Judgment Is Coming

Jude lesson 9 tonight. I'm going to call this Judgment is Coming.

! We just got 12 lessons in Jude. We're going to be finishing up and take a Christmas break! And then start again, I think, January 4th. Judgment is coming.

Upon the earth. And people go about their daily lives as if nothing is amiss. Most people believe that the future is unknown and unknowable.

What a joy it is for those of us who've read the end of the book. We know how it comes out. Because the Bible is quite clear that judgment is coming.

And it's somewhat of a worn phrase, but judgment delayed is not judgment denied. God is long-suffering, patient, but judgment is coming.

Now how can we be sure that judgment is coming? And the major reason, of course, is God's Word tells us that judgment is coming. So we can just take that to the bank and fill up the account right there.

But I would suggest another proof and judgment has come before. That's a good proof. Judgment has already happened.

God has sent His judgment fires. And I think we could add here His judgment waters. This is what Jude has to say in verses 14-16.

It was also about these men that Enoch and the seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.

These are grumblers finding fault following after their own lusts. They speak arrogantly flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

I suppose the hallmark of our day is that we live in a world of political correctness.

There are times I get nauseous from the level, the depths of political correctness in this world.

We are surrounded by people who pretend to exercise tolerance even for the most filthy and aberrant sins among us.

About the only thing people are intolerant of today is evangelical Christians. I saw today where a number of airlines are being threatened with lawsuits because they haven't made accommodation for transvestite pilots and co-pilots.

Let me just say if I've got a transvestite flying my plane whether he or she is dressed as a man or woman I just assume walk. Sorry, that's just how I feel.

Now we call the culture we live in post-modern and in a setting such as ours it is taboo to criticize someone else's beliefs or attitudes.

And it was Billy Graham who once said society today bends over backward to keep from offending anyone except God. That seems to be in vogue.

You can offend God and the more you offend God the better. Obviously it's politically incorrect to mention hell. And the mention of hell is very unpopular.

The idea that God would come down and judge people is ridiculous given the fact that people are after all basically good and decent. And that's the description of humanity by a humanistic culture.

And it's very sad but the truth is these ideas have spilled over into the church. Even in conservative circles depending on where you're at the mention of hell can be an embarrassment.

I think this gave rise to the whole annihilation theory which is not taught in scripture that you just cease to be someday. For those who still cling to the idea of an afterlife in heaven the method that the world describes to get there is totally false and absolutely unbiblical.

The prevailing attitude today is justification by death. You die and you go to heaven.

I had a good friend die about five, six, seven days ago rejected Christ and everything to do with him. I still have time. I'm only 71.

Put it off. And a good friend of mine and Ed Gordon city manager my boss highly you knew him. But how many people would say boy he's in a much better place now.

I fear not. I don't know his heart at the last moment he dropped dead. His heart exploded and he dropped.

But the prevailing belief is justification by death. If you get to heaven you've got to die. When you die you go to heaven. Now over and against all of this we have the very plain words of God.

And he is really very straightforward about the reality of divine judgment. God is judged in the past.

He's judging now. He will judge in the future. And we can be certain of that. The New Testament actually speaks more about future judgment than it does about future joy in heaven.

A lot more. The final form of God's divine judgment is really connected to the second coming of Christ.

The Bible clearly teaches that at the end of the age whatever time that is the Lord will return to execute judgment upon the earth.

The scriptures say this He has fixed a day note the singular there He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a man that's capital M whom He has appointed having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.

That's not rocket science to figure out that they're talking of the Lord Jesus Christ or by the way that's Acts 17 31. Now no one knows the day or hour of Christ's return.

There have been some very foolish men over time who tell us that they do know. They've written books. they've given speeches.

They've gone on the circuit. The internet is filled with dates of Christ's return and most of 99% of them are in the past.

The Jehovah Witness when Charles Taz Russell and Judge Rutherford founded that they said Christ was coming back and they fixed a date and He didn't come and they fixed another day and He didn't come.

Finally it was getting a little embarrassing so they said well He came back but He's secretly hiding in Brooklyn New York until He reveals Himself.

Now let me just say in passing I've been to Brooklyn. You know why would anyone want to live in Brooklyn when they can live in Copan on my farm near where I live? I'd build Him a place out there.

There are actually four events in history that have happened or will happen exactly on time.

Not a second sooner not a second later. One of those is the birth of Christ. It happened at the precise moment it was supposed to happen and may I say it happened as foretold as foretold in many of the Old Testament prophecies.

If those guys had read Daniel and Micah the Sanhedrin should have been out there in Bethlehem waiting when he was born. He came exactly on time.

His death was on schedule. The Jews didn't hurry it up. The Romans didn't delay it. it happened precisely when the Father had ordained it to happen.

His resurrection was on schedule. I'm always amazed when I say the resurrection. You know why women saw him first? The reason the women found him first is the men were hiding.

The men were hiding. Shut the door. Turn out the lights. I guess blow out the candle. His resurrection was right on schedule. His return will be right on schedule.

And it will not be on my schedule. Because he would want to return. I had to all figure that one though. There is a fixed moment yet future when Christ will most definitely return and he promises that it will happen quickly.

Actually in the twinkling of an eye. You know that's actually been studied in universities. What is a twinkling of an eye? Essentially it's one six billionth of a second.

So that's pretty fast. There are seven features of coming judgment taught in the pages of the New Testament.

judgment. And the first two features are that judgment will be general and public. No one is going to be able to hide from this judgment although men are going to try.

They're going to try and hide. I remember those passages in Revelation about the greatest prayer revival that ever occurred.

They were crying out to the mountains and the rocks to fall on us and hide us from the wrath of the lamb. Have you ever considered those words? Wrath and lamb?

Because you know lambs are not considered these horribly dangerous creatures but the wrath of this lamb will be. And so they cry out hide us fall on us crush us would rather be crushed than look upon the wrath of the lamb.

No one's going to hide from that judgment. And we're all responsible for our own sins particularly believers. I mean we choose to sin now right?

We have someone living within us that we don't have to do that. But let me say this about every person on earth. Either we have been judged at Calvary or we will be judged at the great white throne.

But judgment is coming. And that judgment will be just and it will be impartial. And that's the third aspect of the Lord's judgment that it will be just and impartial.

No one is going to escape this judgment. You know W.C. Fields the great comedian and he was a reprobate. He was on his deathbed.

He was an unbeliever. Douglas Fairbanks walked into his hospital room knowing that he would never get out of their life. There lay W.C. Fields reading the Bible. and Douglas Fairbanks no paragon of evangelical belief.

He called him Bill. Bill what are you doing? And he said I'm looking for loopholes. I don't think he ever found one. No one will escape this judgment. It will include people who have been extremely wicked and those also who outwardly have manifested great righteousness.

Let me define that. Great, maybe that's too strong a word. Great deeds. I think of Dr. Salk who invented the polio vaccine.

Saved hundreds of millions of kids from the iron lung. Died an agnostic Jew. Didn't believe. He did some really good things and so we do know there are people that outwardly manifest even self-righteousness but there will be a judgment and it will be just and impartial.

And fourthly when God promises divine judgment he intends it to be a warning to draw people out of their sin and into a relationship with Christ.

I mean as a believer how do you deal with the possibility that Christ can come back before we end this class. It should manifest itself in holy living.

And I've told you before you know we're to be holy and that is not to perfection we'll never achieve it but it's the direction of our life. And part of that is confession of known sin daily.

Hourly if necessary. But God promises divine judgment. He's drawing out people from their sins into a relationship with Christ and is designed really to produce fear of his approaching wrath.

It's coming. God warns the lost that judgment is coming in order to draw them out of their bondage to sin. He is giving even now a final offer to repent.

Listen to this. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Both soul and body. I remember in the first Iraq war. Churches were full. Actually you weren't here then but I bet wherever you were at it was full.

People flooded to the churches. I had one of my officers call me at home. Had a newborn son. And this officer was weeping. He's weeping.

He said do you think Jesus can come back tonight? I said yeah I'm excited about that. He said well not me I've got more living to do. He wasn't ready for that.

He wasn't ready for that. God is gracious and long suffering offering people the opportunity to repent and be saved. We still live in a day when God is calling out a people for his namesake.

There's a fifth feature of God's judgment and that's based upon his divine law. No one has ever been able to keep God's law.

No one. Our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. All have violated God's law. Therefore we are all guilty and deserving of punishment.

I remember talking to a real good friend of mine that I won't tell you the denomination but the local Wesleyan church is where we met. A good friend of mine. And we're talking and he said you believe that a true believer can lose his salvation right?

He said yeah yeah yeah. I said okay. But does it have to be a serious sin? I mean if you spit on the sidewalk or you throw your gum out and your wife steps in it.

Not that I've ever done that. Will that do it? Oh no no no no no. It's got to be serious. It's got to be serious. And I said would you lose it if you violated the greatest commandment every second of your life?

Well he didn't want to answer because we all do that. Don't we? Remember what the greatest commandment is? Love God with all strength.

We've never achieved that. Dr. Sproul says we all live every moment in need of a Savior who has achieved that. All have violated God's law.

We who are in Christ will not be judged based upon the exacting and righteous demands of the law Christ has fulfilled the law for us.

Now this isn't a diatribe against the Ten Commandments. Nine of the ten are reaffirmed in the New Testament. It's not right to murder.

In any culture it's not right to murder. I didn't say kill. There are circumstances where we have to do that. Or I'm in the wrong business. But it's never right of course to murder.

Christ though has fulfilled that law. We are hidden in him. But the law wasn't given to save in the first place. It was given to draw us to Christ.

To show us our need for a Savior. But those apart from Christ will be judged based upon the perfect requirements of the law and their rebellion will be put down.

They don't have Christ. Where else do they turn? I don't know if any of you have heard of the cult of Immanuel Swedenborg.

He was a minor, actually, started a religion called Swedenborgism. I met a guy when I was an FBI agent. I met a guy that was part of that.

We had a lively discussion. I'd never heard of him. And I said to Spence, we called him Spencer. He looked just like Spencer Tracy.

I kid you not, he would give autographs. We'd go to dinner and Spencer Tracy had been dead for 15 years. He would give people come, I love you. And he gave an autograph.

He signed it, Spencer Tracy. And I said, I shared Christ with him. He said, I've never heard that. Never heard that.

We got down to the brass text of the blood of Christ. I said, how? What is your hope of eternal life? What are you doing when you're going to stand before God?

He said, we live by the Ten Commandments. We keep the Ten Commandments in our church. I said, perfectly?

Oh, yeah. I said, how are you doing? Well, not too well this week, but I'm going to get better next week. It was sad.

It was sad. Another feature I want to talk about is judgment is spread out. It will be spread out over several events.

It will begin immediately after the rapture, at the beginning of the seven year period known as the Tribulation. And during that time, God will unleash the wrath of his fury against the ungodly.

There will come a series of judgments known as the seal and the trumpet and the bowl judgments. These are terrible judgments. There will be tribulation in two periods of three and a half years.

It will get worse in the last half, but it will be bad in the first half. period of judgment will culminate in the battle of Armageddon after which the Lord will establish his kingdom on earth. Satan will be bound and Christ will rule from Jerusalem for a period of a thousand years.

And I think that's literal years. Some liberal guys, they try to say, well, the Lord only says that one time in the Bible, so we don't know if you can trust that.

Well, how many times does the Lord have to say it? How many times does the Spirit of God have to write that down for him? After that period of a thousand years, Satan will be released and he will lead fallen humanity in one final rebellion.

And by the way, I don't think that's going to be very long. I've heard some guys I really trust. We may be talking about 30 minutes here. And then Christ is going to crush Satan, his demons, and we get to watch that.

And the unsaved will be judged. And they're going to look at the book of life to see if their name is written in there because they're one with Christ and they won't find their name in there.

And then they'll look at the book of works to see if what they did in this life measured up to the cross. You know how many will be condemned? Everyone.

His name is not in the land book of life. Because nothing we can do can measure up to the cross. And they shall be judged and cast into the lake of fire. That's a terrible judgment.

It's a frightening judgment. Finally, God's judgment will result in eternal damnation for those who are outside His saving grace.

Warnings of coming judgment are intended for all the unsaved. They are especially directed at apostates and false teachers whom Jude and other writers deal with.

These are those who claim to represent God but do major damage to the cause of Christ through the church. This is what one writer said.

He authored Hebrews. For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.

Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.! How much severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and is regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the Spirit of grace for we know him who said vengeance is mine I will repay and again the Lord will judge his people it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God and if something doesn't happen I got family members that will be caught up in that we had a series of messages many years ago from Jim Merritt later president of the Sun Baptist Convention he was still working on his doctorate in Louisville I'll never forget one evening when he summed it up he said tonight you heard a man of

God preach the word of God in the house of God and you have to make a decision for or against God and when you leave this church it was in this church so when you leave here except this Billy one here when you leave here there's only a few doors you're going to go out of and you may leave under the blood of Christ or you may trample over the top of it but you will not go around the blood of Christ because you heard Jesus preached and him crucified tonight so you've been caught you've been caught so Jude tells us that judgment is coming and he lists three realities concerning the judgment to come the Lord himself will come Jesus is coming he will not come along and he will execute judgment this is what Jude says by the

Holy Spirit it was also about these men that Enoch and the seventh generation from Adam prophesied the phrase these men refers to the apostates that Jude has been talking about we saw them last week described by natural phenomena you remember that waterless clouds wandering stars and such even before the great flood of Noah's day Enoch prophesied that God was going to judge false teachers the Spirit of God revealed things to Enoch concerning the flood and beyond the flood to a final judgment that would visit this planet through fire behold the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him these are grumblers finding fault following up their own lusts speaking arrogantly flattering people for the sake of gain and advantage this prophecy tells us that the

Lord Jesus himself is coming to exact judgment and the return of Christ is so certain that Enoch thousands of years from our time spoke of it as if it had already happened he was able to do that when the Lord returns he will not be alone he will bring with him thousands of holy ones this could refer to believers or angels and it probably refers to both probably refers to both Christ is coming he is going to execute judgment upon all the ungodly that have ignored his laws that have lived lives in rebellion to him the verse says he's coming to convict them that is an interesting word it means to expose rebuke and prove guilty he's coming for all those purposes

I don't think anyone is going to be judged and cast into the lake of fire without recognizing deep down I really deserve this I don't think anyone will be able to plead!

7 tried to Lord have we not done these wonderful things what's wrong with that they did some great things didn't they you know what's wrong with it it things they did where's the cross where's the atonement what did Christ do well I did this and I did that and I did the other I have one prayer God have mercy on me a sign!

God will punish all their unrighteous deeds now in context both their words and works betray them the Holy Spirit gives a very interesting description of the apostates that will come under judgment and ultimately under condemnation he says first of all they're grumblers this is a word used to describe those who murmured against Moses during the Exodus and let me say this when you read in the Old Testament where they murmured against Moses they weren't murmuring against Moses they were murmuring against God they didn't have the bravery!

to tell it like it really was but God knew every heart just as he knows ours they were murmuring against God apostates always find fault and complain about God's holy plans and purposes as compared!

their own finding fault means to blame and it describes one who is discontent and dissatisfied now why were they this way because they wanted to follow after their own lusts and there was something standing between them and that was the Lord Jesus Christ and his revealed work and that by the way is a term often used to describe the unconverted gain an advantage over their hearers Jesus spoke of such false teachers he said this in Matthew 15 18 the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart and those defile the man those are the things that defile the man now if we carefully examine Jude's words we discover he addresses the who what where and why of

Christ's return the only thing that Jude doesn't reveal to us is when and he didn't he didn't know probably still doesn't know that's for God only to know but there's a great passage to sum up tonight in Mark 13 but of that day or hour no one knows not even the angels in heaven or the son but the father alone take heed here's some good advice take heed keep on the alert for you do not know when an appointed time will come I can inject a phrase in there not that it would be inspired but keep short accounts with

God you don't know when Christ is returned it is like a man away on a journey who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert therefore be on the alert for you do not know when the master of the house is coming whether in the evening at midnight or when the rooster crows in the morning in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep what I say to you I say to all this is the words of Christ be on the alert that was written 2000 years ago spoken 2000 years ago how much more urgent are those words spoken in November of 2015 be on the alert spread that word to your family and friends be on the alert because he is coming back