Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Do you live as though this world, as it is, is soon to pass away?

Whose judgment do you care and think most about everyday?

Your spouse?

Your boss?

Your friends?

Your accountant?

Your favorite (or your least favorite) politicians?

It’s been a couple of months since the last time we were looking together at the Apostles’ Creed, and today we are considering the meaning and the biblical implications of the stanza which reads, “From there [i.e., from the right hand of God the Father Almighty] He [i.e., the risen Lord Jesus Christ] shall come to judge the living and the dead.”

This is one of the most profound and one of the most sobering affirmations of this early record and summary of Christian belief.

I pray that the Lord will help us to believe it more meaningfully today, and I pray that the Lord will help us to live everyday like it could happen any minute.

Scripture Reading

Revelation 19:11–16 (ESV)

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!

The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.

13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.

He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Main Idea: The risen Lord Jesus Christ shall physically come again to this world and pronounce His definitive and righteous judgement upon every person from all time and space.

Sermon

1. Christ Shall Physically Return

A. Christ’s first advent (Latin – adventus, “arrival”)

1. Revealed the mystery

a.

So much of what Jesus did during His earthly ministry was in “fulfillment” of “what the Lord had spoken by the prophet” (Matt.

1:22)… to “fulfill all righteousness” (Matt.

3:15)… and so that “the Scriptures… might be fulfilled” (Matt.

26:56).

b.

This is all in reference to the shadows, types, and prophecies of the OT, which were pointing toward the person and work of Christ… but these were not fully understood until Jesus actually came.

c.

Therefore, the Apostles spoke of the gospel as the “mystery” of God that had become revealed by and through Jesus.

i.

The gospel is a “revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages” (Rom.

16:25).

ii.

The Apostles counted themselves as “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor.

4:1).

iii.

Paul himself described the gospel as “the mystery of [God’s] will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time…” (Eph.

1:9-10).

d.

When Jesus came the first time, He revealed the mystery of the gospel, which God had already promised and which He had been unfolding throughout the ages!

2. Inaugurated the kingdom

a. Jesus’s message from the beginning of His earthly ministry was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt.

4:17).

b.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus sent out disciples to preach the same message, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt.

10:7).

c.

And throughout the book of Acts the message remained the same:

i.

In Samaria, Philip “preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,” and those who believed “were baptized, both men and women” (Acts 8:12).

ii.

In Ephesus, Paul “entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8).

iii.

And, finally, in Rome, “From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets” (Acts 28:23).

d.

Just before Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt.

28:18)… In other words, “I am the KING!”

i.

Then He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations [Notice that Jesus’s authority transcends all national boundaries], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commandedyou [Notice that all disciples bear the name of their King and live according to their King’s commands].

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt.

28:19-20).

B. Christ’s present reign

1. Christ reigns through or by His Spirit

a. Jesus said that when He went back to the Father, He would “send” His “Spirit,” and the “Spirit of truth” or “the Helper” would “guide” Christ’s people and “glorify” Christ (Jn.

16:7-15).

b.

This, of course, is exactly what Jesus did!

c.

On the day of Pentecost, all of Christ’s disciples were “filled with the Holy Spirit,” and they were empowered to testify boldly that Jesus was and is “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:4, 36).

2. Christ reigns among His people

a. Visible, local churches

i. Question: In what context did Jesus promise to be “with” His people to the end of the age?

· Answer: In the “baptizing” and “teaching” of disciples (Matt.

28:19-20)… in the context of local churches.

ii.

Jesus promised “where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them” (Matt.

18:20), and this promise was made in the context of Jesus’s teaching on bringing new disciples into the local church and removing unrepentant sinners from the local church (Matt.

16:13-20, 18:15-20).

iii.

In other words, Jesus’s present rule as King of kings is particularly visible in the world right now among the various outposts or embassies of His kingdom – local churches.

· And this also has a huge impact of the role or mission of churches and Christians in the world…

· We (as citizens of Christ’s kingdom, as ambassadors who carry Christ’s message, and as priest-kings who collectively bear Christ’s authority) must preach the gospel, call sinners to repent and believe, make judgments about who’s in and who’s out, and encourage one another toward perseverance until Christ returns… to make His kingdom come in full.

C. Christ’s physical return (or second advent)

1.

The risen Lord shall physically come again!

a.

After His ascension, angels appeared and said, “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

b.

During His earthly ministry Jesus promised, “you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt.

26:64).

c.

And the Apostles taught the early Christians to “wait for [God’s] Son from heaven, whom [God] raised from the dead, [this] Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess.

1:10).

i. Brothers and sisters, this is our blessed hope!

· The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a message of escapism, where we merely hope to leave this world behind… No, the gospel promises that those who repent and believe shall see Jesus Christ face-to-face when He returns to renew this present world so that sin and sorrow and death itself will be no more!

But the gospel is not only a message of blessing…

2. Christ Shall Return to Judge

The risen Lord Jesus Christ shall physically come again to this world, but when He comes the second time, He will pronounce His definitive and righteous judgement upon every person from all time and space.

And in our main passage this morning there is a clear distinction between those who are “following” Jesus and those who suffer His “wrath.”

A. Judgment = Rendering a Verdict

1. John’s Revelation

a.

The book of Revelation repeats at least a few major themes:

i. One, Christ is the present and absolute sovereign over all.

ii.

Two, Satan and the post-Genesis-3 world are joined together (consciously or otherwise) in open rebellion against God, His Messiah, and His people.