Acts 10:42

1. Intro.
1. Jesus Christ is ordained of God to be the Judge of all mankind (saved and lost)
2. the unbeliever will have only one judgment (Great White Throne)
3. the believer has three judgment to face
2. judgment as a sinner
1. God has always said that He would judge sin - Genesis 2:17
2. God has never changed His mind about the judgment for sin - Eze. 18:14 & Romans 6:23
3. the believers judgment for sin is past - I Peter 2:24
1. it was done by substitution
2. He died for every sin (past, present, future)
4. sometimes the believer has a difficult time understanding how Jesus died for future sin
1. when He died all our sins were future
2. when God looks down on the pathway of time, He sees all the sins that would ever be committed
3. God has taken all these sins and laid them on Jesus - Isaiah 53:6
5. Jesus suffered everything we would suffer, if we had to pay for our sins
1. if He didn’t, the full debt was not paid
2. Jesus did pay it all ("it is finished")
3. Jesus satisfied the just demands of a holy God (He paid in full what we owe) - Hebrews 9:25-26
6. as believers we will never face God in judgment for our sins
1. God will never again deal with us as sinners, but as sons
2. when we ask Jesus to save us, the sin question is forever settled
3. judgment as a son
1. since we do not have to worry about the judgment for sin, can we live as we please? - Romans 6:1-2
2. God’s desire for Christians is that they practice self judgment - I Corinthians 11:31-32
1. examine one’s life, see what is wrong and then confess it
2. if we fail to judge ourselves, God will judge us - "chastened of the Lord"
3. honestly facing our sins may be the hardest thing a Christian must do
1. Adam blamed someone else (both the woman and God) - Genesis 3:12
2. king Saul made excuses - I Samuel 15:13-15
3. others try to hid their sins - Proverbs 28:13
4. the right thing to do is confession - Proverbs 28:13 & I John 1:9
4. when we fail to judge and confess sin, God will chasten - Hebrews 12:5-11
1. what is chastening?
1. child training, to educate by punishment
2. chastisement is not a payment (boy break window, gets a spanking, dad pays for the window)
2. who are chastened?
1. "whom the Lord loveth" and "every son" - 6
2. why do the wicked prosper (God does not whip the devil’s children)
3. how is a Christian chastened?
1. sometimes God uses the rod of bad health or even premature death - I Corinthians 11:30
2. the rod of lost joy - Psalms 51:2-3, 8, 12
3. the rod of lost property - Amos 4:6-9
4. the rod of death to loved ones - II Samuel 12:14 & Amos 4:10
4. what are the result of chastening
1. God never does anything without a purpose
2. God’s ultimate aim is for every Christian to be Christ-like - Hebrews 12:10-11
5. how should the Christian respond to chastisement?
1. God does not expect us to enjoy it Hebrews 12:11
2. "despise not" - Hebrews 12:5 (don’t allow your heart to grow bitter & hard against God)
3. faint not - Hebrews 12:5 (don’t lose courage or give up)
4. judgment as a servant - I Corinthians 3:11-15
1. this passage has nothing to do with sin, only our works
2. God expects every believer to work (to do something for Him)
3. inactivity is a work that will be burned - 12 & 15
4. this judgment is a judgment by fire - 13
1. fire does not measure size, it test quality - "what sort it is"
2. quality is the important thing
3. the motive behind the service is important
4. God is not only interested in what we do, but why we do it
5. this judgment will determine the believers reward - 14-15
1. neither man goes to hell from this judgment (both are saved)
2. one in rewarded and the other suffers lose
6. "reward" is a payment for service rendered
1. heaven is not a reward, it is a gift
2. salvation is also a gift
7. every believer will experience this judgment - 13 ("every man’s works")
8. the time God gives us should be spent wisely in service to Christ - I John 2:28
5. conclusion
1. Jesus is coming, are you ready
2. what kind of rewards will you have in heaven