Alba 9-15-2024
HOW TO HAVE BOLDNESS ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
I John 4:12-21
Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. is a minister who also raises chickens. He told this story: “Understand Linda, my wife, hates any kind of a bird. Too much Alfred Hitchcock when she was a girl, remember the horror show 'The Birds'”. He said he was gone one day so Linda decided to feed the chickens. He said that when they let the chickens out in the morning they ate bugs and stuff. And later when he fed the chickens they would come and walk with him to the barn.
So when Linda did it, the chickens came to meet her, the rooster in front. Linda started running as fast as she could. The chickens thought this was a game, so they started running after her. The more she ran, the more they ran.
He said, “I pulled into the drive and saw this woman running all around and 100 chickens chasing her. I yelled out the window, “Drop the bucket, drop the bucket!”. Linda dropped the bucket and the chickens started eating. He concluded the story with, “See the chickens were not chasing Linda, they were hungry and wanted food. Because of Linda's extreme fear of birds, fear had her running from what she feared.”
That experience of her fear reminds me of Proverbs 28:1 which says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues.” The idea is that those with a guilty conscience will go on the run even if there is no one after them. Fear controls them.
There is something that many people should fear, and that is the judgment of God. Scripture tells us that there is a Judgment Day coming. That, for many, should cause them to be afraid if they have any idea what it could mean for them. Look at what deserves judgment in our country. Look at what is happening morally and even politically.
We have evil in our government as well as in our society. It causes me to wonder if our nation, instead of receiving God's blessings, we deserve God's judgment. I do pray for better things, but there is a lot around us today that can cause us to fear the outcomes.
Whether we experience God's judgment now or not, there will be a day when all will be judged. Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-33 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.” Then in verse 41 it says, “He will... say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
That should be scary for some. Jesus says there are only two places to stand on the Day of Judgment—you’re either on the right hand or on the left. You stand either among the sheep or with the goats. There is no middle of the road.
I understand that there is a song by the group Blood, Sweat, and Tears, called "Spinning Wheel." There is a line in the song where David Clayton Thomas writes, "I can swear there ain’t no heaven, but I pray there ain’t no hell." What is he saying? Sounds like he is saying, "I know God can’t be kind enough to have a heaven, but I sure hope He’s not mean enough to have a hell."
Yes, there is a hell, but there is also a heaven. After we die everyone of us will be judged, and our future prospects of life with God in heaven will stand or fall upon that judgment. Imagine it! Standing before God with God looking at us and seeing exactly what we have been like in this life and passing judgment on us. As someone said, “It’s enough to frighten anybody to death!”
That's why I really like verses 17 and 18 from our text in I John chapter four. They speak of God's love and say, “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
Notice, we can have boldness on the Day of Judgment and not be afraid. That is a great comfort! But what is it that makes that possible? The rest of the verses in this section of scripture tell us what makes it possible for us to face the judgment of God without fear.
The first is found in verses 14 and 15. Here it is: “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” So we must...
1. Make a Personal Confession that Jesus is the Son of God
When a person declares, acknowledges or makes the confession that Jesus is the very Son of God, things change. When you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross because of your sins and rose to life again, God does an amazing work in you. He calls you to repentance, and when baptized into Christ, raises you to new life.
We have all committed acts of sin that deserve nothing less than eternal punishment. But God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to pay for our penalty. There are two things that will enable us to stand on the right side of Jesus on Judgment Day, and two things alone. They are (1) the grace of God and (2) the merits of Christ and His death on the cross to take the punishment for our sins.
When Jesus died on the cross He set us free from the weight of the guilt of our failures, small and large. When Jesus died on the cross, His love provided forgiveness for all our faults and failings - every last one of them. In Christ we are declared "Not Guilty". It is that judgment which sets us free from guilt, free to be with Him forever.
God is love and God has prepared a heaven. He dwells in heaven, and has made the way open for us to go to heaven by giving us the sacrifice of His one and only Son. This love doesn’t just overlook our sins. It obliterates them. It paid for them. It makes them not count against us. It doesn’t leave any room for punishment because God’s love in Christ punished our sin on the cross! It is this perfect love of God that let’s us live and die and face the judgment of God with boldness and without fear of punishment.
In John 5:24 Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” In reality, judgment is not future for the Christian, but is past. Our sins have already been judged at the cross and will not be brought against us again. It is only when we are in Christ Jesus that we can face the final judgment of God with boldness and not be afraid.
To face the judgment of God without fear, of first importance is our relationship with Jesus Christ. Another thing that will remove any fear of God's judgment is found throughout this section in verses 12, 16, and 20 and 21. It is the message that John talks about again and again. It is love.
2. So Let God's Love Abide in You
God's perfect love casts out fear! Even fear of judgment.
The key word concerning love for the apostle John seems to be the word ’remain’ or ’abide’. So how does God's love abide in us? First it is when we receive His love through the sacrifice of Jesus. And then these verses tell us to love one another, especially other Christians. Verses 20 and 21 of this fourth chapter of I John say, “If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
But sometimes we can become like the little girl who had spent the whole day fighting with her sister. That evening they prepared for bed, still mad at each other. As usual, they knelt beside their beds for their prayers. "Dear God," the eight year old began, "Bless Daddy and Mommy, bless our cat and dog." Then she stopped. Her mother gently prodded, "Didn’t you forget somebody?" She glared across the bed at her six year old sister and added, "And, oh yes, God bless my ex-sister."
Have you seen people who claim to be Christians, and yet have the most bitter, sour, unloving, and vengeful hearts you could ever imagine. God’s Word is very clear that love is a sign of the presence of God, and likewise the lack of love is a sign that we do not know God.
Be careful. Because this works a lot like a see saw. When love goes up fear goes down. But when love goes down fear goes up. It is only when we truly know God’s love for us in Jesus Christ that removes our fear of judgment. His love is a constant reminder to us that He is faithful and His promises are true. We can trust Him.
Knowing that God loves us drives out all fear. When we experience the love of God, there can be no reason for fear on Judgment Day. If we are afraid, it is because we have not yet realized how perfectly God loves us. Verse 18 says that fear has to do with torment, or punishment. If you are driving at the speed limit, you don't have any fear when you come to a speed trap with a patrolman sitting there waiting for speeders.
Now, fear of punishment can be a very effective form of motivation to do better. It’s used quite effectively in the military. Soldiers are trained to obey orders. That’s what boot camp is all about. You find out very quickly that you better listen and get it right the first time or you face the wrath of an angry drill sergeant.
Our God is not a drill sergeant who yells in our face and breathes out threats. And He’s not a policeman with a pair of handcuffs. He’s a Father who loves us and gave us His Son to redeem us for His own. We need to live every day of our lives without fear, motivated to live for Him who first loved us, and to show His love to others. As God loves us, and loves others through us, it is a daily witness to our hearts that we belong to Him.
God could have used fear very effectively to get us in line. But He didn’t. Because He wants our hearts more than anything else. So He offers love instead of fear. His perfect love drives out fear.
There is one more thing that can give us confidence to have boldness on the Day of Judgment. It is in verse 13 where it says, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” That confidence comes when you...
3. Know that God's Spirit Dwells in You.
1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” When the Holy Spirit of God lives in us, we can stand boldly in the presence of God, now and on the Day of Judgment. The Holy Spirit never just indwells us and then just sits there until it’s time to take us to heaven.
That’s not what the Holy Spirit does. Because this is the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Word of God of which is said, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Now, if the Word of God is that active, what do you think of the Author? Wouldn’t the Author, the Spirit who inspired it be just the same? The Spirit and the Word of God changes lives. Are you different today than the day you became a Christian? Are things different? Are your values different? Are your priorities different? Are your behaviors different? Are your attitudes different? Is your speech different? If so, why? Is it because you’re a good church-going man or woman? No. It is because the Holy Spirit of God has come into your life and is applying the Word of God in your life.
Because if the Holy Spirit of God lives in you, you’re going to change. At least you will be in the process of changing. The power of the Holy Spirit working inside of you will cause a very definite change in you. The evidence of the Holy Spirit is this: That you believe in Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God, you love others, and you experience a change in behavior and attitude.
The Holy Spirit is always present and ready to guide any who desire His help. The indwelling of God’s Spirit assures us that He will complete what He has begun in our lives.
Judgment Day is coming. So will it be a day of fear, or a day of rejoicing? Remember Proverbs 28:1 says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues.” But then it ends with, “But the righteous are bold as a lion.”
For those in Christ, Judgment Day will be a day of freedom from fear, and a confident boldness in the presence of God.
CLOSE:
There was a time when gas stations were service stations and the attendant pumped your gas for you. Well one time at the start of a holiday weekend the service station was extra busy. At last the attendant came up to the local minister who had been in line and had been waiting for some time.
“Sorry for the delay,” the attendant said to the minister. “Seem like folks always wait until the last minute to get ready for a trip they know they are going to take.”
The minister smiled and said, “I know what you mean, I have the same problem in my business.”
In this church, we preach Christ. Because He is the only one who has made it possible for us to face judgment without fear. And He calls us to Himself. Will you answer His call?
