Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and he will judge the world on a day that God has appointed. How will you respond to this knowledge? Derision (laugh it off), delay (I’ll think about it later), or decision to repent and believe in Jesus?
Teaching Notes:
Jesus The Risen Judge
Acts 17:30-34
As we come to our text this morning, remember that Paul is in the great city of Athens – the architectural, political, intellectual and religious center of the world. He comes to the home of Socrates and Plato, Epicurus and Zeno. He views the matchless beauty of the Parthenon, beholds the Aeropagas. He walks the city and sees temples, shrines, altars and statues to all the Greek gods – over 3,000 of them! As he sees the gross idolatry of the city his spirit is provoked to grief and indignation at how the True and Living God has been profaned. Unable to just sit still and do nothing, even though he is all alone in this great city, he begins to preach Christ in the synagogue to the Jews, in the market place with those who happened to pass by, and to the philosophers of the city. The philosophers looked at him with derision, calling him a babbler, literally a “seed-picker”, and brought him before the Aeropagas to hear what he had to say. Remember, that the Aeropagas was a powerful council of elders in Athens who had the responsibility of overseeing the religion and morality of the city. Of course, Paul jumped at the opportunity of speaking to such an influential group of men. How does he begin? He starts by mentioning a shrine he had recently seen in Athens. It was dedicated to the “Unknown God.” Paul says, “I want to talk to you about that God; the One you don’t know. You know all kinds of other gods, but there is a God you don’t know. I want to talk to you about the Only True God.”
So, as Paul looked out over that august body of councilmen, He spoke about God as Creator, Lord, Transcendent, All-Sufficient, Sovereign, Immanent, and Living. Here in verses 30-31 Paul ends His message by telling them that the Only True God is also their Judge. “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.”
According to the apostle Paul, God has appointed Jesus Christ as the Judge of the world! But how can we know that for sure? God has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.” John 5:22-23; 26-29. Acts 10:38-42. We don’t have to wonder Who the Judge will be. Make no mistake about it – the same One who died for sins, will be the One who will judge sin at His 2nd coming.
Usually at Easter we remember the truth that Christ is risen from the dead to save us. Today I want to proclaim to you that that is only half the truth. Jesus came out of the grave for 2 purposes: to save those who repent, and to judge those who don’t! The resurrection of Jesus Christ has critical implications. Either Jesus lives to be your Savior or your Judge.
This morning we are going to examine 4 questions concerning Jesus as our Judge.
1. When Will Jesus Judge? Vs.31 says it will be on a fixed day. There was another day in the distant past when God also fixed a day in which He would judge the world. God said, “My Spirit will not strive with man forever; I will give Him 120 more years.” One week before the flood came, God told Noah, “get into the Ark. I’m going to shut the door, because in 7 days the flood will come.” God fixed the day, and He was faithful to His Word. Well, God has fixed another day. He hasn’t told us how many years are left before this day, but we do know that His judgment this time will be by fire, not water. Mt.24:36-39. The judgment upon the world in Noah’s day was intended to be a type, a picture, of the Final Judgment upon the world which is yet to come. Notice that the day for this judgment is fixed. That means God has set it, and nothing you or I can do can change it. It means that that Day will come, like it or not. Every day we are hastening towards it, and are one day sooner to it. A wise man would prepare now so that he is ready to meet Jesus on that day. Rev.20:11 says of that day, “from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.” In other words, nobody will be able to hide, or escape. You have an appointment with Jesus Christ – the judge of all the universe, and this is 1 appointment that you will keep! The decision that this Judge makes will be eternal – He will either receive you into His glory in heaven forever, or sentence you to eternity in the torments of hell. If we get a speeding ticket, we will pay the fine, because we don’t want to be thrown into jail. This judgment is infinitely more serious. Only a madman would live his life careless of that Day in which He will stand before His creator to give an account!
2. Who Will Jesus Judge? Vs.31 says He will judge the world. On that final great Judgment Day, all humanity from Adam to the last generation on earth will be assembled together to receive their sentencing from Jesus Christ. This agrees with Rev.20:12 which says, “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne.” The dead, the great and the small includes everyone. From powerful kings, princes, and presidents to middle-class working individuals, to the poorest of the poor and the insignificant ones in this world. All will be there. Doesn’t matter if you are a Bill Gates, or a burger flipper at McDonalds, whether you are Black, White, Red, or Yellow, famous or insignificant, all will assemble to give an account. By the way, this is one of the reasons that caused me to change my eschatology. In my early years as a Christian, I was always taught Premillenialism. In fact, I didn’t there was any other millennial view – nobody ever mentioned it. However, Premillenialists believe in at least 2 different judgments: the judgment of the saved at the 2nd Coming of Christ, and then the judgment of the lost 1,000 years later. If all people in the world are to be judged on a single fixed day, then either Amillenialism or Postmillenialism must be true, but that’s a subject for a different sermon! I believe in a General Judgment, meaning a judgment of all people at one time. I believe this agrees with the rest of the Scriptures: Jn.5:28-29; Mt.25:31-46; Acts 24:15. Precious people, you will be in the crowd, and you will be singled out, and you will stand before Jesus Christ to give an account of your life. That ought to make you tremble inside!
3. How Will Jesus Judge? Vs. 31 says it will be “in righteousness.” That means it will be strictly according to justice. Rev.20:12-15 helps us to understand how Jesus will judge in justice on that day. Jesus is going to open the books. I believe these “books” will include the book which records every detail of your life – your thoughts, words and deeds, and it will include the book of God’s Law. God’s going to reveal the secrets of your heart and life, every deed you committed in your body, and then He’s going to compare it with the book of His Law. You know what the result is going to be? Everyone is going to be found guilty and condemned before God! “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” At that point the entire human race would be doomed, having no hope, but only a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries (Heb.10:27). The only hope we will have in that day is whether our names were recorded in the Book of Life. This book records the names of all those who trusted in Jesus Christ. Now, these persons get justice too – everyone gets justice. It is just for those who die in their sins to pay the awful penalty for those sins. It is also just for those who die in Christ to be received into eternal glory. Why? Because Jesus has earned and deserves eternal glory, and all those who are in Him, receive what He merits. You see, it’s all a matter of union. Who are you united to? Adam or Christ. Are you still in your sins, or are you in Christ. It is just to give Jesus and all those in Him eternal glory because He earned it for them. It is just to punish all those outside of Christ because those sins were never atoned for. Christ’s death only atones for and removes sins from those who are vitally united to Him.
4. Who Will Be Saved When Jesus Judges? Vs.30 answers that question – only those who repent now. Jesus will judge every person in the world, so God commands every person in the world to repent. God is offering mercy to those who unconditionally surrender to Him and embrace Jesus Christ by faith.
• Notice, first, that God commands us to repent. This is not just His suggestion, wish or desire. This is His command! Repentance is absolutely essential if anyone is to be saved. 2Pet.3:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Acts 2:38 “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Luke 24:46-47 “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” No one is on the way to heaven who does not repent of sin. If you are not penitent, you are not pardoned. Eternal life is at stake here. If you die unrepentant, it would have been better for you to never have been born!
• Notice, 2ndly, that all people must repent. Acts 17:30 says that God commands all people everywhere to repent. That pretty much includes everyone doesn’t it. I don’t think anyone can slip through the cracks, because there aren’t any cracks. There isn’t anyone on this planet that doesn’t need to repent. The only person who has ever lived that didn’t need to repent was Jesus Christ, because He was perfect and sinless. Every other son of Adam must repent or He will perish eternally!
• What does it mean to repent? Repentance is taught from the beginning to the end of the Bible. It was the message of the Old Testament prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. It was the message of John the Baptist – he preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It was the message of Jesus – “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk.1:15). It was the message of the apostles, and it is the message of the Risen Lord to the 7 Churches of Asia in Revelation 3:19.
• What Repentance Is Not: It is not 1) knowledge of sin alone, nor is it 2) sorrow for sin alone. You might be sorry because your sin has painful consequences; it destroys your reputation, or is bad for business, or sends you to prison. You might be sorry for those sins but never turn from them. It is also not 3) ceasing to commit some sins alone. A person may quit drinking because he is tired of fighting with his wife about it, or he may stop embezzling because he’s afraid of going to jail. That’s not repentance.
• What Repentance Is: “repentance is a profound change of mind that affects the entire direction of one’s life.” It involves the whole man – his mind, heart, and will.
Mind – Illumination: Ps.51:3-4. It includes a knowledge of sin. The Prodigal Son came to himself. Before a man can come to Christ, he must come to himself. Of course, the problem is that the devil has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they can’t see their sin as God does. God sends the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The best way to see our sin is to first see God’s holiness – Is.6:1-5.
Heart – Humiliation: This is where our hearts are broken over our sin. Ps.51:17. It goes beyond knowledge of sin, to true sorrow for sin. Thomas Watson: “A woman may as well expect to have a child without pain as one can have repentance without sorrow.” Why does it break our hearts? Because of what our sin has done to God. It has offended our Father because we have rebelled against His holy law. It made Christ agonize on the cross to atone for it. It grieves the Holy Spirit. Not only are our hearts broken, but our hearts are changed concerning the sin. Ezek.36:31. We no longer love it and relish it, but are grieved by it and hate it. A true Christian hates that his heart is drawn after sin. He would be perfect if he could. He no longer wants to rebel against his Holy God. He hates what he once loved, and loves what he once hated.
Will – Transformation: repentance not only includes knowledge of sin, and sorrow for sin, but the forsaking of sin. He willingly leaves it behind. Is.55:7. The 1689 Shorter Catechism: “What is repentance unto life? It is is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sins, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does with grief and hatred of his sin turn from it to God, with full purpose to strive after new obedience.” William Gurnall: “To forsake sin is to leave it without any thought reserved of returning to it again.”
Life Application:
Acts 17:32-34 reveal that there were three different responses to Paul’s preaching. Derision, Delay, and Decision. Some sneered, some said they would hear him again, and some others believed. One of those who believed was Dionysius, a member of the Aeropagas Council of Elders, a very prominent person in Athens. Church tradition says that Dionysius became the pastor of the believers there in Athens. He was not the only convert. There was also a woman named Damaris, who may have heard Paul in the synagogue or marketplace, and others as well. What kind of response will you have to the preaching of Jesus as the Risen Judge? Will you sneer? Will you put off any kind of decision? Or will you believe and begin to follow Jesus with all your heart today?
This Easter I want your focus to be Jesus as your Judge. Are you ready to stand before Him, whose eyes are a flame of fire, whose eyes are too pure to look upon iniquity, that are in every place beholding the evil and the good, who knows all of our secrets and will bring them to light? If you are still in your sins you will be damned for all eternity. You need a righteousness that will stand in that awesome solemn day. Where can it be found? Surely not in you! Your only righteousness is a self-righteousness, and the Bible says that all your righteous deeds are like a filthy garment! Whitefield used to cry out, “What! A sinner get to heaven by his own righteousness?! I would sooner think of climbing to the moon on a rope of sand!” No, you need a righteousness far greater than anything you can present to God. You need a perfect righteousness, because only that will avail on the Great Judgment Day.
But if only a perfect righteousness will avail, and if none of us have one to present to God, does that mean we are all doomed? That there is no hope for us? That would be the case, if God hadn’t decided out of His sheer love and grace to take pity on us, His creatures, to come down from heaven, to become flesh and live on earth as a man, and then to live a perfect life. Jesus’ life was one of absolute righteousness. And you know what? He didn’t come down from heaven and live out that life of perfect righteousness for Himself. He did it for us! And now, He offers to grant this Perfect Righteousness to us as a gift, if we will trust in Him. But where can it be found? Phil.3:9 tells us that this is an alien righteousness – it comes down from God as His gift. 2Cor.5:21 tells us that this righteousness is imputed to us and our sin is imputed to Christ. Rom.1:16-17 – the gospel is all about a righteousness which has been revealed to us. None of us possess it by nature. Rom.1:18 says that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. We are unrighteous! 3:19-20. We can never become righteous by keeping the Law, because we can’t keep it. The Law simply shows us how unrighteous we are. Then what can we do? Nothing, except to look away from ourselves, and to look upon Jesus. Romans 3:21-24. This righteousness is God’s. Further it is a gift. Further it is given to all who believe! Friends, this is the gospel! God has provided a righteousness to clothe you in the Day of Judgment. It is a righteousness that His Son, Jesus Christ, has wrought in His perfect life. It is a righteousness that He gives to all who believe. And it is a righteousness that will stand on that Final Day.
Remember what God did after Adam and Eve had sinned. Originally they were naked and were not ashamed. However, after they had sinned they were ashamed and ran and hid from God. God in mercy, sought them out, and then provided animal skins to clothe their shame and nakedness. This is a picture of what God has done in Christ. Christ has been slain as a sacrifice, and now His righteousness is provided for guilty hell-deserving sinners. If we will only receive this gift by faith, Christ will clothe us in His own perfect robe of righteousness so that we will stand in Him on Judgment Day. Rather than hear, “Depart from Me into the eternal fire”, you will hear, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt.25:34,41).
Brothers and sisters, let’s make sure that we are clinging to Christ today, and that we never, never let Him go. He is our only hope in that day when we stand before Him to receive judgment.
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