{"id":634,"date":"2020-11-08T09:00:41","date_gmt":"2020-11-08T17:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=634"},"modified":"2020-11-21T16:47:41","modified_gmt":"2020-11-22T00:47:41","slug":"free-to-face-judgment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=634","title":{"rendered":"Free! – to Face Judgment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(based on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t imagine the first three verses of our text this morning would serve as the ideal bedtime story as you\u2019re saying goodnight and tucking in your little one. \u201cNow, brothers and sisters, about times and dates\u00a0we do not need to write to you,\u00a0for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.\u00a0While people are saying, \u2018Peace and safety,\u2019\u00a0destruction will come on them suddenly,\u00a0as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape\u201d (v.1-3). <\/em><\/strong>\u201cSweet dreams.\u201d These aren\u2019t the kind of soothing, calm words that would put a child at ease when lying down for the night!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For that matter, these aren\u2019t the kind of words that go over all that well with adults, either. In fact, some might point to verses just like these in Scripture as the reason they never have and never will give Christianity the time of day. The gloom and doom version of God doesn\u2019t go over so well in a society that has given itself permission to redefine or design the divine according to personal preference. When we\u2019ve allowed our ideas of religion to closely resemble ordering a pizza with our favorite toppings and leaving off the stuff we don\u2019t like, is anyone surprised that most people would prefer to leave off the toppings of hell, destruction, wrath, or judgment? Hardly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, though we may not readily admit it, we are all in favor of judgment. Imagine you\u2019re a small business owner and someone breaks into your store and makes off with tens of thousands of dollars worth of product or goods. If the police caught the guys that did it, you\u2019d likely be in favor of justice being carried out and a judgment being rendered. The same would also be true if a drunk driver hit and killed a member of your family, or if someone published an unfounded, slanderous report about you online or in a magazine or paper. When we\u2019re wronged, we\u2019re not opposed to judgment at all when it means justice is being carried out. But when God talks about judgment, it doesn\u2019t sit as well with people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know why that is, don\u2019t you? Consider the child who suddenly hears his father call out to him, \u201cSon, come here right now. We need to talk.\u201d Those words are able to evoke totally different responses in the son. On the one hand, he might immediately react with curiosity, wondering what it could be that his dad wants to talk about. On the other hand, those words can be totally terrifying if he happens to know exactly what dad wants to talk about and it isn\u2019t going to be good. In that situation, what is that determines the son\u2019s perception of his dad\u2019s words? It\u2019s not anything on dad\u2019s end but on the son\u2019s. If he did something wrong, that\u2019s what makes those words terrifying. But if he didn\u2019t do anything wrong, those words are relatively harmless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when people balk at the notion of God and judgment, it\u2019s clear why. We don\u2019t want to consider God\u2019s judgment, because our conscience makes it pretty clear what he means when he says, \u201cCome here right now. We need to talk.\u201d When we consider that God is omniscient – all knowing, omnipresent – everywhere, and omnipotent – all powerful, that pretty convincingly rules out any of our wrongs going unnoticed, doesn\u2019t it? There\u2019s no chance that God just happened to be looking the other way. There\u2019s no chance that maybe he didn\u2019t hear us. There\u2019s no chance of anyone pulling one over him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means you didn\u2019t actually have to speak your bitter response to that political comment someone made recently, the Judge knew your thought well enough. It means he doesn\u2019t need to check your browser history to see what sites you visited online – the Judge has a browser history that can\u2019t be erased. That means you can lie to your parents, deceive your spouse, and fool your boss – the Judge knows the truth in each and every case, right down to the last disgraceful detail. So it\u2019s no surprise that the idea of God and judgment going together isn\u2019t a popular one with many people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially when we consider the sentence that such judgment deserves. There were two words Paul used in the text this morning to describe what awaits those who don\u2019t meet God\u2019s standards of judgment: \u201cdestruction\u201d (v.3)<\/em><\/strong> and \u201cwrath\u201d (v.9)<\/em><\/strong>. Here we must explain another sticking point many have with Christianity. It\u2019s one thing for people to believe in a heaven – that\u2019s all well and good. The struggle for many, however, is the only alternative that exists outside of heaven: hell. They see no reason whatsoever that a loving God could send anyone to a place of such suffering. No heaven? That\u2019s one thing. But why the extreme pain and torment and suffering of hell? Does God delight in that? Then why else would it exist? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that misunderstands what heaven is and what it means to be in the presence of God. What makes hell so wretched and unyielding is the absence of God. It\u2019s not that God deliberately or intentionally wished to set up such a place of suffering as some curb or threat so that people would be drawn to heaven instead. Rather, when God is not present, all that remains is unyielding and relentless agony. Not because God wants it, but simply because that\u2019s all that exists when God is removed from the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, remember that judgment is only something to be feared if you are guilty of something. If you haven\u2019t done anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear. And if Jesus is in the picture, then you have nothing to fear. \u201cFor God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him\u201d (v.9-10). <\/em><\/strong>Paul is addressing believers \u2013 then AND now. Believers know that they have been chosen – \u201canointed\u201d as Paul writes – to receive salvation. That salvation is received not by going to church, not by voting for the right presidential candidate, not by anything you could do on even your best day, but only \u201cthrough\u2026 Jesus Christ.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>And then, lest we try to make it too terribly complicated, Paul also lays out how Jesus made that possible: by his death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where the focus ought to be. When so many defiantly denounce God because of their disdain over realities like judgment and hell, they\u2019re pouting over something that doesn\u2019t have to be anyone\u2019s reality – including theirs! Since we\u2019ve already agreed that most everyone is in favor of judgment when it means that justice is being served, we ought to dumbfounded that God chose to carry out the sentence of his just judgment on his own Son instead of you and me. So rather than being disgruntled about judgment and hell, we ought to be delighted that we don\u2019t have to fear it! God\u2019s judgment to all who believe is that since Jesus died, you will live. What\u2019s to fear?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no fear of judgment then, we live as we have been made to live – not as those who belong to the night, but as those who live in the light as those who belong to the day. That\u2019s how we\u2019re free to live. \u201cYou are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, \u2026let us be awake and sober. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet\u201d  (v.5, 6, 8). <\/em><\/strong>Faith, love, and hope. Do those sound like the qualities that embody your day-to-day living? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The verdict has already been made. \u201cTherefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus\u201d<\/em><\/strong> (Romans 8:1).<\/em><\/strong> Let every man and even your own conscience itself be liars, but let God\u2019s declaration and promise stand true. If you are in Christ Jesus, you have nothing to fear. There is no condemnation for you. You are free to face judgment because you already know the verdict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could I ask something of you? Could you please – please – follow Paul\u2019s advice? “Therefore encourage one another\u00a0and build each other up,\u00a0just as in fact you are doing\u201d (v.11). <\/em><\/strong>So many in our world right now need so much encouragement, and you have the best encouragement imaginable to share with them. You have no fear of judgment. Encourage others by reminding them that in Christ Jesus, neither do they. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(based on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11) I don\u2019t imagine the first three verses of our text this morning would serve as the ideal bedtime story as you\u2019re saying goodnight and tucking in your little one. \u201cNow, brothers and sisters, about times and dates\u00a0we do not need to write to you,\u00a0for you know very well that the… Continue reading Free! – to Face Judgment<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[72,65],"tags":[61,69,5,60,36],"class_list":["post-634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-free-series","category-sermons","tag-fear","tag-free","tag-jesus","tag-judgment","tag-sermon"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p842FN-ae","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=634"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":641,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634\/revisions\/641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}