Judgment and Eschatological Values (Sermon Notes)

>Judgment and Eschatological values

(Matthew 16:24-28)

Preface: These are simply a few of my notes from preaching last week. Not all that is here was said, and some things were added that did not make it into the notes.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." (Matthew 16:24-28)

Further passages on judgment

"But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37)

"He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. "The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

(Matthew 12:30-37)

"I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. "A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened.

(Daniel 7:9-10)

Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. "I thought, 'After she has done all these things she will return to Me'; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. "And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. "Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. "Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception," declares the LORD. And the LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. "Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, 'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the LORD; 'I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious,' declares the LORD; 'I will not be angry forever. 'Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,' declares the LORD. 'Return, O faithless sons,' declares the LORD; 'For I am a master to you, And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, And I will bring you to Zion.' "Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.

(Jeremiah 3:6-15)

We left off last week with the rich man and Lazarus as we discussed that Hell is a real place.

Luke 16:19-31 We have to all give an account one day.

Essentially there are two judgments

Judgment for the saved is a giving of an account and then eternal reward in the presence of god. Mt 5:12. Because we are rewarded for our good there, despite the bad, there is inequality in Heaven.

Those who are judged and are unsaved have no recourse. Their judgment is just and they receive damnation for their life.

What are the charges?

I have found a small example of specifics that God has warned us about for His judgments, specific characters that oppose Him.

• Sin Gal 5:19-21
• Words we have said Mt 12:26-27
• False worship 10 commandments, Deu 11:16, Mt 15:9
• Lack of spiritual power afforded to us, Mt 17:17 & 20
• Heart attitudes, (anger, deceit, lust)
• Harm to children as a stumbling block Mt 18:6
• Idolatry 1 Sam 15:23, Col 3:4-6
• Faithlessness Hos 10:2, Rom 1:17-18
• Not being a watchman Eze 33:6
• Unforgiveness Mt 18:34-35

Certainty of judgment

• Psalm 1 Day of judgment
• 2 Cor 5:10F “All appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
• Rev 2:23 & 22:12 according to our deeds and reward everyone according to works.
• Rom 14:12 Each shall give an account.
• Rom 2:4-13 Synopsis of judgments
• Mt 7:22-23 People cry out “Lord, Lord did we not….”
• Is 64:4 “All our righteous works like filthy rags”
• 2 Thess 1:8-10 Destruction of Unbelievers
• Ps 58:11 “Surely there is a reward”
• Is 40:10 Behold the lord comes with reward and recompense
• Mat 5:12 Reward for the persecuted.
• Mt 6:5 do not pray like the hypocrites to be seen by men.
• Mt 10:42 Even a cup of cold water given does not lose sight as an act to be rewarded.
• 1 Cor 3:8 Each receives a reward in accordance to their labor.
• Rev 11:8 Rewarding both small and great
• Rev 22:12 To render to every man what he has done.

Remember, salvation is by grace, but works are an evidence of the heart.

Who is heard by God and when?

The unrighteous are never heard by God until they repent. Ps 66:18, Rom 2:5, Rom 1.

Those who are near to God can call upon His name any time. Is 65:24, Rom 10:14

Those who have wandered away must first humble themselves, repent and seek Him to be heard again. 2 Chron 7:14 and Prodigal son story.

But we have a great hope in Christ, as God is a redemptive God.

Romans 8:29-end, Romans 8:1

Illustrated in a Parable

Lets look at Mt 18:15-20 as it deals with the unrepentant and 18:21-35 with the repentant.

Recall that binding and losing has to deal with the authority of the church and the mercifulness of the church.

So Mt 18 15-35 teaches on our being a redemptive people in light of the cross. That we make no small thing of sin, but by vs 18:33 & 35 we react to the repentant. We are to encourage repentance. The church teaches, thus binding sin and losing from sin in repentance. Thus judgment or access to God. The gospel message of the cross is the mission of the church. We are headed for destruction but in Christ we are saved, (Noah’s ark, sacrifices in the temple, Passover, Lord’s Supper, and baptism are teaching examples)

God is findable by those with a repentant heart. W must teach change through redemption in Christ. That we can be set free from sin and have a new nature (2 Cor 5:17) We help those habituated to sin as it is a character that hinders repentance. The long term effect of abiding in Christ is sanctification from believing in the promises of God.

We must also note that a worse condition befalls those who do not forgive. Remember the forgiveness factor in the Lord’s prayer.

So we must ask ourselves, What does Matthew 16:27 mean in light of the cross for living today?

We must live redemptively for the sake of others in the name of God. This is bearing the cross.

• 2 Corinthians 5:11, Knowing the fear of the Lord…
• Philippians 3 We press on to he upward call, the prize
• Matt 25:21 Well done thou good and faithful servant.

It’s a decision that we must make and not turn back from.