Whence He Shall Come to Judge the Quick and the Dead
The Apostles Creed • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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To be human is to be a narrative creature. From the earliest days of our lives, we understand that every story worth telling or worth hearing has a beginning, middle, and end.
We crave resolution to our stories.
The temporal aspect of humanity requires us to understand that there is an end to which history is headed, an end to our story as we know it.
Regardless of our worldview, eschatology belief about the future, plays a vital role in every human life.
Everyone has some vision of the future, and we live our lives in light of it.
Rival Eschatologies
Rival Eschatologies
Every worldview, not just Christianity, makes an argument about how history will end.
Throughout Western civilization Christianity has had a greater influence on eschatological views than has any other worldview.
Christianity’s eschatology reveals a final judgement.
A rival to Christian eschatology arose with the secularization of western culture over the last two centuries.
Secularists deny any supernatural elements to the universe.
They assume that the energy in the cosmos will dissipate into non-energy and as a result everything will eventually fade into oblivion.
If there is no creator then there is also no responsibility to the creator.
Yearnings for the Future
Yearnings for the Future
No matter our worldview, human beings have an instinctive hope yearning to know the future and to live our lives in light of the future.
We understand the present through recollection of the past and anticipatory hope for the future.
This understanding of the future is necessary in order to understand how we can live, how we can love and how we can be faithful in the present.
Both past and future explain the present.
The Christian gospel is expressed as a story- past, present, and future.
The past: our sin and what God has done for us in and through Christ.
The present: how we are to respond to what God has accomplished for us in Christ.
The future: how we are to hope with confidence as we anticipate the fulfillment of all Gods promises.
The Creed reflects this same forward look as up until now all the statements in the creed have been past tense this one is future tense.
Judgement
Judgement
Jesus taught us to set our minds on the blessed hope and the coming judgement.
32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
And He continues in Matt 25:31-34
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Later in this chapter He warns of the coming judgement Matt 25:41
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
The langue in the Bible is clear and consistent. Christ will come back to judge all of humanity, and no one escapes His judgement. NO ONE
As the Bible makes clear there will be no one left in ignorance about the fact that judgement has now come. Matt 16:27
27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
This is also where spiritual warfare ends: Rev 19:12-19
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.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.
Perfect Justice
Perfect Justice
Human justice has always been and will always be limited.
Perfect judgement will establish righteousness and justice would not merely punish the wrongdoer but would give back life to the murdered and give back hope to the hopeless
Human justice gives retribution but perfect judgement gives restoration.