When is the last time you heard a sermon on the righteous judgment of God? Last Sunday I preached on this topic to my congregation as part of our series on the Apostles’ Creed. This ancient statement of belief was formulated in the centuries following the time of the apostles to sum up their teachings, particularly the core doctrines of the Christian faith.
After affirming several truths about Jesus Christ, including his ascension to the right hand of God the Father, the Apostles’ Creed declares, “From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”
Jesus said in John 5:22-23, “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father who sent him.” In Revelation 20:11-15, the apostle describes the Final Judgment, saying,
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.
I preached a sermon on this text when I was only 13 years old. The title of my sermon was “The Four Impossibilities of the Great White Throne Judgment.” As I think about this text nearly forty years later, I’m more sobered than ever by those four impossibilities.
It will be impossible to avoid the judgment.
It will be impossible to alter the records.
It will be impossible to argue your case.
It will be impossible to appeal the verdict.
Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The White Throne Judgment will be nothing like our modern court cases. At the White Throne, there will be a Judge but no jury, a prosecution but no defense, a sentence but no appeal. No one will be able to defend himself or accuse God of unrighteousness. What an awesome scene it will be!”
The Good News is that we can be delivered from this judgment that we deserve on account of our sin by repenting and believing the gospel. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:8-9, “God demonstrated his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” Three days after his death, Jesus arose from the dead, thereby proving his power and victory over death, sin, and Satan. Now Jesus sits enthroned at God’s right hand, granting forgiveness and eternal life to all who will trust in him alone for salvation.
“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:35-36).
How grateful I am to God for saving me at such a young age. How I thank him for parents and pastors who warned me of the coming judgment and urged me to put my faith in Christ. It was during this season of life, when my siblings and I were still quite young, that my dad crafted a poem concerning the Final Judgment. He wrote,
I often watch my children play,
And how amazed I am that they
Are occupied for hours on end
By games that start with “let’s pretend.”
They play at “house”, they play at “store,”
They play at “school”; they play at “war."
They play at “cops and robbers”, too.
There’s nothing little minds can’t do.
Yes, “let’s pretend” contributes joy
To every little girl and boy;
And drab and dull would childhood be,
If it were not for fantasy.
The thought that weighs upon my mind is:
Some don’t leave those years behind.
Concerning things “beyond the veil,"
They still let fantasy prevail.
They make believe religion saves,
And scorn the thought that sin depraves –
And so delude themselves within
That God is dead or winks at sin.
They make believe there is no hell;
They make believe their souls are well.
They reason, under false pretense,
That works will be their sure defense.
Behold the final, fearful end
Of those, like babes, who still pretend!
For in eternal things, you see,
There is no room for fantasy.
For fantasy oft times conflicts
With that which God on high edicts;
And fiction from the days of youth
Must not displace the written truth –
Because the Bible doth reveal
That mankind’s need for Christ is real.
Imagination has a role –
But not in matters of the soul.
And what of you, good Christian friend?
Do you serve God or just pretend?
Do you the Holy Spirit grieve
With service only “make believe”?
These are good questions worth considering. How would you respond?
Are you prepared to meet your God?