From There He Will Come to Judge the Living and the Dead

This morning, we’re continuing our series on the Apostle’s Creed. Creeds serve the church in important ways. The word “creed” comes from the Latin word “credo”, which for those who are into language, is the first person singular form, literally translated, “I believe.” When we recite a creed, we are stating, “This is what I believe.”

Creeds serve the church in important ways. The word “creed” comes from the Latin word “credo”, which for those who are into language, is the first person singular form, literally translated, “I believe.” When we recite a creed, we are stating, “This is what I believe.”

Let’s all stand and together state what we believe by reciting the creed together.

For example, when we say, “I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth” we are rejecting other ideas and notions about the universe we live in. We are rejecting the belief that this planet and everything in it came about by chance. We are rejecting the idea of fate, the idea that life has no purpose or meaning. We are saying that there is a creator, and he created everything, including you and me, for a reason.

I’m grateful for Josh and Pastor Jim in preaching God’s Word, and explaining the scriptural truths summarised in the creed. We recall that the creed is not scripture. It is a summary of some of the points of scripture, arguably some of the more important parts of scripture, a summary of what we need to know and believe. The creed isn’t scripture, it is under scripture, it serves scripture, not the other way around.

Today, the creed takes a turn. As pastor Mike, who serves in one of the campuses of the Village Church in Dallas Texas points out, what the creed has summarised so far is past history. God created. Jesus was concieved in the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell, and on the third day he rose again from the dead.

So far, that’s all stuff that happened in the past. Now, we’re turning to stuff that will happen in the future. We are stating, we believe that Jesus Christ will come, in the future, to judge the living and the dead.

Now, we don’t usually like to talk about judgement. But we need to ask ourselves, why is this in the Bible? And why is it so important that it is included in the creed? The creed is like, twelve lines long, as Josh pointed out in the first sermon in this series, each line wasn’t likely written by a different apostle, but it is the oldest of the Christian Creeds that his held by all the churches. In the sixteen hundred years it’s been around in the form we have it now, why has this line stayed? We need to know this.

But we need to ask ourselves, why is this in the Bible? And why is it so important that it is included in the creed? The creed is like, twelve lines long, as Josh pointed out in the first sermon in this series, each line wasn’t likely written by a different apostle, but it is the oldest of the Christian Creeds that his held by all the churches. In the sixteen hundred years it’s been around in the form we have it now, why has this line stayed? We need to know this.

So let’s look at . Here we’re taught that Jesus is coming to judge the living and the dead. Now, when the Bible makes prophecies concerning the future, you can take it to the bank, it’ll happen. The Bible prophecied over 300 things about Jesus, every one came true. Where he was born, his gender, that his parents would go to Egypt for a time, that he would be rejected, beaten, crucified, lots cast for his clothes, that he would rise from the dead after three days, etc.

So, when the Bible says, when Jesus himself says, he will come to judge the living and the dead, we’d better believe it.

Jesus says he will separate the people from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

When I went to Israel in 1998, I saw shepherds tending their flocks. Our professor pointed out that the sheep and the goats were pastured together. They would separate them only at night.

Here’s what this means. It is God’s will that until Jesus comes to separate the sheep from the goats, the sheep and the goats are together. Do you know something? Sometimes it is hard to tell sheep and goats apart. We used to travel from Edson to Westbank, or Enderby all the time. Often, when going through Jasper National Park, we’d see either mountain sheep or mountain goats. We couldn’t always determine which was which, not having really studied the difference.

So, that means as we live our lives, we are not necessarily going to be able to tell the difference. Standing here, statistically, it is possible, that some of us are goats, and some of us are sheep. But I don’t know who is who, and thankfully, that’s Jesus’ job, not mine. I’m going to treat you all like sheep, and if I see some goatish behaviour, I will call you out on it. Likewise, if you see some goatish behaviour in me, call me out on it!

Then, Jesus, the king will separate the sheep to his right, and the goats to his left.

To those on the right he says, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father—remember Jesus taught, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” ().

The Father blesses the sheep and gives the inheritance. Now, consider those words. An inheritance is something that is given when someone dies. It is not earned. It is a gift, and it comes with a price. We share in Christ’s inheritance because he died for us. We remembered his death when we celebrated his supper.

Then Jesus explains, that the sheep intuitively followed Jesus. They did what Jesus did. They cared for the least of these brothers of Jesus. They put themselves aside in order to care for the least. In this, they did not consider themselves as being greater than others, but served everyone the same, sheep or goats. They didn’t do these things to save themselves (they didn’t even realise what they’d done) they did it as a response of faith.

But not so the goats. They gave lip service to what they did, but their hearts were not in it. They didn’t consider the least of the brothers of Christ. They sought only their own gain. Like Cain, they kept the firstfruits and the best of the best for themselves, and gave God, and others, their chump change, or whatever they had left over, if that.

It reveals the heart. A heart that beats for God cares for the things God cares for. A heart of stone doesn’t care for the things God cares for. Pray that God will remove the hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh.

The future is eternal. It is either eternal life, or eternal punishment. That’s the truth of the matter. By confessing the creed together, we are rejecting the idea of purgatory, of reincarnation, of nothingness, of meaninglessness.

We might also wonder, why does God judge in the first place? Who is he to judge, doesn’t that make God mean?

God is creator. Just as a potter has every right to do with the clay as he wills, so does God. The clay doesn’t ask why the potter made what he did. Nor can we. We have to accept that God made us for his purpose.

What is that purpose? To bear his image. What is God’s image? His perfect moral character. What is the penalty God determined for failing to perfectly image his perfect moral character, that is, sin? The penalty of sin is death.

The goodness of God is so holy, so perfect, that he can’t stand in the presence of sin. Sin is so heinous, so evil, that it has to be dealt with. God is just. God punishes evil and wickedness. And that’s a good thing. God’s justice demands it, but he takes no pleasure in it. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, because he knew the coming judement. He also knew that if they believed and trusted in him, they would be spared. He longs for all to believe.

In the sheep, God demonstrates that he is both gracious and merciful. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve: God’s inheritance. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve, punishment.

So, what is the difference, between a sheep and a goat? And how can you know which one you are? A sheep is someone who recognises who the shepherd is, and this is by God’s grace through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is here this morning. Is He tuning you into hearing the shepherd’s voice? Do you hear Jesus calling you, inviting you to receive his grace and mercy? Do you hear him offering to take your punishment upon himself—mercy, and giving you his righteousness in it’s place—grace? If you are hearing this, or if you have heard His voice and responded, you are a sheep. You are part of a huge, diverse family made up of people from every nation.

If you have not heard his voice, listen. Do you get it? Maybe you realise intellectually, that there seems to be two possible futures before you: everlasting life, or everlasting punishment. Ask God to to count you among his sheep! Ask God to make you spiritually alive so that you can hear the shepherd’s voice! And having heard his voice, respond in faith. Amen.

Let’s pray:

Father in Heaven, you will send your Son again. All power and authority on heaven and earth belongs to him. He is seated at your right hand. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. Father, we ask that you count us among the sheep. We confess that we have been arrogant, prideful, independent, rebellious, wicked, evil. We repent of our sin, of failing to live up to the standard you created us to live up to. We repent, we turn away from doing such things, and we turn to you. We gratefully receive Jesus, we acknowledge that he truly paid for all our sins by dying, willingly, in our place on the cross. By faith, which is a gift from you, we receive forgiveness, and Christ’s righteousness. From now on, we will strive to live for you, serving you, and the least of these your brothers, not because we have to, or because we are obligated to, but because you first loved us, we love you and we love others. Amen.