From There He Will Come to Judge the Living and the Dead
2 Thessalonians 1:3-12
“Justice for everyone is an alarming thought because it raises the possibility that it might come upon oneself after all.” ~ Fleming Rutledge
Main Idea: Jesus will return bringing righteous judgment on those who reject him while vindicating those who believe in him.
I. The Necessity of Judgment Day
Judgment Day is coming because justice is at the heart of God’s very character & nature. If God allowed evil & evildoers to go unchecked, it would actually be unjust of him.
Psalm 89:14: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne”
Deut. 32:4: “...his work is perfect, For all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and upright is he.”
II. The Soberness of Judgment Day
Two reasons this is a sober day:
Every single person will appear before the judgment seat of Christ (see 2 Cor. 5:10; Ecc. 12:14, 1 Cor. 4:5 Matt 25:31-32, etc.)
Divine justice & punishment will be given to those who reject Christ
“Hell is the trajectory of a soul, living a self-absorbed, self-centered life, going on and on forever… Hell is simply one’s freely chosen identity apart from God on a trajectory written into infinity.” ~ Tim Keller
“The doors to hell are locked from the inside.” ~ C.S. Lewis
III. The Hope of Judgment Day
This is a hopeful day both personally and cosmically.
Personally: for those who have been saved by the grace of Jesus, our judgment day has already happened.
“God has already revealed our guilt, at the cross, and we have already agreed with his verdict, in our confession of sin and our ongoing repentance of it. Judgment Day happened for us, in a very real sense, already, at the Place of the Skull outside the gates of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.” ~ Russell Moore
Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Cosmically: injustice, evil, and persecution will not go unchecked; they have an expiration date
3 Implications of this Doctrine:
We should regularly confess & repent of our sins (2 Pet. 3:8-9)
We should be gentle with the sins & struggles of others (Rom. 14:10-12)
We resolve to fulfill every good “work of faith” (2 Thess. 1:11-12)