The Beauty of Christ in Judgement
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The Beauty of Christ
As Christians, it is our great duty and privileged to now seek the beauty of Christ in all of life
A few months back I was watching the sun come up across the field and was struck with its beauty as always.
I turned away from the sunrise and was struck once more with the golden hue that the sun was emitting onto the field
And it was a profound beauty to me that not only is the sun explicitly beautiful of itself but even when I look away from it, its beauty can be seen in the things it touches
And this is the joy of the Christian, that we see Christ and his beauty in all he has done in his ministry to us on earth
And we also see the beauty of all that it has influenced as he sits on his throne
His righteous life, his sacrificial death, his victorious resurrection are all the beauties of the sunrise itself
And the pagan turned godly man, leading his home into righteousness, being a light to the wicked world is the golden hue of grace that it is our joy to behold as well
And in this short time I have with you, I am tasked to show you that the judgments of Christ are both beautiful in and of itself and also in the effect it has on the landscape all around
And this is important because God’s judgement has fallen on hard times as of late
If it is tolerable at all it is hardly looked at as something that is beautiful
Thus, we lose out on the worship that is to be found in its golden hues as our eyes cannot handle its brilliance
In a generation before this one, it was common for fat Baptist pastors with a nasty, sweat-filled handkerchief to pound and scream of the judgement of Christ to come
This is known as fire and brimstone preaching
Being in a time in which speaking of Christ’s judgement is avoided, we may think this other side of the ditch is somewhere to be again
But both sides get the beauty of Christ’s judgement wrong
An earlier ministry I had after several sermons an older man asked to speak with me in my office about my preaching
There, he asked me where I learned to preach and told me he was looking for preaching of the old kind, one of fire and brimstone
After listening to him for awhile, I got more information on his life to see that he had a divorce because his wife treated him without gratitude. When I asked if he sought forgiveness from God for such a godless divorce he narrowed his eyes on me and said no.
I said it nicer than this, but I said something a long the lines of “perhaps the fire and brimstone preaching should begin within your own soul.”
After pleading to meet with me for counseling he said he think about it, but I never saw him again. He wrote a note though a few weeks later in which he argued for a salvation of saying a prayer once and never having to think about the genuineness of the confession, no matter how much you may be living in sin.
Christ’s judgement is just as ugly to this (fire and brimstone) guy, as it is to those who refuse to see and celebrate its beauty today
What is the middle road that causes us to have the joy of experiencing this aspect of Christ’s beauty?
Both in its essential glow and the hue it provides in its outworking?
Before answering the question outright, I want to spend a few extra minutes adding to the confusion of finding Christ’s judgement beautiful yet doing all we can do to not see it happen in people
On the one hand judgement is something we are trying to get people out of Christ’s judgement
9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Jesus himself saying he came not to judge but to save
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Jonah is set up to us as the most successful yet worst evangelist
He runs away from saving Nineveh from judgement
through running away saves the crew on the boat he used to run from
Then in little time he saves the whole city by his preaching
Then complains to God that he ran away initially for this reason
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
After a plant grants needed shade to Jonah then quickly dies and he is bitter over that God says:
9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”
When the disciples of Jesus were anxious for judgement to fall on a Samaritan city since it rejected Jesus since he was set to go to Jerusalem
54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them.
Perhaps we should let God’s judgement be something that we tolerate but not celebrate?
But yet the other side of it is the time in which we are longing for, and worshipping Christ in light of his judgement
The Revelation to John has many times in which the saints and angels break out into songs of worship....have you ever noticed that most of the time it has to do with his judgement?
16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” 7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!”
19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste. 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”
1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”
We love the song by Andrew Peterson, Is He Worthy, which is describing Revelation 5 and how Jesus is the only one worthy to open the seals of the scroll
And what do those seals represent? Judgement upon the world and salvation to his people
So what’s the middle road here: not being embarrassed by Christ’s judgement but not being a fire and brimstone guy?
How can we not miss out on seeing the beauty of Christ’s judgement
While also wishing to see people saved from Christ’s judgement?
By seeing that Christ’s salvation, and Christ’s judgement are both driven by the same locomotive that makes Christ eternally beautiful
Righteousness: A state of moral perfection that adheres to God’s law which is an extension of his very nature
Reflecting God
Sin is ugly since it missing the mark of such perfection
So the judgement of God is his authoritative decree of guilt from which his wrath extends to do away with the source of unrighteousness
So that righteousness reigns in all its beauty
What makes Jesus so beautiful is his righteousness, lack of sin, and his doing away with sin through Judgement
Christians today blush at Christ’s judgement because they lack a full appreciation for his righteousness
Christians in the past have been obsessed with fire and brimstone preaching because they were obsessed with their own standard of righteousness
But we stay in the middle, with a growing appreciation for the beauty of Christ’s judgement when the beauty of Christ’s righteousness is the fuel that starts and maintains the fire
Let us look at the beauty of Christ’s righteousness on display through judgement in both the believer and unbeliever in this life and in the one to come
This life:
Believer
God’s judgement in justification
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
God declares Jesus guilty in our stead for unrighteousness and takes it upon himself and thus making us stand righteous before God
God’s judgement in sanctification
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Thus the sanctification process is growing after the image of Christ through realizing the judgement of sin and new life that he has won for us on Calvary
Thus, judgement is found in the life of the believer in Jesus our mediator
What does judgement look like for the unbeliever in this life?
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
God gives them up in wrath to their unrighteousness
Thus in this life judgement in ridding sin is realized in the believer but judgement to the world in letting sin fester in his wrath
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Behold the beautiful contrast of unrighteousness on display in the world and through judgement and grace righteousness displayed in the church
The first seals that Christ opens are full of God’s angry wrath on the sinners of the earth
But this is contrasted heavily with the sealing of God’s people
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
The wrath of Christ is beautiful today because it provides the contrast that displays the beauties of righteousness in light of unrighteousness
And in the eternal state, Christ’s judgement is beautiful because it rids creation of unrighteousness forever
11 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. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Contrast with
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
And so, as the people of God we long for righteousness because we long for Jesus
The nature of him and his kingdom is one of righteousness
The Kingdom of Christ is one in which righteousness dwells and conquers
5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
As we look upon the wicked world, we long to see their sins and unrighteousness judged in Jesus today
And to see them live in that reality as Jesus takes care of their sin in their practice through progressive sanctification
And so we declare the good news of the gospel
Repent for the kingdom of Christ is at hand!
But our love for Christ and his righteousness makes his judgment beautiful not just in salvation
But when he does away with sin forever…we long for the final judgement where all is made right
The sunrise itself in all its beauty is seen in Christ’s receiving the judgement of God for his people
And the golden hue it leaves on the field is the contrast of judgement through grace working in the believer as they are contrasted with those left in their sin
The sunrise itself in all its beauty is seen in Christ returning and finishing his work of judgement
When the golden hue of perfect righteousness is on display with no trace of unrighteousness anymore
Christ’s judgment is beautiful because it puts righteousness, who God is, on full display
To be enjoyed today and in eternity
Soli Deo Gloria
Judgement and salvation are so closely interwoven that you cannot enjoy the one without enjoying the other
You can not know the one without knowing the other
People of God we are not simply just to tolerate the fearful judgement of God, but being guarded by the hand of Jesus Christ our Lord we are to celebrate its eternal beauty!
Judgement is the prerequisite to enjoying grace
Out of Judgement comes Grace
The lifeblood of grace came at judging sins in the Son
A heart changed by grace loves God law and God’s judgement to create any disobedience to it
The believer is disciplined, the unbeliever is judged