J.C. Ryle on Christ and the Final Judgment

"There is a day coming when all men shall be judged.  The sea shall give up the dead which are in it, and death and hell shall deliver up the dead which are in them.  All that sleep in the grave shall awake and come forth, and all shall be judged according to their works (Rev. 20:13; Dan. 12:2).

"And where will Christ be then?

"Christ Himself will be the Judge.  'The Father . . . has all judgment unto the Son.'  'When the Son of man shall come in His glory, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.'  'We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad' (John 5:22; Matt. 25:31, 32; 2 Cor. 5:10).

"Now if any reader of this message little of Christ, let him know this day that he is very unlike God!  You are of one mind, and God is of another.  You are of one judgment, and God is of another.  You think it enough to give Christ a little honor, a little respect.  But in all the eternal counsels of God the Father, in creation, redemption, restitution and judgment - in all these, Christ is 'all'"  (Holiness, J.C. Ryle).

John Calvin on Three Main Attributes of God

"God, the Creator of heaven and earth, governs the world which was made by him.  In every part of Scripture we meet with descriptions of his paternal kindness and readiness to do good, and we also meet with examples of severity which show that he is the just punisher of the wicked, especially when they continue obstinate notwithstanding all his forbearance.

"Assuredly, the attributes [of God] which it is most necessary for us to know are these three: loving-kindness, on which alone our entire safety depends; judgment, which is daily exercised on the wicked, and awaits them in a severer form, even for eternal destruction; righteousness, by which the faithful are preserved, and most benignly cherished.  The prophet declares, that when you understand these, you are amply furnished with the means of glorying in God.  Nor is there here any omission of his truth, or power, or holiness, or goodness.  For how could this knowledge of his loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness exist, if it were not founded on his [incorruptable] truth?" (Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin).

Judge Your Neighbor . . .

“At a pastor’s conference in Spokane, Chuck Swindoll told of being at a California Christian camp.  The first day there a man approached him and said how greatly he had looked forward to hearing Dr. Swindoll speak and his delight at now finally being able to realize that desire.  That evening Swindoll noticed the man sitting near the front.  But only a few minutes into the message the man was sound asleep.  Swindoll thought to himself that perhaps he was tired after a long day’s drive and couldn’t help himself.  But the same thing happened the next few nights, and Dr. Swindoll found his exasperation with the man growing.  On the last night the man’s wife came up and apologized for her husband’s inattention to the messages.  She then explained that he had recently been diagnosed as having terminal cancer and the medication he was taking to ease the pain made him extremely sleepy.  But it had been one of his life-long ambitions to hear Dr. Swindoll speak before he died, and now he had fulfilled that goal” (Source Unknown).

 

In James 4:11-12, James again warns us against sins with which we all wrestle: slander and judgment.  What are slander and judgment?  How are slander and judgment connected?  How do we judge others?  What does Scripture tell us in other places about judging others?  Does the Bible contradicting itself?

These are but a few questions we will deal with on Sunday morning.  Join us and may the Spirit prepare us to hear the truth of God’s Word, allowing it to fill us, change us, and transform us more into His Son.  

Christ as Judge

A family member of mine once had to go before a judge to challenge a ticket they received for overdriving the conditions of the road.  They had been in an accident in their car, nothing too serious, due to the black ice that had formed on the road.  As they approached the judge it was clear that they would not be able to handle themselves in a calm matter as they began to sob uncontrollably.  They were too intimidated by the judge to defend themselves and so in the end had to pay the fine anyway.

The first and only time I have had to stand before a judge was for jury selection.  And even that situation was nerve-racking.  Especially when I was singled out and asked questions directly.  Standing before a judge can be very intimidating and when we realize that we all will have to stand before the Judge, Jesus Christ, Creator-God of all things, the intimidation factor can rise to extremes. 

Two weeks ago Andrew spoke about how Jesus Christ humbled Himself, coming down from His throne in Heaven to be born in a simple stable to a poor family.  What an amazing, loving thing to do for us, the created.  Last week we studied how Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be the only truly, wholly, Righteous One who is perfect in every way.  His shed blood upon the cross was the only sacrifice worthy to turn away God’s wrath toward us for our sin.  This week will explore how Christ is Judge of the living and dead.  What will that judgment look like?  What will we be judged for?  How is Christ worth of being Judge?  Should we be worried as we stand before Him as our Judge?

Prayerfully prepare yourself for encountering this amazing characteristic of our Savior.  May God speak to us, teach us, and mold us as we dig into His Word with an open and teachable heart.