And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him. But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix' room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.
God's Judgment at the End of the World
Beloved of the Lord......In our lesson today the apostle Paul spoke to Felix of the "judgment to come", namely Judgment Day. It is the very clear teaching of the Bible, this world wherein we live will one day end and perish by fire. Though
it is almost impossible for us to imagine this world will one day end
and cease to exist, from God's perspective it is absolute necessary. This
world is much like a brothel where every crime and vice has been
committed and because God is good this place of evil must be destroyed. It cannot stand forever. . Because God is good, this place of evil must be destroyed. On that great and terrible day then, all that we know here will come to a screeching halt. All sinners will be judged for their sin. Revelation 1:7 says, Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."
There are two basic Scriptural views regarding the End of the World: one is called Annihilation, and the other Renovation. Neither
contradicts God's Word, and both come from the Word, but the Word does
not reveal all the details, therefore we don't need to know. Second
Peter three says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up." As God created all things out of nothing, so this entire earth might in the end be reduced to nothing….a complete annihilation. "Heaven and earth shall pass away".
The other view is called Renovation. While
creation itself is certainly destroyed and burned (for the Scriptures
cannot err), Psalm 102:26 says, "They shall perish, but Thou shalt
endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture
shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed." First Corinthians 7 also says, "the fashion of this world passeth away." Then
there is Isaiah 65 where God says, "Behold, I create new heavens and a
new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." This
"new earth" which God creates could be the renovation or reforming of
this earth's atoms into a new world, a paradise restored. From
Romans eight we also know creation itself will be liberated on the Last
Day "delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty
of the children of God." What a wonderful thought that is! There
must be animals in this paradise restored, for God has promised to
liberate the creature into the "glorious liberty of the children of
God!"
With
such a certain promise then of a new heaven and earth, we should be
comforted and confirmed God has indeed prepared a much better place for
us, even so much that our dear Jesus said, "Your names are written in
heaven." We will one day see Him face to face, and our hearts together will rejoice for all eternity. Therefore "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." For
"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I
will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess
his name before my Father, and before his angels."
I. Righteousness and temperance. As we begin today, it is apparent Governor Felix had an intellectual interest in the Christian religion or faith. What was it these Christians taught and believed, Felix wondered? When Paul was thus called for by Felix, Paul preached "the faith in Christ". Paul
preached as we still believe and preach today, that Jesus of Nazareth
was and still is the true Son of God from everlasting, who for our sakes
became True Man, even our Brother of flesh and blood. Born of the Virgin Mary He suffered, died, and was buried, but rose again the third day. By way of the cross, He suffered the punishment of hell for every man. With love alone and grace of heart, He earnestly gave His life for all men, every man, woman, and child of all time and generation. Jesus as mankind's brother, was the Substitute for ALL MANKIND. Paying
our price, Jesus with His own blood reconciled and turned the very
heart of God from wrath toward men, to favor with all men. All now are forgiven, and God is through Christ at peace with all. If
then men want to be saved from sin, all they need to do is believe in
Jesus, namely receive Him and His free forgiveness by faith, no strings
attached, for we know "that a man is not justified by the works of the
law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ", and "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
Sadly, Governor Felix did not believe this, though he trembled. He did as many still do today: he kicked the can down the road. He put off repentance til tomorrow. "I'll hear you again later Paul, when it is more convenient." Many young people (and even old people) still do this today. They want to party and indulge their flesh with every carnal pleasure, and they reason they can "get religion" later. They don't go to church for they have more important things to do. They enjoy the sinful life they lead, and they don't want to give it up. But such are in Satan's bondage, salves to their flesh and the dark kingdom of sin. That's
why Jesus said, "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the
world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds
were evil." When men die in such darkness without
the light of Christ, they enter into an eternal and cold darkness of
hell, which is everlasting damnation. That is why no one should spurn or reject Jesus and the sweet forgiveness He offers to all men today in the Gospel. That is also why the Bible says, "Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." This means believe in Christ while His arms of grace are still open. "Fear not, only believe."
Yet if men are to desire such forgiveness, they must first be convicted of their sins. That is why Paul preached of righteousness and temperance. "Righteousness" here means to be fair and equitable in dealing. God's law commands all men to be fair and just in all their dealings with their neighbor. We are not to rob or take advantage of anyone because they are weak or helpless, nor are we to abuse our position of authority. Consider the office of a judge. Judges in office are never to judge the rich and powerful in a different way than the poor and powerless. Deuteronomy
16:19 says, "Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect
persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the
wise, and pervert the words of the righteous." When
judges on this earth pervert justice, giving favors to the rich at the
cost of the poor, God will ultimately judge them on the Last Day. That was why Felix trembled, for he himself was a crooked judge who often accepted bribes. Paul's words taught him God cannot be bribed, and you dear Felix will be held accountable. But these words strike us too. We too as sinners have perverted justice and God's law declares us guilty. Jesus
said in Matthew seven, "With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be
judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you
again." That is why Psalm 130 says, "If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"
Paul's second word for Felix was temperance. Temperance is simply self-control. God forbids us from indulging our flesh in sin. While we are free to eat and drink, gluttony is forbidden, as is drunkenness. Likewise we should not let loose our anger, but exercise self control. Proverbs 14:17 says, "He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated." Ecclesiastes 7:9 is similar, "Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools." Throughout history too many families have been torn apart by anger, without reconciliation afterward. Whenever we thus find anger living and resting in our heart, let us learn to confess this sin, asking Jesus to forgive. Indeed when we think upon Christ, we should remember He took all our sinful anger, and made it His own sin upon the cross. With peace alone in His heart, our every angry thought He made our own, paying our price. You are therefore forgiven of all your anger, therefore let Jesus be your peace. When
we see in Christ this blessed forgiveness for all those times we lost
control, such liberation fills us with love for both God and neighbor,
and we find from Him strength to forgiven. How often then should you forgive your neighbor, Jesus said "Not seven times, "but, until seventy times seven."
II. The Judgment to Come. Knowing
that by the blood of Christ, God has forgiven us far more than seventy
times seven, for "where sin abounds, grace does much more abound" we
need not fear the "judgment to come." What exactly does the Bible say about Judgment Day? Jesus
tells us then in Matthew 25, "When the Son of man shall come in his
glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the
throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." The sheep which are preserved on the right hand of God, are all those believers who put their faith and trust in Jesus' blood. We
notice there is really no judgment for them in any bad sense, for
Christ immediately separates the sheep to the right, which is a position
of strength and favor. He will then say to us as
He has promised, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world." The
sins we committed during our life are not mentioned even once, for they
were long ago covered by the blood of Christ, and the good works God
graciously did through us are likewise then rewarded. That is why our works "follow us" into heaven but Christ alone is our DOOR to heaven. Having the garment of faith in Christ upon us, God sees no evil in us but only good.
It is not so however for the unbelievers. Since
Jesus came to them with His grace, but they would not believe Him or
receive Him, by their own unbelief they yet stand naked in their sin. They
will also hear the dreadful sentence from Christ, "I never knew you"
and "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels." For all eternity they will
not only be tormented in the flames, but their conscience will forever
burn with the thought that their damnation is their own fault, for
Christ came to them with His Gospel, His open arms, but they would not
believe.
Dear
Christian, be thankful then to your great God and Lord, who has opened
your eyes so that you see Jesus as He is, your Savior, my Savior, this
world's Savior, "for God so loved the world that He gave His
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life." That is a most blessed
certain and sure promise from God to you, which cannot fail, and "if God
be for us, who can be against us." Even when we
are weak, and we are daily weak, He is yet strong, and there is no
shadow nor degree of turning in His gracious heart. For Christ's sake, His heart is permanently fixed and turned in your favor, and heaven is yours by the very strength of Jesus own blood, which washes all sinners clean. Let
us not then fear in any way Judgment Day, for God through Christ has
already even long ago, judged and declared us holy, not with gold or
silver, but with His holy and most precious blood. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment