1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 - The Parousia: Part 3 - Judgment and Re-Creation

11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Target Date: Sunday, 20 November 2022

NOTES:

Thoughts on the Passage:

References (inherent) to the Parousia:

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. - Ephesians 4:30

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. - Philippians 1:6

so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and without fault until the day of Christ, - Philippians 1:10

holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to boast because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. - Philippians 2:16

conformed to His death, 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. - Philippians 3:10-11

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which He is able to even subject all things to Himself. - Philippians 3:20-21

When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. - Colossians 3:4

On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience - Colossians 3:6

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who WILL REPAY TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and anger. - Romans 2:5-8

on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. - Romans 2:16

For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. - Romans 8:19

that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. - Romans 8:21

And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly wait for it. - Romans 8:23-25

For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. - 2 Timothy 1:12

In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. - 2 Timothy 4:8

instructing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ - Titus 2:12-13

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. - Hebrews 9:27-28

Again the high priest was questioning Him and *said to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” - Mark 14:61-62

Events of the Parousia:

Return of Jesus Christ

Resurrection of the dead

Judgment of all people to eternal reward or punishment

Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. 13 “And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’ 14 “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 “And it happened that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know how much they had made in business. 16 “So the first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ 18 “Then the second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ 19 “And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a cloth; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a strict man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 “He *said to him, ‘From your own mouth I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a strict man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 ‘Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ 24 “Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 “And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 ‘But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.’” - Luke 19:11-27

Sermon Text:

For the last few weeks, we have devoted our attention to the doctrine referred to in verse 13: the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

Many of you may remember we identified this doctrine, called the Parousia, as a fundamental doctrine taught by the apostles

Specifically because it is mentioned here and in other epistles with no explanation around it.

Certainly, we have some further teaching on it later on in this epistle, but at this point, the Parousia of Christ, or the “Second Coming”, is treated as a certainty the Thessalonians were familiar with, even if incompletely.

Two weeks ago, we looked at the absolute certainty of the Return of Jesus Christ,

And last week we began to look at the indisputable events that will accompany His Parousia, beginning with the resurrection of the dead.

This week, I would like to begin to take a look at the other two great and singular events that will accompany the Parousia:

The Judgment and the Restoration of Creation.

All three of these events: the resurrection of the dead, the judgment, and the Restoration of Creation (sometimes called the “Re-creation”) will happen only ONCE in eternity.

And they are all set to accompany the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

No other time before and never again afterward:

These events are as singular as the justification God made through the blood of His only Son: once for all time.

So let’s turn our attention now to the Great Judgment.

Isaiah 33:22 says this:

For Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh is our lawgiver, Yahweh is our king;

Before men owned Him as king; before his Law rang in their ears;

God was known to be the Judge.

When Abraham bargained with God over the fate of his nephew Lot and the wicked cities of Sodom, he asked God:

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do justice?” - Genesis 18:25

David praised the judgment of God:

the Lord abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, 8 And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. – Psalm 9:7-8

Now I realize I don’t have to convince most of you of this fact: that God will one day judge everyone through the Lord Jesus Christ.

But it is important we are reminded often of the fact.

Because it is tempting to ignore the fact that we will stand before our Lord with all our secrets, sins, and intentions laid bare.

We recite it every week in our Creed:

“From there He [Jesus] will come to judge the living and the dead.”

But it is easy to presume upon the grace and forgiveness of our Lord rather than living in continual repentance from sin and increasing love for Jesus Christ.

And, if I may go further, I would suggest to you that this doctrine, the Final Judgment, lies at the very foundation of the gospel.

Because it is the very reason we NEED a Savior.

Yes, other doctrines are important, and I would never minimize them,

But the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was the PROPITIATION, the SATISFACTION of a WRONGED GOD AND JUDGE.

And it is only through His mediation that we can stand before our holy God, much less enjoy eternity with Him.

So for our remaining time this morning, I would like to consider the following points:

Who will make this great Judgment?

Who will be judged?

On what basis will we be judged?

1. Who will make this Great Judgment?

Now, please pay attention because this is not a trivial point.

The Scripture is quite clear that it will be Jesus Christ Himself that will conduct the Great Judgment.

And while, in the Trinity, it would be technically correct to state that God will be the great Judge,

The New Testament makes no secret of the fact that it will be the Son conducting this judgment, rather than the Father.

John 5:22-23 says: For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

And then again in Matthew 25:31-34, in a description of that Day, Jesus tells His disciples:

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right…

And in Acts 17:31, Paul tells the Athenians about that same judgment:

He [God] has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He determined, having furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead.”

What was foretold in the Messianic Psalm 110:1:

Yahweh says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.”

Is applied to Jesus Christ in Hebrews 1:13.

It is the Son of Man, the Son of God, Jesus Christ Himself who will conduct this great judgment.

You may wonder why that is so important?

Why does it matter who is sitting on the throne, which Person of the Trinity?

And I would offer a couple of reasons it is pivotal.

First, and I was captivated by this thought in reading the book by the great Puritan preacher, William Bates in his book The Four Last Things:

In his own words: God being invisible in his own nature, hath most wisely ordained the last judgment of the world to be transacted by a visible person; because men are to be judged, and the whole process of judgment with them, will be for things done in the body. The person appointed for this great work, is Jesus Christ the Son of God united to the human nature.

Thus, we stand in OUR resurrected bodies before the RESURRECTED Jesus Christ to be judged for the conduct of our lives in the body.

It is just; it is right; it is perfect that God would so ordain this judgment.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, it puts to flight any false religion that would attempt to minimize Jesus Christ.

No one may claim the equivalence of ANY religion that does not have Jesus Christ on that judgment throne.

Mohammed will be JUDGED by Jesus Christ, and he will be condemned for leading millions astray from the true Judge.

And every other cult leader that proclaimed any other false gospel will be judged by the Author and Judge of the True gospel – our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ does not have this honor because he was a great philosopher or an exemplary man.

He does not merit this throne because He lived a good life.

Jesus Christ deserves to judge all mankind because He, though He was God, He laid aside His glory for a cross of suffering,

Taking upon Himself the punishment of His people and giving them His righteousness in exchange.

So that in heaven, the heavenly creatures proclaim:

Worthy are You [Jesus Christ] to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “And You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.” - Revelation 5:9-10

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” - Revelation 5:12

The Bible proclaims from cover to cover that there is salvation under no other name than Jesus Christ.

2. Who will be judged?

Earlier I quoted from John 5, but reading just a couple of verses down, we get to this verse:

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. - John 5:24

On the basis of that verse, we might get the idea that if we are in Christ, we will not face judgment at all.

But what our Lord is saying here is that if we are in Christ, we have security in that we have eternal life.

We will not be in peril in that last judgment whether we will be with Him forever or cast into the judgment of hell.

But for believers, the value of our work in Christ will be the subject of our judgment:

For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident, for the day will indicate it because it is revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. - 1 Corinthians 3:11-15

For those who have rejected Christ throughout their lives, their judgment will be more tragic: they will be sent to the torment prepared for the devil and his angels.

We see both these judgments in the parable of the minas from Luke 19:11-27:

Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. 13 “And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’ 14 “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 “And it happened that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know how much they had made in business. 16 “So the first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ 18 “Then the second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ 19 “And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a cloth; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a strict man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 “He *said to him, ‘From your own mouth I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a strict man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 ‘Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ 24 “Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 “And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 ‘But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.’” - Luke 19:11-27

And this brings us to question 3: On what basis will we be judged?

Every person will be judged on the basis of their works.

Romans 2:5-8: But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL REPAY TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and anger.

Now please understand the distinction: we are not SAVED by our works, but the Great Judgment will be a judgment of our works.

How can that be?

Romans 3:20 - by the works of the Law NO FLESH WILL BE JUSTIFIED IN HIS SIGHT

Galatians 2:16 - knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

The deeds we do, the works we accomplish, serve to prove the state of our heart:

If you are given to sin and make excuse for yourself rather than repent, your heart is in a perilous state.

When you stand before the Lord who sees every motive of your heart, will you be found in Him?

But if your great desire is to obey our Lord out of love and devotion to Him, the faith you have received through Him is gifted to you as righteousness.

For the unbeliever, all the deeds done serve only to further condemn you concerning the wickedness of your heart.

For the believer, your faith is proven each day by your obedience.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, we must live constantly vigilant of sin, with the firm resolve to repent of sin as soon as it may be found in our hearts or actions or reactions.

It is NOT enough to simply ask forgiveness – we are called everywhere to REPENT, to turn away from sin, to seek forgiveness.

And it is through the grace given in the Lord Jesus Christ that we can repent and be freed from the sin that would drag us to judgment and hell.