If you would open up your Bibles to John chapter 5, specifically if you would open up your Bibles to page 1058.
! Let me ask you a question, especially the men in the room.
What's your favorite musical?
I've had the privilege of seeing a number of musicals.
I've seen Shrek the musical as part of a streaming.
Gentlemen, if you're not used to seeing musicals, that's the place I'd start.
The pot of humor is phenomenal.
Dear Evan Hansen, seen it.
The Notebook, seen it.
Newsies, seen it.
That changed, that was my opening to musicals.
And I'm so glad to have seen Newsies.
And then there's Hamilton.
Now, before you judge me for being a musical fan,
before you judge me,
you've got to understand something about Hamilton.
Hamilton is set at the time of our country's founding.
And one of the reappearing characters is King George, who is hilarious.
And what we see unfolding in this musical
is our forefathers asking one essential question.
Who gave King George the right to govern us?
To rule us?
To tax us?
To determine our future as a nation?
To hold out to us either life or death?
Who gave King George the right?
Who gave him the right to judge us?
Our forefathers rose up against this mere man, King George,
and threw off the yoke of his tyranny,
and we're going to be celebrating that this summer, 250 years ago.
This morning in John 5, 19 through 20,
we see another king.
Not a tyrannical King George.
Not a mere man.
Totally God.
Totally man.
The Son of God.
The Son of Man.
Jesus Christ.
And he's been given all authority,
not just to give life as our Savior,
but to judge all people everywhere
as the judge.
So let me just get something,
a question in your mind.
What will you say to him
on the day you stand before him?
Could you imagine this?
Some person standing before the risen and reigning
all-glorious Christ on Judgment Day.
Jesus, who gave you the right to judge me?
Who gave you the right to judge me?
Sounds crazy, doesn't it?
We are not to rise up
and throw off the authority of Jesus.
It's quite the opposite.
We are to humble ourselves
and come under his life-giving authority.
He is both our Savior and Judge.
And at great cost to himself,
he was condemned in our place
so that we could pass from death to life.
And so let me read John 5, 19 through 29.
You can read along with me.
Listen as I read God's Word.
So Jesus said to them,
Truly, truly, I say to you,
the Son can do nothing of his own accord,
but only what he sees the Father doing.
For whatever the Father does,
the Son does likewise.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him all that he himself is doing.
And greater works than these will he show him
so that you may marvel.
For as the Father raises the dead
and gives them life,
so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
For the Father judges no one,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
that all may honor the Son
just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent him.
Truly, truly, I say to you,
whoever hears my words
and believes him who sent me
has eternal life.
He does not come into judgment,
but has passed from death to life.
Truly, truly, I say to you,
an hour is coming and is now here,
when the dead will hear the voice
of the Son of God
and those who hear will live.
For as the Father has life in himself,
so he has granted the Son also
to have life in himself.
And he has given him authority
to execute judgment
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not marvel at this,
for an hour is coming
when all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice
and come out.
Those who have done good
to the resurrection of life
and those who have done evil
to the resurrection of judgment.
Who gives Jesus the right to judge us?
Jesus, what gives you the right to judge me?
So I want to help you see
three aspects of the authority of Jesus
to judge this morning.
The nature of his authority,
the effect of his authority,
and the scope of his authority.
John 5, in its entirety,
is about the authority of Jesus.
Last week, we saw his authority
to heal on the Sabbath.
And this week,
it's his authority to judge.
So, let's look at the nature
of his authority.
It's in verses 19 through 23.
And the first thing you need to see here
is a little phrase Jesus likes to use.
Truly, truly, I say to you.
It's a little phrase
that Jesus alone uses.
Truly, truly, I say to you.
What he's saying is literally,
amen, amen.
So be it.
Here's what he's doing.
He's saying, listen carefully.
Truly.
Because what I am about to do you,
tell you, explain to you,
is something of life importance.
And in our passage,
there are three truly, trulies.
I'd also like you to notice
who he's talking to.
In verse 19, it says,
Jesus said to them.
And then later in verse,
I think it's 20,
when he says,
so that you may marvel,
it's a y'all,
he's not talking to his disciples here.
He's talking to the very people
who want to kill him,
to his opponents,
to those who are judging him
for blasphemy.
He's speaking to them.
And so remember,
in verse 19,
that Jesus has just been charged
with blasphemy.
These people,
these religious leaders,
want to kill him.
And now he's saying to them,
truly, truly,
I say to you,
and let's pick it up there.
What's the foundation
for this authority to judge?
The first thing I want you to notice,
it's a shared authority.
It's a shared right.
Throughout these verses,
verses 19 through 23,
we have this little coupling
of two names,
son, father,
son, father.
And what that's getting at
is the father and son of God.
We are now wading into
the Christian doctrine
of the Trinity.
And you can summarize the Trinity
with three statements.
God has eternally existed
as three distinct persons.
Each person's fully God.
There is one God.
You hold those together,
you're orthodox.
And so what we have here
is a statement Jesus is making
about the nature of the Trinity.
It's the foundation
for his authority.
But if you notice,
the father and son,
well, they share divine essence.
Jesus will say in John 10, 30,
I and the father are one.
But there's also this distinction.
There's the son and the father.
It's a specific kind of relationship.
They have the same essence
of godness,
yet there's a distinction
when it comes to role.
And the son is very clear
on what his role is.
In verse 19, he says,
I can do nothing.
The son can do nothing
of his own accord,
but only what he sees
the father doing.
And what he's saying there is,
hey, I have not come.
The father has not sent me
for me to do whatever I want.
I have come in submission
to my father's will
to accomplish his plan.
And so what we see in verse 19
is that the son sees
what his father is doing
and he submits himself
to the father's will.
He's not going to do anything
except what the will
of his father is.
Shared essence,
full Godhead,
distinction of roles.
So what this means is
the father and the son
are in lockstep together
to accomplish the purposes
of the father.
And it would apply
to the Holy Spirit as well.
They're here to accomplish
what God the father
has ordained.
And so I just want to say,
help you to see right here
that what establishes
his authority to judge
is his shared essence
as being God.
But it's also part
of a shared plan.
In verses 19 through 20,
you can see it.
There's this repeated
do and doing.
So Jesus said to them,
truly, truly,
I say to you,
the son can do nothing
of his own accord,
but only what he sees
his father doing.
For whatever the father does,
that the son does likewise.
For the father loved the son
and shows him all
that he himself is doing.
All of this doing
is getting at a plan.
Shared essence,
shared plan.
And it's the plan
of God the father
that was established
before the foundation
of the world,
a plan for the fullness of time.
I preached a sermon on this
a few months ago
on Ephesians chapter 1,
verses 3 through 14,
talking about this plan
this triune plan.
It is a big plan.
It's a Christocentric plan.
It's a people-moving plan.
And it's a glory plan.
It's the plan of salvation.
And what we have going on here
is what the son
sees his father doing,
the son is doing likewise.
And do you know what that is?
The plan of salvation.
That's what they are doing.
Another area that establishes
Jesus' authority
is shared power.
21 and 22.
Power is the ability
to accomplish something.
I need power to mow my lawn.
But in this case,
it's power to accomplish a plan.
And what kind of power
are we talking about?
Would you just look at verse 21?
For as the father raises the dead
and gives them life,
so also the son gives life
to whom he will.
That is an interesting kind of power.
power.
That's resurrection power.
That's raising people
from the dead power.
Now that's power.
That's God power.
This past week,
your pastor was minding
his own business in his office.
Kelly Schneeberger comes by
and she says,
hey, can you help me with something?
I said, of course,
because I'm a servant.
Of course.
And then she said something
about a bat.
A bat.
She led me to an undisclosed room
in this building.
And she pointed up
to an HVAC unit
and said,
bat.
And right next to
the HVAC unit
was this little dark thing.
Now,
I have experience with bats,
believe it or not.
So I took an extended,
lengthy item,
poked it,
nothing happened.
I ascended
into a very,
it was very dangerous, folks.
I ascended upon high
and I had gloves on
and I reached up
to that bat
and I grabbed it
and it crumpled.
And so I pulled it down
and I spoke,
live bat, live!
Do you know what happened?
It just crumpled more.
No life.
I don't have the power
to give life to the dead.
Anybody in the room?
This is unique God power.
And this power
to give life
is also the power
to condemn forever.
If you look at verse 22,
for the Father judges no one,
but has given all judgment
to the Son.
this is a judgment.
If we're talking about
eternal life
and raising from the dead
on one side,
this kind of judgment
is,
has to do with eternal death.
Judgment,
being cast out
into darkness
where there's
weeping and gnashing
of teeth.
And what we have here
is the Son
has not just been
given the authority,
the power
to be able to give life,
He has the power
to condemn
for eternity.
shared essence,
shared plan,
shared power,
and the last thing
I want you to see
is shared honor.
in verse 20,
we read,
in greater works
than these
will He show Him.
Will the Father
show the Son?
And just think of
John 11's coming
where Jesus
raises Lazarus
from the dead.
Greater works.
And then He says,
so that you may marvel.
Remember who He's speaking to.
He's speaking to His enemies.
Greater works are coming, guys,
so that you will marvel.
So that you will be amazed
and that you will give me
the honor due me
and the Father
will be honored as well.
Look down now
at verse 23,
that all may honor the Son
just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father
who sent Him.
this honoring
is reverencing.
It's being in awe of.
It's deep respect.
It's acknowledging
that Jesus
is the judge of all
and that He was given
that responsibility
by the Father
and He's to be honored as well.
which for His enemies,
the Jews hearing this,
this is what that means.
If you don't honor the Son,
even though you say
you're honoring the Father,
you're not.
This is the kind of honor
and marveling
that results in submission
to the one
who has the authority.
Recognizing
that this one
has eternal life
and can condemn
to eternal death.
He has the right to judge.
Jesus,
what gives you
the right to judge me?
You're God.
You're executing God's plan.
You are going to honor God
in all that we do.
And you have God power.
So,
when we're talking about
the nature
of the Son's authority,
it starts with Him
being fully God.
shared essence.
The second
aspect
of the authority
of the Son
I want you to see
is the effect
of His authority.
And we see that
in verse 24.
And it's queued up
with another
truly, truly.
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
whoever hears my voice
and believes Him
who sent me
has eternal life.
He does not come
into judgment,
but He has passed
from death
to life.
What Jesus
is providing
for us here
is the major
criteria
for His
judging us
at the end
of the age.
It's whether you
hear and believe
His word.
His word about
who He is.
His word about
His Father
who sent Him.
His word about
the reason
why He was sent.
To save.
I know that
many of you
can say,
John 3, 16,
from heart,
for God so loved
the world
that He gave
His one-of-a-kind
Son
that whoever
believes in Him
hears and believes
shall not be
condemned for eternity
apart from God
shall not perish
but have eternal life.
Live.
What Jesus is saying
is if you believe
what He is saying
about Himself,
about God,
about why He came,
why He was sent,
if you believe that
to be true,
if you see your need
to be rescued,
if you see that
Jesus is the only
solution to your
biggest problem
the moment you believe
you are given
eternal life.
He's not under judgment.
No longer under judgment.
The moment you believe
you have passed
from death
to life,
you're not under judgment,
you're no longer
condemned.
What Jesus is talking about
is your conversion.
So let me spell that out
for you a little bit.
What happens
the moment you believe
that Jesus is
God in the flesh
who was sent by the Father
to take away our sins?
It's immediate life.
Immediate eternal life.
There's this misconception
that those who believe
in Jesus
that eternal life
begins when you die.
it begins
when you believe.
The moment you believe
you are given
eternal life.
I can show you
right from the text.
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
whoever hears my word
and believes him
who sent him
has eternal life.
That's a present
tense verb
saying it's now.
It's what it means
to be born again.
To become a new creation.
The moment you believe
in what Christ has done,
that moment you believe.
And so the first aspect
of this eternal life
is that it's immediate.
Second aspect of it,
it's secure.
It's irrevocable.
This life
that is granted to us,
given to us
by the Son,
it's unsnatchable.
You want to flip
in your Bibles with me
a couple pages
to your right
to John chapter 10.
I can't wait
to preach
John 10.
Man,
it's going to be awesome.
Not my preaching,
the passage
is going to be awesome.
In John chapter 10,
in verse 27,
he says,
this is Jesus speaking,
my sheep
hear my voice
and I know them
and they follow me.
I give them
eternal life
and they will never perish
and no one
will snatch them
out of my hand.
So just think about
what we just read
about who Jesus is.
Shared essence,
right?
Shared power,
shared honoring
with God.
There's another
shared something.
He has you
in his hand.
He's given you
eternal life.
This eternal life
that starts immediately
is irrevocable.
No one can snatch you
out of his hand,
but it doesn't stop there.
Look at verse 29.
My Father
who has given them
to me
is greater than all
and no one is able
to snatch them
out of the Father's hand.
You're in a double
divine vice
if you're a believer
in Jesus
and this eternal life
has begun
instantaneously
that it's irrevocable.
You're unsnatchable.
that means
you can't even
pry off
the fingers
of God
that grip you.
Secure.
I and the Father
are one.
Here's one
that you need to hear.
Something about
this eternal life.
This eternal life
that's immediate
and unsnatchable
from us
is experiential.
this eternal life
which God gives us
the moment we believe,
it has real effects.
Real life-changing effects.
It changes the way
that we live.
It changes us.
How, you ask?
First and foremost.
it changes
who you live for.
Instead of living
for yourself,
this eternal life
is going to be
pushing yourself
out to the perimeter
and bringing Jesus
into the center
so that you're living
with Jesus Christ
as the controlling
center of your life.
The one who is life
ends up
ruling your life,
controlling your life.
life.
There's another passage
that I want you
to turn to.
It's John 15.
I can't wait
to preach John 15.
It's awesome.
This is where Jesus
calls himself
the vine
and we are the branches.
It's an interesting
organic relationship.
A branch can't
bear fruit
on its own.
It can only bear fruit
if it's attached
to the vine.
And when you're
attached to the vine,
you bear fruit.
In John 15.
5 we read,
I am the vine,
you are the branches,
whoever abides in me
and I am.
Another way to say it
is when Jesus
is the controlling
center of your life,
the all-governing
reality of your life,
the one consuming
passion of your life,
the one whom
you depend on,
when you are
trusting in him,
he it is that
bears much fruit
for apart from me
you can do nothing.
Verse 8,
by this my father
is glorified
that you bear much fruit
and so prove to be
my disciples.
And in all of this
fruit talk,
look at verse 12,
this is my command.
Here is the
principal fruit
that I am going
to produce in you,
that you love
one another
as I have loved you.
You see,
eternal life
has real effects.
it changes
the way we,
who we live for.
We go from living
for ourselves
to living for Jesus
and when we're
living for Jesus
he begins to
bear fruit in us.
Fruit in which
we're living for Christ,
we're living
dependent on Christ
and we're bearing fruit
that is a lot
like Christ.
One more passage
for you to turn to.
John 13.
And you know what?
I can't wait
to preach
John 13.
In John 13,
34, 35,
a new commandment
I give to you
that you love
one another
just as I have loved you,
you also are
to love one another.
By this all people
will know
that you are
my disciples
if you
bite each other
and beat each other
up.
No,
if you have love
for one another,
Christ-like love
for one another.
You see,
here's what happens.
You receive
eternal life.
It's immediate.
And then Jesus
starts to change you.
You stop living
for yourself
because you're like,
that stinks.
I don't like that.
Jesus doesn't like that.
And when you start
living for Jesus,
you're like,
boy,
this is really,
I enjoy this.
And then you start
loving people
the way that
God in Christ
has loved you.
It is such
a game changer.
It changes
the way
that you treat
people.
Here's another way
to say it.
When you become
a Christian
and eternal life
takes root
in you,
you go from
being seeing
people as
what can I
get
to seeing
people as
how can I
give them
Jesus?
What can I do
for them to
bring glory
to Jesus?
It's a radical
change.
This eternal
life business,
it's not
some kind
of add-on
when you
die.
This radically
reorients
to who you
live for.
There's one
more piece
of this,
of eternal
life,
and it's
forever.
We will be
living with
Jesus Christ
as the
controlling
center of
our lives
forever.
on this
side of
Christ's
return,
our experience
of this
eternal life
is limited
because of
our sinfulness.
We still
sin,
but when
he comes
back,
we will
be unencumbered
by our
own sinful
nature and
living in
a creation
that's been
subjected
to decay.
It's going
to be
glorious.
And just
to help you
make the
connection,
this is
the effect
of the
authority
of Jesus
as both
Savior and
judge.
When you
believe his
word,
Jesus,
who gives
you the
right to
judge me?
Look what
he's able
to do.
The last
area I want
you to see
about his
authority
is what he
says about
his authority,
and that's the
scope of his
authority,
and it's the
last truly,
truly in this
passage.
In verses
25-29,
Jesus says,
truly,
I say to
you,
an hour is
coming and
is now here
when the
dead will
hear the
voice of
the Son
of God
and those
who hear
will live.
Look down
at verse
28.
Do not
marvel at
this,
for an
hour is
coming when
all who
are in
the tombs
will hear
his voice.
What Jesus
is doing
here is
he's like,
hey,
let me clue
you in on
reality.
Let me
bring you
into how
things really
are,
truly,
so be
it,
this is the
way it
is.
And then he
talks about
the scope
of his
authority in
terms of
two different
hours.
A now
hour and
a then
hour.
The now
hour is
verse 25,
the then
hour is
verse 28,
and they're
two different
hours.
So let's
look at the
now hour,
verse 25
to 27.
You can
also say
it's the
already
hour.
Truly,
truly,
I say to
you,
an hour is
coming.
There's,
let's see,
one,
two,
three,
four,
four words.
Can everybody
say those
four words
together?
Let me
just set
you up
again.
Truly,
truly,
I say to
you,
an hour is
coming and
is now
here.
the hour
has already
begun.
It's this
present age
we're living
in.
We're living
in the
now hour,
this present
age.
And then
Jesus starts
talking about
dead people
made alive.
When the
dead will
hear the
voice of
the Son
of God
and those
who hear
will live,
those who
hear will
pass from
death to
life.
Jesus is
talking,
not talking
about those
who are
physically
dead.
He's talking
about those
who are
spiritually
dead,
who are
living in
their sin.
When they
hear his
voice and
they believe
his word,
what he
says about
himself and
about his
father who
sent him and
why he
came,
when they
hear that
and they
believe that,
they pass
from death
to life.
And in
verses 26
through 27,
Jesus just
reiterates that
he's been
given the
authority to
live, to
give life,
26, he's
the Son
of God, and
he has the
authority to
execute judgment
because he's
the Son of
Man.
These are two
huge titles.
The Son of
God is getting
at his
godness,
and the Son
of Man is
getting at his
executive
kingship.
It's coming
out of
Daniel chapter
7, where
we have the
Son of Man
who goes to
the Ancient
of Days,
and the Ancient
of Days gives
the Son of
Man a
kingdom that's
forever.
People from
every tribe,
tongue, and
nation are
part of this
kingdom, and
he will reign
over this
kingdom.
He determines
who's in and
who's out.
God.
So what we
have in the
now hour is
Jesus, who
is bringing
people from
death to
life by his
word.
Those, some,
he's giving
life because
he's God.
Others, he's
condemning to
eternal judgment
because he's the
Son of Man.
in other
words, Jesus
has all
authority right
now to
give eternal
life to
whoever he
sees fit, and
to condemn
all those who
reject him.
And it
raises a
question.
How is
Jesus speaking
now?
Well, now
he is speaking
through his
church.
When you
got a guy
like me who
is seeking
to faithfully
proclaim God's
word, it's
Jesus speaking.
Jesus speaking
through his
word.
When you
are talking
to someone
over coffee
about who
Jesus is,
why God
the Father
sent him,
he's speaking
his word.
Think of
the church
as God's
kingdom
embassy.
on earth.
We are
his
ambassadors
speaking his
words on
his behalf,
and those
who believe,
he brings
them from
death to
life.
And this
is all that's
happening in
the now
hour, the
already
hour.
And he
is speaking
all across
the globe
right now
to every
tribe, tongue,
and nation,
and he's
gathering
himself a
people who
all are
living with
him as the
controlling
center of
their lives.
That's the
now hour.
We're in it.
The then
hour is in
verses 28 and
29, the
not yet
hour.
In verse
28 we read
an hour is
coming, but
there's no
qualification to
it.
there is
and is now
here.
There's none
of that.
What he's
talking about
is an hour
yet to come,
the already
hour.
In Jesus,
in verse
28 and
29, what
he's getting
at is at
the end
of time,
there is
going to be
one great
judgment of
all people.
and he
starts talking
about
people who
were dead.
And now
he's talking
about people
who are
physically
dead.
It's all
people from
all time who
have died
and are in
the tombs,
in the grave.
Check this
out for power.
In one
utterance,
all who've
been dead
for all
time will
be raised
from the
dead to
judgment.
Do not
marvel at
this, for
an hour is
coming when
all who are
in the
tombs will
hear his
voice, the
voice of the
Son of God,
the voice of
the Son of
Man, God
incarnate.
They will
hear his
voice and
come out
of their
graves.
Those who
have done
good to
the resurrection
of life,
those who
have done
evil to
the resurrection
of the
dead.
And so
Jesus, at
the end
of the age,
will call
forth a
resurrection
of all,
and all
people will
be brought
to him,
before him,
and he will
not just
raise them
up, he
will then
divide them
out.
This is
Matthew 25.
When Jesus
comes back,
he will sit
on his
glorious throne,
and the
angels will
reap, and
all of
people will
be put in
front of
him, and
he will
separate them
out as
sheep from
the goats.
Judgment.
The first
group is
those who've
done good,
and they
will be
raised to
a resurrection
of life.
Think about
the good
that they're
doing.
It's not
good to
earn their
resurrection
to life.
It is the
good that
results from
Jesus giving
them eternal
life.
These are
the folks that
have born
fruit over
time that
is pleasing
to the
Father, and
they've been
raised up
unto the
resurrection of
eternal life.
They will
spend eternity
with Jesus.
The second
group are
those who've
been raised
from the
dead to
the resurrection
of judgment
because of the
evil they have
done, because
they have not
put their
trust in
Jesus.
They will
be condemned
forever.
The scope
of Jesus'
authority
authority is
now and
then.
He has
authority over
it all.
Jesus, what
gives you the
right to
judge me?
In these
three truly,
truly, I
say to you
statements,
Jesus makes
clear his
nature of
his authority,
the effect of
his authority,
the scope of
the authority,
and here's
the point.
Jesus is
both our
Savior and
our judge.
He's both
our Savior
and our
judge.
We need to
hold both of
those together.
So how do we
respond?
How do we
respond to
Jesus being
both Savior
and judge?
Well, if
you're a
non-believer
in the room,
if you've
yet to put
your faith
in Jesus,
if you've
yet to
submit to
him,
if you
haven't
taken his
words to
heart,
you need to
understand he
is ready to
rescue you.
He is
poised to
give you
eternal life.
He wants
to give you
eternal life.
life.
He wants
to cause
you to
go from
death
to life.
How can
he do
that?
Because as
God, he
died the
death that
you deserved.
And he
alone can
give you the
life you
are in such
desperate need
of.
life.
He offers
you this.
This life,
this immediate,
this secure,
this experiential,
this forever
life in a
relationship with
him.
So if you
haven't decided
to trust in
Jesus, let me
urge you to do
that.
This past
week I had a
conversation with
a young man,
and I love
this young man,
and I asked
him, hey,
have you put
your faith in
Jesus yet?
Have you become
a Christian yet?
He says, no,
and I'm like,
okay, why not?
And he goes,
I don't think
I'm ready.
I'm like, well,
when do you
know you're
ready?
And he's like,
I don't know.
So I asked
him, well, do
you believe this
gospel to be
true?
He said, yeah,
I believe it's
true.
I'm like, and
do you see your
need for the
gospel?
Do you see your
need to be
forgiven of your
sin?
He says, yes,
I do.
And then I
asked him, are
you willing?
And what I
meant by that
is, are you
willing to
stop living for
the things that
are the cause
of your death
and start
living for
Jesus as the
controlling center
of your life?
He wasn't
ready to answer.
Do you believe
this is true?
Do you see the
need in yourself?
are you willing to
come under his
authority?
That's the
question.
And when you're
ready, when you're
willing, at that
moment you believe
you will pass from
death to life.
And by the way,
if you're a
Christian, he is
your life.
John 15, your
vine.
So you respond to
him as Savior that
way, and what
about him being our
judge?
Now if you're a
Christian in the
room, you might have
some sweat on your
brow right now.
Wait, hold on a
second.
Hold on a second,
hold on a second,
hold on a second.
Do I need to be
afraid of that?
Christian, you do
not need to be
afraid of being
condemned.
Because Jesus bore
all of God's wrath
for all of your
sin upon the
cross.
Because your
judge is your
Savior.
That's really good
news.
But you will still
stand before him.
2 Corinthians 5.10,
we will all stand
before the judgment
seat of Christ.
And let me just
urge you in light of
that.
Let me just compel
you in light of the
parable of the
talents in Matthew
24, to take what
God has entrusted to
you and to invest
it into what matters
most.
And what matters
most is kingdom, is
the glory of Jesus.
It's marveling at him
in the honor due his
name.
Give yourself to that
Christian in light of
the judgment to come.
You don't need to fear
your judge because he's
your Savior.
But oh, seek to please
him now.
And if you're a non-Christian
in the room, I just have a
question for you.
Do you really want to
stand before the all
authoritative judge after
you've rejected him as
your Savior?
Savior?
You don't.
So let me just urge you to
trust him now.
This summer, we as a
nation will be celebrating
250 years of independence,
our forefathers throwing
off the yoke of King
George's tyranny.
What gave you the right
King George?
We don't throw off the
authority of Jesus
Christ.
He's our Savior and
judge.
We, by faith, come under
his authority and we
live.
We experience this eternal
life that Jesus died to
give us.
us.
We throw off the tyranny
of ruling our own lives
so that he can rule us
for the honor of his name.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, would you have
your way in us?
Would you cause us by your
spirit to experience this
life in greater and greater
abundance?
God, we want to live for
you.
would you help us to put
aside the things that
grieve you and live with
you more and more as the
center of our lives?
Because you are worthy of
that.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.