COMPONENTS OF BIBLICAL FAITH - PART 3

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Amen.

Amen.

Let's pray together, Church.

Lord, we rejoice together today that we are so wondrously saved from sin.

Because Jesus so sweetly abides within, as the hymn writer went on to say.

Lord, we're thankful today that the light has come.

That's the incarnation.

We're getting ready to celebrate that at Advent.

The light has come and it punched a hole in the darkness, and it's never going to be dark again.

The light is also one.

It's easy to forget that in a world that's full of so much crazy, so much injustice, so much lawlessness, so many people just have no regard for the standard.

Quote that great theologian Mike Tomlin the standard is the standard, and it's unchangeable.

We're all headed towards it.

And so, Lord, the light has come, the light is one.

You brought us out of darkness into this glorious light.

We don't ever want to get over that.

So I pray for anyone in this room today that's still living in darkness, that's still thinking in terms of religion, not relationship.

Religion is the darkest form of darkness.

We need a religionless form of Christianity in America.

We need people that live and experience the Bible, the gospel, the life that Jesus records in the book of life.

That's what we need, God.

That's why we've gathered today to better understand what's available to us.

The Holy Spirit, illuminate the scripture this morning as it's taught.

This is our prayer.

We prayed in Jesus' name, and everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

You can have a seat.

You can have a seat.

If you've got a Bible, uh, hold on to it.

You're going to need it.

Uh, we're going to read a lot of the Bible today.

And if you're a guest, let me just say, welcome.

I'm glad you're here.

Uh uh, we've been preaching through the book of Acts, uh, and we got, and I'll put the verse up here.

We're in Acts chapter 24.

Acts 24 · chapter mention

We'll finish Acts in the new year, and then we'll get in another book of the Bible.

Amen.

Uh, we do New Testament, Old Testament, New Testament, Old Testament, because we want you to have a holistic understanding of God's word, but more not only God's word, but a holistic understanding of God, but also yourself.

So we're in the book of Acts.

We got to chapter 24, and we read verses uh 24 and 25, and this is where he pumped the brakes and said, I just said, Hey, I want to unpack this so my people understand this.

Here's what the Bible said.

Now, the context for it is that the apostle Paul is preaching the gospel, he got in trouble.

Imagine that.

Yeah, and and and they had him under house arrest.

And Felix was the guy kind of in charge, and Felix had a uh a young woman uh uh that that he saw, it was married to another man.

He saw her, was so captivated by her beauty that he had a magician put a spell on her and said, Hey, that's my woman, bro.

Uh and so he took it for his own wife.

And so Paul's talking to them.

This is what the Bible says.

It says Acts 24, verse 24, after some days Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who is Jewish, and he sent for Paul and he heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.

Acts 24:24

Now, now, this is why we call this little three-part series, we'll finish today, the components of biblical faith.

He's talking to this man about what it means to have faith in Christ Jesus.

And then this is hear what the Bible says.

As he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judge and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, Go away for the present, and when I get an opportunity, I will summon you.

Uh uh, and again, I'll never tire of saying this.

When we share the gospel, if you do, no one's alarmed anymore.

No one's alarmed because what we talk about is more comfort instead of causality.

But Paul talked about righteousness, which we did about three weeks ago.

Self-control was last week.

Thank you for the emails, by the way.

Uh uh, and then today we'll talk about the coming judgment, what some what some people refer to as the final judgment.

Uh, and so I want to give you some introductory thoughts about the final judgment.

Uh, and if you're new, if you're visiting today, relax.

Uh, no boogeyman Jesus, no idea.

We just teach the Bible because we want you to understand what it says.

You say, What do you mean by the final judgment?

Let me just give you some thoughts.

I was greatly helped by a theologian, uh seminary professor named Thomas Schreiner.

He wrote a book and different articles about the judgment, make it kind of accessible.

Uh, but anyway, here's uh five things about the final judgment, just by way of introduction.

Number one, being non-judgmental will not get you out of judgment.

Uh you laugh, but I hear it all the time.

Uh everybody in the in the world knows about three verses.

One of them for the pot smokers is God saw every planet seed that it was good.

Thank you very much.

I've heard that all the time.

Here's another one.

Everybody knows they got tattooed on their arm somewhere.

Uh, you know, judge not lest you also be judged.

I've had people say to me before, hey, I know I know the Bible says judge not lest you be lest you also be judged.

So I'm not a judgmental person and I'm not gonna get judged.

And I'm like, that doesn't accomplish what you think it does.

Okay?

And so being non-judgmental will not get you out of judgment.

Second thought is this the final judgment is good news.

Everything you hear today is good news.

You say, What do you mean?

Because if those if there is no standard, if there's no accountability, you got a country, you got a world that's like Lord of the Flies, okay?

Uh, and without judgment, it's it's anarchy, it's lawlessness, people that terrorize other people, they're exempt from punishment.

And so it's kind of like, why do the right thing?

What you have is a culture of hopelessness, okay?

Uh that's why the final judgment is good news.

Here's the third thought: the final judgment reminds us that evil will not triumph.

Because you look around, you're just kind of like, that's why some of you can't watch the news anymore.

You're like, I can't absorb any more negative negativity, any more bad news, okay?

I just can't take it.

I got a little weepy watching the news this week because some high school girl in Batesville, Arkansas, was at her senior year, her last cross country meet.

She's running, she's on a personal record, she busted it to the finish line, and about 60 uh yards, about 40 yards to the finish line, some girl from another school just collapses.

Not like she didn't trip, like she's like wobbly legged, like uh, and other girls just running by her.

And this girl, last race, and she stops, picks her up, puts her arm around her, and then starts praying out loud for her to the finish line.

I am sobbing like a kitty.

I'm like, what is wrong with me?

Here's what's wrong.

It's really not wrong, it's what's right.

There's so much wrong in the world, so much bad.

When you see good, it's moving.

It's like, oh, okay, there's hope after all.

I was doing good until her dad got on the thing.

I was like, oh no.

He's like, I don't care about a personal record.

I could not be more proud of my daughter.

So the final judgment reminds us that evil will not try.

Here's the fourth introductory thought.

The final judgment explains the gospel.

Without the without hear this.

Without the final judgment, the gospel makes no saves.

You say, What do you mean?

Well, we say, Well, Jesus saves.

Okay, well, what if Jesus save you from what?

And everybody gets it wrong.

I ask people, well, no, Jesus is saved.

I've heard it my whole life.

What did Jesus save you from?

And here's the two most popular answers.

Well, from sin.

No.

Well, from myself, no.

Close.

Jesus saves you from Jesus.

And you don't want none of that.

Okay?

People think they do, but you don't.

You you you you don't.

When I say that the final judgment explains the gospel, uh, this is what I'm saying.

Jesus didn't come to save you from sin, uh, he came to save you from himself.

Because the message of salvation to Jesus has no, makes no sense.

It's pointless uh uh uh uh uh unless you understand that that, hey, there's a final judgment, and you're gonna stand before this resurrected righteous Jesus, and you're gonna give an account for your life.

Uh and apart from that, I mean, who who's going to deliver you from that?

Here's here's the last uh introductory thought.

Uh, the the final judgment is forever.

This was very confusing to me as a little kid, uh, little kid 18 when I first started going to church, uh, because they talk about, well, if you want to live forever, you need to give your life to Jesus.

News flash, people in hell are there forever too.

Okay?

There's the eternal felicity of the righteous, as the Puritans would say.

Uh, but but when I say the final judgment is forever, you don't cease to exist at death.

There's this intern, there is an eternal conscious punishment that goes on forever.

Just like in heaven, there's this eternal conscious reward that goes on forever.

Not up in the sky on a cloud, but here on the earth in its pre-fallen state.

But that's a whole nother sermon.

You say, well, why is that?

That didn't make sense.

Why would God punish people forever?

Here's why.

Since God is infinitely holy, sinning against him has infinite consequences.

It's not that God's a jerk and God's mean, and oh my gosh, I can't believe you said that.

God is infinitely holy.

When you sin against him, it is a big deal.

He takes it personally, and people that never repent of their sin will be punished forever.

So the final judgment is forever.

Now, there's four things that I want to just talk about about the final judgment, and we're gonna read a lot of the Bible, so it'll come up on the screen.

There's four things I want you to understand about the final judgment.

This is why Felix was alarmed, okay?

And it's one of the reasons that no one in America is alarmed anymore.

Christianity is like one of the options on the buffet of religious Americana.

It's kind of like Oprah.

Hey, all roads lead to God.

No, they don't.

It's one way, and it's Jesus.

And people say, oh, well, you're being judgmental.

No, somebody has to find the courage, to just the moral courage to say, no, no, no, there's truth, it's absolute, it's unbending, it's unchanging.

I don't care what anybody says, this is true now, and it's always going to be true.

Here's four things about the final judgment.

Number one, the dead will be raised.

The dead will be raised.

Now, this is like, oh, okay, uh, is that news to you?

But it's an important piece of information because many people are indifferent towards God because they they they believe that when they die, it's over, that nothing happens.

It's kind of like, hey, and nothing can be further from the truth.

Countless people have said to me, Hey, when I die, I'm just gonna go to the ground, I'll just be a banquet for the worms.

It's over.

I don't care what happens to me after that.

I'm not even gonna be around.

I'm like, well, actually, you are gonna be around.

You are going to live forever because the dead will be raised.

Uh see, dying seals your fate, but it does not allow you to escape judgment.

Okay, the Bible says in Romans, I mean, excuse me, Hebrews chapter 9 by verse 27, it's appointed unto each man a time to die, and after that comes the judgment.

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

So death doesn't get you out of what what everyone's going to face.

Uh, and so it's one of the things that earlier in Acts that got Paul in trouble because he believed in the resurrection, uh, not just of Jesus, but of everybody.

He said this in Acts chapter 24, verse 14.

Acts 24:14

He said, But uh, but this I confess to you that according to the way, which they call a sect, uh like a cult, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law and written in the prophets.

Just stop right there.

Here's a good community group question.

If you believed everything in the Bible, what would your life look like?

He says, I believe everything written in the law, that's the first five books, and the prophets, the rest of the Old Testament.

Having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there is a resurrection of both the just and the unjust, the good and the bad.

So the dead will be raised.

Dying does not get you out of judgment.

And a lot of people, especially these Barstool theologians, well, you know, I'm gonna live my life, and then after that I die, and it's all over.

No, I would say when you die, it all begins.

Here's the second thing about the final judgment.

Everyone is being judged and will be judged.

Everyone is being judged right now and will be judged.

Pay careful attention.

The most of you say, Well, I don't know.

You ever look around and you see people that just sin with impunity?

They just like it doesn't matter.

And not only do they sin and it looks like getting away with it, they're not bothered by it at all.

It doesn't bother them.

If you know anybody like that, say amen.

Don't look at your neighbor, okay?

Yeah.

Like I see people in council, they're like, hey, bro, I like you.

You seem like a nice guy, but I'm doing my own thing, none of that's happened to me.

This is a quote, hey, hey, I did everything.

My wife and I, before we got married, we did everything you're not supposed to do, and nothing bad's happened to us, so I don't believe a thing you say.

And I said, Oh, the the worst thing that could possibly happen is happening right now because you're just being given over.

The Bible says in Romans chapter 1, three times God uses it, it uses this phrase to describe what God does to people who don't repent, who just persist in sin.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

It says he gave them over, he gave them over, he gave them over.

And this guy goes, Well, what does that mean?

That means you cannot even feel the consequences of sin anymore.

It doesn't even bother you.

Sin doesn't even register anymore.

You think you're free, but you're being judged.

The most severe form of judgment is when God simply just gives you over to what you want to persist in.

It no longer bothers you.

You don't have a deep sense of conviction, okay?

So when I say everyone is being judged and will be judged, here's what I want to say under that.

God is not waiting to judge the world.

A lot of Christians in America act like, boy, you know, it's really bad, but when Jesus comes back, God's gonna judge the world.

God's been judging the world all along.

Okay?

All along.

He's been joining judging the world.

And here's why.

So it's to warn us and give us time to repent of our sins and turn to him.

He's not saving up judgment.

He's not like the little car you had as a kid.

You put on the floor, you pull it back, it goes, I mean, God would strip his voice if he was like that.

No, he is meeting out judgment as we sat here in this room this morning.

He said, What do you mean?

And it's in measured doses.

Now, let me read from the Bible.

This is 2 Peter chapter 2, starting in verse 4.

2 Peter 2 · chapter mention

This is what I mean.

This is where I get that God's not waiting to judge the world.

God has been judging the world since the world was created.

And his judgment is only going to get more severe and more pronounced.

Look at what the Bible says.

2 Peter chapter 2, uh, verse 4.

2 Peter 2 · chapter mention

For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.

Hello.

If he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.

You know what that's called nowadays?

Climate change.

It's not all climate change.

God is judging the world, and he uses the elements to bring judgment on the world.

Stop with your goofy, we're gonna save the planet.

No, you're not gonna save the planet.

Not everything's climate change.

Sometimes a holy, infinitely righteous God is offended at the sin of humanity, and he uses the elements.

The Bible says in Psalms, the winds, he keeps the winds in his storehouse.

And you want to jerk with that God?

He's like, Oh, I've got a cat five right over here in this climate controlled storage facility.

When he bring this bad boy out, now look, he did not spare the ancient world.

Uh he preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.

Verse 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what's going to happen to the ungodly.

And if he rescued a righteous light, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked, for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard.

Then, verse 9, the Lord knows.

See, if, if, if, and if.

It's not like a conditional statement.

It's like, hey, people, wake up.

Stop thinking God's like your grandpa, this benevolent, doddering old man who can't do anything or else he would.

No, he has been meeting out judgment all along.

You just call it by its wrong name.

Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.

And especially those who indulge in the lust of the defiling passion and despise authority.

Hear that last part.

Especially those who indulge in the lust of the defiling passion and despise authority.

Remember, when I was traveling preaching, you meet people and you hear stories, and you're like, oh my gosh.

Man, I met one family, and the kid said, Man, my mom's not been right since my sister was killed.

It's like, oh, hey, easy, but don't sling that around.

He said, Yeah, my sister was killed a couple years ago, and the guy that killed her was pretty bad.

Uh, but he went to prison, uh, and but he never was remorseful at the trial.

He would laugh and mock and point at my family and stuff.

We're like, could you make him stop doing that?

They put a they did all this kind of stuff.

And then the guy went to prison and then he died of a drug over.

He got a life sentence.

He died of a drug over those two years in prison.

And we were like, How'd you get drugs?

I said, You've clearly never been to a prison, have you?

Uh but he said, My mom just lost her mind.

My mom can't believe in a god that lets stuff like that happen.

And he said, My mom basically says he got away with it scot-free.

He'd never had to face consequences.

And I just blurted out, no, he didn't.

And I said, You know where he is right now?

He goes, Well, I hope he's burning in hell.

I said, No, he's not there yet, but he's being punished right now.

Because the Bible says, if, if, if, if, verse 9, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment.

So I opened up the Bible.

I said, Hey, by the way, this guy, I don't even know his name, he is being punished right now.

He's gonna be punished until the day of judgment, and then it's really gonna get severe.

He's like, What page is that on?

I said, Yeah, I'm not trying to be like something, I'm not angry, I'm just like, this is the truth.

People don't get away with stuff just because we're we're governed by political cowards who let people in California shoplift as long as under$950.

God is just storing up wrath.

You say, Oh, I don't like that.

Just mark this.

John 3.16, you know, John 3.16, for God so loved the world that He gave us one and only Son, whosoe believed it, blah, blah, blah.

Go down about 20 verses later to John 3.36, where it clearly says, for people who do not believe, the wrath of God remains on them.

Now, for the wrath of God to remain on you, it's got to be on you in the first place.

True or false?

Okay, you're smart people.

So you if you're here today and you're just like, oh, I'm an engineer, I'm too intellectual for this, blah, blah, blah.

That's a form of judgment.

Trusting in yourself is a form of judgment.

And God is just, he's patient, he's long-suffering, he's a lot of things, but nobody gets away with anything.

You got to ask yourself, can you can you feel when you're experiencing God's judgment?

Can you imagine your teenage son or daughter coming to you today, tonight, and saying, hey, you know what?

I think what's happening, I don't have anxiety, I think I'm being judged by God for my secret sin.

I want to confess my sin to your mom and dad.

Y'all are like, I don't know if I want to have that conversation.

Here's the third thing I want you to understand about uh about about the final judgment.

That the Christian and the non-Christian have different experiences of judgment.

The Christian and the non-Christian have different experiences of judgment.

Listen very carefully.

The non-Christians are non-Christians are judged at what's called the great white throne judgment.

Okay?

Christians are judged at what's called the Bima seat of Christ.

Allow me to explain from the Bible, okay?

This is Revelation chapter 20, verse 11.

Revelation 20:11

This is what the Bible says.

This is at the this is how it goes down.

He says, Then I saw a great white throne, hence the great white throne judgment.

Then I saw a great white throne to him who was seated on it.

From his presence, earth and sky fled away.

Hello.

From his presence, earth and sky fled away.

I meet every once in a while lost people that are really cocky, really arrogant.

I remember I was in the lobby of a hotel just trying to go to my room.

We just got back from a late dinner, and some guys are pretty hammered over at the bar uh and had a Bible.

I'm like, hey, Bible fooper.

And I'm just here, every once in a while, hear the Holy Spirit go, you can play with these toys.

So I just walked over and I was just like, hey, how's it going?

Like, hey man, you got a Bible?

Yeah, well, I was actually I'm here for a conference, and I don't care about the Bible all the time, but we just jumped in a in a van and went to dinner, and I'm going back to my room.

So you you believe the Bible?

I do believe the Bible.

Mommy, you believe I believe everything in the Bible.

I believe the Bible from Genesis to Maps.

And the guy's like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, Maps and I.

I grew up in church.

I said, Oh, you did?

So you're a Christian?

No, no, no, man.

I I ain't afraid of none of that.

You know, I went to a very conservative fundamentalist Baptist church.

I said, Oh, fundamentalist Baptist.

Those people believe the Bible and they're mad about it.

He said, Yeah, it was just hellfire and brimstone all the time.

I heard hellfire and brimstone so much, I'm just not afraid of hell anymore.

And I said, Do you smoke?

He goes, Yeah, you want to see it?

I said, No, no, I'm I'm good.

Uh, can I see your lighter?

He pulled out a little bit lighter and I just dialed it up.

It's got a plus and a minus up in there.

I'm just dialing it up.

And I said, So you're not afraid of hell?

He said, Not at all.

I suck it under his shin, flicked a bit, and he's like, Oh my gosh, you want burrow, you singe my beard.

I said, Are you homesick?

He said, What?

I said, Are you homesick?

When you felt that, when I singed your beard, did you think, oh, I'm home?

And in the liar back, I said, You're not ready for hell.

And his friend's like, Dude, you gonna take that?

I said, I'm not trying to embarrass you, I'm just trying to bear out what you say.

You said, I'm not afraid.

Matter of fact, his quote was, I don't care about going to hell as long as it doesn't melt the kegs.

And I said, There will be no refreshing beverages served in hell.

They might serve Natty Light or Coors Light as punishment or Michelob Ultra.

Yes.

And he's like, Well, how do you know?

Have you been there?

I said, No, but I read about it in this book right here.

That remember we start with the jumping off point of this conversation.

Uh, there's a story in Luke chapter 16, it's talking about verse 19 called The Rich Man Lazarus.

Luke 16 · chapter mention

And this guy's in hell, and he begs Jesus to dip his finger in the cold water and touch it to his tongue.

Because ain't no kegs there to be melted.

All of a sudden the bartender stops serving, everyone stops talking, and everybody's just like, I said, so are there any other questions before I go to my room?

No, man, have a good night.

I don't want any more.

I said, All right.

Wonderful.

Uh, yeah, yeah.

It's just, I mean, when you tell the truth, all of a sudden the confidence, see, bad theology has given lost people a confidence the Bible never does.

But when you tell the Truth it robs the natural man of his confidence.

Again, the Christian and non-Christian have different experiences.

Okay.

When I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it from his presence, earth and sky fled, and no place was found for them.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.

Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done.

And the sea gave up the dead that were in it.

Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and they were judged, each one according to what they had done.

There's a theme here.

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death of the lake of fire.

And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

You say, Well, this is why it's called the great, this is where lost people, people that never come to faith, are going to stand before God and be judged.

Here's a couple of things I want you to notice, okay?

Well, first of all, ask yourself this question.

Because earlier in Acts, like chapter 17, Paul's talking to these people, and he says, Hey, by the way, here's the thing.

God commands everybody everywhere, all people everywhere to repent.

Why?

He says, because he's fixed a day when he will judge the world in righteousness.

And of this he has given proof by raising him from the dead.

So you're gonna be judged in righteousness by a righteous Jesus who has been raised from the dead.

So no one's gonna get a raw deal.

No one's gonna get, oh, I declare a mistrial.

So here's a couple of things for you to take away from the great white throne judgment.

Number one, all people will stand before God in judgment.

The Bible says, great and small.

I saw the dead, great and small.

Important, whatever word you want to use in this world, all people will stand before God in judgment.

Secondly, how you live indices you on judgment day.

You're not gonna get a wrong deal.

Why?

Because everything you've ever done is recorded.

That's why he repeats over and over according to verse uh 12.

And the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done.

Verse 13, and the sea gave up the dead that were in it.

See, drowning it in the ocean ain't gonna get you out of this.

The sea's gonna give up the dead who were in it.

I mean, Leonardo DiCaprio and that big girl from Titanic are gonna get it.

No?

Okay.

And the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done.

And the sea gave up the dead that were in it.

Death and Hades give up the dead that were in them, and they were judged, each one of them.

Why?

According to what they had done.

How you live indict you on judgment day.

You may be here thinking I'm getting away with it.

No one knows.

I'm having an affair, I'm investing money, uh, I'm whatever.

God knows.

It's it's being recorded.

And when you stand before him on judgment day, everybody, this is why Jesus says in Matthew chapter 7 to some people, hey, many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, do we're not uh cast out demons and perform many miracles in your name?

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

And Jesus says, Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.

I never knew you.

You worked so hard at hiding your sin that you never learned to enjoy God.

Get out of here.

That's not Christianity, that's deceit.

Third thing you need to take away from the great white throne judgment is a person goes to hell because they don't have a relationship with Jesus.

Their name was not written in the book of life.

People don't go to hell because they're gay or because they're Republicans or Democrats or libertarians or because they eat tofu.

No, no.

He says, hey, their name is not written in verse 15.

If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Now that's the great right throne judgment.

That's where non-Christians will be judged.

Now, Christians will be judged at what's called the bhima seat.

2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10 says this.

2 Corinthians 5:10

We must all appear before the judgment seat.

That word judgment is the Greek word bimah.

That's why it's called the bhima seat.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due, what is done in the body, whether good or evil.

So here's a couple of things for you and I to understand about where Christians are going to be judged.

Now, we don't like the phrase Christians and judgment, but as a Christian, you are going to be judged.

But listen carefully, okay?

Three things to take away from that.

Number one, judgment for the Christian has nothing to do with your salvation.

Your salvation is secure.

Judgment is not, oh, am I going to heaven or not?

No.

No, it has nothing to do with your salvation.

Secondly, for a Christian, judgment is about recognition and reward for the life you lived here on earth.

Judgment for the Christian is about recognition and reward for the life you lived here on earth.

Now, I would say this when my girls were younger, then they got older and they were like, Dad, that's not funny.

And I thought, okay, maybe not.

I want my kids to have, but every once in a while I'd go like this.

What do you do?

I said, I'm knocking a jewel out of my crown to make room for a bigger one.

I thought that was funny.

My kids didn't.

Because they always respond, I'm telling mom.

What are you telling your mom?

But my oldest overachiever, firstborn, she's a teenager, she's like 15, 16.

She said, Dad, what are you talking about?

I said, babe, the life you live here on earth is going to be recognized and rewarded in heaven.

Because the Bible says right here in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, it says, We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:10

Why?

So each one may receive what is due for what he's done in the body, whether good or evil.

You ever get tired of doing good?

You ever look around and just think, hey, what good difference does it make?

This is like peeing my pants in a dark suit.

It gives me a warm feeling, but nobody knows.

The world is just on the off the rails.

It's unhinged.

This is lonely.

I don't want to do this anymore.

We had dinner with some friends this week, and I was telling one of the kids, hey, by the way, I thought this was helpful.

I said, hey, loneliness now is the price you pay for satisfaction later.

Old people are like, Amen.

But if you're like 14 to 18, you're like, I don't want to hear that.

Yeah, here's why.

Because just because, I mean, it doesn't matter, private school, public school, hey, you going to a private school doesn't make you a Christian.

Matter of fact, some of the meanest people you'll ever meet go to Christian schools.

Yeah.

They don't come up to me and go, are you talking about this one or this?

I'm talking about all of them.

If you think sending your kid there is gonna change their heart, no, they're just gonna afford better weed.

That's the difference in private school and public school kids.

Private school kids can afford better weed, better quality.

But it doesn't, it just doesn't.

Back to the Bible.

Y'all got your phones out.

Mm-hmm.

He said.

Here's the third thing I want you to notice.

Uh, some rewards will be lost because of how we lived.

Some rewards will be lost.

You say, Oh, I don't know what you mean.

We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each may receive what is due, what he's done in the body, whether good or evil.

Sometimes Christians can act in evil ways.

And you're just forfeiting the good consequence of a well-lived life.

Here's the last thing I want to say, we'll be done.

You still with me?

Uh the motivation, put a start by this.

The motivation for becoming a Christian shouldn't be to escape judgment, but to experience fullness.

It's not the motivation, it's not, oh, I don't want to, I don't want to be judged.

No.

See, the church in America is full of people who heard something that scared them, so they prayed a prayer.

But here's the problem they've never been able to enjoy their relationship with God.

They don't derive a measure of comfort from it, they don't share the perspective of it.

All of this is true because way back they believed that Christianity was something, was about avoiding something.

And I just want to tell you, Christianity is about experiencing God, not avoiding judgment or hell.

This is about it, that's why one of the early creeds of the church, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

I used to get in trouble when I would travel because I would say things that were very biblical, and people didn't have a like, a kid asked me one time, you know, is it wrong to smoke weed?

Really?

So I said, smoke all the weed you can to the glory of God.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 31, whatever you do, whether you eat or drink or smoke weed or play football or play volleyball, whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

So at a Christian school in Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Florida, ching ching, I said, smoke all the weed you can, kids, to the glory of God.

And the kid said, Well, what else can we do?

I said, What do you want to go to a party?

Now what do you do at party?

Well, we hook up.

You hook up with girls?

Yeah, yeah.

You take your clothes off to do that?

Well, yeah.

Here's what you do: take all your clothes off, get you a big old one of those chich and chong party joints that's so big you gotta have a tripod to hold it up, put a funnel on the end of it, and shotgun that bad boy.

Do you drink at these parties?

The teacher's going over to the phone to call the principal.

But see, falsehood has to be falsified before truth can be verified.

So some punk-faced 16-year-old kid thinks, I'm gonna ask a question, and this is gonna embarrass our speaker.

Boy, you bring a Kool-Aid to a gin party.

Keep talking.

I said, Here's what you do.

The next party you go to, you strip down to your birthday suit, you get a big fatty in one hand and a 40 in the other.

You know what a 40 is?

Yeah, I know what a 40 is, and I want you to announce to everybody, I'm just enjoying God.

And about that time, this girl in the second row just got up and just threw her desk against the wall.

You can't do any of that and justify it by saying you're enjoying God.

That's exactly right.

Thank you.

What's your name?

My name's Catherine.

He said, Catherine, put the knife down.

The rest of these kids are like, awesome! Catherine got it.

And I said, So here's a question, Catherine.

How can you live and only explain it by saying, I'm enjoying God?

Because that's Christianity.

I looked up and there's the headmaster standing in the door.

Everything okay here?

Yes, yes.

Catherine and I are vying for a biblical definition definition of Christianity.

The rest of these kids don't know Jesus and they want permission to keep sinning because for them, Christianity is forgiveness, it's not enjoyment.

And the Bible teacher said, Well, I think that concludes our presentation for the day.

So if you go to Logos or Fort Bend, I'm available.

To come and smoke you fools like a swisser on a Friday night.

Yes, sir.

You ain't gotta pay me.

I'll come for free.

See, the motivation for becoming a Christian shouldn't be escaping judgment, but to experience fullness.

There's so much fullness left on the field out there, boys and girls.

So this final judgment, when is that?

I don't know.

Could be a long way off, could be this afternoon.

And so, in the meantime, let me close with this.

Between now and the final judgment, Christian, you're gonna be subjected to a lot of injustice in a fallen world.

It's gonna appear that evil is winning, faith is futile, and it's every man for himself.

Because how could there be a God in a world gone so wrong?

So I want to take you where I go when I just because I get every once in a while, I just look around, just like, what in the world, man?

I know God is real, but why are these people getting away with this?

And I turn to this psalm and I read it slowly.

The header of this psalm says, He will not forsake his saints.

So here's what I want to do I'm gonna read this entire thing over here, and we're gonna be done.

But I want us to have an interactive exercise here today.

When I read something, then you're like, Whoo, yeah, that is comforting to me.

That is perspective giving.

Ah, yes.

I just want you, don't say anything, I just want you to stand up.

And if nothing turns your crank, don't stand up.

The word of the Lord.

Fret not yourselves because of evildoers.

Be not envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord and do good.

Dwell in a land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord.

Trust in him, and he will act.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.

Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices.

Refrain from anger and forsake wrath.

Fret not yourselves, it tends only to evil.

For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

In just a little while, in just a little while, the wicked will be no more.

Though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked.

For he sees that his day is coming.

The wicked draws the sword and bends their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright.

Their sword shall never their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.

The Lord knows the day of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever.

They are not put to shame in evil times.

In the day of famine they have abundance, but the wicked will perish.

The enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures.

They vanish.

Like smoke, they vanish away.

The wicked borrows but does not pay back.

But the righteous is generous and gives.

For those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

The steps of a man are established by the Lord when he delights in his way.

Though he fall, for he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

I have been young, and now I'm old, yet I've not seen the righteous forsaken, or his children begging for bread.

He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.

Turn away from evil and do good.

Turn away from evil and do good.

So shall you dwell forever.

For the Lord loves justice, and he will not forsake his saints.

They are preserved forever.

But the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps do not slip.

The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death.

The Lord will not abandon him to his power, or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land.

You will look on when the wicked are cut off.

I have seen a wicked, ruthless man spreading himself like a green laurel tree, but he passed away, and behold, he was no more.

Though I sought him, he could not be found.

Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.

The transgressors shall be together, altogether destroyed.

The future of the weak wicked shall be cut off.

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord.

He is their stronghold in time of trouble.

The Lord helps them and delivers them.

He delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in Him.

This is the word of God for the people of God.

Now just look around.

The next time somebody asks you about the relevance of the Bible, there's a verse in there I pray at least two or three times a week.

Never have I seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread.

And I pray, Lord, don't let my children beg for the bread of acceptance or friendship or relationship or mates.

God loves it when you pray the Bible back to Him.

He says right there, mark the blameless and behold upright.

Some of y'all should take a piece of chalk to school tomorrow and be marking some people.

Hey, this this might be blameless right here.

I need to remember this one.

Yes.

The Lord.

I'll just read the banner of Psalm 37 again.

He will not forsake his saints.

Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the sufficiency and the efficacy of your word.

And so, Lord, uh, thank you for the reality of judgment.

It's not scary.

It should not be scary.

We're gonna stand before you and the life that we live.

We don't have to put it out there on the street every time we do something good.

We don't have to build a building, put our name on it, because heaven knows, and that's enough.

So let's be righteously anonymous people who unleash good on the culture, not as a statement about us, but as a statement about you.

We say to people, I do what I do to the glory of God.

I don't give a rip what people think about me.

Oh, Jesus, I wish I could go up and do high school all over again.

Knowing what I know now.

I wouldn't squander it fearing a bunch of losers.

So, Lord, we're we're very keenly aware that the final judgment is coming.

And we have an opportunity, Lord, to live with intentionality in the meantime.

So, Holy Spirit, brood over us as we think about these things.

We ask you to go ahead and just be seated.

Some questions come up on the screen.

Let's just think for a moment before we're dismissed.

We say yes to that today, God.

Jesus who died will be satisfied, and earth and heaven will be one.

That means that things on earth will be the way that you created them to be.

There'll be no more sin, there'll be no more injustice, there'll be no more looting and lawlessness, no more people threatening people on a subway.

And in the meantime, God, we got to live in this fallen world and not blame you.

The world's like it is, not because God's not sovereign, he's even talked about.

No, God is sovereign, he's good, but man is sinful and bad and fallen, separated from you.

And so man looks in the mirror and believes himself to be God, and he worships himself.

And we're not we're not hating on that, brother.

We we were that way as well.

But the light has come and the light is won.

We're gonna live like that, Lord.

This is gonna sound crazy, but thank you for the truth of the final judgment.

It clarifies all these lesser things in this world, and it solidifies what the gospel is all about.

And for that, we're grateful.

So we say thank you in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen, amen, amen.

If you're our guest, I want to say thanks for being here.

Uh, if you have any questions about anything you you heard this morning, we'd love to answer any questions from our pastors, be available down front.

Uh, all we ask of you, if you're our guest, if you just text the word welcome, that number on the screen behind me gives us a record of your visit.

Uh, that's all we want to help you take the next step in your spiritual journey.

We always have things going on in the life of our church, so check out my hook while the DJ revolves it.

Here we go.

Here's what's happening at Grand Parkway Baptist Church.

Today is a deadline to sign up for our Advent Kids Choir for kindergarten through sixth grade.

Our kids will be helping lead in our service on December 15th, and we'd love for you to join us.

Come and learn why church membership matters and how you can get connected at Grand Parkway Baptist Church on December 1st and 8th during second service in room 204.

Spring midweeks are returning.

Our women-only Bible study begins on January 14th, and sessions for everyone, from preschool age kids to all adults, start on January 15th.

It's a time to grow and mature in your Christian faith through age-appropriate teaching in areas like doctrine and Christian living.

On January 17th and 18th, our fourth through sixth grade students will be heading to Pineywoods Camp to save the date.

Be on the lookout for an email from our bridge pastor, Caleb Miller, for more information.

Finally, Grand Parker will be heading to Romania June 27th through July 4th and France October 6th through the 13th in 2025.

And we'd love for you to be a part of these missional opportunities.

If you're interested in serving on either of these trips, please mark your calendar for a mandatory informational meeting on January 12th at 5 p.m.

in the Fellowship Hall.

For more information or to register for these events, please visit our website at groundparkway.org.

If you have any questions or want someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

Yeah, some of you have asked me before, hey, what's the bridge?

The bridge is a ministry, it's kind of like tweeners, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade.

They're kind of done with children's ministry, but we don't want them around those sinful high school kids.

Amen.

I don't want those 10th graders around my babies.

Uh, and so the bridge ministry is what it's called, is led by Caleb Miller.

Caleb, are you still in here?

Is he slipped out?

He slipped out.

Go find him and tell him he's fired.

Anyway, no, Caleb does a great job.

I wanted you to, I wanted you to, I want him to set up so you could see him.

If you have a child in the fourth, fifth, or sixth grade, you need to meet Caleb.

They meet this next hour at 10:30 in our old sanctuary over there.

He'll have 80 kids on a Sunday, uh, and sometimes more than that.

Uh, it's an intentional ministry for fourth, fifth, and sixth.

And they're not babysat.

They get taught the gospel, they get taught the truth, okay?

Uh so anyway, uh uh I had a friend of mine asked me this week, he said, uh, what are you preaching on this Sunday?

And I said, I'm preaching on the final judgment.

He goes, Oh, dude, that's kind of a downer.

I said, No, it actually makes me giddy.

And here's why.

So if you're like, oh, you were too flippant, you should have been more serious.

I'm sorry, I can't manufacture somberness, but here's why the final judgment makes me giddy.

Because it reminds me that uh uh that I'm not crazy.

I can say it a lot of other ways, but sometimes I look around and I just think, I'm so out of set with this world.

Am I crazy?

And the final judgment says, no, bro, keep going, you're right.

Because God's right.

So I'm not trying to be flippant, but I am giddy about the final judgment.

Some of you are like, man, I'm gonna pray for you.

Uh we like to conclude our service with this fucking blessing, so stand your feet if you would.

And hold your hands out.

Finality is about clarity, not condemnation.

God's not up there in heaven and saying, I can't wait to judge you.

No, God's the God that says, I want to bless you.

Why are you such a knucklehead?

Why do you trust sin more than you trust me?

Don't you know there's gonna be a consequence for that?

What a terrible trade off you're making.

That's why he hasn't come yet.

Because he's given you more time to repent.

So depart now.

Repent of whatever you need to repent of and enjoy who you were created to enjoy.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Bless you.