Judgement Day

The Verdict

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” (KJV)

Hebrews 9:27 “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgement.” (NLT)

Summary: This sermon deals with judgement day and who will be in it and answer some questions The day of judgment is a future reality for all men/everyone, No one can escape it

WHY? because God is the Judge of all things

Heb. 9:27 …it is appointed for me to die once (and no more), but after this the judgment comes….

Death. The Bible teaches that all humans will die (Heb 9:27). The only exceptions will be those who are still alive when Christ returns (1 Thes 4:17). Physical death, or the “first death,” is the separation of the soul from the body. Because of the presence of sin in the world, death has come upon everyone (Rom 5:12).

Caught up: snatched away with force

When we are caught up we will meet our brothers and sisters who are in Christ in the clouds with Christ.

Our bodies will not have the same limitations that they have today

Not only will our busted and broken bodies be put back together, but you and I will literally be able to walk on cloud nine since we will have a resurrected body just like His (1John 3:2)

Our very nature as God’s children will be revealed when we see Jesus at His return

Acts17:31 “...For He has set/appointed a day for judging the world with justice by the man He has appointed/ordained, and He proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

This tells us that without doubt, in its essence, judgement will be a solemn judicial session held upon all mankind at once.

The Bible tells us in Jhn 5:22 that the Father judgeth no man, but hath committeth all judgement unto the son

Committeth: entrusted/handed over all authority

Wayne Grudem says of this day of judgment:

The final judgment will not take place so that God can determine the condition of each person’s heart, for he had known the final condition of every heart before time began. Instead, the final judgment will take place so that God can display his glory to all mankind by demonstrating his justice and mercy simultaneously.

The final judgment will be entirely fair. Each person, whether destined for eternal glory or eternal condemnation, will be dealt with more fairly at the final judgment than at any previous time.

God will judge “impartially according to each one’s deeds” (1 Peter 1:17 ), “for God shows no partiality” (Rom. 2:11 ). 12 ) All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13)For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

- Paul makes his point clear in this passage when his Jewish readers miss the point that he makes. He tells them, “Salvation can come to Jew, and also to the Greek, But so can judgement

There is a myth that some Christians have today. We think that if we attend church as we should, if we live a fairly moral life and be "religious" then we think that it will in some way that will commend us to God, and make us essentially better in God’s eyes.

The text tells us that ALL sin and ALL who sin will be judged the same. None of us will get "preferential" treatment of the Day of Judgement because we "had an appearance of religion" that those in the world or other religions don’t have. So none of us have a reason to think that we’re better than another.

- After all, there is no favoritism with God (No respect of person)

- Why does he say this? Because all have sinned and all are justified by grace

- Make no mistake, grace and salvation are not the same thing

- Grace is free, unearned favor and a gift from God

- Salvation is the rescue from sin and it’s consequences that grace provides

- Simply put, grace is the cause, and salvation is the result

God will be so glorified in his final judgment that we will cry, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just” (Rev. 19:1-2).

2) According to Scripture, three types of people will stand before God’s judgment: those who do not know Christ; those who have truly accepted Christ as Savior and Lord; and those who have a form of religion, but not the life-changing reality.

A) Those who do not know Christ —Read Rev. 20:11-15; John 3:16–19

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Why did men love darkness rather than light?

So they can try (in vain) to hide their sinful deeds.

They will experience eternal judgement for rejecting the free gift of God.

Those who receive the truth and live their lives in accordance with it come to the light in order to show that their good works have been accomplished by God.

Condemnation only come to the one who does not believe in the one and only Son of God (Jesus Christ)

Unbelievers are resurrected to stand before God, judged by their works, and found lacking because their names are not in the Book of Life

The Scripture tells us, they face final judgement, eternal separation from God, and are cast into the lake of fire, which is the “second death”

It will be unbearable for those who have not chosen to follow Jesus

New Living Translation Chapter 13

Matthew 13:49-50

Weeping and Gnashing of teeth: Described as intense misery, often termed as darkness or a blazing furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The wicked are cast into a furnace of fire

John 3:36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

B) Those who have truly accepted Christ as Savior and Lord —Read Rom. 14:1-12; 2 Cor. 5:9-10

 “So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal/ambition is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”

Whether present or absent. Whether we be found at His coming present in the body, or absent from it

Those who have truly accepted Christ as Savior and Lord should not dread the day of judgment, but rather look forward to it with confidence.

John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

When love is made complete in you in this way, you can have confidence in the day of judgement

Every believer will stand before the judgement seat of Christ

Don’t think of it as a trial to determine your salvation but as the Judge’s opportunity to evaluate the Christian life you lived

C) Those who have a form of religion, but not the life-changing reality —Read Matt. 7:21-23

New Living Translation Chapter 7

Matthew 7:21-23

Those who say this acknowledge Jesus as master.

The affirmation that Jesus is Lord is meaningless if it is not backed by obedience to God’s will.

How can we tell if we have the life-changing reality? Fruit—Read Luke 13:1-9; Luke 6:43 -46

New Living Translation Chapter 6

43

New Living Translation Chapter 6

Matthew 6:46-49

This fruit comes from abiding in Christ through the Holy Spirit, not through human effort—Read John 15:1-8; Gal. 5:5, 22-23

New Living Translation Chapter 5

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

15:1 the true vine Jesus is likely referring to a grapevine. Jesus is the center of the Christian faith—He is the source of life and the way to eternal life 

Paul encouraged the Corinthians to examine themselves—2 Cor. 13:5  

New Living Translation Chapter 13

5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.