Foundational stones 5-6 Resurrection from the dead and eternal judgment.
These two are so closely linked, that they will be studied together.
Key Verse—Acts 17:31 because he hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
I. Death is a glorious experience for a Christian.
· Mortality to immortality—I Corinthians 15:53—the Word of God declares that death is just a transfer from one state into another. It is a transfer from corruption to incorruption, a limited life to life everlasting.
· Acts 7:59—receive my spirit—we must understand that we are spiritual beings in a physical frame. At death, the physical frame is discarded for the spiritual—the glorified body.
· 2 Corinthians 5:8—absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. The next thought on the Christian departure from this life, it isn’t a leap into the darkness, but a step into the presence of Jesus Christ.
· 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14—it is the hope of the believer. If someone is without Christ, there is no hope at the funeral home, there is no hope at the cemetery, but for Christians, since Christ is risen, we in like manner will rise with him.
II. Jesus paved the way—
· Jesus is the first fruit—I Corinthians 15:20—he conquered death, hell and the grave, so that death has lost it’s sting, the grave it’s victory.
· John 11:25- I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
· Access to God—broken down the middle wall of partition between us-Ephesians 2:14—Jesus made it possible for us to approach God, he has slain the enmity between us and the Father.
III. Judgment---the bible is full of verses that explain that everyone will be judged, tonight we will take just a few of these verses and look at some practical applications over deep theological debates.
· Our judgment of others will in some way determine the severity of how we will be judged—Matthew 7:2-with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you again.
This is a strong admonition for all Christians to operate in a spirit of love,
Forgiveness of others, and to give mercy so that we shall obtain mercy.
To some degree, how we judge others, will be the scales that God uses in
Judging us.
· Matthew 7:21-23 There will be many who profess Christianity that will not make heaven because of disobedience in their life. Even those who possessed some spiritual gifts, and did wonderful works will not make it, the Lord will declare, depart I never knew you.
· Revelation 20:11-15—we have the final judgment in these verses and we find a very simple explanation of how this judgment works. Everyone stands before God, the book of life is opened, those not found in the book of life are cast into a lake of fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
It is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment—Hebrews
9:27—everyone will be judged, both great and small, no exceptions,
no excuses—Romans 1:20
· The Believer’s Judgment—I Corinthians 3:11-15 not only will every person be judged, but every work will be tried to see what sort it is, gold, and silver or wood, hay and stubble—before anyone will receive a reward for any work, it will be tried by fire, works that are burned will be lost, works that remain will be rewarded.
IV. The Value of Grace—
The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We all fall short of the glory of God, there is none righteous, no, not, one. Our righteousness is as a filthy rag.
It is essential when talking about death, resurrection and the Judgment, that we stress God’s grace through Jesus Christ. I have come that ye might have life, and have it more abundantly.
Ephesians 2:8-9—For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.
If God were to number sin, who could stand?
We have an advocate with the Father—I John 2:1-2 If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Lawyer—he stands to defend us, a sinless lawyer for a sinful client.
Propitiation—this is one of the most beautiful, but complex words in the Bible—a reading of many different translations shows the many different renderings of what this word really means—
One common thought is the appeasing of the offended party—or appeasing the wrath of God.
Another is the removing of the obstacle that blocks fellowship—expiation-
But as one commentary shows—this word isn’t one or the other, it is both an appeasing of God’s anger, and the removal of the obstacle that blocks fellowship.
In the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, he has appeased God’s anger, the accepted sacrifice, and removed the obstacle—sin—as far as the east is from the west, to be remembered no more.
· one final thought in approaching the Judge—in the American courtroom in most cases, the Judge is a totally neutral party—he is the mediator that has no common thread to the one being tried or the lawyer representing the accused. Here is the most wonderful thought about the one who will judge us, he hired our lawyer for us, when we couldn’t get a lawyer who would take our case. The offenses against us were so great, that no one could win our case, except for one, the Son of the Judge, who would take the sentence against us on himself. So since the Son has already paid the penalty, with him as our lawyer, our Judge will judge us according to the work of the Son in paying the bill.
Close: weep not, for the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof.
