Christ as Judge

From there he will come to judge the living and the dead

Matthew 25:31-46

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

NIV

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The New International Version. (2011). (Mt 7:21–23). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Introduction

We have been walking through the Apostles Creed, and saying the foundation of faith.

In doing so we counted faith as worship, not just agreement to a belief. If you believe in God that is nothing, even Demons do that. You must worship him as your only true hope.

Then we described worship as having your affections pointed only towards him, that he is the end of your affections, not something to get what you really want. You could be given a pit in the desert without a home but with God and you would be sustained.

Next we taught on Christ as humanity, He came as a human to show you what humanity truly looks like, its others focused, you must loose more than you win.

Last week, Paul spoke about sin and how sin is wanting our way above God’s way, not morality, but believing that we know more than he does.

This week I want to talk about how sin has created a judgment for us. And this judgement, this justification that Paul mentioned last week, is what ultimately in the end either frees you to live or convicts you to death.

Today, here is what I want you to know more than anything else. If nothing else leave with this in mind.

TELOS: Christ alone gives you assurance of your faith, no one including you can do otherwise.

In order to see this, we must know, what is judgment and how it applies to us.

What is judgment:

It is legal

It is based on evidence

It is demarcation

Judgement is legal:

Christ alone gives you assurance of your faith, and he does so by a legal judgment. A binding legal declaration.

If you are in legal trouble and someone comes to you and says, well I think you are innocent. Its nice but there is not much weight to your friend saying you are innocent. It doesn’t throw your case out. You need someone who is in the office of judge, when they say you are innocent, it matters.

When we talk about God’s judgement, it not a coffee shop talk. Its official. Its cosmic.

Sometimes I will ask a question of people, I will hear what they are going through and they have fears, they are scared of what is about to happen…their job is going bad, or their family isn’t healthy, and I ask them…what’s the worst that can happen? Seriously, play the worst case scenario.

Well, I could die. And I say, well that’s a fate we are all destined for, so that’s no the worst.

There was a news article I read a while back from a book excerpt. It was about a nun who had her book self in her room, she was a slight woman, and her books where being held in a small coffin in her room. And someone asked her about it, she said, oh that’s the coffin I will be buried in. It reminds me constantly as I deal with this life that death is a certainty, and I better get accustomed to it.

Well my health, and my finances, and my freedoms, and my family could all be taken from me.

For that, I want to look at Paul. Paul, the Apostle…he is taken from his community, his identity is stolen, he cant be called Saul anymore, he is in prisoned, his freedom is taken, he is beat, his physical life is taken, he is removed from others…he is financially bankrupt, he is morally an outcast, everyone wants him dead…and yet when he is in prison, an earthquake makes a way for him to escape, and he says..nah, Im good. Im ok here. I don’t count those things are a loss, I count what I have as a gain.

I think all too often we worry about losing our freedoms, our health, our wealth…remember when you were just trying to make ends meet and eating cup of noodles soup and receiving gas gift cards and how much fun you had, and now compare that with today, with a mortgage, insurance, stock options, and its stressful isn’t it?

I suppose I would like to request, that the worst thing that can happen to you is this…to cosmically be deemed guilty for eternity. That’s the worst that can happen to you. Its a forever decree. Its final. Its cosmic. Its not a coffee shop comment, its a judges final say.

The second aspect of what justice ….it is based on evidence.

Meaning, at court, your evidence of your life will be what you have done.

It is not a legal decree that is random or an opinion. Feelings are not how God makes this decree. He does so by evidence. He is a good judge, not a feelings judge. He looks at the evidence and makes a determination.

The evidence is this…do you act like Christ. Do you replicate him. Do you imitate him.

The evidence of those who will be legally called God’s children is this…do you smell like, feel like, act like, and look like Christ…do you mirror him.

Christ says, I will know who are my sheep, not by academic insight…not by wealth…not by how good life is going for them…verses 35-36 tell us…did you feed me, water me, give me help..and when Christ says, did you feed me, water me, help me…he is using the me as a way to say, I am my church and my people…I am they, and they are me. By feeding God’s sheep you are feeding him.

And this is how a judgment is carried out. Its not based on your feelings, your claims, your hopes. Hopes do not make a judgment.

There is a business book out that is a best seller, it chronicles the habits of 40 some odd Titans of Industry. The premise is this…they made it big, so we ask them their behaviors, and all you have to do is mimic them, and maybe you can do the same.

If you want to be a Titan, follow a Titan. Don’t hope to be a Titan of Industry. If you want to be like Christ, follow what he does, and do it. You will not be judged how you followed someone else’s thought. Only his.

Church, it means this…those who obey Christ, not the smartest, most creative, most successful…those who feed hungry are obeying. Those who serve first, not look to be served…they are the ones who are given the right to be in the kingdom.

Obedience is how we will be known as Christ followers.

The third aspect of what justice is…. A demarcation. Meaning, its clarity. Justice is clarity.

When someone who is wicked and evil and a swindler…when they have loose their money, or when they have a bout of bad health…when Caledon Hockney in Titanic dies in financial ruin after escaping the Titanic pretending to have a child…we all scream, hahaha, justice.

The reason is because clarity is seen in justice when evil live by evil and get evil.

When righteous, live by righteousness are given righteousness. We all scream, yes!

When Christ says, I will separate the sheep and the goats, I will place you in categories of what you are…what he is doing is saying…I am setting you in the places you desire to be. I am taking what you have told me, and I am giving you what you want.

When Christ comes to judge, he will do so by a simple way…he will simply look at the things you loved, the things you worshiped and then say, well it seems to me that you valued these items why don’t I give you those things forever.

Like at Christmas when brothers and sisters are given gifts…you are given a scrubber set because you just clean your house all the time, and your sibling is given an ornate luggage set for traveling. You say….this is unfair, you don’t love me, how dare you…the parents would say, well your sibling travels, they will love this. You clean all the time, you will love this.

Christ will come and simply give you what you have valued your entire life.

If you love him, all of him.

If you loved self, all of yourself.

That’s what justice is. Its a legal declaration, based on evidence you give about your loves, that will separate you into those who want Christ and those who don’t want Christ.

SO….What does judgement mean for us?

For those who are Christian…

You will be judged at the end. Everyone will be. It says in the passage, God will lay out all the people, and then will separate them.

Those who are Christians are excited for this judgment, here is why…

It is not because you think you are great, but justice has two sides to it.

Justice means first that the criminals get punished..thats true, but justice is also the captives going free.

Its freedom as much as it punishment, justice is making all things right, all things straight. Evil getting evil. Good getting good.

Those who follow Christ will be thrilled for the judgment because they will finally be freed of the body that restricts them, they will be freed from the sin that cripples them to not act completely how they want.

Those who follow Christ want his glory all the time, but also know..I cant make that happen as much as I want. My flimsy weak body and brain don’t allow me to worship him as I want…and justice, the judgement will be Christ coming and removing that which limits us from fully reviling in his glory.

You can be assured you are going to love the city of God to come, because you long for it more than the things of this world. And you know you need correction, you need freed as much as the wicked need punished. You need morphed as much as the evil needs morphed.

If you are a Christian, judgment is exiting, because its the final say of your God who determines your acceptance, not your inability to do good. His words above our words.

2. For those outside of faith

If you are outside of faith, here is how you will be judged.

You may say, well its not fair for God to think he can judge me, I am a good person, I am not evil, I am not so bad as those other people.

I am not a war criminal.

I am not a convict.

But remember, those who obey are those who are given eternal life.

So you might say, oh that silly God, he is so petty, wanting people to follow him and do what he says, I obey goodness, and God is just a little child who can keep all the rules.

But remember, I said, those who obey…I didn’t list what they must obey….I didn’t give you 100 things to do…I just said, you have to look and be like Christ.

You say, ok what does that have to do with me…

Well, if you think God will judge you based on your obedience to his laws…you misunderstand the use of the law.

God gave us laws to show us how silly we are, how much we cant do good. Not so we can do them.

At the judgement, its as if, Francis Shafter says this…its like God will take a recording device from around your neck and every time you said, “Good people live this way…and gave an instruction” God will then say, did you say that…of course you did…ok now lets see if you followed your own obedience…lets see if you are able to do what you expect others to do.

And you will have to say, I did not. I couldn’t even obey my own rules. I am not obedient to anything.

And Christ will say, ok so the evidence is fairly easy to follow. Think you should should be given the kingdom then?

But here is the good news, you don’t have to have that reality.

Because you could have a reality that says, my obedience is awful isn’t it…can I get someone else’s obedience, can I have someone substitute in my place, a ringer brought in for the fight…and the answer is yes. You can choose your own obedience or Christ’s obedience.

And that is what it means to be a Christian, to want Christ to be your supply instead of supplying yourself.

To want his performance and not your own.

To stop thinking that you are best, and he is the ultimate good.

Do you want to go to court with the recording of your own rules, or with his obedience? I beg you to consider putting down your record of faithfulness and pick up his.

3. Those who assume faith

This is not the first time Christ has used sheep and goats to talk about separation on judgement day.

He earlier in Matthew said that some on that day will call to me and I will not know them.

In Matthew 7 he says, I will tell them away from me I never knew you.

If you think you are saved, my only question is this…are you saved by your faithfulness? By your morality? By your ethics? By your wealth?

How are you saved?

Because many, it says many, not a few, many…meaning….a lot of us, who think we are saved, aren't.

How can you tell…if I said, some of us assume we are saved but are not…and you starting to think of names of other people who fit that category…you may be in danger.

If you say, Clint I am confident…sitting in front of Christ, naked, baring your soul…does that excite you because you will get to worship him without limitations, or because you think you will be ushered in the VIP door?

Do you believe your ticket in, is your works in ministry, your titles, you opinions, you work…because the only thing that will grant you admission…

Obedience. And unless you have perfect obedience you won’t get in.

Fellowship of rings example…there is no other entrance other than the word. Don’t overthink this. Don’t be so intellectual and moral that you start playing a game of out thinking yourself.

There is not trick. There is not back door. Its entrance by perfection. And only Christ can boast that.

Stop playing faith, and start accepting faith from Christ.

Lets pray.