"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 3:16,17
Tarentumchurchofchrist.com
Sermon: Tarentum, by Robert Johnson
An Appointment We Must Keep:(The Judgment)I. The Judgment Is A Time To Give An Account.
II. Jesus Is Both Savior and Judge.
III. There Are Only Two Options In The Judgment.
Conclusion: Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared peopleIntroduction:
A. Today, we will be talking about an appointment which we all will keep:
1. None of us know exactly when this appointment is.
2. We may be either prepared or unprepared for this appointment.
3. No matter what your believe or how you rearrange your schedule, there is one appointment we all must keep: That appointment is the Judgment.
B. We must all be sure this appointment is on our calendar and that we are prepared to keep it.
C. The judgment is not something we like to think about that much, but the Bible makes it clear that it is one which we must prepare for.
1. The judgment will be a time to give an account for the lives we have lived and the decisions we have made.
2. Jesus is the Judge and His Word is the Standard of judgment.
3. In the judgment, we will be either prepared or unprepared.I. The Judgment Is A Time To Give An Account:
A. Both the Old and New Testaments tell us we will someday face the decisions and deeds of our lives.
Eccl 12:14: "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
Rom 14:10: "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ."
2 Cor 5:10: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
1. Who will face it? “ALL”
2. What will we face?
a. “Every work”,
b. “Every secret thing, good or bad”,
c. “Things done in his body”, good or bad.
B. There is an accurate record of our lives, preserved in God’s presence which we must face.
Rev 20:12-13: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."
1. This record follows us even in death.II. Jesus Is Both Savior and Judge:
A. Many people prefer to see only one side of God and Jesus.
1. Truly, Jesus purpose in coming to the earth was to seek and to save.
Luke 19:10: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
2. Certainly, God greatly desires all to be saved, but this does not deny the judgment!
2 Pet 3:9-11: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,"
3. Jesus did say that His purpose in coming to the earth was not to judge, but this does not deny the
judgment.
John 12:46-48: "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
a. Jesus spoke of the judgment even as He said that He had not come to judge.
4. On this trip, Jesus came to judge, His next visit will be to judge!
2 Th 1:7-9: "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;"
B. There is a story of a judge who once saved the life of a young boy. Many years later, the same young man stood before the judge for breaking the law. As the judge prepared to sentence the young man to death for His crimes, the guilty boy pleaded for mercy. He reminded the judge that once he had saved his life, how could he now condemn him? The judge said, “Then I was your savior, today I am your judge.”
C. Jesus stands before all us today as a Savior, but someday, He will stand before us as a judge.
Acts 17:31: "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
2 Tim 4:1: "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;"
Mat 25:31-33: "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left."
D. The dead and the living of all time will face the same judgment:
Mat 11:20-24: "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee."
Mat 12:39-42: "But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here."III. There Are Only Two Options In The Judgment:
A. Men have developed many loop holes concerning the judgment.
1. Purgatory: a place for the unprepared to work out their salvation.
2. Reincarnation: another chance to get it right.
3. But according to scripture, death is the dead line for preparing for the judgment.
Heb 9:27-28: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
B. Jesus taught is to be prepared and that our time of preparation will end.
Mat 25:1-13: "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
C. The story of the Rich man and Lazarus reveals instant torment for the unprepared with no more opportunity to be comforted. (Luke 16:20-29).
1. The Rich man could not cross over.
2. He worried about his brother who were still living, knowing that in death it is too late.
D. Our options in the judgment are either, Prepared or Unprepared.
1. This fact should cause terror in the minds of those who are unprepared and in our minds as we try to saved them.
2 Cor 5:10-11: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences."
E. The only sure time to prepare for salvation is RIGHT NOW!
1. Life is brief and our end is unsure.
James 4:14-17: "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
2 Cor 6:2: "(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"
Heb 3:7-8: "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:"Conclusion:
A. “Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.”
B. The only prepared people are those who have been obedient to the Word.
Mat 7:21-23: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
C. Hell is the place prepared for the unprepared:
Mark 9:43-48: "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
D. Are we prepared to keep this appointment with Jesus??
Hell (Out of my Treasure, Boatman, Vol. 2, p. 56)
HELL! the prison house of despair. Here are some things that will not be there:
No flowers will bloom on the banks of Hell,
No beauties of nature, we love so well;
No comforts of home, music and song,
No friendship or joy will be found in that throng;
No children to brighten that long dreary night,
No love or peace, not one ray of light;
No blood-washed soul with face beaming bright,
No loving smile in that region of night;
No mercy, no pity, pardon nor grace.
No water, no God, what a terrible place!
The pangs of the lost no human can tell,
Not one moment’s ease, there is no rest in HELL!Here are some things that will be there;
Fire and brimstone are there, we know,
For God in His Word hath told us so;
Memory, remorse, suffering and pain,
Weeping and wailing, but all in vain;
Blasphemers, swearers, haters of God,
Sinners who refused to be washed in the Blood;
Lovers of pleasure more than of God,
Christ-rejectors while here on earth trod;
Murderers, gamblers, drunkards and liars,
Will have their part in the lake of fire;
The filthy, the vile, the cruel and mean...
What a horrible mob in Hell will be seen!
Yea, more than humans on earth can tell,
Are torments and woes of ETERNAL HELL!Home Page / What Is The Church of Christ / Free Bible Studies / Locate Us / Life Resources Publication / Sermons & Articles / How To Be Saved: God’s Terms / Bible Questions & Answers / Helpful Links / Tarentum Report / Events
