Sermon Tone Analysis

“I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.

From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.

Then another book was opened, which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, the lake of fire.

And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

It has been said, appropriately I believe, that no one should ever preach about hell without tears in his eyes.

The prospect of eternal separation from all that is good and holy should move each redeemed individual with compassion.

Despite a tendency to treat divine judgement with casual disdain, it remains that people we know—loved ones, family members, dear friends, colleagues with whom we have shared many laughs and pleasant hours—will spend eternity separated from God.

That in itself is a tragic thought; however, the Bible is very clear in warning that everlasting torment is the lot of all who are cast out from the presence of Holy God.

These warnings are issued for no other reason than God’s goodness, even toward rebel sinners.

God is good.

Logic informs us that if God is not good He cannot be God.

Though we might envision a powerful, even an awesome demigod, we cannot conceive of such a creature as good.

However, we cannot conceive of the True and Living God as being anything less than good.

Nevertheless, despite His goodness—indeed, because of His goodness—God clearly warns that many, perhaps even most, of mankind will be cast away eternally from His presence.

How else are we to understand a statement such as when the Master warned disciples: “Enter by the narrow gate.

For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” [MATTHEW 7:13, 14].

And what of Jesus’ stern warning to avoid sinning against the Living God? “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.

And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out.

It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched’” [MARK 9:43-48].

On another occasion the Lord is recorded as warning those who listened to His words, “Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.

But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.

Yes, I tell you, fear him” [LUKE 12:4, 5]!

One cannot hear such warnings as these spoken by the Son of God without concluding that He spoke of a terrifying prospect for any who offend Holy God.

Moreover, it is evident that He gave these warnings, not to gloat over the sentence imposed on the wicked, but in compassion to warn any against attempting to defy the will of the True and Living God.

Though undoubtedly some who hear these words are offended that such warnings are even addressed from the pulpit, fidelity to the Master compels the servant of Christ to echo His words.

It is false compassion—cruelty of the most despicable sort—to remain silent in the face of the danger that lost people face.

Compassion compels the child of God to speak a warning, for there will be some who heed what the Master says.

Whenever an individual reacts with choler at hearing divine warnings such as those just read, it should be evident that they hope to avoid the consequences of their own wicked choices.

If individuals attempt to redefine the will of God according to their own desires, they are really attempting to redefine “good” according to an artificial criterion—a standard of their own making which must ultimately fail.

Of course, all such efforts are doomed to abject failure.

Just as people cannot make themselves live eternally, so they cannot create their own standard for defining what is good while ignoring that which God has established.

I bring the message born out of the compassion of Christ that impels me to speak the truth.

I have not received appointment to make you feel good, or to soothe your conscience while you continue in rebellion.

I have been charged to speak the truth in love; and I know that some who listen even now are in danger of the fire of hell.

I know that each of us listening this day have family members who are lost.

Tragically, many of us, and perhaps most of us, have grown complacent, imagining that God will not do what He is pledged to do in holding all mankind—including our loved ones—to account for their actions and their choices.

My sincere prayer is that the message will stir up our pure souls to speak the truth in love—to plead with lost family members, to pray fervently for lost colleagues, and to witness boldly to lost neighbours, warning them to flee from the coming wrath.

My prayer in delivering this message is that some who hear the warning will turn to the Saviour to receive the life which He offers to all who come to Him.

May God speak to each heart to the praise of His glory as we seek the answer to the question, “Will a Good God really send bad people to hell?” Amen.

WHO WILL JUDGE?

“I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.

From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.”

By nature we resist the idea that we must give an accounting of our actions.

Nevertheless, woven throughout the warp and woof of the Word is the concept of personal accountability.

Perhaps you will recall the admonition penned for our benefit by the Wise Man.

“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come … and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” [ECCLESIASTES 12:1, 7].

“We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:10].

The redeemed do not stand before the Master to determine whether they shall be saved, but to reveal the character they have exhibited as those who believe in the Son of God.

The reminder is nothing less than an iteration of a similar enjoinder to consider how we live when Paul wrote, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother?

Or you, why do you despise your brother?

For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” [ROMANS 14:10].

This still leaves open the question of who is appointed to judge mankind.

In order to address this matter, I point you to Peter’s words spoken in the house of Cornelius.

As Peter drew his presentation to a conclusion, he said, [God] “commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that [Jesus Christ] is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead” [ACTS 10:42].

Peter and those associated with him were convinced that the Father had appointed Jesus Christ to be “Judge of the living and the dead.

Where did he learn this?

On one occasion when Jesus was challenged to identify who gave Him authority to heal a lame man on the Sabbath, He responded to the icily precise religious arbitrators of that day, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.

For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.

And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honour the Son, just as they honour the Father.

Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.

He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” [JOHN 5:19-29].

Did you hear what the Master claimed?

“The Father … has given all judgement to the Son.”

Jesus also asserted that the Father “has given [the Son] authority to execute judgement, because He is the Son of Man.”

Then, to nail down any thought that they might possibly have misunderstood what He was saying, the Master clarified His intent when He said, “An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement.”

Peter, together with all the disciples heard this exchange, and they witnessed the silence of the religious leaders who appeared nonplused and humbled in the presence of the Son of God.

I point to one other sombre occasion when Jesus spoke of His role in judging mankind.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

Then 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 I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?

And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?

And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” [MATTHEW 25:31-46].

You no doubt recall that this teaching was spoken at the conclusion of the Olivet Discourse.

The disciples had been revelling in the beauty of Herod’s Temple when the Master shocked them by stating that not a stone would be left atop another.

They wondered at how this could happen as the stones were so massive.