It is. It's supposed to be on. There you go. Everybody move
to a vent. If you get hot, move to a vent.
They're on the sides. Good evening. I invite your attention to The
Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 5. Second Corinthians, Chapter 5. Interesting thing happened today
on the way to Louisville. The closer I got to the Ohio
Valley, the more I sneezed. What are you folks putting in
the air? We are blessed to be here this
evening and it's so good to be among friends
and particularly when they're your kind of friends. the friends
that you are, and we have such fond memories of our time here,
15 years, and I think every member we have is fond, and there are
many of them, and we are blessed to be here this night. My text is found in 2 Corinthians
chapter 5, verses 10 and 11. My subject is the final judgment. In verse 10, we read, For we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one
may receive the things done in the body according to what he
has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are well known to God,
and I also trust are well known in your consciences. My subject is the final judgment.
Paul here speaks of this final judgment as the judgment seat
of Christ. It is his judgment seat. When he came the first time,
he said, I did not come to judge. And he did not judge. He judged
no one the first time he came. When he returns, he will come
as judge, and he will be seated on the judgment seat. We read
of a judgment seat with regards to his trial. He stood before
Pilate's judgment seat. Pilate one day will stand before
Christ's judgment seat, at the judgment seat of Christ. In Revelation
20, verses 11 through 15, this final judgment is identified
as the great white throne. John says, I saw a great white
throne and he saw the nations gathered there before it. This
is a throne because the judge is also the king. As judge he
sits on his judgment seat and as king he occupies his throne. The judge is on his throne and
the king is on his judgment seat at the great white throne. It is a white throne because
white suits the color of the purity and the holiness, and
the righteousness, and the sinlessness of the judge. And his judgment
will be holy, righteous, and sinless, and unmistakable. He will make no mistake. And
this is a great white throne because it is the greatest throne
this world will ever have seen. The judge is great. He is awesome. and his throne is great. It is the great white throne
and we all shall be there. In Matthew 25 verses 31 through
46 this final judgment is identified as the throne of the son of man's
glory. We read that he shall come in
all his glory and in all His Father's glory. And we read that
all the nations shall be gathered there before Him on that day,
at the final day. Every eye shall see Him. Every eye. And every one will
be gathered there before Him. So observe that this final judgment
is identified by these three terms. It is the judgment seat
of Christ, and it is his great white throne, and it is the throne
of the Son of Man's glory. When he was sent out of this
world, he was sent out in humiliation and in disgrace. They mocked
him. They ridiculed him. They beat
him. They crucified him. They treated
him as vilely as they could. And now He's coming back to judge
them. And He's coming back to judge
you. And He's coming back to judge
me. We all shall be there on that
day. This is the throne of the Son
of Man's glory, but it is also the throne of God's glory. He
shall come in His own glory and the glory of His Father. He will
come in the Father's judgment because He will come as God. We will behold the Son of Man
on His throne as God Himself. For the Father judges no one,
but commits all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the
Son just as they honor the Father. God's going to judge every one
of us one of these days, but it will not be God the Father
who does so. It will be God, His Holy Son,
Jesus Christ, at the final judgment. I want you to see tonight five
things regarding this final judgment. The final judgment, first of
all, will be a glorious event. Second, a universal event. Third, a separating event. Fourth, a blessed event. And
fifth, it will be a terrible event. Observe. Glorious, universal,
separating, blessed, and terrible. It will be a glorious event,
first of all, because we read in Matthew 25, verse 31, when
the Son of Man comes in His glory, Then he will sit on the throne
of his glory. He was the most inglorious person
when he lived on this earth, when he was in the hands of wicked
men. He had no loveliness that we
should desire him. He was stricken and smitten. and despised and beaten and rejected
and even forsaken by God. My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? Quite simply, the reason for
that was that he was made sin for me. He became like I am. a most inglorious, vile, and
wretched, and despicable sinner. Jesus Christ became what I am
when he was numbered with the transgressors and God made him
to be sin. Behold him on that cross, beaten,
mocked, and ridiculed. The blood from the crown of thorns
mingled with the spit of soldiers on his holy face. Behold him. His visage was so marred that
no one could recognize him. He left this earth in his death
most ingloriously. Unwanted by men and rejected
by them and even defected by his own disciples But oh-ho-ho-ho
when he returns When he returns There'll be nothing inglorious
about that He will come in all heaven's glory. In fact, we read
he will come in his own glory, in his father's glory, in the
glory of the angels, in the glory of all heaven. He'll be glorious
then. The most glorious sight that
ever you saw when he returns. This will be a most glorious
event. words fail to describe his divine
glory. I can describe to you tonight
how inglorious he was when men mistreated him, but my words
would fail to describe how glorious he shall be when he returns in
all his glory. That will be such a sight to
see, will it not, when he comes in all his glory? Second, it
will be a universal event. The final judgment will be a
universal event. Matthew's gospel, chapter 25,
verse 32, declares that all the nations will be gathered before
him. All the nations. Every one of
every nation will be gathered there before him. Many will have
been alive when he returned. The world probably will be at
its most populated state when He returns. And they're all going
to be there. And everyone who died before
that day will be there. John tells us in the Revelation
that the sea gave up the dead that were in it. The graves are
opened. The tombs are opened. They who
were cremated and had their ashes cast to the four corners of the
earth, they're gonna be there too. They're gonna be there too. They that were buried at sea
and fell into the corruption of the sea and to the animals
and the fish in the sea, they're gonna be there. Everybody's gonna
be there. This is going to be a universal
event. Everyone shall be there. Death
and Hades will deliver up the dead who are in them. and all
mankind will be there because we just read a moment ago did
we not that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ
that each one may receive the things done in the body according
to what he has done whether good or bad consider very well. God keeps a record of everything
we have ever done, every word we ever uttered, and every thought
we ever imagined. The omniscient and omnipresent
God's got a record of it all. Got a record. He's written it
all down. It's interesting that John in
the Revelation says that books were opened. Books. There's one for you, one for
you, one for you, probably a few for me. Books were opened. God's kept a record of everything.
We're gonna be judged according to what is written in the books.
Every one of us. Third, The final judgment will
be a separating event, Matthew chapter 25 verse 32. We just
read it's gonna be universal because all the nations will
be gathered there. Everybody who ever lived is gonna
be standing there before the judge. He's gonna be on his throne,
on his throne. And everybody's gonna be gathered
there before him. And then he's gonna do some separating. We read that Christ will separate
them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. Observe that he is sheep from
the goats that do not belong to him. And he will set the sheep
on his right hand but the goats on the left. Who are the sheep?
They are all who heard the gospel of his free and sovereign grace.
They heard the preaching of Christ and they believed that gospel.
They are sheep. They are the ones whom the shepherd
came to find. God's elect from the foundation
of the world, lost on the mountainsides and scattered by false preachers.
He said, I'm going to come and gather my sheep that have been
scattered. And he's doing it. He's doing
it right now. They will hear his voice. and
they will come to him. They will believe his gospel.
These are his sheep, who are the goats. These are those who
disregarded him. They heard the same gospel. They
heard the same good news, but they would not believe. They disregarded the good shepherd. They rejected him. They put him
off, perhaps with good intentions for tomorrow, but On to tomorrow,
he came in all his glory. It's a separating event. I've
often, and I think at least weekly, have envisioned this event, the
shepherd separating. He steps down from his throne,
comes walking down and says, I know you. you believed my gospel
you get over here on my right hand i don't know you i never
knew you you didn't believe my gospel did you well no i didn't
well you get over here on the left okay i know you i know you
and he's going to separate them one from another and this one
put it off too late now the judge is hearing now it is too late
you get on the left okay and he's separated everyone who ever
lived. He has separated them and the
sheep are on his right hand and the goats are on his left. I just told you that I have envisioned
this, I think, at least once a week. for most of my ministry,
partly because I'm a husband and the father of two children. And for years, I wondered where
would my children be on that day. I'm confident I'm going to be
on his right hand. I'm confident that my beloved
will be there with me on his right hand. What terror it would be to look
over to the left and see one of my children, one of my loved ones. What dread
fear would come into my heart. The Lord, a few years ago, saved
my son. He's going to be on the right
hand with his mother and his father. My daughter had, for
years afterward, after the Lord saved him, she had no interest
in the gospel. No interest at all. I thank the
Lord that she was not religious, but she just had no interest.
And then he saved her. I'm confident that on that day
I'm going to stand on the right hand of the shepherd. I'm going
to stand on his right hand with my beloved and my son and my
daughter. I'm confident of my daughter-in-law
as well. Now I have two grandchildren.
Oh, I hope they believe this gospel. I do. I do. Hope and pray the same thing
for you. You know, you've got two, two children. I hope they're
standing with you on the right hand of our Savior one of these
days. I'm rather confident, Joanne,
that you're going to stand there, and your beloved Gil's going
to be there, and your darling sister. Look around for your four daughters.
I'm rather confident they're going to be there with you as
well. How happy will that be? Kathy has four boys. Sherry has
her three children. Tammy has hers. Others have ours. Where are they
going to stand? Where are they going to stand? I'm confident you're going to
be standing there with your parents. What a happy day that's going
to be on the right hand. Every one of you, tonight, if
you have never given due consideration to where you're going to stand
at that day, you better do it right now. Right now, I ask you,
where are you going to stand in that last day? On his right
hand or on his left? Because you're going to be at
one of those two places. There are only two places. There
is no aisle in the middle where you can stand. Fourth, the final judgment will
be a blessed event for some, for some, for believers. In Matthew's
gospel, chapter 25, verses 34 and 46, we read, then the king
will say to those on his right hand, come, you blessed of my
father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. and the righteous will go into
eternal life." What a blessed thought is that. Come! Come! Well, the first words he ever
said to me were, come. Come to me. All ye that are weary
and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Ye that are thirsty,
come to the waters. It's free. Come. Come. the first
words he ever said to me were come and the last words he's
gonna say to me on this earth will be the same come you blessed
of my father what a happy thing and consider this that god the
father prepared this kingdom before the foundation of the
world before the foundation everything that's there and do you realize
that There will be no empty mansions, no empty thrones, no empty places,
no empty seats in heaven, nary a single one. None. The kingdom was prepared for
them and the good shepherd has found every one of the father's
sheep and brought them and now he says, come you blessed of
my father. How blessed it's gonna be. In heaven, my father departed
this earthly life couple years ago three years ago i think and
uh... it was the most i suppose the
most bittersweet experience of my life bitter in that i lost
my father and sweet in that he was better off than me i have tried to imagine what
it's going to be to be in the presence of Jesus Christ, rejoicing,
singing praise and shouting, and doing so with perfect voice
and sinless heart. Imagine. I suppose at least once a week,
if not more often, I ask my wife, I wonder what my father's doing
right now. And she always gives the same answer. Same thing he's
been doing ever since he got there. Rejoicing. Can you imagine what it's gonna
be to be in heaven's glory? Come, you blessed of my father,
inherit the kingdom. And imagine what it's gonna be
to be in the presence of Jesus Christ. for all eternity and
to see god face to face we shall look on him and see him in all
his glory and we're going to be sinless think about that folks
no more sinful thoughts no more sinful words and no more sinful
deeds and by the way the ones that you have already committed
if you have believed I want you to consider this, that when you
stand before the judge at the final judgment and the books
are opened, and remember, there's one there for every one of us,
all the deeds, and we're going to be judged by them. Those who are on the left, every
one of their sins are recorded. for we must give an account to
God every one of their sins we who believe the gospel my book
is there there it is my book every sin ever committed and not a single one can be found not a single sin can be found
covered in the blood of King Jesus I do not dread that day
of judgment. Not at all. I do not dread that
day of judgment. The blood of Jesus Christ has
covered every sin I ever committed. And in his death, he perfected
those who are sanctified, being sanctified. Do you realize that
in God's sight right now, I am perfect? I'm not perfect in my
own sight, not in yours. But through Jesus Christ, he
has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. And God
said, I'm perfect. I'm perfect. I am completely righteous because
Jesus Christ is my righteousness. I am completely holy for Jesus
Christ is my holiness. And he's going to look up on
me and say, well, come, you blessed of my father. inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the earth." I hope that in
that day you hear him say that to you. But it will be a blessed
event, not only that, but it'll also be a terrible event for the rest. For the rest. We just considered the blessedness
of believers. It's going to be a terrible event
for the unbelievers. Matthew 25 verses 41 and 46,
then he will also say to those on the left hand, depart from
me. You cursed into the everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and these will go
away into everlasting punishment. Depart. Even now, Even now, he's calling
to you to come. Right now, he's calling to you
to come. And I'm calling you to come.
If you never have come, come now. If you have already come,
keep coming. I come to Christ every day. Prone
to wonder, Lord, I feel it prone to leave the God I love. Come
to Christ every day. If you will not come now, you
will hear him in that day say, depart. I never knew you. I never knew you. Ah, but Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and done
many wonderful works? You didn't do it in my name,
I never told you to do it. Depart, I never knew you. Why,
Lord, I got baptized, joined the church, and kept the law,
and did all these things. Yeah, but did you believe the
gospel? Depart, I never knew you. I hope no one here hears
him say such words as those. Depart, I never knew you. Now maybe you understand why Paul wrote in verse 11 of
2 Corinthians 5 and why I'm going to tell you right now that knowing
therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men. Oh the terror
of the Lord! I have seen people who have evidenced
great terror I suppose we all know what a terrorist is. I suppose
we have heard what terrorists have done. But you have never known such
terror as there will be in that final day when he returns and has vengeance
on his enemies. Knowing the terror of the Lord,
we persuade men I would bring you in if I could.
I would draw you in if I could. I cannot, but I can do this. I can persuade you. I can persuade
you. Come to Christ. Come now. Come wholeheartedly. Come quickly. Come without delay. God commands all men everywhere
to repent because he has appointed a day on which he will judge
the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained.
He has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the
dead. So this final judgment, glorious
event, universal event, separating event, for some a blessed event
and for others a terrible event, And I ask you, what kind of event
will it be for you? Come to Christ and come now.