|
"The Judgment
Day "
 The
"Judgment Day" will not be a time when people can argue their case before
God so that He will consider all the extenuating circumstances and overlook
their sin - as though God did not know and they must explain why they
did not obey Him. Nor will it be a time when folks can speak up for someone
else and give God detailed information that might change His mind - after
all, there may be things that might sway God's judgment, if He only knew
the person as they did. "The Judgment Day" is actually a time for receiving
a final sentence based on how man has lived on earth, for, once we have
lived and died, there will be no second chance (Hebrews 9:27; Luke 16:19-31;
Matthew 25:31-46). Purgatory, a place where men are supposed to be purified
from their earthly sins by fire, is a figment of man's imagination - there
is no such place. There are generally three, different kinds of responses
to man's contemplation of "The Judgment."
Some
deny "The Judgment Day," because they don't believe there is anyone to
whom there is any accountability. And, logically, if there is no God,
there is no judgment! That is exactly why some atheists are atheists -
they want to live their lives without any restraints that come from accountability
to a higher power. The Athenians listened to Paul until he affirmed that
they were responsible to a God that required them to repent. The assurance
of their standing before the God-appointed judge, Jesus Christ, was his
resurrection. The resurrection statement caused many to mock (Acts 17:32)
Then
there are others who are terrified at the thought that there will be a
final accounting of their lives. Their expectation of what will occur
at the judgment is to hear the final words of doom. Felix might have been
offended by Paul's very pointed reasoning about temperance and righteousness
but Paul's statements about "judgment" caused him to tremble - without
"judgment" self control and fairness are inconsequential (Acts 24:25).
The
third response is one of expectation of joyful tidings, because there
is great anticipation of a life far better than this one. That confident
expectation might be inaccurate, because it is based on ignorance or self-deception
(Matthew 7:21-23; Galatians 6:7-8). Or, it might be based on awareness
of acquittal from the knowledge of forgiveness made possible by a savior
who paid a redemptive price for us (1 Peter 1:18-19). David had said,
"Blessed is the man whom the Lord has forgiven" (Romans 4:5-8). But the
prospect is not based on never having done anything wrong; therefore,
being innocent of any charge by The Adversary, for all have sinned (Romans
3:23).
REPENTANCE
AND JUDGMENT
The
universal call for repentance is based on the reality of the Day of Judgment
(Acts 17:30-31). "Repentance" requires the concept of accountability,
for you cannot require one to feel remorseful about his deeds nor change
his mind about "wrong deeds" if there is no authority to whom he is accountable.
Put very simply, if there is no judgment, there is no need for repentance.
The prodigal son of Luke 15:15-31 recognized the ultimate accounting for
the responsibility of sin - "I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight…"
(vv. 18, 21). That is exactly what Paul preached -- "Repentance toward
God…" Acts 20:21). Whether or not we believe it, there will be a day of
reckoning and that ought to say to man that he needs to repent of sins
(cf. Hebrews 9:27; John 5:27-29; 2 Corinthians 5:10).
THE
AUTHENTICITY OF THE JUDGMENT IS BASED ON THE REALITY OF THE RESURRECTON
OF CHRIST
"He
hath given assurance unto all men, in that he raised him from the dead,"
(Acts 17:31). That means that there must be some evidence of this event.
If it is the basis upon which God has given assurance, it is one of the
most significant events in the history of the world, so it certainly was
"not done in a corner" (Acts 26:26).
Jesus
referred to his resurrection as the supreme, undeniable sign (Matthew
12:39-40). Because of its importance, "the resurrection" was the foundation
of almost every sermon recorded in the NT (Acts 2:22-ff;10:34-48;13:14-37;17:31-32;
Acts 23:6-8; Acts 26:1-23).
If
Jesus had not been raised, where was his body? Remember that the Jews
paid the soldiers to say the disciples stole the body (Matthew 28:11-15).
The possibility for that happening is absurd - these were Roman soldiers;
responsible to do duty at loss of life; skilled at being soldiers. And
how would they know what happened if they were asleep? Furthermore, even
if the disciples had been able to steal the body when the soldiers were
asleep, why would they want the body when they didn't believe Jesus' prediction
that he would be killed and raised again? (cf. Matthew 16:21; Luke 18:31-34;
24:7).
Remember
also that the tomb was empty and the body of Jesus was gone - where was
it? All the sermons recorded shortly after his resurrection that contained
claims of his resurrection were in the vicinity of Jerusalem. The disciples
could not have stolen the body. If the Jews had it, they would have produced
it to disprove the claims being made by the apostles' preaching and, by
presenting Jesus' dead body, exposed and destroyed the whole system of
faith in Jesus as the Son of God.
Jesus
was raised. He will judge the world in absolute fairness. God assures
us of the final, universal judgment by the resurrection of Jesus; therefore,
there is a legitimate call for universal repentance. We will give an ANSWER
for the way we have lived (Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). -
Jim R. Everett
|
