A Time for Judgment (Part 2)

do you know what's going to happen after you die?

The Bible tells us very clearly,

it is appointed for man to die once,

and after that comes judgment.

That means that judgment is just as certain as death.

And we know that everybody dies.

Death is the one common denominator of all people.

We need to be equally clear that all will be judged.

That's what we're going to look at this morning.

What judgment will be like for everyone.

I'm talking about both believers, Christians, and unbelievers.

I want us to begin where we left off last week in Ecclesiastes chapter 3.

Ecclesiastes 3 · chapter mention

If you're new, we're going through a study of the book of Ecclesiastes.

And in this book, we're reminded over and over again that we're going to die.

And we need to live life in light of the fact that nothing in this world is permanent.

But the writer of Ecclesiastes, Solomon,

refers to himself as the preacher throughout the book.

He also brings up the subject of judgment from time to time.

Look, chapter 3, verse 16.

Today I'm going to put all this on the screen

because we're going to be looking at a lot of different passages from throughout the Bible.

So it's going to be on the screen this morning.

Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice,

even there was wickedness.

And in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.

He's talking about in the place where justice was supposed to be.

In the place where righteousness, that which is right,

where it was supposed to be happening.

It was not.

Then verse 17.

I said in my heart,

God will judge the righteous and the wicked,

for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

The first thing I want us to think about this morning is

a time of judgment is coming for all people.

That's what He's saying here in verse 17.

That's really going to be the main focus of this morning's message.

God is not going to just judge unbelievers.

We, as Christians, we will be judged.

And we're going to look at some of that this morning.

But before we do,

I want us to look at the last part of this chapter

and clarify what is said about life after death.

Because if you just read it

and don't think about who's talking

and other things that He said,

you might get the impression

that this preacher is really an unbeliever,

an agnostic even.

So let's look at point two next.

A time of judgment is coming,

but only if people experience life after death.

He's going to raise the question,

do people, does everyone,

do humans, as He will say it,

do they go up?

Or are they just like the animals

and just die and put in the ground?

Let's look at it.

We saw last week that the preacher began this section

by calling attention to the unfairness

and injustice in this world in verse 16,

what we just read.

We all know life's not fair.

That's just a fact.

But what He's calling attention to is

there's some places where life is supposed to be fair.

There's some places where God intends for justice to be done.

He's talking about a court,

the legal system,

before a judge.

That's where we are to expect justice to be done.

That's where we expect the right thing to always be upheld.

But in that day and in our day,

we know that's not always the case.

Sometimes you can't get a fair shake before a judge.

Sometimes the legal system is just not really fair or just.

And what Solomon is saying here is,

where there's supposed to be justice and it's not,

that's real evil.

Wickedness is the word he uses.

He wants us to understand, to be real clear.

There should be justice.

There should be a sense of fairness in this world.

But there's not.

But God has so ordered society

in every era, every period of time,

in the ancient world up until today,

there are supposed to be places

where you can count on justice being done.

And where it's not,

God takes personal offense.

It is wicked.

It is evil.

It is totally immoral.

And as we saw last week,

that's one reason why God exercises judgment.

One day God's going to right all wrongs.

One day justice will prevail

except for where we experience mercy.

We'll talk about that a little bit later.

We, we don't always want to get what we deserve, do we?

Not before God.

That's where the mercy comes in.

That God graciously doesn't give us what we deserve

because Jesus took our punishment.

See, God can never be unjust.

God's going to either be just

and give us what we deserve,

or He's going to show mercy to us

and not give us what we deserve

because Jesus suffered the punishment

that we deserve.

Let's move on into verse 18

for what we're looking at now.

The time of judgment is coming,

but only if people experience life after death.

In verse 18, it seems that the preacher's saying

that since people have no more regard

for their fellow man than to be so unjust,

treat people that way.

We treat one another that way.

It seems like we're no better than the animals.

Look at verse 18.

I said in my heart with regard to the children of man

that God is testing them

that they may see that they themselves

are but beasts or animals.

It's the fact that humans and animals

share one thing in common.

We're going to die.

That's what He's talking about in verses 19 and 20.

Look at it.

For what happens to the children of man

and what happens to the beasts is the same.

As one dies, so dies the other.

They all have the same breath.

And man has no advantage over the beasts

for all is vanity, futile.

All go to one place.

All are from the dust

and to dust all return.

Here's what He's saying.

We all, humans and animals,

we stop breathing.

We go to the place of death.

We all return to dust.

But the preacher then goes on in verse 21

to ask a question

that makes him sound like

an agnostic

or even an atheist.

Look at what he says.

Who knows whether the spirit of man

goes upward

and the spirit of the beast

goes down to the earth.

That sounds like he's not sure

about life after death for people.

Who knows if

the spirit of a human being

goes up before God,

if that spirit of man

will continue to live,

or if we're just like animals.

We just die and are buried.

If that's all you know about

this preacher,

as he calls himself,

you just wonder,

well,

who does know?

But that's not what he means

because

he makes it clear

in other places

that he believes

in life after death.

He believes

there's going to be a judgment

and there's only a judgment

for people who continue to live.

Look at verse 17 again.

I said in my heart,

God will judge the righteous

and the wicked.

If there's no life after death,

there will be no judgment.

So he doesn't believe

that when we die,

we're just going to be dead,

buried,

returned to the dust

like an animal.

He also,

in the last chapter

of Ecclesiastes,

he uses the same language

that we see here

in verse 21

to describe the fact

that people

will continue to live

after death.

Look at it.

The Spirit returns to God

who gave it.

In chapter 12,

verse,

the first seven verses,

Solomon's talking about

how we all just going to

get old

and age,

become decrepit

and die.

Gloomy picture,

but the reality is,

look in the mirror,

no matter what your age,

it's going to get worse.

If you live,

it's going to get worse.

I mean,

that is a fact.

We're going to deteriorate

and we're going to die.

But the point is,

the Spirit returns to God

who gave it.

Here in verse 21,

he's talking about

what death looks like

from the perspective

of life lived

just under the sun.

If all we know

is what we see

and feel,

if all we know

is what we experience,

then we don't know

that there's life

after death.

Everybody that you've

ever known and loved,

when they died,

you saw,

if you saw them die,

you saw them stop breathing.

And that's it.

That's all you saw.

They were buried.

That's all you know

for a fact

by what you observe,

what you see.

From a purely

earthly perspective,

no one does know

what happens after death.

But,

human beings

are different

from animals.

We are a higher

form of life

from animals.

We're more important

than animals.

We're above animals.

Only human beings

are created

in the image of God.

That's what makes us

different.

In Genesis chapter 1,

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

beginning about

verse 26,

the scripture's

very clear

that when God

created human beings,

He created human beings

differently

than everything else

under creation.

It's only men

and women,

male and female,

human beings

that God created

in His image.

And that's what

makes us

different.

The preacher

describes

how we're different

in one way

in chapter 3,

verse 11,

like this.

He says,

God has put

eternity

into man's heart.

We looked at that

two weeks ago.

Because God

created us

in His image,

we know,

we just know

innately

that there's more

to life

than what we see.

Human beings

have always been

spiritual beings.

We've always believed

in a higher form

of life.

Even people

who are not Christians,

who are not Jews,

every culture,

every people,

no matter what

they worship,

they worship

something besides

themselves.

We know

there's more

than what we see

can touch.

It's because

God has created

us that way.

In fact,

Paul tells us

in Romans chapter 1

Romans 1 · chapter mention

that God

has so created

this world

that everybody

can understand

there is a God.

It's called

natural revelation.

Revelation 1:18

Chapter 1,

verse 18,

and following,

Paul talks about

everybody's without

excuse

in terms of

we know

there's a God.

And what we know

about God,

we really rebel

against.

We don't really

want to honor

this God.

We want to live

life our way

rather than His way.

So he talks about

the universality

of sin.

In other words,

all people in this

world,

God makes it clear

to them

something about

Himself,

but we don't

act upon

what He shows us

in a way

that would

honor Him.

And that's what

makes us

sinners

without excuse

before God.

He even goes

on in chapter 2

to say that God

has so put it

in your

conscience,

in your heart,

a general

awareness of

His law,

of what's right

and wrong.

Because human

beings are created

in the image of

God,

we know innately

that there's some

things,

I'm talking about

just basic things,

that are right

and wrong,

good and bad.

That's how God

made us.

So God has put

eternity into our

hearts.

He has made us

such a way that

we know there's

more life than

what we see.

But there's a

whole lot about

life we don't

understand.

That's what He

went on to say

in chapter 3

verse 11.

Look at it.

God has put

eternity into

man's heart,

yet so that he

cannot find out

what God has

done from

beginning to

the end.

That's His way,

the preacher's way

of saying,

we're never going

to figure out

everything about

life.

There's things

that are going

to happen in

this world,

there's things

that are going

to happen in

your life,

and you're just

going to think,

I don't understand

why this happens.

I don't understand

how a great and

good God could

allow this or

cause this,

and we're going

to go to our

grave with those

questions.

We're going to

go to our grave

with a lot of

unanswered questions

because God has

not chosen to

reveal everything

to us.

He's God,

we're not,

and we cannot,

we could not

understand all that

He would even make

known to us if He

chose to,

because we're not

Him.

we don't have

His mind.

But we do

know there's

more to life

than just what

we see under

the sun.

Most of what we

know about life

after death is

what God has

actually revealed

to us in His

Word and in the

resurrection of

Jesus.

Let's look now

at some of the

things that God

has revealed about

judgment, about

life after death.

So this is what

we're going to

do actually is

go back now to

point one.

A time of

judgment is

coming for all

people.

And I want you

to note how the

preacher emphasizes

the comprehensive

nature of God's

judgment.

It's going to

include all people.

Again, verse 17,

God will judge the

righteous and the

wicked.

Look at what He

says at the end

of Ecclesiastes.

The very last

verse, chapter 12,

verse 14.

Judgment is going to

include everything

we've ever done.

For God will bring

every deed into

justice, into

judgment, with every

secret thing, whether

good or evil.

Let's just be real

honest.

You've got some

secrets.

You've got some

secrets that nobody

in this world knows

about.

And so do I.

You know what some

of mine are?

You're an idiot if

you think I would

tell you.

They're secrets.

And I don't want

you to know.

And you've got

secrets you don't

want me to know.

There are secrets

that only Lisa

knows about me.

You've got some

secrets that only a

few people know

about you.

It might be your

spouse.

Some of you, you've

got some buddies,

some friends.

They know some real

secrets that get you

in a lot of trouble.

They're going to go

to their grave.

They're not going

to tell it.

Well, here's the

unsettling part.

The things that I

don't want you to

know, the things

that you don't want

me to know, it's

going to be made

public on the day

of judgment.

I don't know all

about what that's

going to mean.

But this is not

the only place that

the scripture is

clear that everything

about us is going

to be laid bare.

we're not going to

hide it.

We're not going to

keep it covered.

We're not going to

be able to because

God knows.

God knows what we

think.

He knows what we

feel.

He knows what our

attitudes are behind

our actions and our

words.

Jesus even said on

one occasion that

we're going to give

an account on

judgment day for

every word, every

idle word we've

spoken.

You know, the

things that are

said in the Bible

about judgment, even

for us as Christians,

it should get our

attention.

It should make us

just stop and think,

it matters how I

live.

And even though I

can get by with

some things and

keep some things from

some people, I

can't keep it from

God.

And one day I'm

not even going to be

able to keep it from

anyone.

scary thought,

humbling thought.

Jesus also taught

that all people will

be judged, both

believers and

unbelievers.

And the most lengthy

and detailed

description is found

in Matthew chapter

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

25.

Look with me,

beginning in verse

31.

Jesus said a lot

about judgment,

actually.

He said a lot of

little statements

here and there

about, we'll give

an account for

every outer word

and that kind of

thing.

This is the

lengthiest one,

beginning in chapter

25, Matthew,

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25,

beginning in verse

31.

I want to encourage

you to write that

down, read that.

We're not going to

look at the whole

thing today, but

it's important.

It's serious.

Look at verses

31 to 32 now.

Jesus said,

when the Son of

Man comes in His

glory, that's His

favorite way to

describe Himself.

Speak of Himself.

When the Son of

Man comes in

glory and all the

angels with Him, then

He will sit on His

glorious throne.

That's the second

coming of Jesus

Christ.

Before Him will be

gathered all the

nations, all the

people.

And He will

separate people one

from another as a

shepherd separates the

sheep from the

goats.

One day Jesus is

going to come back

into this world in

power and glory.

And it will be an

awesome sight and

it will be an

awesome day.

Judgment will take

place when Jesus

comes back.

He's going to

really be the one

to exercise final

judgment.

Jesus explained how

all this works.

In John chapter 5

John 5:22

verses 22 and 23,

look at it.

For the Father

judges no one but

has given all

judgment to the Son

that all may honor

the Son just as they

honor the Father.

God the Father has

delegated judgment to

God the Son.

Some places you read

in the Bible about

God's judgment, the

Father's judgment.

Sometimes you read in

the Bible about the

judgment of Jesus, the

judgment seat of Christ.

Both are correct.

God judges through

His Son, Jesus.

Now Matthew 25

describes how Jesus

is going to exercise

judgment with an

image that everyone

there that day

understood.

We don't ever see

this.

But He was talking

about how a shepherd

separates the sheep

from the goats at the

end of the day.

evidently in that day

a shepherd had sheep

and goats and they

just grazed together

out in the pasture

land.

But at the end of the

day when He brought

them in they didn't

stay all mingled

together.

He separated the

sheep on one side,

the goats on another.

He would put one pen,

one in another pen

evidently.

Well that's the image.

See, Jesus was a

master of painting

pictures, word

pictures for us to

understand what He was

talking about.

Note how Jesus

says this.

He's going to divide

people in two

categories immediately

when He comes.

Look at it.

This is verses 22

and 33.

32 and 33.

For Him will be

gathered all the

nations and He will

separate people from

one from another as a

shepherd separates the

sheep from the goats.

He will place the

sheep on His right and

the goats on the left.

Think about what the

image is.

Jesus returns.

All people are before

Him.

He separates one group,

His people, that He

refers to as sheep, on

His right.

And then the others who

are not His people

designated the goats on

His left.

what I want us to

understand is when

Jesus comes, He

doesn't determine, or

out of this whole big

group, some of them

are sheep and some of

them are goats.

The determination has

already been made.

When Jesus comes, there

are sheep and there are

goats.

Judgment Day is not

going to be the day

when people are designated

to be believers or not.

Judgment Day is just

going to reveal who the

believers are and who the

believers are not.

Judgment Day just reveals

who the sheep, who His

sheep are, who they are

not.

The people on the right, the

sheep on the right, as He

uses the term, they're the

people who trusted Jesus as

their Lord and Savior

before He arrived.

They had a relationship

with Him before He

arrived.

And when Jesus came, He

knew His sheep

immediately.

Those on the left, they

didn't have a relationship

with Jesus when He

arrived.

And when He arrived, it

was too late.

And they were put on the

side separate from the

sheep immediately.

This makes it clear that

everyone's eternal destiny

is decided before Judgment

Day.

On Judgment Day, Jesus

makes it, just makes it

known who's who.

Now I want you to look

next at the destiny of the

sheep and the goats.

Look first at the sheep.

Verse 34, still in Matthew

25.

Then the King will say to

those on His right, come,

you who are blessed by my

Father, inherit the kingdom

prepared for you from the

foundation of the world.

Those on His right, those

who have a relationship

with Him, those He is

designating as sheep, they're

eternally blessed.

They're going to inherit the

blessings of the kingdom of

God forever.

Now note the destiny of the

goats, those on the left,

those who are not the sheep.

Then He will say to those on

His left, depart from me, you

cursed into the eternal fire

prepared for the devil and his

angels.

It's going to be too late on

the Day of Judgment for those

who are not believers.

They're going to be eternally

condemned right then.

And Jesus makes it clear that

these final states, they are

eternal.

Look at the last verse that

we're talking about in Matthew

25.

And these, He's talking about

the goats now, these will go

away into eternal punishment.

That's the wicked, the

unrighteous.

But the righteous into eternal

life.

Look at that word, eternal

punishment, eternal life.

On the Day of Judgment, our

relationship with the Lord will

be made known.

It will be permanent.

There's not one thing anybody

can do about it.

So let's just make this real

personal right now.

What would happen if Jesus

came back today?

Which group would you find

yourself in?

If you have a real relationship

with Christ as your Savior and

Lord, all is going to be well.

You don't have to fear the

judgment.

You're going to find Jesus to be

a very gracious and merciful

shepherd who's going to bless

you with an eternal inheritance

in the kingdom of God.

It'll be an awesome sight, but

it's going to wind up well for

all who truly trust Jesus and are

His.

But if you don't have a

relationship with Jesus, all will

be lost.

You will find Him to be a just

judge who will condemn you to

eternal punishment in hell as a

result of your sinful choices,

your own personal decisions to live

life your way and not God's way.

We all know that we're going to die

one day.

We know that.

Well, we need to also let it sink in

that judgment is just as certain as

death.

None of us know when our death's going

to come, so none of us know when our

judgment will be.

But we can be ready whenever it is

by having a right relationship with God

through faith, trust, commitment to

Jesus Christ as our own Savior and Lord.

You know, the New Testament often

encourages us to be ready for the day

of judgment by pointing out something

very positive, that God's going to

reward His faithful people.

That's the last point I want us to look

at this morning, the rewards of the

righteous.

You know, there's several, many actual

passages of Scripture that talk about

rewards for Christians in some way.

I want you to look at a very clear-cut

example from Peter.

Some things happened.

The rich young ruler that Jesus had an

encounter with, he seemed to be

interested in being a follower of Jesus,

but when Jesus told him the real story,

what he needed to do, he just walked

away.

And it caused Peter to think and have a

question.

I want you to look at it.

Peter's talking to Jesus.

Then Peter said in reply, see, we have

left everything and followed you.

They left their family, they left their

jobs, they left life as they knew it.

We've left everything and followed you.

What then will we have?

And Jesus said to them, truly I say to

you, in the new world, when the Son of

Man will sit on His glorious throne, you

who have followed me will also sit on 12

thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel and

everyone who has left houses or brothers or

sisters or father or mother or children or

lands or anything.

For my sake will receive a hundredfold and

will inherit eternal life.

You know, you could think Peter was a, Peter was the real

deal.

He was a faithful follower of Jesus.

Earlier in Matthew, Jesus had commended him because he

said, he made this great declaration of faith, speaking on

behalf of his disciples, of all the disciples.

We believe that you are the Christ.

You are the son of the living God.

And, and, and Jesus just commended him.

God has shown you that Peter.

That's not something you figured out.

God has opened your eyes.

You and all these who follow me.

God has made it known to you.

You are true believers.

He commended them.

They were not in it for wrong motives or anything.

They were genuine followers of Jesus because they, they

believed in him.

They loved him.

They were committed to him.

They wanted to serve him.

They wanted to do God's will.

But on one occasion, Peter just said, we've given up everything

in this world to follow you.

Will we get anything in return?

Will we be rewarded?

And Jesus didn't put him down.

Jesus didn't say anything, not even hint that there was

anything wrong with Peter asking that question.

The fact is, Jesus said that his faithful followers will be

rewarded, what, a hundredfold?

We rewarded in all kinds of ways, some in this life.

But ultimately, and most importantly, we're going to be

rewarded with eternal life.

You know, we don't know a whole lot about the kinds of rewards

we'll experience in heaven.

There's going to be something in heaven.

Heaven, let me rephrase that.

When all is said and done after Judgment Day, there's going to be

a new heaven and a new earth.

We're going to live and know people and be known.

We're going to do stuff in heaven.

We're not going to be sitting around on these clouds playing a

harp like some kind of stupid illustration you've read or seen

somewhere.

That's just ridiculous.

We're going to live forever in the presence of God and with

other people.

We're going to do stuff in heaven.

There's going to be rewards.

There's going to be categories of rewards.

I don't know a whole lot about what that's really going to be

and nobody else does either.

We can all have some thoughts and opinions.

There's not a whole lot of concrete ideas, evidence of what it

will exactly be like.

But we can be certain of this.

All rewards in heaven are based on God's grace.

We don't deserve them.

We don't deserve our salvation.

We're saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, period.

Everything that we have from God is a gift of grace, so we need to

understand that.

But Paul said two things about eternal life that will be our greatest

reward.

He said it in the context of describing the second coming of Jesus to the

Christians in the church of Thessalonica because they were concerned

about some of them had loved ones, family members and friends who had died, and

they were wondering what has happened to them.

So Paul, in chapter 4, he tells them some things about what's going to happen

at the second coming.

He tells them some things about their family members and their friends.

They're going to see them again.

But I want you to note there's two things he says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 about

1 Thessalonians 4 · chapter mention

how we're going to be blessed in heaven, and these are the ultimate rewards.

Number one, verse 17, we will always be with the Lord.

Heaven is where Jesus is.

Heaven's where the Father is.

And we're going to be with them for all eternity.

That's going to be the number one blessing and benefit of heaven.

But number two, note verse 17, he says, we will always be with the Lord.

Who's he referring to with that we?

He's talking about Christian family members and friends that you know and love and will

see and spend eternity with.

I want you to look at how he describes this.

Christian family members who have died, what's going to happen?

Look, we're going to read in chapter 14 or chapter 4 beginning in verse 13.

Paul says, we don't want you, members of this church, we don't want you to be uninformed

brothers about those who are asleep, that's people who died, that you may not grieve as

others who have no hope.

Christians grieve.

Don't you ever think that it's something wrong with somebody you know and love you're close

to when they die and it breaks your heart?

Well, that's just the way God made us.

When somebody you know and love dies, they're not here.

You know they're in heaven, but you still, you grieve, you're hurt because they're not

here with you.

And that's normal.

That's natural.

That's being a human and a Christian human.

It's okay to cry.

It's okay to grieve.

It's okay to be sad.

It is not unspiritual.

The person who doesn't grieve is the one who something's wrong with.

But we don't grieve like people who don't have a clue as to what happened to their family

members.

We don't grieve like people whose family members were not believers.

Look what he says.

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring

with him those who have fallen asleep.

Your family members, friends who've died as Christians, when Jesus comes back in this world,

they're going to come back with him.

Look at the next part.

And the dead in Christ will rise first.

That's when they get their new resurrected body.

Look at the next one.

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds

to meet the Lord in the air.

That's when we get our new bodies if we're alive, when Jesus comes back again.

And there's that last phrase.

And so we will always be with the Lord.

Paul intended for that to comfort or encourage us.

Look at the last verse.

Therefore encourage or comfort one another with these words.

Here's the point.

Our greatest rewards in heaven will be relationships.

We will be there with those we love the most.

The Lord Jesus, our Heavenly Father, and our Christian friends and family members.

People we shared life with in this world.

We're going to share eternity with them as well.

I read several articles, I'm sure you have too, about the death of Billy Graham.

Well, Franklin Graham, his son, describes where his father is right now

in a way that emphasizes the truth of what I'm bringing out about Paul

and about relationships in heaven.

Franklin said this about his dad after he died.

What joy he has to be welcomed by God the Father

and be reunited with my mother in the presence of Jesus.

That's the great reward.

To be in the presence of Almighty God and the Lord Jesus Christ

with your friends and family members who were Christians.

It'll be great.

It'll be great.

It'll be great.

It'll be great fellowship.

Real relationships forever and ever in a perfect place.

You know, seeing what Franklin Graham said about his dad,

how will your family members think of you following your death?

And what I'm asking is, what kind of hope will they have?

Everybody that I've ever known and loved when they died,

as I thought about them,

I've always thought about where they were right then.

If they were Christians, I've always thought they're in the presence of the Lord.

And while I may be still sad,

there's a whole lot of peace in knowing that they're in perfection,

in paradise now with the Lord.

How do you think of yourself following your death and judgment?

Do you have comfort?

Or are you afraid?

One thing that we need to be, must be clear about,

our salvation is not based on our good works.

Understand, if you don't hear anything else this morning,

the New Testament clearly teaches

that your salvation is not dependent upon you being good or bad.

Your salvation, your home in heaven,

is not a reward for the good deeds that you do.

It's not something that God does because you do more good than bad in the world.

Our salvation is based on the goodness of Jesus Christ.

Our salvation is based on who He is and what He's done.

You see, Jesus lived the only perfect, righteous life that's ever been lived.

And when we trust Him as our Savior and Lord,

His perfect life is credited to us.

Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

He lived a perfect life.

He didn't deserve to die, but He chose to die as our substitute.

He chose to take our sins upon Himself

and incur God's wrath against our sin,

to incur God's punishment.

He chose to suffer the pain and punishment of hell,

separation from God, for us,

so that if we will trust Him,

His death for sin will count as our death.

And that's how we get to be forgiven.

We're saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus and Him alone.

Look at what Paul says.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

We who are Christians should not fear death.

We should not fear the judgment.

But I want you to be real clear about what it means to be a Christian.

The New Testament teaches that saving faith is continuing faith.

The New Testament knows nothing about somebody just making a profession of faith

or getting baptized,

and nothing ever changes about them.

The New Testament tells us that what God starts, He finishes.

Look at how Paul describes it in Philippians.

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you

will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus saves a person, He changes that person from the inside out.

Now, no one is instantaneously changed and made perfect.

It's a lifelong process.

But people who have been born again by the Spirit of God

will be gradually changed by the Spirit of God.

Slowly but surely, if the Spirit of God lives within us,

we will be developing the fruit of the Spirit,

the character of Jesus,

which is things like love and joy and peace and patience and kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

There's not a person in this room who fully demonstrates this full-blown fruit.

But if the Spirit of God lives within you,

there is within you a desire to develop such character,

to grow in the development of such character.

There will be a desire within you to put forth the effort

to cooperate with God as He works in you

to develop that kind of character.

And if the Spirit of God has been living in you for any length of time,

there will be some signs of such fruit in your life now.

Sometimes, you know, you can see some evidence,

but then there's some times you sort of go back

and you don't see quite as much.

But over time, we ought to see how God is chipping away

at our old sinful, selfish ways

and developing these spiritual fruit qualities,

character qualities in us.

Jesus said clearly,

By this my Father is glorified,

that you bear much fruit,

and so prove to be my disciples.

On Judgment Day,

our lives will be evaluated,

not by an empty profession of faith,

but by a fruitful demonstration of faith.

Does your life bear spiritual fruit?

This is how we know who is truly saved

by the grace of God through faith in Jesus.