The young skydiver jumped out of the plane at
3 ,300 feet. And almost immediately, his primary
parachute became, in his words, garbage. His
secondary chute was deployed, and it became entangled
in the first chute. And he plummeted toward the
earth at 100 feet per second. screaming, kicking,
certain he was going to die. In his own words
he said, I knew I was dead and that my life was
ended right then. There was nothing I could do.
It was all over. My mind started doing weird
things. All my past life flashed before my eyes.
Well obviously if he told us those words he didn't
die in the fall. There was just enough air caught
in the parachutes that when he hit the ground,
he hit in such a way that he lived through that
experience. It is an interesting though that
he records what many others have said who have
had near -death experiences. All my life flashed
before me in a second. Have you ever wondered
why that is? What is the cause of that phenomenon?
Today we are thinking about God and that particular
aspect of God's nature called His justice. We
cannot expect to fully understand God. If we
could do that, if our finite minds could grasp
the infinite, then we would be greater than He.
It's not that God is irrational, but God is supra
-rational. He is above being able to be reasoned
out. He is a God who has no limitations, except
those which are imposed by His own nature. But
because He is without limitation, we are unable
to reason, to imagine, or to evaluate Him so
as to comprehend what is incomprehensible. There
are some things about God which we might rather
not think about. Some of those things trouble
our minds. For example, if God is both all -powerful
and loving, why is there suffering in the world?
Some things we would rather not think about because
they challenge our imagination. How can you imagine
a person, a being, which had no beginning? It's
a little easier to think of something that has
no ending, but no beginning ever. There are some
things that we might rather not think about because
they expose our vulnerability as human beings.
And God's justice, it seems to me, falls into
that category. God is love and God is gracious.
He is kind. He is merciful. He is good. But he
is also, at the very same time, a God who hates
sin with a perfect hatred, because sin is contrary
to his holiness. And so today we worship a God
who judges. There is an ultimate accountability
that is written into the moral order of the universe.
The creature is ultimately responsible to his
creator. Now Christians need not blush to speak
of that. We need not be embarrassed as though
that were some blemish on the character of God.
The fact that God judges is not inconsistent
with any of the other attributes that we have
studied about him, his goodness, his love. or
any of the others. In fact, God Himself does
not conceal, He does not conceal in the Bible
the fact that He is a God who judges. He is upfront
about it, He is open about it. In fact, He calls
Himself a God of vengeance and a God who is angry
with sinners every day. That's God's own terminology
about Himself. In fact, there would be a defect
in God if He had no wrath, because indifference
to sin is a defect. God's very nature makes it
essential that He be a God of judgment. as well
as salvation. That he offer hell as a destiny,
as well as heaven. God's very nature demands
that. God is a God who judges. And you and I
are wise to reflect on this truth that is most
commonly overlooked about God. It is wise for
us to reflect upon it so that we can then order
our lives in the light of it. The Bible tells
us that God judges nations and individuals. God
judges the secrets of the heart as well as the
works of the lives. He judges spoken words and
subversive attitudes. He judges His own people
as well as those to whom he will say, according
to what he himself has already predicted, I never
knew you. Depart from me, ye cursed." God judges.
Now, why does God judge? Well, I want to re -emphasize
the fact that God is a God of judgment because
he is just. God is far beyond fair. God is just.
And His justice demands a final accountability.
God's justice demands that He condemn what is
sinful, what is wicked, and that He reward what
is good and what is righteous. And we need to
understand that God is not arbitrary regarding
the standard of His justice. God's moral law,
revealed in the Bible, tells us the righteousness
of His nature. It exposes His perfect love to
us as well, because God's law, you see, insists
upon perfect love being expressed among creatures,
human creatures, for their own welfare. In fact,
I think it might even be argued that the law
is a codification of his love, if you please,
for human conduct. And so to break the commandments
of God, the law of God, the moral code of God,
is not just to offend his righteousness, but
it is also to transgress his love. Because in
the moral code of God, let's even narrow it down
to the Ten Commandments, we find a codification
of His love. And for men to live on this earth
expressing love to one another would require
the keeping of the Ten Commandments. It is the
expression of His love as well as His righteousness.
And it's important to understand that God's standards
of morality are absolute and unchanging. despite
the changing culture around us. God's standards
for human morality and human conduct form the
standard by which personal judgment will one
day be determined. When will that be? When will
judgment come? And I'm speaking now of personal
judgment. Well the answer to that is that judgment
will come at the appropriate time to fully measure
the impact and the consequences of each life.
Now the fact is that there are some consequences
of sin that occur during life itself. God has
built into certain sins consequences which fall
out in this lifetime upon those who practice
that disobedience. But that is not the final
judgment. It's significant but it's not the final
judgment. It can also be said that there is some
temporal judgment. And by that I mean that there
are times when God directly intervenes during
the span of time to bring judgment. Many examples
of this in the Bible. The flood of Noah that
was mentioned in our text this morning in 2 Peter
is an example of it. The destruction of Sodom
and Gomorrah is an example of it. And it says
there in the Word that both of those happened
as an example to those who would afterward live
ungodly, that they might know that God will judge,
no doubt about it. We have an example of it in
Jeroboam. We have an example of it in Uzziah.
We have an example of it in Ananias and Sapphira.
There are times when God brings temporal judgment,
sometimes involving death or disease or destruction,
but that is not the final judgment. I've shared
with you before the story of a person who was
a gossip in a church. This occurred more than
25 years ago. How long before that, I don't know,
but I heard it 25 years ago. A church in New
York was being divided by a gossip in the church.
The pastor went to the home of the gossip and
played with her that she might stop the talking
that was going on. In this case, it was a woman.
It doesn't always have to be a woman. We know
that from experience, don't we? And she absolutely
refused to do that, and so he got down his knees
right there in her living room and said, Oh Lord,
you know I have tried and I now commit this lady
to you. And he left. And the next Sunday he rolled
around and Sunday school was about to begin.
There was one adult class. The pastor taught
it. And sure enough, just before the class began
in walked this lady. And she sat down in the
front row and immediately, by just watching her,
the pastor could tell to whom she had talked
because she was nodding around the classroom
to each one of them. And when she had nodded
to the last one, she slumped out of her chair,
dead of a heart attack. God does bring temporal
judgment. But what I'm talking about this morning
is the final judgment. The final judgment does
not take place during this life. I know that
there are those who say, well, hell is in this
life. Certainly this life can be in some sense
hellish, but hell does not come in this life.
The final judgment you see comes after death.
It is appointed unto man once to die, and after
that, the judgment. The judgment comes at the
conclusion, actually, of history. And who is
going to judge? Well, certainly we are not capable
of judging each other. It is not our place to
judge other human beings, although there is some
judgment that will be committed to God's people.
But judgment of human beings will ultimately
rest with one person and one person only, and
he is a man. He is also God, and His name is
Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John chapter 5 that
the Father had committed all judgment to Him.
He is the one who is called in Hebrews 12, the
Judge of all, and in Genesis 18 .25, the Judge
of all the earth. In 2 Timothy 4 verses 1 and
8, again, Jesus Christ is named the Judge of
all, and it says both the living and the dead.
Now why is He the Judge? It is because He is
the uniquely qualified one to do it. For He is
both God and man. As God, He possesses perfect
knowledge. dispenses perfect justice. As man
he is able to identify with man as a creature.
And so as the God -man he is perfectly qualified
to judge man as God. And all people will be judged.
Not at the same time that is a common misconception
that someday there is going to be this great
gathering of people and At that time, those who
are saved are going to be separated from those
who are lost, and it's just one big judgment
at the end. But the Bible seems to indicate something
different than that. The Bible indicates that
there is judgment that is given to certain groups
of people at different times. Those of us who
know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, by
our faith in Him can thank God that at least
one aspect of our judgment is already passed.
And that aspect is the judgment upon our sin.
For when we trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior,
we went back to the cross of Calvary And there
we understood that on that cross, Jesus Christ
died in our place to bear our judgment for sin.
And so the judgment for sin that is past occurred
at the cross. And we will never be held liable
before God as guilty for that sin that Jesus
died for that's past. But we will have an accounting
with God for the deeds, the works of our lives.
So then every one of us shall give account of
himself before God," writes the Apostle. Further
he says, so then every one of us will stand before
the judgment seat of Christ that we may receive
for what we have done in our bodies both what
is good and what has been worthless. There is
the judgment seat of Christ that is coming for
those of us who are Christians Not to determine
whether it's heaven or hell That's already determined
in this life and beyond this life. It's too late
to determine that We will be examined for the
works of our lives it is good for us to remember
that that is sobering and the writer of Hebrew
says it is good for us even to remember that
we are in the hands of a God who is a consuming
fire. The Bible says on that day, every one of
us will have his due or his deserved praise from
God. But then there is a second judgment the
Bible talks about. It is a judgment. I'm not
going to take the time to read it because we're
a little crunched for time today. But in Revelation
20 and verse 4, there is a judgment that is suggested
there that will involve everyone else who is
a believer in the true God apart from those who
are in the church. Those who are saved during
this age belong to a unique group of people that
God is calling out for His Son as a bride. But
before the church began, the righteous of the
Old Testament, those who will be converted and
saved during the tribulation after the church
is gone, what of them? Well, the Bible says they
too will have a part in the first resurrection,
it is called, and they will be judged at that
point. That is, examined to receive their rewards
for their faithfulness in serving God. Noah,
that preacher of righteousness, will be rewarded
for what he did in his generation. David will
receive his reward in his day and all of the
saints of the Old Testament as well as those
who will be saved after the church is completed.
And then there's that dreadful judgment, the
third one that is mentioned in Revelation chapter
20 and verses 11 to 15 that is called the Great
White Throne Judgment. which is when all of those
who have rejected Christ and who have died without
Christ are brought before the judgment bar of
God. And it is an exceedingly dreadful scene.
And it cannot be watered down by going back to
it and saying this doesn't mean what it says,
it means something else. No, no. It is a scene
in which the books are opened, and those who
are brought before that judgment are judged out
of the works that are permanently recorded in
those books. Their names are not found written
in the Lamb's Book of Life, and they are cast
into the lake of fire, which burns forever. It
says God's Word. A dreadful scene. So there is
judgment coming for all. It takes place at different
times. Now what should be our response to this?
Well, in the first place, our response ought
to be one of rejoicing. You say, well that's
calloused. How could one rejoice in judgment
like this? It's very simple. Because in the judgment
that is to come, God is going to vindicate His
justice and His righteousness and His majesty.
And He will overthrow His enemies, and all of
God's people will in that day rejoice that God
is vindicated before the world as the holy and
unique God that He is. We can rejoice in that.
It also brings to us a certain assurance that
we who have live for Jesus Christ in this world
and have forsaken it, the world, who have sought
to sacrifice for Christ and to live faithfully
in this world, we shall one day, by God's goodness,
be rewarded. For that is God's desire and God's
pleasure to reward His faithful servants. whether
that service be seen by men and applauded, or
it be entirely invisible to men. It makes no
difference. God sees it. And God who sees in
secret will reward openly, says the Bible. So
there's that assurance that it is worth sacrificing
for Jesus Christ. It is worth dying on a beach
in Ecuador at the spears of Indians. Because
one is no fool to give what he cannot keep, to
gain what he cannot lose, as Jim Elliott wrote
in that journal. The justice of God is one of
those aspects about God's nature that some would
rather not think about. Let's talk of God's love
and God's mercy and God's goodness, and certainly
we want to talk about those things. But let us
not forget to talk about this side of God, too.
For this also is the God that we worship. The
greatest display of God's judgment, however,
is not found at the judgment seat of Christ.
The greatest display of God's judgment is not
found in the temporal judgment that he brings
in isolated occasions such as Ananias and Sapphira.
The greatest display of God's justice is not
even found at that final great white -throne
judgment when the lost will be called before
the judgment bar of God. But the greatest display
of God's judgment is found at the cross of Jesus
Christ. If you want to understand how God hates
sin as much as He loves sinners, then go to the
cross and behold there God's own beloved Son
whom He sacrificed. because of sin in this world.
And on this Communion Sunday, as we come to the
Lord's table and we partake of that piece of
cracker and we drink that cup, let's remember
that what we are doing symbolizes the justice
of God. And it tells us that God judges sin.
And it reminds us that at Calvary there is refuge
from the wrath of God. And if we've trusted Jesus
Christ, these elements tell us that we are safe
in the refuge that God has provided in His Son.
So we can be glad. We can rejoice. We can partake
of these elements thanking God for Jesus. Because
he is our deliverer from the wrath of God that
is to come. Let's pray. O Holy Lord, write upon
our hearts a true understanding of yourself that
we might know you as you are, not as we would
like to create you, to be in our fanciful imaginations.
As we think of your justice this morning, may
our hearts respond out of a desire for purity
in our lives. Respond with commitment to sacrifice
and faithfulness in this world, knowing that
we'll be rewarded for it. And also with deep
gratitude for Jesus. who bore our judgment. In
His name we pray, amen.