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[0:00] We'll be reading Matthew 25, verses 31 to 46, the end of the chapter. When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.

[0:16] All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

[0:32] Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

[0:44] For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in. I needed clothes, and you clothed me.

[0:56] I was sick, and you looked after me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?

[1:11] When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The king will reply, I tell you the truth.

[1:25] Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

[1:43] For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in.

[1:54] I needed clothes, and you did not clothe me. I was sick and in prison, and you did not look after me. They also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or needing clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not help you?

[2:13] He will reply, I tell you the truth. Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Then they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

[2:31] Well, we're studying the three offices that the Lord Jesus Christ has. He is a prophet for his people. He is the priest for his people, and he is the king for his people.

[2:45] And so it's under the kingship of Christ that we've been studying more of late. The kingdom. What is the kingdom of God? What is this kingdom that Christ came to establish on earth?

[2:58] And who belongs to it? Who's in, and who's out? And now we come to the king's return. The king is coming again. And he tells us himself in this passage, and many more, that when he comes the second time, he's coming to judgment.

[3:17] He's bringing all mankind to judgment. At present, it appears that people can reject the king and get away with it. They break his laws.

[3:28] They ignore his commands. They neglect his gospel. And nothing happens. There's no lightning out of heaven that strikes them down. Sometimes the righteous die before the unrighteous in this world.

[3:42] There's lots of people getting away with lots of sin without being caught and punished. Or so it seems. But our Lord tells us that a day is coming when the king will return and bring all men to a final judgment.

[4:00] And then he will separate the whole of humanity into two groups. And he will assign to each their eternal destination. This is sobering truth from our king.

[4:14] But it's truth that we need to hear. And he tells it to us because he loves us. And he wants us to be ready for that day. So receive it as such from your gracious king before he returns in judgment.

[4:32] I want to answer five basic questions about the final judgment and then make some applications. And all the answers can be found in this text. Of course, when we deal with the judgment of Christ, there's so much in Scripture given to us.

[4:47] It's a major theme that we cannot escape. But all the answers to our five questions can be found in this one text. Matthew 25, 31 to the end.

[4:59] The words of the king himself. So the first question then is when is the final judgment? And this concerns us to know this.

[5:12] If men have a date in court, they need to be ready. And so they need to know when is their appearance in court. Well, verse 31 of our text says, When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.

[5:32] And from that throne he will judge all the nations. This is the second coming of Christ when he comes in glory. Now, whenever a person dies, whenever a man dies, there is an immediate judgment that takes place at that point.

[5:50] The Lord God immediately sees in the heart and knows whether there is faith in Christ or not and assigns that person either to heaven or to hell.

[6:02] But when the king comes back, there will be a public judgment. A final judgment. When all who have ever lived will appear before the king in both soul and body and receive from him their eternal sentence.

[6:20] And this judgment, this last judgment, will be for the glory and vindication of the judge. It will not be for him to determine which one should go to heaven and hell.

[6:32] That's done the moment a person dies. But this will be for the public demonstration to all. To vindicate the judge. To say that, yes, his decisions, every one, were absolutely right and fair.

[6:49] And in the light of the evidence of that day, every mouth will be stopped and all will be left without excuse. And it will be clear to all that the king has indeed executed perfect judgment.

[7:08] Now, this final day then of judgment is on the calendar of heaven. The appointment is made. Acts 17 says, he has set a day when he will judge the world in righteousness.

[7:22] It's already set. It's called the day of the Lord. It's called the day of wrath. It's when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

[7:33] It's when the king returns, as we saw last week. Not now in his humiliation, but now in his glory with all of his powerful angels. Yes, he's coming to sit upon a throne and to judge.

[7:46] Now, that date has been kept secret from us intentionally. God has not told us when this judgment will be.

[7:57] And he's done so that we might not be slothful and procrastinate, putting him off forever. But that we might rather live in a state of readiness for his return.

[8:09] So that if he returned today, we would be ready to stand before him in judgment. Are you ready to stand before him if that were today? That's the when.

[8:22] The judge is standing at the door. Are you ready for his coming? The second question is, who is the judge?

[8:34] Now, when a man must appear in court, he and his attorney are very anxious to know the judge that will be trying the case. They sometimes have a certain disposition or have ruled in certain ways in previous decisions.

[8:49] And they study these things and they want to be prepared for this judge before whom they'll present their case. How much more when the sentence that the judge is giving determines our eternal destinations.

[9:05] So who is this judge? Who is it that will sit on his throne and judge? Well, our text again in verse 31 says he's the son of man. And that's the title for the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[9:20] Then twice in our passage, he's referred to as the king. Did you see that as we read? The king will say, the king will say. This is why we've come to this passage.

[9:32] We're studying the kingship of Jesus Christ. He is the one who will judge. And we're taught by that that judging is a kingly activity. Indeed, as you read the Old Testament, you see that the kings of Israel were the ones that judged.

[9:47] So Solomon has the two prostitutes come before him. And they both claim that the living baby is theirs. And he as king is to judge and to make a decision of whose baby it is.

[9:58] The kings were called upon to judge. And so it will be with the king of kings when he returns. Isaiah 33, 22 says, the Lord is our judge.

[10:09] The Lord is our lawgiver. The Lord is our king. All of these offices are his. Christ the king will be judge when he comes in all his glory.

[10:21] The apostle Paul makes that clear in 2 Corinthians 5, 10 when he says, We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Now consider Christ's qualifications to judge.

[10:36] He is judged because he's the only one qualified to judge. First of all, he's the only one given authority to judge. Acts 10, 42 says, He's the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

[10:50] For God has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. The father has entrusted all judgment to the son.

[11:01] And he has given him authority to judge because he is the son of man, John 5 says. Indeed, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to this king, Jesus.

[11:13] So that tells us that he has authority to judge. There's no higher court. He is in himself the supreme court and all his decisions are final.

[11:28] He's alone given authority to judge. But secondly, he's alone equipped to judge and to make a right judgment. And that's because in the first place, he is righteous.

[11:39] He makes a right judgment because he himself is righteous. Human courts try to get it right, but they don't always, do they?

[11:53] But here is one of whom the father says, Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

[12:05] Psalm 96 says, When he comes, he will judge the world in righteousness and the people in his truth. So this king is righteous. He rules in righteousness.

[12:17] And he only and always judges right. So there's no bribes. There's no under the table dealings. There's no raw deals from this judge.

[12:29] He is righteous. He's equipped, you see, to make a righteous judgment. And the second reason he's equipped is because he's omniscient. He knows all things.

[12:40] He's all-knowing. What a difference from the human, merely human judges that sit upon the courts today. We're told that man looks on the outward appearance, and that's all he can see.

[12:53] But the Lord looks upon the heart. Oh, well, he's qualified in a way that no mere man is. Human courts try to get all the facts. They try to gather all the data so that they can make a right judgment.

[13:07] But they don't always get all the facts. Why not? Because people lie under oath. And witnesses don't always tell the truth.

[13:18] And guilt is tried to be covered up in human courts. But it's said of this judge in John 2.25, he did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

[13:32] Doesn't even need a witness, because he sees right to the man in his heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from his sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him, to whom we must give an account.

[13:50] And when he comes, he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's heart. And at that time, each will receive his due from God.

[14:01] You sometimes see these mysteries, don't you, of unsolved crimes. What a mountain of evidence is yet to be uncovered and brought right into the light.

[14:14] Unsolved murders, secret sins, when the judge comes and sets up court. And you see, because of that, only he is qualified to make a final judgment.

[14:27] Because only he knows all things. So the fact that Christ will be the judge in that day, that will be terror to his enemies, but joy to his people.

[14:43] The same act, the same fact that Jesus is the judge, will bring terror to his enemies and joy to his people. What panic will seize Pilate and Caiaphas and that Sanhedrin, the high court of Israel that tried Jesus.

[14:57] And they had him before them and they charged him as being worthy of death. And now here they are in his court and they must receive from him their eternal sentence.

[15:11] You know, people are still judging Jesus. Every one of us has judged Jesus. We've either judged him as being worthy of everything we are and have, or we judge him as being unworthy.

[15:24] Not worthy of my trust. Not worthy of my obedience, of my all in all. But what will it be when we who have judged Jesus appear before him to be judged by him?

[15:36] You remember at that trial when he stood before those Jewish rulers and the high priest was upset that Jesus wasn't answering his questions. And he says, I charge you under oath by the living God.

[15:49] Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Remember what Jesus said? Yes, it is as you say. But I say to all of you, in the future, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.

[16:09] Oh yes, in that day, they will see him seated upon his judgment throne. The tables turned and the one they judged now to judge them.

[16:22] But their tear will only be matched by his people's joy. Think of it. When we see the one who's judging in that day, dear people, we will see that the judge is none other than our Savior, our friend, and our King.

[16:41] We will see that it's the one who loved us and lived and died for us. The one who rose and reigns for us.

[16:52] The one who paid for all of our sins and gave us all of his righteousness and promised us eternal life. That's the one who's going to judge us in that day.

[17:04] So our joy will be as great as his enemy's terror. Do you know the judge? Which is he to you, your friend or your enemy? It is the Lord Jesus who will judge.

[17:17] Prepare my soul to meet him. And then the third question is, who will be judged? And again, our verse 32 tells us, when the Son of Man comes in his glory, that all the nations will be gathered before him.

[17:34] In other words, this judgment is universal in scope. It's not just the Jews because Jesus was Jewish, therefore he judges the Jews for their rejection of him. No, no. It's all the nations.

[17:44] One judge for all the nations. Indeed, he's called in scriptures the judge of all men, the judge of all the earth. And we notice in our text, Matthew 25, that it's both believers and unbelievers who are at the same final judgment together.

[18:03] There are not two separate judgments, one for believers and one for unbelievers. That's not the teaching of scripture. Rather, we see them both present at this last final judgment.

[18:22] They all appear before him to be separated then into two groups by his judgment. He has commanded all men everywhere to repent and he has set a day, he's set one day, when he will judge the world.

[18:40] The whole world will be judged in a day. And he's given proof of this to all men by raising his judge from the dead. So yes, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive what is due him.

[18:57] The apostle Paul included himself. We. Ye and me. All of us. No one can avoid this judgment.

[19:08] Not even the dead. For we're told that when the Lord Jesus comes again, that he will come down from heaven with a loud command and all who are in the graves will come forth.

[19:20] Those who have done good will rise to live and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. One voice of the returning son of man, the judge and all in the graves will come forth.

[19:31] Indeed, he is called the judge of the living and the dead. Remember that the next time you drive by a cemetery, that all these graves are going to give up their bodies when the son of man returns to judge.

[19:47] Revelation 20 describes that scene. That I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and the books were open. The sea gave up the dead that were in it and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them and each person was judged according to what he had done.

[20:06] All the dead, great and small, all classes of people, wherever they were buried, will be brought back to life so that in body and soul they might be judged by the Lord Jesus.

[20:20] Indeed, we're told that every knee in that day will bow, every tongue confess. You see, it's a universal judgment. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

[20:34] There'll be no parents answering for children. Each of us will give an account of himself to God. All people who have ever lived without exception, you, I, prepare my soul to meet him.

[20:55] Now this next question is another all-important question. It's how will we be judged? It's important to know how will this court be conducted?

[21:07] What are the kinds of questions, what are the kinds of things that will be exposed in that day? And our text in Matthew 25 shows us that he will judge us according to our deeds.

[21:21] He will judge us in that day according to our deeds, our works. You see that here in Matthew 25 that the judgment proceeds according to what they did and did not do.

[21:33] According to Jesus, it's especially what they did with him, the king, and with his people. The king will reply, tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

[21:48] Those are deeds, you see. Deeds like giving food and drink and clothes to the people of God who needed them, opening your homes to them, looking after them when they were sick, visiting them when they were in prison.

[22:03] These are deeds done and those are the things that will be brought out in the day of judgment. It's clearly a judgment according to one's deeds.

[22:15] Both deeds done but also deeds left undone because the cursed will reply, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger and needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you?

[22:28] And he will reply, tell you the truth, whatever you did not do, for the least of, for one of the least of these you did not do for me.

[22:40] You see, it's, what we've done in this life is going to be brought forward in the day of judgment. Sins of omission, sins of commission.

[22:52] And the rest of the Bible just thunders the same note. Romans 2, 6 to 10, God will give to each person according to what he has done.

[23:02] to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

[23:16] There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew and then for the Gentile. But glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew and then for the Gentile.

[23:33] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

[23:44] The deeds done between birth and death while in the body. For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father's glory with His angels and then He will reward each person according to what He has done.

[24:00] Actions both done and left undone, words spoken, even idle words were told will be brought into judgment in that day. Thoughts, motives, attitudes, intentions of the heart.

[24:13] The books were opened and each person was judged according to what He had done. And Jesus will say in that day not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but only He who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

[24:30] Many will say to me on that day Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles and then I will tell them plainly I never knew you away from me you evil doers.

[24:45] Now I said all of those verses before you and there's others that are speaking in unison that the day of judgment the last day of judgment will be a judgment according to our deeds our works.

[25:00] Now let me make this point crystal clear that a final judgment based on works does not mean that salvation is by works.

[25:14] Now that might seem contradictory you mean that we're going to be saved by our works? No. No. Ephesians 2.8 9 and 10 makes plain that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ not of works so that no one can boast.

[25:33] But it goes on to say that the whole reason the whole purpose for which God saves people by grace through faith in Christ is to enable us to do good works which he has prepared in advance for us to do.

[25:48] So salvation is not by our works it comes only by faith in Jesus Christ but all true faith in Christ produces good works in the lives of those who have it.

[26:03] All saving faith is a faith that purifies the heart. It is a faith that overcomes the world. It is a faith that works by love and by obedience.

[26:16] You know the book of James says that any faith that does not work is dead useless devilish and will save no one. No true faith though it's hidden in the heart where only God can see it will always produce fruits of good deeds.

[26:36] And so consistently true is that principle that where there is the root of faith there will be good deeds that you can carry on the day of judgment on the basis of deeds and it will simply prove who had faith because faith always produces fruits in the life and so by our fruit we will be made known in that day.

[27:04] So our deeds are not the cause of salvation they are the effect of salvation the result. So the day of judgment will be proving the cause by the effect.

[27:17] We have a saying that where there's smoke there's fire. Well which is the cause and which is the effect? Well the fire is the cause and smoke is the effect.

[27:30] And so where you see smoke present you can know that there's fire present. And where you see good works present the cause of them is the fire of salvation of relationship to Jesus Christ.

[27:49] True good works I'm not just saying what man calls good but what God in his all knowingness exposes in that day true good works will be seen to be the effect of true saving faith.

[28:05] The kind of fruit we produce then reveals the kind of tree that we are. Our deeds reveal our relationship to Christ. Were we joined to him as a branch in the vine well then it will be seen in the fruits that we bear.

[28:22] Our deeds reveal the presence or absence of faith in the Lord Jesus. And so this final judgment of our deeds will prove whether we're true believers or not.

[28:34] Now remember this judgment is not for God to detect who is saved and who is lost. He has that judgment every moment he's aware of us and whether we have his son and living by faith in our hearts or not.

[28:49] He makes that judgment immediately upon the death of every individual they immediately go into heaven or into hell. This is not a judgment for God to detect well are they saved or lost.

[29:01] No this is for his public vindication for all mankind to see that yes this person really did get what fit them.

[29:15] So when people die we don't always know do we? We don't always know where did they go and why did they go there? All of that will be made plain in the last day as God exposes all mankind and shows by their works whether they had a relationship with Christ or not.

[29:37] Well that's how the judgment will go forward. How will we be judged by our deeds?

[29:48] The last point is what the last question what will be the outcome of this judgment? Well his judgment will divide the whole of humanity into two groups with two destinies just two groups verses 32 and 33 say he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats he'll put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left with each assigned their proper place having put their deeds on display it will be evident to all that he belongs there and she belongs there and she belongs here and he belongs there it will be clear there will be no voice of opposition no cry for an appeal all humanity assigned into one of two groups isn't this something when we think of the diversity of the nations and from all the different centuries in which men have lived men who lived a thousand years before

[30:57] Christ who dressed so differently from us and had habits so different and yet here we are and we're all going to be put in one or two groups we're going to be standing beside people that are well quite different from us in many ways the way that the world looks and makes differences but what we learn from this is that there are really only two ultimate categories that really matter and that's which group are you in are you a believer or an unbeliever are you are you one of the blessed or one of the cursed one of the lost or one of the saved and those two groups are true today with all of our differences we are divided in the mind of God into these two groups and it will become clear for all to see in that last judgment it's a judgment that will separate and you have that in Jesus teachings!

[31:57] the good fish from the bad fish a separation or the harvest and there are the weeds growing right in with the wheat and leave them to grow together until the harvest and then take out the tares first and burn them and bring my wheat into my barn there's a separation you see that is to take place at the last judgment and it's a separation that will cut right down through the and and the people and children and church member from church member the real from the hypocrite it will be a separation into two groups and no one person will be misplaced put in the wrong group and then the king will say to those on his right come you who are blessed by my father and we will know that the reason we're here is because we have been blessed by his father he's the one who qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in life and

[33:08] Jesus will make it clear on that day come you who are blessed by my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world it's God's blessing that gives them the kingdom that will then be perfected with everything unclean weeded out of the kingdom a new heaven and a new earth we'll speak of that more in the future but notice the directional word in verse 34 that he says to the blessed it's come do you see the arrow on that word which way is it moving it's like this come it's a welcoming arrow isn't that directional word come to be drawn into his presence forever and then he will say to those on his left depart from me you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels and God's deserved cursed will bring them to the eternal fire notice the directional word depart from me you see the arrow it's away from me away from me you evil doer you who are cursed cut off from the presence of the

[34:27] Lord forever you would not come to me when I welcomed you come come come all of you come each of you come now and you would not come now you will depart from me and you will spend an eternity not with me but with the devil and his angels two groups and two destinies and only two verse 46 ends then they that's the cursed will go away to eternal punishment but the righteous to eternal life the Bible only knows of two places that people will live eternally heaven and hell eternal punishment eternal life you notice the same word is used to describe the existence of both the cursed will experience punishment just as long as the righteous will experience the joys of life it's forever and that word is a haunt to the cursed and a happiness to the blessed think of it brothers and sisters we've lived our lives in a world where all good things must end but not anymore we will now be where it will be forever!

[35:43] and ever come enter into eternal life my eternal kingdom the rest of scripture simply underscores the same only two places heaven with Christ in a new creation without sin without anything wrong or hell the place of torment day and night forever and ever where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth and no relief only two places two destinies where will you be which will you hear come or depart well these are the awesome realities that the king holds before us the king of glory the king of grace the king of righteousness as a day of wrath let me just bring two applications first a word to the lost you say all this business about judgment it's just does

[36:57] I just don't care for it and I think it's just a scare tactic if there is such a thing as a final judgment that will determine the eternal destinies of all men is it not a kindness of the Lord Jesus to tell us about it ahead of time and he could have just surprised us and shown up one day and set up his court that's just but no he's too kind for that he's too gracious he's too loving why would he do that why would he tell us ahead of time that a day of judgment is coming unless it is precisely that you might be prepared for it what love and if the king is coming to judge the world in righteousness but still delays why why is that why hasn't he come yet and Peter says that our Lord's patience means salvation salvation

[38:00] Lord's patience means salvation he does not want you to perish but to come to repentance and every day he tarries is another day of amazing grace another day of amazing patience and amazing kindness to you can you see the king's heart in all these words and then think of this that the Lord Jesus has come and has taken upon himself on the cross the judgment that sinners deserved he was going to come back and judge in that day put himself in the place of judgment on the cross for sinners and there took the father's full wrath upon sin that whoever believes on him should not perish but have everlasting life what kindness in the king yes this king that's coming in judgment what patience what kindness what love and it's all meant that kindness is meant to lead you to repentance it's meant to chase you right into his forgiving arms but if you refuse to come and your unrepentant heart stubbornly sets itself against him you're only storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath when his righteous judgment will be revealed the question in that day will be what did you do with the king at his coming you'll be put that question in one way or another you lived on his estate you ate and drank his kind provisions!

[39:50] You enjoyed many of his blessings and gifts of life here but what did you do with him did you obey his gospel did you order your life according to his good laws did you love and serve the king you see that you're you can't answer those questions in the positive the answer is not to go out of here and try harder to do good works that's to make a savior out of your deeds and that's not how God views them at all in that last day all of your good deeds without Christ will be exposed to be just all that more sin because anything that's done without faith in Jesus is sin anything that's not done for glory of his name is sin no the answer is not to try to have more good deeds no the good deeds are simply the fruit and expression of what's inside and if the fruit is bad my friend it's simply pointing that your heart is bad and you need

[41:00] Jesus receive him he's offering himself to you today offering you righteousness because you have none now a word to those who are saved you know he is still receiving sinners my friend you may not have the opportunity tomorrow get into Christ today now for those of you who are saved the fact of his coming in judgment is meant number one to urge us on to holy living to urge us on to holy living is Jesus coming back soon to judge am I going to meet him face to face and be judged by him then I ought to be stimulated spurred on to a holy life second Corinthians five nine and ten we make it our goal to please him for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ you see the connection we make it our goal to be found pleasing to him for because we must all appear and so if

[42:06] I'm to appear before the Lord Jesus in judgment oh I want to I'm ashamed to do anything that displeases him I want to be eager to do that which is found pleasing in his sight Peter says so then dear friends since you're looking forward to his coming make every effort to be found spotless blameless and at peace with him everybody who has this hope of Jesus return and judgment purifies himself even as he is pure so the return of Christ in judgment is meant to spur us to persuade the lost of their need for Christ we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ is followed up with this verse since then we know what it is to fear the Lord we try to persuade men men are not fearing this day of judgment we by faith know it's coming so we seek to persuade them brothers and sisters we do a great disservice to the lost by not speaking of the coming judgment you know that the devil works overtime to keep the lost from thinking about the final judgment let's not do his work but let's do what

[43:30] Jesus did it's the most loving thing it's to warn people to flee the coming wrath and to flee right into the arms of Jesus now while there's yet time the final judgment ought to spur us to seek to bring sinners to Jesus and lastly and I want to emphasize this as we conclude the coming of Christ in judgment is to be viewed with confidence and joy by the believer yes it's an awesome day when I will stand before my maker and give an account but this is the repeated testimony of scripture that the attitude of the believer toward that day of Christ coming in judgment is one of confidence and joy 1 John 2 28 and now dear children just talking to the children the Christian now dear children continue in him so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming it's assumed that we are looking forward to his coming indeed that's what

[44:44] Peter says as you're looking forward to this day and there's every reason for such because at the judgment I will be welcomed by the king into the perfected kingdom of God come you who are blessed by my father at the judgment he will say enter into the joy of your Lord at the judgment I will receive from his hand glory and honor and peace and immortality at the judgment there will be no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and he is able to present you before his presence his glorious presence without fault and with great joy Jude 24 yes awesome glorious presence and he's able to present you without fault and with great joy in that day and why not great joy he's coming to give relief to those who are troubled he's coming to vindicate the righteous who were falsely accused he will graciously reward all that has been done for him bringing to light things that we've long forgotten were ever done for him like these in

[45:57] Matthew 25 and at the end of his life we find the apostle Paul speaking with confidence and joy of about to meet his maker and looking to that final day of judgment he says now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day you say well that's the apostle holy apostle hold on we're not done and not only to me he says but to all those who have longed for his appearing that's where you and I come in so we're not apostles but the longing and the confidence and the joy that that day will be a day to receive a crown of righteousness that's for all not just for apostle Paul but for all who have loved his appearing the king's coming and judgment is no cause for dread and terror for the

[47:02] Christian because in Christ we are prepared to meet him in judgment it will be our best day because all of our sins have been blotted out by his precious blood thrown into the depths of the sea separated from us as far as the east is from the west never to be used to condemn us and we've been given the perfect robe of righteousness no it's the unbeliever it's the self deceived who not those who have made their calling in election sure no it will be our best day no gloomy fears their souls dismay his presence brings eternal day on those prepared to meet him bold shall I stand in that great day for who ought to my charge shall lay fully absolved through these I am from sin and fear from guilt and shame clothed in righteousness divine bold

[48:04] I approach the eternal throne and claim the crown through Christ my own there you are Christian approaching that throne with boldness without fault with great joy confident to claim the crown through Christ my own glory so we have every reason to long for his appearing to look forward to it to love it even to pray come Lord Jesus come come quickly it's the happy hope the blessed hope of the believer the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ and it's my conviction that we would be healthier holier happier Christians if we live more with the coming judgment in view treasuring our Savior and the great difference that he will make in the day of judgment holier happier healthier you say but I don't really know whether

[49:15] I'm in the first group or the second group don't know if I'm lost or saved I'm just not sure what I am oh my dear friend you don't want to be in that state when Jesus comes and so what should you do you should give diligence to make your calling and election sure you should give diligence to know that he is yours and you are his forever that his righteousness is yours that his holy spirit lives in you and is producing fruit of righteousness nothing's more important you say I just don't know I just don't know are you having some controversy with God that you've grieved his holy spirit that assures of salvation end that controversy is there some sin that you're coddling get rid of it live as one who lives in the presence of this one who's coming in judgment taking your sins to him seek the

[50:20] Lord while he may be found how do I make my calling election well you begin by seeking the Lord while he may be found calling on him while he is near let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts and let him return to the Lord for he will have mercy and to our God for he will abundantly pardon take him at his word he's no liar he's the righteous one and he will save you today and you will know it by his spirit that you are his and you'll be able to look up with longing with eager expectation for the coming of the king let's pray together father we were all born in sin and deserve to be on the left hand of Jesus on that last day all of our deeds the best we could do had self at the center we've all come short of the glory of

[51:23] God we've all sinned and so we all deserve the destination of hell but we have read in the gospel of your great love for this world that sent your one and only son to go to the place of judgment and there to be judged for sinners that whoever would believe on him would not perish but have everlasting life so so many of us have fled for refuge to Christ and we thank you that his blood covers our sins and his righteousness has been credited to our account and his spirit has come to live in us and we are united to that fruitful vine and the day of judgment has nothing for us to fear and dread thank you for such a position that Christ has put us in we pray for those that are still under wrath we pray that today they would come to Christ and cast themselves upon him for salvation do your work among us do it throughout your world this day as your patience means salvation for the lost we pray in

[52:35]  Jesus name amen