out of
Babylon. They'll be there.
-
David will be there.
Goliath will be there.
-
Guys with five fingers - remember them?
-
the Anakim, the Nephilim -
they'll be there.
-
The giants. The vikings.
-
The Persians. The Nazis.
-
Those under the British Empire.
-
Those under the Japanese Empire.
-
All our presidents.
-
The governors.
-
The mechanic. The housewife.
-
I mean, they're all there.
-
These multitudes of people.
-
There's Herod.
-
Those who pierced Him.
-
Judas is in that crowd.
-
Demas - we heard about him.
-
He'll be there.
-
Those from Sentinel island. They're there.
-
Those from India are there.
-
Those from China are there.
-
Those from the Soviet Union are there.
-
The Brazilians are there.
The Canadians are there.
-
The Nicaraguans are there.
-
There's no one excepted.
-
Do you see them all?
-
Can you imagine them in your mind?
-
The Assyrians, the Babylonians.
-
Pharaoh - proud Pharaoh.
-
All his Egyptians.
-
They're all there. The Ethiopians.
-
Those that were there
-
in the days of Queen of Sheba.
-
South Africa, Australia, New Zealand.
-
They're all there. None's missing.
-
I've thought often about the Popes.
-
They're there. The priests.
-
Those that push their priestcraft.
-
All those that bow the knee
to Allah - they're all there.
-
They're there.
-
Those who followed Buddha - they're there.
-
All of them, the masses.
-
Those who sat on benches
and judged others.
-
We just heard about a sister
-
down in the church at Monterrey.
-
The judge got bought off
when her husband beat her.
-
That judge is going to be there.
-
And that husband is going to be there.
-
And you are going to be there.
-
The rich, the poor,
-
the plumbers, the mechanics,
-
the tax collectors, the prostitutes.
-
They're all there.
-
Can you see them all in your mind?
-
And you are there.
-
That is the sobering reality.
-
And there is that point in time
-
when you've got to stand there
-
and it's all brought out.
-
We must all appear.
-
You just think about that: appear.
-
You're going to appear exactly as you are.
-
Here people can't see in here.
-
They don't know what we're thinking
-
when we do the things we do.
-
They don't know what motives drive us.
-
We posture ourselves.
-
We smile at people
-
when we're not smiling inside.
-
We say we're doing well
when that's not true.
-
We disguise.
-
But in that day, no disguises.
-
No disguises.
-
None.
-
It says that in that day
-
when everything is dissolved,
-
Peter tells us the earth is dissolved
-
and the works that are done on it
-
will be exposed.
-
What a word!
-
We talk about: man, he was exposed.
-
"God will bring every deed into judgment
-
(Ecclesiastes) with every secret thing."
-
Luke: "Nothing is covered up
-
that will not be revealed,
-
or hidden that will not be known."
-
1 Corinthians 4:5, Paul says,
-
"The Lord will bring to light
-
the things now hidden in darkness
-
and will disclose the
purposes of the heart."
-
Now look, I'm like you.
-
I mean, if you're saved,
-
I'm very much like you.
-
If you're not saved...
(incomplete thought)
-
But I know this,
-
we're from Adam's stock,
-
and I know we're sinners.
-
And I know that when we come face to face
-
with these realities it's unsettling.
-
It's a serious thing.
-
Exposed says Peter.
-
No costumes.
-
No masquerading.
-
None of that. No hypocrisy.
-
The eyes of the One there upon that throne
-
are going to see everything
-
for what it is.
-
Our hearts, our motives,
-
our secret desires
-
brought out into the blazing sun.
-
That's the reality of Scripture.
-
Now here's the thing,
-
here's the thing we need to ask ourselves.
-
What, when we come before God,
-
what evidence is it
that God is looking for?
-
Because we know this,
-
we know that some go to the right
-
and some go to the left.
-
What makes the difference?
-
We've all committed sin.
-
So it's not just a matter of
whether you committed sin.
-
What is it that Scripture says?
-
What is the evidence
-
that's going to be brought out
-
and looked at very closely on that day?
-
What are the terms of our judgment?
-
Or what is the basis upon
which we'll be judged?
-
Listen carefully to what Scripture says.
-
Listen.
-
Romans 2:6 says,
-
"He will render to each one
-
according to his works."
-
Now hear that.
-
When you think of judgment day:
-
works.
-
Works.
-
That repeatedly comes at us in Scripture.
-
Listen again.
-
2 Corinthians 5:10 from which
I've already been quoting.
-
"We must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ
-
so that each one may receive
-
what is due for what he
has done in the body
-
whether good or evil."
-
See, when your life is lived,
-
you are due something.
-
That's the way Scripture speaks.
-
Matthew 16:27, "The Son of Man
-
is going to come with His angels
-
in the glory of His Father
-
and then He will repay each person
-
according to what he has done."
-
Look at your life.
-
You are going to be repaid
-
for what you have done.
-
That includes today and yesterday,
-
this last week, this last year.
-
You are going to be repaid
-
for what you have done.
-
That's what Scripture says.
-
We can't get away from that.
-
The Bible closes out -
-
listen, if there's something that the Lord
-
wants to leave us with
-
as the book of Revelation
is coming to a close,
-
this is what He says:
-
"Behold, I am coming soon
-
bringing My recompense with Me
-
to repay each one for what he has done."
-
Now listen to me very carefully.
-
These are clearly from Scripture
-
the terms of judgment.
-
Pay close attention to
what I'm about to say.
-
These are not the terms of salvation.
-
Now look, if you're baffled
-
by why the terms of one are
not the terms of the other
-
we're going to look at that.
-
Don't just jump to the
conclusion that can't be.
-
No, you have to pay attention
to what Scripture says.
-
These verses are not talking about
-
how a man is saved.
-
They're talking about how a man is judged.
-
That's the situation.
-
What they teach us
-
is that on the day of judgment
-
nothing is going to be considered
-
except a man's works.
-
And it's no use saying: I believe in God.
-
I believe this. I believe that.
-
It will be no use saying
you profess Christ.
-
No use saying you belong
to a certain church.
-
The question will be this and this alone
-
on judgment day:
-
What were your works?
-
That's what Scripture says.
-
You cannot get away from that.
-
The question is how did you live?
-
Hear me.
-
I'm using biblical terms here.
-
The standard for justification
-
or condemnation in that day
-
will be one of works.
-
Matthew 12 is crystal clear on this.
-
Now open your Bibles there.
-
Matthew 12:33.
-
And you're going to see the connection.
-
I hope this takes shape and form
-
in your mind and in your thinking
-
how the Lord's logic runs
through these verses.
-
Matthew 12:33, 34, 35, 36, 37.
-
There is a flow of thought here.
-
And I want you to see.
-
Just so you recognize,
right at the beginning,
-
look at verse 36.
-
"I tell you on the day of judgment..."
-
I just want you to see
-
this has to do with the day of judgment.
-
Now back up to v. 33.
-
"Either make the tree good
-
and its fruit good
-
or make the tree bad
-
and its fruit bad."
-
This is taught in other places
in our New Testament.
-
But here's the reality,
-
I can always look at the fruit
-
and see what kind of tree it is.
-
Always.
-
And that's what's going to
happen on judgment day.
-
Your fruit will be evaluated
-
and it will prove who and what you are.
-
"Either make the tree
good and its fruit good
-
or make the tree bad and its fruit bad.
-
For the tree is known by its fruit."
-
So what are you going to be
judged on on that day?
-
You're going to be judged on your works.
-
That's another way of saying fruit.
-
The fruit of your life is going to be
-
the evidence brought into the courtroom.
-
Now notice this.
-
"You brood of vipers!
-
How can you speak good...?"
-
Okay, these vipers are
brought up on that day.
-
Their time of judgment comes.
-
And their works are looked at.
-
But you see what Jesus is saying here?
-
They can't have good fruit on that day.
-
Why?
-
Because at the heart level,
-
it's impossible to bring forth good fruit
-
from a bad heart.
-
That's the logic here.
-
"How can you speak good?
-
How can you bear good fruit
-
when you are evil?"
-
The tree's bad.
-
"For out of the abundance of the heart
-
the mouth speaks."
-
And I could say this,
-
out of the abundance
of the heart, you act.
-
I mean, what is Romans 6?
-
We thank God that you've become obedient
-
from the heart.
-
Obedience.
-
Didn't Jesus teach in another place?
-
Murders and fornications -
-
it all comes out of here.
-
Now, look. Watch.
-
"The good person (v. 35)
-
out of his good treasure
-
brings forth good."
-
So when God's judging,
-
your works are brought out.
-
Listen, this is an infallible test.
-
If your works are good, you are good.
-
If your works are bad, you are bad.
-
Infallible.
-
Everyone is going to
be judged on that basis
-
on judgment day.
-
Let's keep going here.
-
"The good person out of the
good treasure brings forth good.
-
The evil person out of his
evil treasure brings forth evil."
-
See, this has everything
to do with judgment day.
-
"I tell you, on the day of judgment,
-
people will give account
-
for every careless word they speak."
-
Now notice this.
-
Here is the basis of judgment.
-
"By your words, you will be justified,
-
and by your words, you will be condemned."
-
You have to recognize how
"justified" is being used there.
-
That is a word that He is applying
-
to what happens on judgment day -
-
not when you first get saved.
-
That's what happens on judgment day.
-
That is the basis upon which
-
you are going to be
justified or condemned,
-
by the evidence brought forth on that day
-
in your works.
-
And if your words are good,
-
it proves the tree was good.
-
Listen, this is just as
possible right now.
-
You recognize in that day,
-
you're going to be judged
for what you say today.
-
Your words today will prove
-
whether you're going to be justified
-
or condemned on that day.
-
That means that when we open our ears
-
and we listen to each other speak,
-
the proof of who and what
we are is there already.
-
We can see it in people's words.
-
We can see it in people's actions.
-
And that is going to be the
basis of judgment in that day.
-
"By your words you will be justified;
-
by your words you will be condemned."
-
Now, here's what you don't want to do.
-
You don't want to let bad logic
-
lead you to explain away the reality
-
and importance of what
judgment day is all about.
-
For example, here is really bad logic.
-
This is bad logic.
-
You don't want to think this way.
-
One: we're saved by faith.
-
Yes, we are. Not by works.
-
But that's your starting point.
-
I'm saved by faith, not by works.
-
Two: I have faith since I believe.
-
I'm a Christian.
-
One: We're saved by faith.
-
Two: I have faith.
-
Three: Since I believe, I must be saved.
-
Four: If I'm saved, I'm
forgiven of all my sins.
-
Five: Since I'm saved and
forgiven of all my sins
-
and not saved by works,
-
well, therefore, I'm not really
worried about my works
-
since they cannot really
matter in the end.
-
That is bad logic.
-
That is not biblical logic.
-
Or here's another:
-
We're justified by faith. That's one.
-
Not by works.
-
Two: To be justified means
-
that the righteousness of Christ is mine.
-
Christ's obedience has been imputed to me.
-
It's been laid to my account.
-
So three: When I stand before
God on judgment day,
-
nothing I've done will matter;
-
only what Christ did will matter.
-
That too is bad logic.
-
That is not what Scripture teaches.
-
The reason we know that
they're both faulty
-
is because Matthew 12 is crystal clear.
-
Look at it.
-
Now look, judgment day is not about
-
the perfect obedience that Jesus wrought.
-
You don't see that in those texts there.
-
Jesus doesn't say:
-
Don't worry about what you've said
-
because in the end when judgment day comes
-
it really won't matter
-
what careless word you spoke
-
if after all you're a Christian
-
and My righteousness has
been imputed to you.
-
Then it doesn't matter.
-
That's not what He says.
-
What He is very clear to say
-
is how you speak -
-
see, when He talks to those vipers,
-
He's talking about what they said;
-
not what He said.
-
This has to do with you and me.
-
This has to do with our language.
-
The clear meaning of Matthew 12
-
is that if you are a good tree,
-
a good tree bears good fruit.
-
God is looking for good and bad people
-
on judgment day,
-
and if we want to know
if a person is truly good
-
at the heart level,
-
then examine how he speaks.
-
Examine a man's words.
-
That's what Jesus is saying.
-
Listen, when we take the words
-
that are spoken in secret;
-
when we take the words
-
when you're with your lost friends,
-
lost people at work, school;
-
when we examine your words that are spoken
-
when you don't think
Christians are listening;
-
when we take all those and sum them up;
-
when we take up the words of a man's life,
-
that doesn't mean that
Christians will not be found
-
to have had some careless words.
-
But the reality is that when
you sum all those words up,
-
the words of a Christian
are so starkly different
-
than the words of the lost man
-
that you are able to be
judged on that basis
-
and on that basis you will
be justified or condemned.
-
That's what Jesus is teaching.
-
That's clearly His teaching.
-
Sometimes we talk about
-
there being enough evidence.
-
Have you ever heard that?
-
Somebody talks about is there enough
-
evidence in your life
-
of convicting you of being a Christian?
-
Suppose you lived in
communist Soviet Union
-
or communist China
-
or you lived in the days of the Nazi's
-
and Christianity is
heavily being persecuted,
-
and they bust in and they take you
-
and they bring you to court
-
and you're put there on the stand.
-
You're the one on trial.
-
Is there going to be enough
evidence to condemn you?
-
Well, that's exactly what judgment day is.
-
And I say "condemn you"
-
because in this world, that's condemnation
-
if you're found to be the Christian.
-
But in that day, that
will be your justification
-
if there's enough evidence in your life.
-
Brethren, this is exactly the truth
-
that we find taught in Matthew 25.
-
Turn there.
-
What a glorious picture!
-
Here is Christ. The Son of Man comes.
-
Matthew 25:31 through
the end of this chapter.
-
You have this picture of Christ
-
with His angels.
-
This is amazing!
-
You see pictures of this
in 2 Thessalonians.
-
He comes in this power!
-
And He is going to wreak vengeance
-
upon those who did not obey the Gospel.
-
And He comes and He comes in this glory.
-
He comes and He sits down
-
on that judgment throne.
-
"And before Him (in v. 32)
-
will be gathered all the nations.
-
And He will separate
people one from another
-
as a shepherd separates
the sheep from the goats."
-
Now here's what I want you to see.
-
He does not say to us here:
-
What I'm looking for is who's
justified and who's not.
-
He does not say to us:
-
I'm going to look for who
has faith and who doesn't.
-
Now look, obviously if
you're one on the right,
-
you are justified and you have faith.
-
That isn't the issue.
-
The issue here is on what basis
-
does He separate them?
-
What is the basis for judgment here?
-
What is the basis?
-
What is that which distinguishes those
-
who go to the right
-
from those who go to the left?
-
V. 33, "He will place the
sheep on His right,
-
but the goats on the left."
-
Well, this is interesting.
-
It's like He looks -
-
we know sheep look different from goats -
-
and He separates them.
-
See, the very nature of
that is our tree illustration.
-
One is a good tree. One's a bad tree.
-
One's a sheep. One's a goat.
-
But what is it that evidences?
-
What is the fruit that evidences
-
the reality of who and what they are?
-
Notice, "The King will say
to those on His right,
-
'Come, you who are blessed by My Father,
-
inherit the Kingdom prepared for you
-
from the foundation of the world, for...'"
-
Listen.
-
That is "because," again.
-
For. Here's the reason.
-
"For I was hungry,
-
and you gave Me food."
-
Listen to what He doesn't say.
-
He doesn't say it doesn't matter
-
whether you gave Me food or not
-
because after all, My righteousness
-
is being imputed to you.
-
And since I did good to the poor,
-
that's credited to you.
-
Now look, there may be a reality to that,
-
but that's not the basis of judgment.
-
The basis of judgment is whether you fed.
-
Because you know what they say?
-
"Lord, when did we do that?"
-
And you know what He doesn't say?
-
"Well, you actually didn't do that.
-
I did it in your place."
-
Uh huh.
-
Because if you didn't do it,
-
you end up on the left.
-
What He says is,
-
"As much as you did it unto
-
one of the least of these My brothers,
-
you did it unto Me."
-
You did it.
-
This is your life.
-
And I'll just tell you this,
one thing you want to notice
-
is that people are judged on that day
-
for what they did not do
-
as well as what they did do.
-
Because He turns to those on the left
-
and He says - it's amazing -
-
one of the broadest,
-
most comprehensive pictures
-
of judgment day that we have in our Bibles
-
and not a single thing is said
-
to those on the left
-
about the fornication they did do,
-
the drunkenness they did do,
-
the idolatry they were involved with.
-
Isn't it amazing?
-
The primary thing the Spirit of God
-
would have us to know about that day
-
and about those on the left
-
is what they did not do.
-
Wow.
-
My brothers, "as much as you did it
-
unto one of the least
of these My brothers,
-
you did it unto Me."
-
If they hadn't actually done it,
-
they would have been just like those
-
who are being condemned.
-
That's the difference.
-
The condemned didn't do it.
-
You can't say, well, the righteous,
-
they did do it, but only
through the imputation...
-
That's not the issue there.
-
It's what they actually did.
-
Now listen, of course when
it comes to salvation,
-
Scripture's plain.
-
We are saved by grace through faith
-
and it is not according to our works.
-
The method of our salvation
-
is justification by faith only.
-
But we need to recognize
-
how vigorously the Scriptures fight
-
to show us that if
our faith is real faith -
-
the real, saving faith -
-
it always results in good works.
-
And this is that vast argument
-
brought forth by James.
-
Now even though James isn't specifically
-
speaking about judgment day,
-
he is specifically speaking
about the works
-
that are going to be
evaluated at judgment day.
-
Look at that. James 2.
-
We need to follow James' logic here.
-
Scripture fights to show
-
that if faith is real,
-
there will be works.
-
And if there are not works,
-
that faith is useless and cannot save.
-
That is the teaching of Scripture.
-
James 2:14 -
-
I'll let you all get there.
-
I want you to see this
with your own eyeballs.
-
James 2:14 -
-
rhetorical question:
-
"What good is it, my brothers,
-
if someone says he has faith
-
but does not have works?"
-
Another rhetorical question:
-
"Can that faith save him?"
-
What answer is he obviously looking for?
-
It can't.
-
And judgment day is going
to bear out this reality.
-
You know what's interesting?
-
In verse 15, this is
Matthew 25, is it not?
-
"As much as you did it unto
one of the least of these,
-
you did it unto Me."
-
Here it is. Look at it.
-
"If a brother or sister -
-
(one of Jesus' little ones) -
-
is poorly clothed
-
and lacking in daily food,
-
and one of you says to them,
-
'Go in peace; be warmed; be filled;'
-
without giving them the
things needed for the body,
-
what good is that?"
-
Answer that question. What good is that?
-
It's not good.
-
"So also, faith by itself
-
if it does not have works is dead."
-
People who want to argue
that dead faith saves,
-
that is twisting Scriptures
to your own destruction.
-
"Someone will say,
-
'You have faith; I have works.'
-
Show me your faith apart from your works;
-
I will show you my faith by my works."
-
See, there is judgment day.
-
Faith working through love.
-
None of those works
-
which will justify the
redeemed on that day
-
are separate from faith.
-
They're the completion of faith.
-
Watch.
-
v. 19, "You believe that God is one?
-
You do well."
-
He's being sarcastic.
-
I mean you do as well as the demons do.
-
And shudder. They believe.
-
"Do you want to be
shown, you foolish person
-
that faith apart from works is useless?"
-
And isn't it interesting?
-
Abraham who was set forth
-
as the father of faith,
-
the one who is justified by faith,
-
the one who is declared
righteous because of his faith -
-
isn't it interesting?
-
He is the very one -
the father of the faithful -
-
"Was not Abraham our
father justified by works
-
when he offered up his
son Isaac on the altar?"
-
You see this?
-
This is key.
-
What you do with your life
-
shows what you really believe.
-
Listen, if you say God is my portion,
-
God is my treasure,
-
and God says:
-
then I want you to sacrifice that thing
-
that I know is an idol in your life.
-
You say nope I'm not going to do it.
-
You've immediately said whether you think
-
Jesus Christ is most precious.
-
And you know why people walk away
-
who don't have any root
when persecution comes?
-
Because Jesus really wasn't their portion.
-
Their own comfort was.
-
Their own convenience. Their own pleasure.
-
v. 22, "You see that faith was active
-
along with his works."
-
You see, that's the thing.
-
Faith working out
-
by our words, by our actions.
-
Faith was completed by his works.
-
"And the Scripture was fulfilled
-
that said Abraham believed God
-
and it was counted to him as righteousness
-
and he was called a friend of God.
-
You see that a person
is justified by works
-
and not by faith alone.
-
And in the same way, was not also
-
Rahab the prostitute justified by works
-
when she received the messengers
-
and sent them out by another way?
-
For as the body apart
from the spirit is dead,
-
so also faith apart from works is dead."
-
And I'll tell you this,
-
this should affect our disciple-making.
-
We're to make disciples
of all the nations.
-
We don't want to be so quick
-
to get people in
-
before we've allowed the Holy Spirit
-
to do His work on people.
-
What happens is that we say to people:
-
Well, you know, it's simple.
-
Just believe.
-
Just believe.
-
Yes, they say, I believe.
-
And we say, oh great!
-
Then everything's good!
-
Everything's well!
-
When the truth is all may not be well.
-
Yes, we must tell people to believe,
-
but we must never stop at that.
-
Yes, we must stress to people
that they can never be saved
-
by their own efforts, their own works.
-
They can only be saved
by the Lord Jesus Christ
-
and by His merits, His death on the cross,
-
His shed blood. Yes.
-
But we must also stress to people
-
how Jesus saves.
-
Did He give Himself to redeem us
-
from all our unlawlessness? Yes.
-
But did He give Himself to purify us
-
to be a people of His
particular possession,
-
zealous of good works?
-
You better add that part to His salvation
-
or you just chopped it in half.
-
Have you not heard our Lord say,
-
"I am the vine. You are the branches.
-
Whoever abides in Me and I in him,
-
he it is that bears much fruit."
-
You need to get this.
-
"Apart from Me you can do nothing."
-
You see, judgment day,
-
good works are brought out,
-
good fruit.
-
You know what's true
of all that good fruit?
-
None of it was accomplished
-
separated from Christ.
-
Not the tiniest fruit.
-
"You bear much fruit
-
and so prove to be My disciples,"
-
is what Jesus said.
-
That's how you prove.
-
That's what judgment day is.
-
You prove who you are,
-
whether you are real and genuine
-
by the fruit.
-
These are the only works
-
which are going to count on that day.
-
And little is more dangerous
-
than leading people to think
-
that a mere belief of certain truths
-
or acceptance of certain teachings
-
or simply making a profession of faith
-
in and of itself saves.
-
There's danger in giving
people the impression
-
that as long as they say they believe,
-
all is well.
-
If the works that will always be present
-
when the faith is real, if they're absent,
-
brethren, antinomianism
is fatal to men's souls.
-
What's antinomianism?
-
It means that people are relying
-
on the fact that they've made
-
some sort of decision,
-
or they rely on the fact
-
that they make certain
statements of faith,
-
but that's all divorced
from their practical life.
-
It's the idea that starts by assuming:
-
well, I'm saved, so my sins are forgiven,
-
so it must not really matter what I do.
-
It doesn't matter if my life conforms
-
to the commandments
of Jesus Christ or not.
-
But we know that.
-
We know what it says.
-
That if we're not keeping
His commandments,
-
if we're not bearing that fruit,
-
we're liars. The truth isn't in us.
-
That faith that never evidences itself
-
by works is a dead faith
-
and a faith that will never save a soul.
-
Oh brethren, folks, friends,
-
those of you that don't know the Lord,
-
what I ask you is this:
-
Will there be any evidence of
the sincerity of your faith?
-
On that day when your whole life
-
is put on the table?
-
If grace does not make us differ
-
from other men, it's not the grace of God
-
that He gives to men when He saves them.
-
Lay that down.
-
We're not perfect.
-
But I'll tell you this,
-
though we not be perfect,
-
we are people - the Spirit
has opened our eyes
-
and there is a preciousness
in this unseen Jesus Christ
-
and our eyes go upon
the One who is perfect
-
and He's our example
and He goes before us.
-
And He bids us to follow Him.
-
And His sheep hear His voice
-
and we know that voice.
-
We know the tenderness of it.
-
We know the omnipotence of it.
-
Brethren, the thing is
-
the reality is we aim to walk worthy
-
of the high calling to
which God has brought us.
-
The reality is this:
-
Look, if you come to judgment day
-
and your actions are no better
-
than those of the lost,
-
you can profess whatever
you want about your faith,
-
but you're deceived.
-
And it's going to be discovered
on that last great day.
-
Your deeds, your deeds, your deeds.
-
Not merely the profession, but your deeds.
-
Not the mere talk.
-
It's deeds shall be the evidence of grace.
-
If your actions are no better
-
than those of the lost,
-
if they're no different,
-
if you are no different
-
than the lost on judgment day,
-
then listen,
-
you are no different from the lost
-
and just because you went to church
-
and had a profession...
-
By your works you will stand
-
or you will fall on that day.
-
I mean, suppose you join the church,
-
but you remain a fornicator in the heart.
-
You get on the Internet.
You do things you shouldn't do.
-
You do things in your mind even
during services like this you shouldn't do.
-
Yet you joined the church.
-
But you remain a fornicator.
-
Suppose you get baptized.
-
You constantly cheat on your taxes.
-
Suppose you profess with
the most glowing testimony
-
that amazes many of us,
-
but you remain the most vicious slanderer.
-
Do you think that God will
never require that of you?
-
Sir, ma'am, brother, sister,
-
if you're no better than
other men in your conduct,
-
then you're no better than other men.
-
And you're going to stand
no better off on that day.
-
And if Christ once says to you:
-
"Cursed. Depart from Me, you cursed."
-
Cursed you will be and must be forever.
-
Now if you can stand here and say,
-
well, that's fine. Bring it on.
-
I'm not really concerned.
-
I'm not afraid.
-
Somehow it's all going to work out.
-
Then I'll leave you now to your insanity.
-
But to those of you - I know you -
-
you're not perfect,
-
but you are obedient from the heart.
-
You have a love for the Lord.
-
We sing a song: "More love to Thee."
-
We sing another song:
-
"The Beauty of Holiness"
-
is that the one that speaks about
-
that desire to love more - we feel that!
-
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.
-
We don't want it. We don't like it.
-
We know we're not perfect.
-
But we do know that we're
different than we were.
-
We know that old things have passed away.
-
We know that we do have a love for Christ.
-
We do have a love for His people.
-
Oh, it's not perfect.
-
It's not. We know it's not.
-
But we have those longings.
-
We have a new heart.
-
We have the law of God written within us.
-
We do long and we hunger
and thirst after righteousness.
-
We have a true love for others,
-
a sincere desire to please Him.
-
I know we've got people like that here.
-
And you may be just like those people:
-
Lord, when did we feed You?
-
And it's probably good we forget
-
a lot of the things we do.
-
I think the redeemed will be
really surprised on that day -
-
the things that will be brought back
-
that you will have forgotten that you did.
-
But I have a word for you
-
from the Lord.
-
Listen to this.
-
Isaiah.
-
"Tell the righteous
-
that it shall be well with them."
-
In other words, this coming judgment
-
is going to be well with you.
-
Oh, a fearful, awesome day -
-
it's healthy to tremble.
-
It's healthy to talk like Paul:
-
knowing therefore the fear of the Lord.
-
But the Lord wants me to tell you this:
-
"Tell the righteous that it
shall be well with them,
-
for they shall eat the
fruit of their deeds."
-
And there's that text
there in Revelation 14
-
that says, "Blessed
indeed says the Spirit,
-
you will rest from your labors
-
and their deeds shall follow them."
-
The things you do - how does that happen?
-
How do your deeds follow you?
-
Because you're storing
up treasure in heaven.
-
And He will repay. Remember?
-
When you have a meal,
-
invite the people that can't pay you back.
-
Because in that day,
-
you're going to be repaid.
-
Your deeds are going to follow you
-
out into eternity with this treasure.
-
You have but little.
-
Look, you don't have to have a lot.
-
You can be like that widow.
You can have your two mites.
-
You may have a little, but hear this.
-
Hear this:
-
"Well done, good and faithful servant.
-
You've been faithful over a little..."
-
Luke 19 says "a very little."
-
But you were faithful.
-
You were faithful.
-
You may not have the greatest
spiritual gifts in the world.
-
You may not have the most
amount of money in the world.
-
But whatever God has given you,
-
you were faithful.
-
"Enter into the joy of your Master."
-
No one is going to be there on
that day to answer for you, but you.
-
Everyone else gets out of
the way when it's your turn.
-
You will stand.
-
Total exposure.
-
It's just you and the Judge
-
and the works that you have done.
-
And you're going to be tested by fire.
-
Scripture tells us it's going to burn up
-
a whole bunch of stuff -
wood, hay, and stubble.
-
It goes.
-
Nothing hidden.
-
Nothing forgotten.
-
Every thought, every word,
-
every deed, every motive,
-
every intention - all laid bare.
-
But we thought the sins of the righteous
-
being pardoned and forever blotted out,
-
we could never come into judgment.
-
And beloved, the reality is
-
they are pardoned
-
and they are blotted out.
-
And that is why the righteous
-
need not fear the coming day of judgment.
-
But brethren, the truth
is we must be tried too.
-
And we have this hope.
-
We will stand the trial.
-
That is our hope.
-
That is it.
-
The way of the
righteousness by Jesus Christ
-
allows us to submit ourselves
-
to the most tremendous test. Why?
-
Remember both parts - both parts.
-
On the one hand,
-
He gave Himself up
-
to redeem us from all our lawlessness.
-
And on the other hand,
-
to purify a people
-
who are zealous of good works.
-
And so, that good work you did
-
is going to brought up.
-
Any hint of lawlessness - it's forgiven.
-
Who can bring a charge
against God's elect?
-
Nobody. Not even on that day.
-
And Jesus is going to look
at all of His children,
-
all of the sheep,
-
to all of us:
-
"Well done."
-
Because this is the reality,
-
He's gone to work in His people
-
and they will be zealous of good works.
-
They will be.
-
And so prove to be His disciple.
-
Because if those good works
aren't there, He's failed.
-
But He never fails.
-
And those works are going to dictate
-
and bear witness to what you are
-
in that day - that great day.
-
Brethren, we must not be afraid
-
to be put in the balances
-
because the blood removes every blemish.
-
You say it says every careless word...
-
Yep, if you spoke a careless word
-
and there was any sin attached to that,
-
which I take it there is
if it's a careless word -
-
blessed is the man
whose sins are forgiven.
-
It will go well in that day.
-
Brethren, blessed are the merciful.
-
When the works that come out show
-
that you were one of His little ones
-
who showed mercy to others,
-
versus being the self-seeking,
-
the disobedient -
-
no, you showed mercy.
-
Blessed are the merciful
-
because they shall be shown mercy.
-
They shall receive it.
-
And if Christ calls you blessed,
-
just like if He calls you
cursed, you're cursed.
-
If He calls you blessed, oh,
you are blessed indeed.
-
And you will be blessed forever.
-
Just remember, brethren,
-
remember as we come into this new year,
-
Scripture ends on this note.
-
"Behold, I am coming soon,
-
bringing My recompense with Me
-
to repay everyone for what he has done."
-
That day hastens.
-
It is appointed to you to die
-
and then the judgment.
-
Behold, we can cry out,
-
Lord, come quickly.
-
Lord, I pray that You
would give this church
-
a healthy sense of what Paul
-
was trying to express
to the Corinthians there
-
that our aim is to please You,
-
because we know that we must all stand
-
before the judgment seat of God,
-
and that we're going to
receive a recompense.
-
We're going to be repaid.
-
We're going to have to give an account.
-
We're going to be judged
according to the things
-
that we've done in our body,
-
whether they've been good or bad.
-
Lord, I pray -
-
I pray that You'd cause the careless here
-
to flee to Your Son.
-
I pray that You would quicken consciences.
-
I pray that the Spirit of God
-
would do that very
thing that was promised -
-
that He would convict men of sin
-
and righteousness and judgment.
-
Bring a healthy conviction
into our midst, Lord.
-
I pray this in Christ's name, amen.