God is the Good Judge

And so over the past few weeks we've been walking through the Apostles Creed. This creed has been part of the Christian faith for about 1,800 years. It has been sung by prisoners who were placed in jail because of their faith. It has been whispered and proclaimed by martyrs who were on their way to execution because of their faith in God. This creed contains the big rocks of Christianity for both Catholics and Protestants alike. And today we're going to talk about everybody's favorite subject in church, judgment. How excited are you? The Bible says that you and I will be judged. Perhaps you've heard the statement, only God can judge me. Have you heard that before? Maybe seen that tattoo in that movie? I can't remember what movie that was. But it said only God can judge me, you know, that kind of thing. God is going to judge you. You will give an account for your life. In fact, there are two judgments. And today we're going to break those down. And I've been praying for our time together today. And my prayer is that it will be sobering for all of us so that we'll make whatever adjustments we need to make in life. But that today will also be hopeful and encouraging. Every week in this series, we've read the Apostles Creed together. Let's do that now. I want to invite you, all locations, if you're able to, please stand. And as the creed here comes here on the screen, let's read the creed together. And I'm going to say what I've said every week. Pay attention to the commas because that'll help you as we read this. Read it out loud with me. Would you read it?

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to hell. The third day, he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From there, he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. And all God's people said, amen. Please be seated. Thanks for reading the creed with me. Notice that the first two words are I believe. It's not we believe. It's not my mom and dad believe. It's not my family has always believed. The creed is about what you personally believe. And that word believe there is more than just mental ascent. I believe means that we believe it to the extent that we rest our life upon it. We believe it no matter what it costs us, that this is what our lives are about. It's the Apostles Creed, the big rocks of the Christian faith. So today we're going to talk about judgment in the creed. It talks about how Jesus is going to return and he's not going to come back as a baby. He's going to come back as a warrior and as a judge. Now think with me here. Have you ever felt like maybe you were in a season of judgment in your life? Have you ever gone through a difficult time and you're thinking, ooh, God's really getting me right now? You ever thought that?

I was talking to a guy, it's been a couple of weeks back, and he was giving me this run of what was going on in his life. And I got to tell you, as he was talking to me, it did sound like a bad country song. It was just one thing after another. And I was like, dude, I am so sorry that you are in this season of life. Have you ever heard when it rains, it pours? How many of you have found that to be true? Just a show of hands. I have. I don't know why that is, but it is. And so he told me, as we were having this conversation, and he said, I think God is judging me. And I said, why? And he started telling me some things that he had done not too long ago. And I said, that's not God judging. judging you, that's you reaping what you have sown. He's like, what do you mean? I go, well, when you did this, and when you did this, and when you did this, I'm gonna ask you a question. He's like, yeah, I go, was that stupid? He's like, yeah, pretty much. And I go, okay, you're reaping the consequences of your stupid decisions. I'm gonna talk real quick about why bad things happen in the world, and then we're gonna talk about what the Bible says about judgment, okay, so stay with me. Bad things happen in the world for four different reasons. And right now, if you're in a difficult season, the four things I'm about to give you are not going to be emotionally satisfying,

but they are going to be true. First reason of why bad things happen is you reap what you sow. You make bad decisions, you will reap the consequences of those bad decisions. Just like if you make good decisions, you will reap the consequences of good decisions, we reap what we sow. Now, here's the beauty of this. If you don't like the crop you are reaping, you can change the seeds you are sowing. Does this make sense? You can make some different decisions. And so for everybody within the sound of my voice, just know every decision you make is like a domino. It's leading you somewhere. It doesn't matter what you are hoping or intending. What matters is which direction you are going and your decisions are leading you down a path. We're all adults, does this make sense? Can I get an amen? Okay, so think about what you're doing with your life. You want to live intentionally. And before you make a big decision, think about the potential consequences of the decisions that you're making. This is what it means to be an adult. So one of the reasons why we're experiencing difficulties in life is because of decisions we've made. We reap what we sow.

Second reason why bad things happen, we reap what other people sow. There are people in our lives who have made bad decisions and because of their bad decision, we reap those consequences. Now, the other side of that coin is a bunch of us are reaping good things from the decisions of others. A bunch of you, you drove here today, right? Probably all of us on streets that you did not pave. You're welcome. You're sitting in air conditioning right now that you did not put together. You don't know how it works. And here we are experiencing the coolness. Thank you, Lord. You are reaping a good thing that someone else has sown. And some of you are in a hard season in life. And it's because of something your mom and dad did. And some of you are in a hard season in life because of something your spouse did, because of something your boss did, because of something your child did. We reap what we sow. We reap what other people sow, both good and bad. Third reason why bad things happen, the world is broken. Have you noticed? I'm gonna say what I say when I talk about a broken world. The weather's broken. It's hot. Thank God for air conditioning.

Did you guys experience the Habub this past week, that big old storm? Yeah, there were tree branches down all around in my neighborhood and there's a pool in my backyard and it had like that much dust in it, right? Anybody else have that? Yeah, the weather's broken. My body's broken. It doesn't matter how much I work out. I'm still gonna die. And as time goes on, everything on my body is headed south. Are you guys with me? I'm gonna try to eat right, I'm gonna fight it, but it's gonna get droopier over time. That's just life. I'm broken. I cannot live up to my own standard, much less God's. We live in a broken world. And sometimes bad things happen just because the world is broken. We get sick, people die, all kinds of things. We reap what we sow, we reap what other people sow, the world is broken. And if you're a child of God, you've given your life to Jesus. God won't pour out judgment upon you in this life, but he will test you and discipline you. He will test you and discipline you. This is not on the screen, but let me. We do these few verses of scripture

from the book of Hebrews. The Bible says that God will discipline those he loves. Hebrews chapter 12, verses five and six. And he's actually quoting a couple of verses from Proverbs. Just listen close. It says, and have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? So what we're about to read is a word of encouragement. Are you ready? Here's the encouragement. My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline and do not lose heart when he rebukes you because the Lord disciplines the one he loves and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. God will test you and he will discipline you. What does that mean? You're gonna go through difficult seasons because God allows it in your life to mold and shape your character. Do you know what God's goal is for your life? I'm gonna tell you what your destiny is. I'm gonna quote it for you. You can write this verse down if you want. It's Romans 8, 29. Romans 8, 29 is your destiny if you've given your life to Jesus. Romans 8, 29 is the purpose of your life if you've given your life to Jesus. This is what it's all about.

Here's what the verse says. For those God foreknew, he also predestined. So God sees the future in advance and with that he's created a destiny for you, child of God. For those God foreknew, he also predestined that they, believers in Jesus, might be conformed to the image of his son. I'll say it again. For those God foreknew, he also predestined that they might be conformed to the image of his son. What does that mean? God is shaping you into the image of Jesus. He wants to shape your character in such a way that your character looks like the character of Christ. How do you know somebody is mature in the faith? Here's how you know. More and more, their character looks like the character of Jesus. Now I'm gonna say what I say on this one. There are no jerks for Jesus, there's just jerks. So specifically, and I'm all for memorizing the Bible, I'm all for Bible studies, I'm all for church attendance, I'm all for all of that. But it's not how much Bible you know, it's how much Bible you show. It's not how you talk, it's how you walk. It's your character. And more and more, as life goes on, if we're following Jesus and learning from him, more and more, our character will reflect who he is.

What are you saying, Pastor Chad? I'm saying 20 years from now, I ought to be a better person than I am today. I'm gonna be older, uglier, and droopier. But Lord willing, by his amazing grace, better than I am today. I'm gonna be more loving, more kind, more gentle. Let me add these. And also more bold, more strong, more unwavering and unshakable in my faith. And so God's gonna allow some things in my life to test me, to mold me, to shape me, to form me into the image of Jesus. That's his prerogative. I gave my life to him, I belong to him. He is the potter, and I am the clay. So if right now you're like, okay, I'm in a bad season in life, how do I know which one it is? How do I know if I reap what I've sown, what somebody else has sown, you know, broken world, or God's just testing me, you may not. The first one you probably know. I mean, if you did something dumb and now you're reaping the consequences, you can probably figure that out. The second one you probably don't know, is the one that you're reaping. The second one you probably don't know, is the one that you're reaping.

You can probably figure that out. The second one you probably know, broken world, or is it God testing me? Those things kind of are interchangeable. It really doesn't matter. Here's what you do, whatever season of life you're in. Here's what you do, you ready? You choose to grow through what you're going through. I'm gonna say it one more time, remember it. Choose to grow through what you're going through. What does that mean? Don't waste the pain. Because it's not judgment, if you're a child of God in this life. But it is discipline. And it is a test, and no matter what it is, God can use it for your good. And he will, if you'll surrender to him, and trust him, and walk with him through it. Here's where we're at in the creed today. So we've been reading it every week. I hope you're memorizing it on some level, maybe listening to the song. I recommended a Rich Mullins song called The Creed. We've been singing What We Believe on the weekend. We sang it a moment ago here in service. Here's where we are at today in the creed, talking about Jesus. He ascended to heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

So Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. And from there, he will come. What does that mean? He's coming to return to the earth. From there, he will come to, what's the next word? Judge. Judge. From there, he will come back to judge the living and the dead. What does that mean? All those who are living, and all those who have died before us, will be judged. The Bible teaches that there are two judgments. And so I'm gonna give you the two, and we're gonna break these down. The first is called the judgment seat of Christ, and this is for believers in Jesus. So there's two different judgments. So Jesus is going to return. He's going to judge the living and the dead, and he's going to judge in two different categories. The first that we're talking about right now is the judgment of believers. This is 2 Corinthians chapter five, verse 10. Follow along with me in your Bible, or here on the screen. Here's what the Bible says. For we must, what's the next word? All.

All. You know who that includes? You. For we must all. So I'm gonna put my name there. For Chad must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. You can put your name. For, what's your name? Yeah, nobody wants to play, do you? Say your name, let's try again. For, say your name. Must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. So that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. All right, let me break this down. So there is a judgment of believers in Jesus. So if you're here today and you're a Christian, you've given your life to Jesus, this is for you. The word judgment here, the judgment of believers in Greek is this word, it's bema. B-E-M-A. If you grew up in church and you've ever heard of the bema seat, have you ever heard that before? That's what we're talking about right now. It's the judgment seat of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote this verse of scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit. He's writing it to the church in Corinth, which is why the book is called 1 Corinthians.

There's two letters and he's talking about the judgment seat of Christ and he uses this word bema. In his day and time, judges that were judging the Olympic Games, it was called something different then, but what would eventually become the Olympic Games would sit in a place of judgment in the bema seat. And what they would do is they would evaluate the athletes. They would evaluate how they did in the sense of what place they came in and they would also evaluate how they performed within the context of the competition. What the apostle Paul is saying is the judgment of believers is not about condemnation, but it is about evaluation. I'm gonna say that one more time, so that's really important. If you're a believer in Jesus, you will be judged by Jesus. But that judgment is not about condemnation, it's about evaluation. In other words, what did you do with the grace that God gave you? What did you do in service to Jesus in this life? He has imparted to you his righteousness, he's imparted to you his grace, he has brought you into his family, you're adopted into the family of God and in through your faith in Jesus. What kind of family member are you? How are you performing? And you and I will give an account to Jesus for what we've done. So with that, how are you doing?

Couple of things. It won't be a Bible quiz. Jesus won't look at you and go, okay, can you name all 66 books, Old and New Testament? He's not gonna say, quote John 3.16 for me. He's not gonna say, wait a minute, wait a minute, how many Bible studies did you do? He's not gonna say, wait a minute, wait a minute, your pastor on the weekends, did he do verse by verse? Or did he do topical? Jesus is not gonna ask any of those questions. It's gonna be about, did you reflect his character? Did you give, did you serve, were you on mission with him? What did you do with the grace that God gave you? Again, two sides to that. One, what did you do? And then second, how did you do it? I'm gonna say it again, what did you do or not do? And how did you do it? Did you give, did you serve, were you on mission with Jesus? And then in that, what kind of person were you while you did those things? It's just like somebody evaluating in those Olympic games, so Jesus will evaluate our lives. Not condemnation, I'll quote you a verse for that, Romans 8.1, says there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It's not condemnation, it's evaluation, but you and I will give an account for our lives.

So what do we do with this part? Here's what I would say, don't waste your life. Stop thinking you're a customer here, you're not. You were created to be a contributor. And the more that you act like a customer, the more you are failing the test. You're a contributor. It's not God, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want. It's God, whatever you want, as you wish. When you wake up in the morning, it's not God, let me give you the list of how I'd like you to bless me today. You can do that, he'll hear that, he loves you, and he may give you some of those things. But more so, it's I am in this game, I am in this season, God has given me this grace, God, what do you want me to do today with it? The more selfless you are, the more satisfied your soul will be. The beautiful thing about knowing you're going to be evaluated is if you choose to serve Jesus in the way that he's commanded, your soul will be satisfied in this life and the next. In good seasons, bad seasons, and everything in between. There will be a peace in you that passes all understanding, and people will look at you and go, shouldn't you be miserable right now, how come you're not? And it's because you're living for something bigger. It's because your life is lived for something greater.

And you'll stand before Jesus, and there'll be an evaluation and Lord willing, he will look at you and say, well done, good and faithful servant. So, we will give an account for our lives. That's the first judgment, we'll stand before Jesus, and he'll evaluate what we did with his grace. God's goal for you, the destiny, is that you be conformed into the image of Jesus. What does that mean? He's gonna turn you into Jesus Jr. And so everything in your life, if you'll submit to the Lord, everything in your life, if you'll choose to grow through what you're going through, is leading to that end. And we'll give an account for how we did. Second judgment. is called the Great White Throne Judgment. And this is for unbelievers. This is for people who have not put their faith in Jesus. So if you're a believer, you will not be at the White Throne Judgment. It's for unbelievers. But you will stand before the beam of seat, the judgment seat of Christ. Great White Throne Judgment for unbelievers. Let me read you this passage of scripture from Revelation chapter 20. This is verses 11 through 15. You can follow along with me in your Bible or here on the screen.

This is the end of time. This is when it's all said and done and evil is about to be done away with forevermore. Revelation chapter 20 verse 11. It says, then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. And the earth and the heavens fled from his presence and there was no place for them. By the way, expand your vision of Jesus. He's God, all powerful, judge. Verse 12, and I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And I want you to notice the words books and the words book of life, okay? So he says, and I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and books were opened. Another book, so books plural, and then another book singular was opened, which is the book of life. So we have books, a lot of those, and then we have one book, the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the plural, books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them. And each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found written in the book singular in the book of life

was thrown into the lake of fire. Let me explain this. There is one book called the book of life. The book of life is called the book of life because everyone's name that is written in that book has eternal life in and through their faith in Jesus. Jesus has imparted his life to believers in him. So here's what we just read. There's a book of life. If your name is in the book of life, you're with Jesus. If your name is not in the book of life, you're on your own. And if you're not with Jesus and you're on your own, here's how you'll be evaluated by what you've done and haven't done. And there are books, plural, about you. Everything you've ever said, everything you've ever thought, everything you've ever done, everything you were supposed to do and didn't get done, there are books. Okay. How many of you ever heard good people go to heaven? That's not true. Okay, listen close, stay with me. Good people don't go to heaven. Perfect people do. Just let that sink in. I'm gonna say it one more time. Good people don't go to heaven.

Perfect people do. The requirement to make it into heaven is perfection, holiness, righteousness. When you read through the book of Revelation before you get to this part, it says there is only one worthy and he's called the Lamb. Do you know who that is? Jesus. Jesus is worthy. Jesus is worthy. Jesus is worthy. And for believers in Jesus, here's what happens. We give our sin to him and he imparts his perfection to us. We give our unworthiness to him and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who died on the cross to cover all sin for all time covers us with his worthiness. If I die today and I'm standing at the pearly gates, if it goes like that, and they say, Chad, why should I let you in? I'm not gonna say it because I'm a good guy. because I was the pastor at Sun Valley. We had lots of locations and I'm like, none of that, none of that matters. If they look at me and say, why should we let you in? I'm going to look over at Jesus and go, because I'm with him. And he covers me. See, we have this idea that we're going to get to heaven, right? And there's going to be this scale like,

as long as the good outweighs the bad, then we're going to be okay. Just so you know, that's not biblical Christianity. That's a whole other faith that came from the prophet Muhammad. That's not Christian. Christianity is, you got nothing. Christianity is, your very best is not good enough. Christianity is, you're a sinner. And we way overestimate our goodness and we way underestimate the holiness of God. Christianity is, you got nothing. But if you'll trust in Jesus, he'll give you everything. And he'll cover you with his righteousness. Otherwise, without Jesus, you're evaluated by your own good works. And there are books of everything you've ever said, everything you've ever thought, everything you've ever done, everything that you haven't done, but should have. And you will be found wanting. Good people don't go to heaven. Perfect people do. I'll show you one verse, 2 Corinthians 5.21. This is the good news of great joy for all people. Here it is. God, talking about Jesus, God made Jesus. God made him who had no sin worthy, spotless, perfect, righteous, holy. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. That's the cross.

He took upon all of your sin for all of your life. What you have done, what you are doing, what you will done, what you will do. Jesus paid it all. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Jesus, so that in him, look at this, we might become the righteousness of God. When you put your faith in Jesus, he takes upon himself all of your sin and clothes you with all of his righteousness. He clothes you with his perfection. This is why in the creed, it's very specific. He died, he rose again, he ascended to heaven. He's at the right hand of the father almighty. He will return to judge the living and the dead. And so you wanna be with Jesus. I mean, the cross, all of it, God wants to wipe out evil, but he doesn't wanna wipe out you. And so he's slow in keeping that promise to wipe out evil because he wants all, the Bible says, to come to repentance. And this includes you. And he's literally standing there with arms wide open saying, come on, just receive me. And no matter where you've been or what you've done or what's been done to you, that invitation is open to you because you were loved. But love doesn't force its way. You have to open yourself to him too and receive it. And Jesus takes on himself all of your sin and imparts to you all of his righteousness.

And this is what it means to have peace with God. And this is the gospel. Good news of great joy for all people. There is a savior who is Christ the Lord. Would you guys pray with me? Let's pray together. If you're sitting here or you're driving down the road, listen to this online or wherever you are at the moment and you're thinking to yourself, Um, I think I need Jesus. I want to invite you to go with that. And if you want to invite Jesus into your life and receive him, his arms are wide open to you. If you want to open your arms to him and receive him, I can help you do that right now. Just pray with me. He'll hear you say, Jesus, I need you. Just confess I'm a sinner. I'll never be good enough. I'll never be perfect. And so I believe you died on the cross for me and that you rose again. And I invite you to cover me with your goodness. I trust you as savior. And Jesus, I pray that you would lead me and guide my life from this day forward. I invite you as savior and as Lord, I receive you, Jesus, thank you for receiving me. Amen. If that was you, the service is going to end here in just a moment. And right after service, there's going to be a group of people, all locations at the front. And I want to invite you just to come up and tell them I want a Bible, because if you just said yes to Jesus, we have a free gift for you. It's a Bible. So that's all you say. Hey, I want one of those Bibles.

And they will give that to you for free and give you a high five. And at the front of that Bible, there's some notes that we put and you can look up some verses of scripture to help you better understand the decision that you've made. Can we celebrate with these who just prayed with me? And I want to invite you, if you are a believer in Jesus, go all in. The series that we're in right now is called I Believe. Do you? Then live like it. This whole series is just kind of it's just kind of a line in the sand going, hey, hey, hey, hey, do you believe? Then let's live like it. He loves you. He is for you and he's going to evaluate you. And what's best for you is that you live for him in this life. And in the next. I'm going to pray for us one more time and we're going to continue this series next week, and I want to encourage you to come back as we continue to walk through the creed. Holy Spirit, give us wisdom of these things past our minds and our hearts. And may it change us and how we live for the glory of Jesus and our good, we pray in his name and Jesus name. Amen.