Word of Salvation – March 2025
Confidently Awaiting Judgment Day
Sermon by Rev. John Westendorp on W.C.F. ch.33 & 2Corinthians 5:10
Reading: 2Corinthians 5:1-10; Westminster Confession of Faith – ch.33
Singing: BoW.141 O Lord come quickly; hear me pray
– BoW.388 At the name of Jesus
– BoW.517 Day of judgment, day of wonders
– BoW.243 The day You gave us Lord has ended
Theme: The appointed day God judges the world through Christ to reward the deeds done in the body.
Introd: It’s common for Evangelical Christians to talk about “having a personal relationship with Jesus”.
The more I think about that the more I dislike that expression.
I know what people mean by it… but I don’t find it all that Biblical.
Think of Jesus, interrogating the apostle Peter after the resurrection.
Did Jesus say, “Peter, are you sure you have a personal relationship with me?”
No! He asked, “Peter, do you love me?”
And maybe that’s our problem – especially in our culture that is so messed up about love.
It’s certainly a problem for Aussie males. We’re not inclined to ask: “Do you love Jesus?”
So instead we ask, “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?’
But there’s another problem: We see Christians as folk who have a personal relationship with Jesus.
And we imply that people who aren’t Christians don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus.
Well, I’m not sure that we can always say that.
Having a personal relationship with Jesus goes much further than being a Christian.
Sure… for Christians there is a personal relationship of love and devotion.
But there are belligerent atheists who also have a personal relationship with Jesus.
However, theirs is a personal relationship of hate and anger.
In fact this evening we’re looking at a very special event in history.
A time when it will be very clear that everyone has a personal relationship with Jesus.
On Judgement Day every human being will stand before the great white throne.
And they will stand there as people who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
A] GOD WILL JUDGE THE WORLD THROUGH CHRIST.
- Paul speaks of that great white throne as the “Judgement Seat of Christ”.
And that immediately highlights that people will appear there in personal relationship to Him.
The big question is: what kind of personal relationship with Jesus will it be? Love or hate…?
Before we unpack that a little further, be aware that this raises a whole lot of other issues.
Why is judgment – on Judgment Day – not done by God the Father?
Why is it Jesus who will judge? Let me give you three good reasons.
First because this is part of the exaltation of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
Think of the way we confess Jesus in the Apostles’ Creed.
We speak first of His humiliation: Born of the Virgin Mary… suffered under Pontius Pilate.
That humiliation of Jesus includes being crucified, dead and buried.
We then speak of His exaltation: On the third day He rose again, ascended into heaven.
That exaltation of Jesus includes being seated at the Father’s right hand.
But what’s the great climax? From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
This is the grand and glorious final step in the exaltation of Jesus Christ.
He will show Himself on that day as the great King to whom all must give an account.
So Judgment Day will be His great public vindication before all the nations of the earth.
We live in a world in which Jesus Christ is slandered and cursed and mocked.
But on that day all people will see him as He really is: the King of kings and Lord of lords.
On Judgment Day it is Jesus who judges because it is the climax of His exaltation in glory.
- I believe there is a second reason by it is Jesus who will judge on that day and not the Father.
Turn a moment to John’s gospel and the fifth chapter.
You’ll be aware that one of the titles of Jesus is “The Son of Man”.
It’s a title for Jesus that occurs more than 80 times in the N.T.
It’s also a title that puts the stress on Jesus’ humanity… the Second Adam.
But notice what Jesus says in John 5:27
“(The Father) has given Him (the Son) authority to judge because He is the Son of Man.”
The idea in that verse is that Jesus has been appointed do the work of judging us in His humanity.
It is not God the Father who became human.
It is the Son who became human. In fact He is Son of God and the Son of Man.
But in His judgment He acts as The Son of Man. Why?
Most of us are aware of the court procedure under British Common Law.
Unlike in some countries people accused of a crime are not judged by a panel of judges.
Under British Common Law we are judged by our peers.
We have a jury system… twelve people are chosen who are ordinary people like us.
And that panel of our peers has the job of judging whether we are guilty or innocent.
The idea is that ordinary people who know the struggles of daily life will judge us.
It’s not just some professional legal eagles who live in a different world who judges us.
Under Common Law we are judged by our peers.
It’s a little like that when it comes to Judgment Day.
Mankind will be judged by someone who became just like us: Jesus Christ.
Jesus has authority to judge because He is the Son of man.
- That leads us to a third reason why it is Jesus who will judge us and not God the Father.
And here I want to come back to this whole matter of having a personal relationship with Jesus.
If you were accused of a crime would it make a difference who the judge is?
Or more particularly: would your relationship with the judge make a difference?
Absolutely! It’s a great thing when you know the judge and when you are right with Him.
Imagine OTOH standing before a judge who is angry with you.
As you stand there you are in a personal relationship with that judge.
He is the judge and you are the accused… but the relationship is not one of love.
OTOH imagine standing before a judge who loves you and cares about you.
You still stand there as one who is in a personal relationship with that judge.
He is the judge and you are the accused… but that relationship is now one of love.
Do you see how comforting and encouraging it is that it is Jesus Christ who judges on Judgment Day.
We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
But that Judge already gave His life to save us and bring us into His glorious Kingdom.
Why then should we feel threatened by having to appear before Him?
In fact… think of the context in 2Corinthians 5.
Paul has lamented that as long as he is alive he is absent from the presence of the Lord.
He speaks about groaning because he wants to put on his heavenly dwelling.
He longs for the glory and joy of the world to come.
And in that context he tells us that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
Not to make us afraid… but because we know it will lead to unimaginable delight.
B] THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE WILL BE JUDGED BY HIM.
- When it comes to Judgment Day a second major theme is that it will be for everyone.
Paul says that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
Not one single human being will be able to avoid it.
Scripture tells us that in different ways over and over.
In Mat.2532 we have the story of the separation of the sheep and the goats.
Again we’re told that it is the Son of Man who will sit on the throne to judge.
And then it specifically states, “Before Him will be gathered all the nations.”
In Revelation 20 we are shown that everyone who ever lived will appear before the judge.
It speaks of the sea giving up its dead… and death and Hades giving up their dead.
It tells us that each person is then to be judged.
The point is that there is no avoiding Judgement Day.
That’s why the W.C.F. speaks of Judgement Day as coming by Divine appointment.
The book of Hebrews says: It is appointed for men once to die and after that the judgment.
It is inevitable. This is something that must happen.
Of course we know it must happen because God has said so.
Judgment Day comes by His appointment.
But we could also give some practical reasons why this has to happen.
We live in world where wrongs are not always righted.
Some people do get away with murder in this life.
Human law courts sometimes get things wrong… judges have been bribed.
And very often, ordinary people are victimised and abused.
Injustice is a reality and we’ve all experienced at times situations of gross unfairness.
A builder declares bankruptcy and his sub-contractors can go whistle for their money.
A mechanic cuts corners and the customer is faced with a huge repair bill.
Water floods a house but the insurance company on a technicality refuses to pay up.
Life can just be so unfair… and those wrongs in life need to be righted.
Above all there needs to be a public affirmation that we live in a moral universe.
That’s why Judgement Day must happen. To show we are all answerable to God.
And to prove that no one gets away with wrongdoing indefinitely.
- When the WCF deals with this matter of having to appear before the judge it doesn’t limit it to humans.
It not only tells us that every person that has lived on earth must stand before the Judge.
It also includes the fallen angels.
So the righting of this world’s wrongs will also extend into the spirit world of Satan and demons.
Those apostate angels will also be judged by Christ.
Scripture refers to that on a number of occasions.
In the book of Jude – verse 6 – we read:
The angels who did not keep their own position, but left their proper dwelling,
he has kept in eternal chains in deepest darkness for the judgment of the great Day.
Peter – in his second letter – speaks of those angels who sinned, being kept in gloomy dungeons;
And being held there until Judgment Day.
The book of Revelation make clear too that the devil and his hosts will be decisively dealt with.
If injustices are going to be dealt with then also Satan and his angels must also be judged.
- The reason why Scripture stresses that Judgment Day must come is twofold.
God stresses this in His Word for two reasons.
First of all the coming of Judgment Day acts as a solemn warning to unbelievers.
People who are not Christians need to hear that Judgement Day is coming:
Because the knowledge of that day acts as a deterrent.
It’s a warning to the godless to restrain their rebelliousness.
The W.C.F. says it will “deter men from sin”.
Of course it’s possible for people to stifle their conscience… to silence it.
I find it interesting, for instance, that some of the most vocal atheists lived immoral lives.
They had a vested interest in not believing in God.
If they had come to believe in God they would also have had to change their lives.
Because this God has appointed for there to be a Judgment Day.
The point is that knowing about Judgment Day acts as a brake on sin.
The fact that one Day we will have to appear before the Lord and give an account is sobering.
On the OTOH the coming of Judgment Day also acts as an encouragement for believers.
We are often mocked for our faith and for our lifestyle.
We struggle to cope with the blasphemy of our unbelieving work colleagues.
But we know that the day is coming when all of that will be sorted out.
The W.C.F. says that it is for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity.
Of course we as Christians don’t always live in the light of the certainty of that day.
I find it interesting that we as Christians often become depressed about life.
We struggle with the garbage that gets dished out in the media and by Hollywood.
We have trouble coping with so many negative things in life.
So that it almost seems at times as if there is not going to be a Judgment Day.
But the reality is that believers can look forward confidently to that day.
Not only will every wrong then be righted but we Christians too will be publicly vindicated.
C] HE REWARDS FOR WHAT WAS DONE IN THE BODY.
- We need to notice finally that Paul also gives us the basis on which Christ will judge us.
Paul says, “For we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive
what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
It is what we do in this life that becomes the basis for the judgment.
However our NIV doesn’t quite do justice to what Paul is saying.
To be judged ‘for the things done in the body’ could lead us to picture this kind of scenario:
God keeps a record of all our good deed.
He also keeps a record of all our bad deeds.
And as long as the good deeds we did on earth outweigh the bad, we’re okay.
That’s the way a lot of people today think.
As long as you live a decent sort of life you run up brownie points with God in heaven.
And the few bad things we do don’t cancel that out.
Unless of course we do something really outrageous… then we’re trouble.
No! What Paul means that it’s not just the isolated “deeds” we do now and then that we’re judged for.
Paul uses a word that doesn’t just mean what we do.
The focus is on doing it habitually – we get our word ‘practice’ from it.
IOW we’re going to be judged for our lifestyle… and that’s much more comprehensive.
The W.C.F. says that we will give an account of thoughts words and deeds.
- Paul links our practices… the lifestyle that we lived… with what is due to us.
So the judgment is going to focus on “rewards”.
There are certain things that are due to us… precisely because of the lifestyle that we lived.
What we receive on Judgement Day is exactly what each person deserved.
And then Paul says that there is both a positive and a negative: the good and the bad.
Each is rewarded accordingly.
So when we consider the unbeliever we see that their reward is destruction.
The WCF speaks of the “the damnation of the reprobate”… that’s the wicked and disobedient.
They will get exactly what their rebelliousness deserves.
We can be certain that Jesus will be entirely just and fair in judging all unbelievers.
He will judge people by the amount of knowledge that they had:
Those who didn’t know God’s law will be judged by the law written on their conscience.
Those who knew God’s law will be judged by whether or not they lived by that law.
And those who knew the gospel will be judged on whether they accepted that gospel.
Jesus will judge fairly.
However the point is that it is the lifestyle… what they practiced here on earth… that is rewarded.
And they will be condemned in that judgment.
Because the unbeliever does not live up to the standards God has set.
So the Lord will say: Depart from me, I never knew you!
The W.C.F. says that they will be cast into eternal torment.
Today some people think they know better than the WCF (which takes its cue from Scripture).
Rob Bell has just written a book in which he claims hell will not last forever.
And that after death God will eventually convince even the unbelievers to trust in Jesus.
Well, there is no hint of a second chance in the Bible… or that hell might not be eternal.
- The other side of the story is that believers too will be there at the final Judgment.
But for us it will be have a totally different focus.
Because Scripture speaks of the Lamb’s Book of life.
In that book are written the names of all God’s elect…
every one who in this life believed in Jesus as Saviour and Lord.
These people are righteous by faith in Jesus.
Does that mean then that for believers we will not be judged for what did while in the body?
Yes we will.
But the point is that the focus will be on the good things we did:
The lifestyle that flowed from our faith; the works that were evidence of our union with Christ.
So the Lord is going to reward the believers for the good things that they did.
It’s a little like those first two men in the parable of the talents.
To the first one the King said: Well done… have charge of ten cities.
To the second one the King said: Well done… have charge of five cities.
The level of their rewards was in accordance with what they had done while in the body.
The point is that you and I do not need to fear the Judgment Day that is coming.
Not only will it mean that we will see Jesus as He is and be forever with Him.
But we will be awarded the Crown of Life.
So Paul is not telling us about appearing before the Judgment seat of Christ to scare us.
He is telling us that so that we might long for that event of receiving our rewards.
And that we might pray all the more earnestly saying: Come Lord Jesus, come quickly!
Amen