Rev. Cary M. Richert
Last Sunday of the Church Year (Series A)
Christ the King Sunday
Sunday of the Fulfillment
November 20, 2005
What'll Happen When Jesus Comes?
1 Corinthians 15:20-24
What an incredible weekend! Michigan lost to Ohio State. Michigan State lost to Penn State. The Red Wings lost to St. Louis. The Pistons lost to Dallas. Michigan State men's basketball lost to Hawaii! Most local sports fans are asking themselves today, What's this world coming to? Maybe the Lord could bring it to a speedy end before the Lions game this afternoon, and spare us from further misery!
What's this World Coming To? That's a question we reflected on last weekend, as we examined the signs of the end times and of Christ's imminent return in judgment. We learned that the signs have been present ever since Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection.
We also learned that it's important for us as God's people: to take these signs seriously, paying careful attention to them ... to stand firm in faith, because only those who stand firm in faith to the end will be saved ... and, to be active in taking the gospel of the kingdom to others in the mission field of our daily lives.
Today we ask the question: What'll Happen When Jesus Comes?
When the time's right ... and only God the Father knows when, [Matthew 24:36] ... Christ the King, the Son of Man, will come and all His angels with Him, [Matthew 25:31] ... countless thousands upon thousands of them, [Jude14] . Our Lord's return in glory will be visible, just like when He ascended into heaven, [Acts 1:11].
All the dead, believers and unbelievers ... the just and the unjust, will rise from death in their bodies, [John 5:28-29]. The bodies of the righteous will be raised imperishable, in glory, and in power ... a spiritual body without defect, deformity, or any other effect of sin, [1 Corinthians 15:41-42]. The bodies of the unrighteous, on the other hand, will likely reflect the effects of sin in even more pronounced ways.
Christ the King will sit on His throne, as the angels separate the righteous from the wicked, [Matthew 13:49] ... the sheep from the goats, [Matthew 25:32]. Separation based on faith alone. The righteous had faith. The unrighteous didn't. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast, [Ephesians 2:8?9].
As He sits on His throne, Christ the King is also Christ the Judge, as Peter taught Cornelius and his household: Jesus commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead, [Acts 10:42]. All shall appear before the judgment seat of Christ, the righteous in their glorified bodies, and the wicked in their sin-infested bodies, as the apostle Paul writes: For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God, [Romans 14:10].
An 8th grader once asked if Judgment Day is like a final exam you can't take over. Yes! An earthly court can be scary. If you go, you want to have a good lawyer. When, on the Last Day, God summons you into His court ... there's only one who can save you: For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, [1 Timothy 2:5]. [Dale Meyer, The Meyer Minute for November 14, 2005] Is Christ your Mediator? Or are you going to try Agoing it on your own?@
By what standard will the sentence of judgment be passed? Paul writes: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil, [2 Corinthians 5:10]. Surprised to hear that your good works done in faith are important at the judgment?
Jesus' Parable of the Sheep and the Goats helps us understand the role of works at the time of judgment. The righteous are judged only according to their good works, because these works were proof of their faith in Christ. ABlessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!@ [Revelation 14:13]. The evil deeds of believers aren't even mentioned, because through justification by God's grace through faith alone ... their evil deeds have been cast into the depths of the sea, [Micah 7:19] ... removed as far as the east is from the west, [Psalm 103:12] ... remembered no more by our merciful God, [Hebrews 8:12].
The unrighteous standing before the judgment seat of Christ are judged according to the good they didn't do. Nothing an unbeliever does has any merit before God, because without faith it is impossible to please God, [Hebrews 11:6]. No matter how good the works of unbelievers may appear by worldly standards, they don't earn or deserve God's favor at the Final Judgment. Their reward is realized on earth alone ... but not in eternity.
What happens after our Lord judges the righteous and the unrighteous? To the righteous He says: Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, [Matthew 25:34]. And to the unrighteous He says: Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels, [Matthew 25:41].
As the Lord's angels throw the wicked into the fiery furnace of hell, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth with Satan and all the fallen angels, [Matthew 13:50] ... Jesus Himself bears the righteous into heaven, that they also may be where He is, [John 14:6].
What will heaven be like for God's people? Through a vision imparted to him by the Holy Spirit, the apostle John offers the following description: (The righteous) are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. [Revelation 7:15-19]
Heaven is an eternal dwelling you can look forward to with all eagerness and joy. There, you'll recognize your loved ones who lived and died in faith, [i.e. King David, 2 Samuel 12:23]. In heaven, the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. [Revelation 21:3-4]
Many of you have lost loved ones in death. Be assured today, that if they died in faith ... trusting Jesus alone for their salvation ... their souls are resting peacefully in His presence, awaiting the day of His return, when the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord, [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17].
What does all this mean for you now? BE PREPARED. Stand firm in faith to the end. Don't set your affections on things of this world. Continue and increase in holy living. Bear faithfully the cross of suffering that comes your way. Tell others of God's love in Jesus ... especially your loved ones!
And, What'll Happen For You When Jesus Comes? Christ the King answers: Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life, [Revelation 2:10]. God grant that each of us will be found faithful in Christ when that time comes, for the sake of Jesus ... our Savior and our King. Amen.