Day of Judgment
1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command. 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Christ’s coming will be a joy for Christians, who will be raised to meet him. But it will also mean the beginning of Christ’s judgments for those who have spurned the gospel.
Christians acknowledge this truth every time they recite the Apostles’ Creed, for they say that Jesus will come again from heaven “to judge the living and the dead.” This sobering fact tells us that history has an end and that this end involves accountability. We shall answer for what we have done, and we shall all be judged either on the basis of our own righteousness, which will condemn us, or on the basis of the perfect righteousness of him who is our Savior. Unfortunately, some will not face this reality and so go on in blissful ignorance of the day of reckoning.
Jesus spoke of this shortly before his crucifixion. In the sermon given on the Mount of Olives in the middle of his last week in Jerusalem, Jesus used three gripping parables to teach what the final judgment would be like for such people: the ten maidens who had been invited to a wedding banquet, the three servants left by their master to invest his money, and the separation of the sheep from the goats (see Matthew 25).
Each of these parables, though quite different from the others in detail, is nevertheless one with them in its essential features. In each case, there is a sudden return of the Lord, which demands an accounting. In each case, there are some who are prepared for his coming and others who are not. In each case, there are rewards and judgments. Most remarkable of all—and it is this for which I have recounted these parables—in each case, the lost are totally amazed at the outcome. The foolish maidens are astounded that the bridegroom will not open the door to them. The wicked and lazy servant clearly expected the master to be pleased with his zero-growth performance. The goats cannot believe that they have actually rejected Jesus.
Thus it will be with our generation. We have more opportunities to learn about Christ in our day than ever before in human history. The call has gone forth, “Behold the man! Look to this one for salvation! He loves you! He died for you! He rose again! Turn from your sin and place your trust in him as your Savior!” But many go blithely on and will be overwhelmed in the day of God’s reckoning.
Today is the day of God’s grace. The wisdom of the just in this day consists, as Paul expressed it, in knowing nothing among men except “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.