Day 47: What Will Happen on The Day of Judgment?
Today, we begin to discuss what can be a terrifying subject for some: the Day of Judgment. The Scriptures make it clear that there is a day coming when every human being must stand before God to give an account of how they have spent their time on earth. Although this is a sobering idea, it does not have to be a terrifying one. We are warned that this day is coming and so we are able to prepare for it – Jesus Himself has given us what we need to prepare for this day.
WORDwork:
Acts 17:30-31
“Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, 17:31 because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
What has God been overlooking so far? What does He now command all people to do?
Why does God give this command?
Who is this one who will judge the world?
God will judge the world according to His righteous standard.
We considered this passage briefly in one of our first sessions. This is taken from Paul’s speech before the Greeks and philosophers in Athens on Mars Hill. At the conclusion Paul makes it clear that there will be a day of judgment in which the Lord will evaluate the whole world “in righteousness.” This is the second time we have seen this term “righteousness” in the context of judgment and the last things. Let’s consider what it means for a minute.
Let’s define righteousness as doing 1] the right thing, 2] in the right way, 3] at the right time, 4] with the right motives. God is always righteousness because He always acts in this way which is in line with His truth, goodness, and glory. This is the standard He will use to judge the whole world. The things that we do here on planet earth in our lives, in the time that is given to us, matter.
The Lord Jesus will be the one who exercises God’s judgment.
Paul goes on to tell us that God will judge the world through “a man whom he designated, having provided proof to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” This man is Jesus of course. In John, Jesus tells us,
John 5:22-23
The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 5:23 so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
Again we see that the Father’s work in the world is centered on the Lord Jesus. The Father has given judgment over to the Son so that all people will honor Him. The Father has given judgment over to the Son also because He has lived as a human being (just like us) yet without sin. This qualifies Him to be completely righteous and just as our judge. It also enables Him to be sympathetic High Priest to us since He has been tempted as we have yet without sin:
Hebrews 4:15-16
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. 4:16 Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time..
What an incredible truth to realize that the One who is our judge is also the One who can sympathize with out weakness and is willing to give us help whenever we ask! We will have more to say about this a little later.
Every human being will give an account of their lives to Jesus.
Knowing that the Lord Jesus will evaluate our lives should motivate us to live in the present time in a way that is pleasing to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:9-11
So then whether we are alive or away [in the presence of Jesus], we make it our ambition to please Him (God). 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil. 5:11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people…{NET}
Paul’s life was motivated by the reality that a day would come when he would have to stand before the Lord Jesus and give an account of his life. Remember, Paul is the one who had spent the first part of his life persecuting Jesus’ people. In fact, Paul refers to himself at one place as the “worst of all sinners” (see 1 Timothy 1:15). As we will see, this day of judgment was not something Paul was dreading, yet it was a point that brought clarity and sobriety to his present life.
Because Paul knew the truth about the coming day of judgment, he was motivated to make sure that everyone he met was aware of the reality that awaited them. When Paul says that he knew the “fear of the Lord,” we should understand that he does not mean a “smack” love type of fear that we discussed earlier. The fear that Paul speaks of here is what we might call “godly fear.” Think about it this way:
Ungodly fear | is based on the false view that God is a distant, tyrant father who is out to get us if we don’t think and act perfectly.
Godly fear | is based in our Father-Child relationship with God and is motivated by our desire to be pleasing to Him and not cause Him shame.
Like Paul, we should each be motivated by this “godly fear.” We are not afraid of God, the One who gave His unique son for us all, but we want to be soberly aware of the reality that the way we live our lives matters and therefore will be evaluated by the One who has given us this life.
What is your initial reaction to what you have read today?
Do you understand the difference in ungodly and godly fear?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
