"Judgment Day"

Sermon by Pastor David Layman

January 6, 2008

I John 4:7-21

In every area of life, we believe in some form of judgment. Our schools and universities believe in judgment. There are such things as report cards, final exams, and grades. How one makes such evaluations is the subject of considerable discussion. Is the mandatory testing system in public education helpful or could it be improved? Few would argue that education would be better served if teachers never gave grades and schools never expected students to meet certain standards.

College football has set up the "Bowl Championship Series", where all season long teams have strived to do their best so they can make a major "BCS" bowl game, and in particular, play for a national championship. There are complex formulas including multiple polls which determine which two teams wind up playing for the national championship. This is all a form of judgment.

Likewise, the NFL believes in judgment. Teams play hard throughout the season hoping to make the playoffs, gain home field advantage, and ultimately become the NFL champions. This past season, the Colts passed all the crucial tests. Will they do so again this year?

Politically, we have a lengthy primary and caucus season to see which of a multitude of candidates will earn the right to compete against one another this fall for the presidency of the United States....a very complex, expensive judgment process!

Then there is our judicial system, where judges and juries make decisions on divorces, custody, who committed a crime and how he or she should be punished, what should be done to companies that cheat, and so forth. Without good laws and a system of justice, life in this troubled world would be far more challenging than it is! More than that, we couldn't have tv shows like "Judge Judy" if it weren't for the judgments of our court system!

With all these forms of judgment, it's interesting that many people recoil from the thought that there will be a LAST judgment in life, when God will judge us! But that is the clear instruction of the New Testament. Jesus came into the world to teach truth, show us the way, and die for our sins on the cross. One day Jesus will come again as judge, separating the sheep from the goats. If we're striving to live the way Jesus showed us, we will long for judgment day, not fear it.

Dec. 27's local paper carried an article about vandals destroying elaborate outdoor Christmas decorations on Christmas night. One of the victims said "I have to believe there is a special warm place waiting for them because karma is going to get them. It's one thing to destroy someone's property, but to do it on Christmas takes a special kind of jerk." This victim of crime also noted that the license plate of the vehicle carrying the vandals read "In God we trust." So we can add lying and defamation of God's character to the charges of theft and vandalism! Judgment day is a time for believers to look forward to, not dread!

Keep in mind early believers were a small minority, and often faced persecution. They faced hard times, and life itself was more of a struggle for most of them than it is for most of us, blessed by relative prosperity and the benefits of modern science. In the first letter of John, chapter 4, John urges Christ's followers "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God." (4:1) John also shares that there is a "spirit of truth and the spirit of error." (4:6) There is truth and falsehood. There's a right way to live and a wrong way. Though we live in an age of relativism, if pushed far enough, every intelligent person must acknowledge that some actions are better than others! John continues "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment." There will be a time of accounting. John says love is from God, and God is love. God sent his Son into our world so that we might live through him. If we love God, we must also love those about us.

Perhaps one of the most blatant rebellions against God took place in Nazi Germany from 1932 to 1945. The Nazis sought to control the church under the guise of nationalism and following the authority of the governing powers. Intimidation was broadly used in Nazi Germany. People who dissented could be sent to concentration camps or executed. Social Darwinism (belief in the "survival of the fittest") and concepts of a super race helped create an atmosphere where those who dissented were afraid to speak up. Yet some courageous German Christians did. Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans were part of the "White Rose" movement, where as students in Munich they mailed out and distributed articles critical of the Nazi's. I recently watched a German language movie with English subtitles focussing on the true story of Sophie's resistance and arrest. While Sophie was being interrogated, she was told that God did not exist. Sophie protested that God did exist, and the Nazi killing of the insane, retarded children and Jews was wrong. Sophie was put in prison, and then brought to trial with an intimidated defense lawyer who did nothing to defend her, and a judge who yelled condemnation at Sophie while a gallery of Nazis and soldiers watched her courageously speak truth. Sophie referred to her Christian faith and noted that the leading Nazis who were condemning her would one day themselves be standing before a different court of justice! At the time Sophie was sentenced to be executed, Sophie's father broke into the courtroom and bravely shouted "There is a higher justice!", referring to God.

One day each of us will stand before the judgment seat of God. It won't be a scene like what took place when the Nazis ran people through a sham trial. We don't need to fear God's judgment if we love God and what God has done for us through Christ. We don't need to be perfect to receive salvation. None of us are. Every generation has its moral blind spots, and even basically good and ethical people are far from perfect. We're in a dangerous situation if we trust in our own righteousness.

I worry about our generation. Many intentionally ignore God and the study of God's Word, because they think if they attend church or read the Bible, what they hear may call into question the appropriateness of how they're living. They'd rather presume themselves righteous and be their own and only judge. That's dangerous! I John 4 speaks both of God's judgment and God's love: "God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him." (I John 4:9) Jesus was sent as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. (4:10) How we live as well as what we say we believe makes a difference in life: "Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen." (4:20)

Trust in a loving God. Strive to live by God's instruction, humbly knowing at the same time you can never live well enough to save yourself. Long for judgment day when Christ comes again!

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