Let me work us through our outline with this study. We come to the end of the core section of the Apostles Creed which has dealt with the person and work of Jesus Christ again by way of review. We'll mention again that the creed is deliberately Trinitarian in structure having a section on the father a section on the son and a section on the Holy Spirit. And within this middle section on the son of God there is also a microstructure which divides the work of Christ along the lines of the past present and future of his person and work. In other words if we if we look back up into the section we'll see that he it says something about the fact that he was he is presently and he will. you look back up into the that section that's printed there before you you'll see that he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary crucified dead and buried descended into hell rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven. So there's an emphasis on what he has done or what's been true of him in the past and then presently the creed tells us he is Seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. And then this final line tells us he will come again to judge the living and the dead. And thus we can see that this middle section of the creed covers the whole life and work of Christ and that the whole life and work his whole life and work have been and are essential to the Christian faith. Maybe that last point is something that I'm hoping to emphasize if we remember that the Apostles Creed was developed between the years 200 A.D. and 800 A.D. There was a long time during which the church in different forms was confessing its faith by way of largely what we have here in the Apostles Creed. I think we see it kind of come to a stability around 800. But the church has always understood as essential to our faith the entire scope of Christ's person and work. We've never had and you look back historically the church didn't have a very truncated view of Jesus and only thought of him in a very narrow sense of you know he died on the cross for my sins and that was about all that the church Today can can say that's all we kind of understand or know about the work of Christ but the church has always understood every part of the in every element in the in the life of Christ to be absolutely important and necessary for our faith from his virgin birth to his second coming and final judgment. And so this is when we've been looking in let's say the. The Book of Colossians and we've looked at our union with Christ in his death burial resurrection his glorification we've looked at how Paul has urged us to structure and understand time our sense of time in relation to where we stand in in relation to the work of Jesus our own lives need to need to fall into line with with where the work of redemption is that's not this is a. When we looked at that in Colossians we're tapping into something I think that the church has always understood as important and that is the full personal work of Christ. There's a lot to meditate on there's a lot to rest upon concerning Jesus and his life for us as a savior and therefore we see this is the most extensive section of the Apostles Creed has been and is this middle section that deals with the Son of God. and covers again from womb to tomb as one says and beyond actually as we're as we'll see tonight. So we come we do come to the final line of this middle section and there are there are two main matters considered in this final line of the middle section and they are the second coming of Christ and the great final judgment. Just as it was with the first coming of Christ men began to question the promise of his coming. So too with the second coming of Christ when we get impatient and when God does not do things according to our sense of time we tend to lose faith and we begin to reconstruct our thinking according to our understanding and not according to his revelation. In other words when The Lord Terry's because the Lord Terry's that is oftentimes really affected people's faith and people have been reconstructed ideas about what the Christian faith is all about. They've lost sight of this the fact that there is a second coming there is a day when all the world will stand before him and theology became more and more when as Christ as Terry theology has become more and more about let's change now. Let's let's make heaven here on earth because he isn't coming back. There is I guess there is no heaven. So we need to make that now. Those are ways that that kind of thing can happen or it leads to licentiousness and and unaccountable kinds of living where people just run rampant thinking I'll have no one to answer to. Obviously he's not coming back. This kind of attitude is articulated even in the Psalms where the enemies of the Lord will often say you know he doesn't see us and they go on and they do these things and it's a real trial to the righteous who says Lord how come you don't see them there. They're shaking their fists at you and saying you don't see them. When are you going to do something. This is this is always a real struggle for for the faithful. when God doesn't do things according to our time. Therefore, Peter writes in second Peter three. Verses two through 10 the whole the whole chapters worthy of our time and study. But here are a few a few verses from that that chapter. You should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior. through your apostles, knowing this, first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, Where is the promise of his coming forever? Since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. For they deliberately overlook this fact that the heavens that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact beloved that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 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. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved. and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. What does Peter call our attention to historically to refute the idea of the stoppers who say look everything has continued on just like it always has from the time of creation to now. What are they. What's one thing he cites that they are deliberately forgetting the flood. All things have not continued on just like they have since creation. He says they're forgetting that there was a time of judgment when God wiped out the whole human race except Noah and his family. They deliberately forget that because they don't want to remember that there is judgment that God does sometimes invade history and judge it. But but but history is actually punctuated with times of God's judgment which should teach us that he is going to be faithful to his promises that he will ultimately vindicate his righteousness. And so they want to deliberately forget these things but don't let that don't let the scoffers enable you or help you buy into their Don't let them don't don't let them force you to buy into their their kind of thinking that somehow nothing ever changes. God doesn't do anything in this world. Everything's the same since creation. We have God has given us major reminders throughout the history of humanity that he is living and active and that he will ultimately bring judgment. As we considered in the last study, the second coming of Christ is directly connected to the ascension of Christ. Particularly important here is the statement of the angel to the disciples who witnessed Christ's ascension. Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. The angel can speak with a bit of credulity here because Jesus had already told them, You heard me say to you, I am going away and I will come to you. A real absence requires calls for and anticipates a real return. The great hope Above and beyond any progress that we hope for in the here and now is that Jesus will come again to set the world to rights. The book of Revelation chronicles real victories and real afflictions of the church but the closing prayer is that which should be perpetually on our lips. Come Lord Jesus. In other words at any given time in in in the church's history here on earth There may be a greater visibility of the church a greater purity a greater advancement of the gospel or a time of persecution when it seems that all is darkness and and the church is on the wane. So at any given time it's hard to judge by where we are or what or maybe the present circumstances that the church finds itself in to to understand you know it. Does this mean that the world is getting better? I mean, I think at the time of the Reformation, it would have been very difficult, and it really was. If you read the Reformers, they really believed they were part of the last generation. That the great light that had spread around the known world And the incredible advances of the gospel at that time, surely Christ is coming back. Everything seemed to fit. And I don't think they could have imagined the downward turn in those same nations that were confessing Christ as King. And the pervasive confessions of faith across the lands of Europe that they would ever see a day when it looked like it does today when you see Europe looking like it does today. And so revelation shows us kind of a cyclical time of victory and defeat victory and defeat. And yet we're taught at the end of the book we're taught that the perpetual prayer that we should we should be praying is come Lord Jesus really not until the Lord comes back will the world be set to rights. It's a. The sobering thought that one that keeps us looking and longing for the second coming of Christ. Indeed if we lose sight of his real absence and therefore devalue devalue his real return. We will fall into idolatry or we can fall into idolatry. The form of idolatry we fall into as we covet what we have not yet been given and progressively lose patience as we wait for the Lord and his return. Unable to walk by faith now unable to live in the tension of the now and the not yet. We will look for and try to create heaven here and we'll we will increasingly neglect our duty to proclaim to the world that Jesus will come again and they will have to stand before him and give an account. Having hope in Jesus only for this life. In other words looking to Christ as a political tool. As an elixir of health problems as the conduit for a happy family and a good self image. If we only have hope in Jesus for this life we will have become of all people most to be pitied. In fact. It could be argued that if it were not for this line in the creed. Christianity would not be so objectionable to the world. After all, people do not so much reject the idea of there being a God who created a spiritual dimension, resurrection and life after death, heaven, etc. People don't necessarily reject those ideas. Those are not the most objectionable things to people. A lot of people that I run into Non Christians they believe that they've been created or there's a maker somewhere that that that there's a place called heaven they can't they they wonder what it's going to be like when they get there and they want to talk about heaven life after death resurrection all these things are quite beautiful to them and or at least their conception of them and and they don't really object to those those issues. It's it's the idea of being held accountable for our actions. The fact that we will be judged one day and answering to an external divine standard that is intolerable for mankind. That's the rub. If Christianity simply taught that after death comes heaven, I think our churches would be full. But we can't just teach that. Because what God has revealed to us is that there will be a judgment that all of creation will stand before the judge and will give an account. And that's the horrifying thing to mankind. So even though this is intolerable to mankind, Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead. That means that all mankind and even every angel that has ever existed will stand before the judgment seat of God and be recompensed or rewarded according to their deeds. Small and great, old and young, sinner and saint will stand before the sun and he will perfectly Declare and deliver the final verdict upon every soul. Act 1731, 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. Not going into it tonight, but you see The connection between the resurrection of Jesus and his judgment. This one who rose again from the dead is the one who will judge the world in righteousness. John 5.22 The father judges no one but has given all judgment to the son. Any questions or comments at this point? Maybe I'll I'll stop and take a breath. I've been moving fairly quickly. We're considering the second coming and the final judgment. Yeah, Andy. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I thought about that as I was writing some of this. I think the emphasis I'd like to I think the answer to that is we go back to what was emphasized the beginning here and that is that we need to hold a comprehensive view of the work of Christ past present and future. It's when we get imbalanced in any one of those areas that we actually go off into the weeds theologically. And this is I mean you look at this is the Christian faith this is what Our fathers have been confessing for generations before us is this person and work of Jesus Christ from virgin birth to final judgment. And it's much bigger, I think, than we want to spend time thinking about or even give the effort at times to think through the different facets of the work of Christ for us in our salvation. But how important every element is, that has been revealed to us in scripture. First clearly the the the adolescent years of Christ or his toddler years weren't that big of a deal for our redemption because we have nothing about them. It's the it's the events that that God has chose to reveal to us that we need to recognize if he has told us about these things then that's very important to our faith. That's the way the church always heard it. The virgin birth, that's very important to us. Suffering under Pontius Pilate, that's very important to us. His death, his resurrection, his ascension, his seated at the right hand of the father, his coming again to judge the living. These are all major things you can find anywhere in the scriptures. They're not hard to find, very clear. This is what we need to understand is important and not get imbalanced either which direction. But yeah, it's the circles I used to be in that was not cultic necessarily, but inordinately focused on speculation about the end times all the time. And I think a lot of us know those kinds of things. Bob, were you going to make a point? I saw your... It might be a reason why the church had I'm not saying it justifies it but why there's the I mean if we could read let's say the development of the Christian calendar in its best light. It's so that we don't forget these major events in the life of Christ his birth his his suffering his death his resurrection. You know the church here is punctuated by causing us to come back and remember these different times of of Christ's life and work for us. But I think it becomes a real urging to us that we don't let it fall into something of neglect in our thinking, meditation, and our worship. Well, this judgment, let's consider the judgment I've taught more extensively on this and in other contexts and in other studies but this is a judgment that will be according to but not based upon our deeds. The final judgment is based upon the relationship one has with the judge Jesus Christ. If we want to just think in a very simplistic way it will be very much dependent upon your relationship to the judge on that day. This comes straight from Christ in his teaching in Matthew 25. If he knows you that is if the judge knows you he will declare inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. But if he does not know you he will declare depart from me. Therefore, we say that these verdicts are rendered on the basis of. The righteousness of God, which Christ fulfilled on behalf of his people in his perfect obedience to the will of the father. These verdicts are rendered in accordance with or in accord with. The personal actions of the individual undergoing judgment on that day. The distinction being made here is further elaborated on by our theologians and I'll read that in a second. I'll read through some of these in a second. The differences in the real. It is a key difference between saying that judgment is based upon our works or saying that the judgment is in accord with our works. I guess. hand gestures based upon would be this way. Your works are what you stand upon and your judgment is based upon what what you've merited by your works in accord with would be there's a there's a consistency between the verdict that you receive and the life you have lived. It's not based upon but it's in accord with let me let me Read some of these accounts here that sort of flesh this out and I think that you'll see the same distinctions being made here. Charles Hodge in his Systematic Theology says, The general drift of scripture is in favor of the doctrine that a man shall reap what he sows, that God will reward everyone according to, although not on account of, his works. Charles Dabney and his lectures and systematic theology in Matthew twenty five the reprobate are condemned because they have not performed to God's suffering children acts of beneficence and charity and the righteous acquitted because they have. It may be briefly remarked here that while sinners will be condemned strictly on the merit of their own conduct saints will be acquitted solely on the merit of Christ. They are recorded rewarded according to not because of the deeds done in the flesh. But the purpose of God in the judgment is to events or show forth the holiness justice love and mercy of his dealings to all his subjects. But as they cannot read the secret faith love and penitence of the heart. The sentence must be regulated according to some external and visible conduct which is cognizable by creatures and is a proper test of regenerate character. So the fruits are showing fruits are manifesting what's true of the heart and that's a demonstrable thing that can be looked at and weighed and judged. So the judgment comes in accord with those fruits. But it's ultimately not based upon them. Those simply give give evidence that the sentence is just that these these are the righteous the norm according to which Christ will pronounce judgment upon individuals. This is Heinrich happy in his reform dogmatics is the gospel revealed to him whereby Christ will consider man's works as the fruits and proofs of his faith. or unbelief in himself. Will a B.S. In his. Latin compendium. The godless will be judged according to and on account of their works the godly according to their works of faith but not on account of their works. Kirsten I had a couple of his little works in our bookstore for the reform conference last fall and we'll probably have them again. They're well worth getting. He's got these two little volumes called Reform Dogmatics. They're very very accessible easy to read. The judgment is quote most desirable and comfortable to the righteous and elect because then their full deliverance shall be perfected. That's from the Belgic Confession. Their acquittal does not rest upon the works they have done, but only upon the righteousness of Christ. Nevertheless, the good works they have done by faith shall be remembered and rewarded. And Thomas Boston, in his once very famous work, Human Nature in its Fourfold State, Boston wrote Another book shall be opened which is the book of life. In this the names of the elect are written as Christ said to his disciples Your names are written in heaven. This book contains God's gracious and unchangeable purpose to bring all the elect to eternal life and that in order there to they may or they be redeemed by the blood of his son effectually called justified adopted sanctified and raised up with him. or by him at the last day without sin. It is now lodged in the mediator's hand. Then shall the judge pronounce this blessed sentence on the saints. Come ye, blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. The sentence is passed on the saints according to their works, but not for their works, nor for their faith, as if eternal life were merited by them. They were redeemed by the blood of Christ and clothed with his spotless righteousness which is the proper cause of the sentence and the saints will so far be judged according to such works that the degrees of glory amongst them shall be according to these works. Let me pause at this point after some long quotes and And Field, if you have some questions, are you catching the distinction being made throughout here that there's a difference between having a judgment rendered on the basis of your works versus the judgment being in accord with them? Dean. Yeah but but but now in Christ that one work would be brought forward and shown that look what he did here. This is this is the thing that's going to be on display at that at that judgment. His except his his justified status is purely on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It's not on his own his own works but it but that that vindication And and Declare declarative judgment that is rendered on the last day for him will be now in accord with his works of faith. It's what this does is it really brings a reality and a substance to our life in the here and now and the work of the Holy Spirit what he's doing in us once we are united to Christ by faith. And the change begins to happen in our life and fruits begin to come forth in our life because of our salvation. All of that work that God does in us by the spirit is now going to be brought in and shown as as in a sense vindicating and comporting with the sentence that is pronounced upon us on the final day. All of that great work that he's doing in us is now shown forth and the world can see. Look at what God was doing in this one. And in fact, on that final day, we'll be standing there at the end of the work, entirely glorified, as righteous as Jesus Christ on that day. And that will be, you know, the world can look at us and say, look at them. They really are just. The sentence accords with the reality. It's a hard thing just to kind of summarize at the end of this study. We looked at this more extensively in our Our Westminster Confession study is a real beauty of the comprehensive work of salvation that's going on here and it's going to be ultimately displayed in the final judgment. Yeah, Keith. Yeah. Yeah. There's a there is still remain debate within. The. The theology of the church on what what ultimately will be shown on that day. We know for certain that the good works of believers will be shown. We're not entirely sure if the bad works are going to be shown. That's not as, and the questions there are, and you can marshal a defense of both sides on that. Herman Vitsius, Dutch theologian, in his work on systematic theology, he goes through a huge discussion of this. Actually, no, it's on his dealing with the Apostles' Creed. And he works through this and he goes through both sides of the case. Will everything be shown or will just the good works of believers. And he says at the end I think we don't have enough information to make a final final declaration and a solid declaration on that. But we do know that the good works will be there and that it will be a day of joy. And so whatever would be would comport with that joy of the believer throughout all eternity. is going to be what's there. And so can God work that all together any which way? I still think, I think when we were talking in the Westminster study, we kind of gave the example of the way that even in the natural world, when we think about a person, I think I picked on, is Tammy Jo here tonight? She's not here. I picked on George. She's out cutting trees down, is that what you said? If you look at the life of George Kleinbart, okay, and now here he is a surgeon and has done well, you look back and the success that he is today, George would hate this right now, by the way, if he was here. He would be just cringing. But if you look at the man he is today, You look back and you look at those important things that shaped him to become what he is today. That gets the emphasis as we look back on his life. If we were talking about a man who actually is now being dishonorably discharged, he's in prison, when we look back, based on who he is today, you look back at the life and you look at all of those critical junctures that turned him negatively to be the man he is. this day. That's what gets the focus. The finished product ends up becoming the thing, the lens, in a sense, through which you look back at the life. And I'm going to guess, to some degree, that's the way that the final judgment will be. It'll look back and God will be able to show those critical moments and those critical things that vindicate that sentence of, this is one of my holy beloved just ones. And as you look back at that life, even the works done in this life will be on display as good and pleasing to him, because they're ultimately the works that he produced by his spirit. But when the reprobate is standing there on display, all that's going to be seen is all of the junk of their life that has come to finally accumulate together to be that which, when the sentence is pronounced upon them, No one will question the justice of that sentence on that day. The whole issue of rewards and punishment and stuff, I think that Jesus is not necessarily saying there you need to build up a merit treasury or something like this. He's saying that store up your treasure in heaven. In other words, put your value upon the things that are going to have eternal ramifications and cannot be corrupted. It's a contrasting statement with versus put your treasure on earth, build your kingdom here on earth. No, you should be building the kingdom of God. I don't think necessarily the motive there is that so that you'll get a super studded crown or something like that. I think it's just that there's a there's a there's a whole issue of value here. This is going to burn and pass away. This will go on forever. The accordance with is God has begun a work of sanctification and total transformation with us. What he's begun in you right now is not going to end until you are totally glorified. And what I Tried to explain when we were looking at the sanctification study was in the in the Westminster Confession is that we need to see our sanctification and glorification as a complete cloth. We tend to dichotomize those two as two radically separate events. God works on sanctification here and then when we die he kind of scraps that whole project and says I'm just going to glorify you. Let's just let's just get this done with kind of a thing. The Bible doesn't present it that way Bible presents it as there there is a transformation that begins now that culminates in our glorification. And when we stand there on that day fully glorified all of the work that he begun back here is part of who we are now. It's a pretty radical picture but it does bring a continuity there. It does not affect your final the final judgment. But it will now you will be who you actually are will be in accord with the sentence that's publicly pronounced. The entire sentence that is pronounced upon you on that day is based entirely upon the work of Jesus Christ and you actually enjoy the benefits of that sentence right now. You're justified now. You can't be any more justified. On that day, though, it will be explained to the whole world. The whole world will now hear it. Katie's one of the children of God. Right now, they might look and go, I don't know about that. But on that day, nobody will be able to question that. They will look at you and say, wow, yes, she is. but that sentence is ultimately based upon. I'm kidding about that too. I think you're... Will, Greg. Right. Yeah. Without getting into an extended conversation on this I would go back to the section on good works in the confession that really defines what biblically is a good work. Is it just doing a good thing you know by itself like you're you're bringing forth here. It works through the motive has to be right. And you know as as one of the things it has to be in accord with God's law for it to actually be a good work in other words we've we see a lot of altruism going on in the world today but some of it is actually against what the scriptures say you're not supposed to give to to the sluggard he's to be rebuked. that that kind of a thing and so I would I would highly recommend the chapter I think it's Chapter 20 in the Westminster Confession on of good works and it works through the exact question that you're asking there and I think it does a really good helpful job in helping us understand what is actually a good work it's done in faith it's done according to the word it's done with the right motive the glory of God all of those things come into play there so Greg. Yes. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Yes. I can't agree more I would highly recommend exactly firm with Greg read the book of James James is talking about that how do you know someone says I have faith. I can look at you and you do. James says you know show me your faith by your faith you can't but I can show you my faith by my works the fruit so just we're justified in that claim to faith. by the fruits that come out in our life. That's the fruit to justify that claim. They justify one as being able to say, I have faith. And it's the same way that Jesus uses the term, wisdom is justified in her children. In other words, what it produces, the wisdom produces children, it produces effects and that ultimately justifies and vindicates the decision as that was wise. So it's this what we call demonstrable justification. versus actual but let me just read the final point it's through it is through the portal of this final judgment and declaratory vindication before the whole world that we come into the full possession of the last installment of our redemption. Thus this is a critical part of our faith and that's why the church has always confessed the The second coming and final judgment of Christ. It's interesting if you read our confession on in times there's not a lot to be reformed in your what we call eschatology your doctrine and your understanding of in times the reforms have a very simple. eschatology we you have to affirm three things two of which we looked at tonight one of which we looked at two two studies ago. One is the resurrection of the dead a general resurrection. The other is a second coming of Christ and the third is a final judgment. That's that's our eschatology and really it's very much not much beyond what we have right here in the creed. This is that he will come again to judge the living and the dead. That's that's exactly what we confess in the Westminster Confession as well. Yeah Bob. Yeah. Yes. That's a great point. Good point to end on tonight as well. So let's go ahead and take a break and then we'll gather back in a few minutes for our time of congregational prayer.