Jesus, Justice, and Judgment

John 5:18-29

Revelation 5:12-13- Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

That day is coming. It is coming more swiftly than we know, and we cannot stay quiet about it. Not only can we not stay quiet about it, but we can no longer be vague or imprecise because we assume that others know what we are talking about. No more talk about “believe in God” or “you need God”. We need to be precise. We need to be clear. We need to point them to Jesus. A belief in “God” without trusting in His Son is not enough. If we present a gospel without focusing explicitly on Jesus is doing nothing more than stripping the gospel of its life-giving power. Show them the One who is sitting on the throne. Show them One who will judge us when we stand before Him. Show them the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Notice the “for” connections

Begins with: the Son can do nothing of His own accord

This is was what we saw last week

Jesus perfectly submits to the Father and yet He is perfectly one with the Father

He holds all authority because He Himself is God

Ends with: judgment has been given to His for the honor of His name

All of the submission and unity of the Son and Father is leading to judgment and honor of Jesus

This is what we are going to dig into this morning

All judgment belongs to the Son

What does it mean that the Father judges no one?

The Father and the Son are not disjointed, and the Father is not uninvolved

The Son is the One who directly carries out judgment

Acts 17:31- ...he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

Acts 10:42- And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

The Son judges only in accord with the Father

Doesn’t John 3:17 say that Jesus didn’t come to judge?

There seems to be tension here

This tension is even increased by what Jesus says in John 9:39

John 9:39- Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”

The Son DOES judge all people

The Son’s purpose in coming was NOT to judge

Judgment belongs to the Son for His honor and glory

This is why the universe exists

This is why you and I exist

It is all for the glory of Him who made it all

Therefore, the reason that the Son judges all men and not the Father is because God will be glorified through the honoring of the name of the Son of God- Jesus Christ.

Hear the voice of the Son of God

An hour is coming and has now come

What does this mean?

We live between the “already” of the first coming of Christ and the “not yet” of the second coming of Christ

We can look at the cross and believe and be saved from our sin, but we are not yet perfected in the fullness of our new perfect spiritual bodies until He comes again

There are two separate hearings in this passage

Hearing the voice of Christ with the ears of the heart and believing

Hearing the voice of Christ at the Second Coming of Christ

The day is coming when He will render judgment

Romans 14:12- So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Whoever does good will be given life

This sounds a lot like works-based salvation

What does He mean by this?

He means that genuine faith bears fruit, and if it doesn’t then it isn’t genuine faith

1 John 2:3-6- And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

1 John 3:6-8- No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Hebrews 12:14- Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Whoever does evil will receive judgment

1 Peter 3:12- For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Hebrews 10:26-31- For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

You will stand before Him one day, possibly very soon

1 Peter 4:17- For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

2 Corinthians 5:10- For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Revelation 20:11-15- Then 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.

Revelation 5:12-13- Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”