Conversations At The Judgment[1]
Subject: The Judgment Day
Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:31-46
Theme or Proposition: The Lord is coming. Be ready!
General Objective: To motivate
Specific Purpose: To move any who are not ready for the judgment to make preparations before it is too late.
Introduction:
1. The Bible teaches that when the world comes to an end we will all be judged[2]
2. The Bible teaches that the end of the world shall come suddenly – as quickly as the twinkling of an eye.[3]
3. Yet, the Bible also teaches that there will be conversations at the judgment.
4. As we notice conversations at the judgment as described in the Bible, think about what the Lord may say to you when that time comes.
I. Conversations in Jesus’ Parables of Judgment -
A. Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13)
a. To the wise virgins, Matthew 25:8, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.
b. Answered by the wise virgins, Matthew 25:9, No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.
c. To the Lord, Matthew 25:11, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'
d. Answered by the Lord, Matthew 25:12, But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'
B. Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)
a. The Five Talent man
1) Comment to his master: Matthew 25:20, Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'
2) Reply given by his Lord: Matthew 25:21, Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.
b. The Two Talent man
1) Comment to his master: Matthew 25:22, Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.
2) Reply given by his Lord: Matthew 25:23, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.
c. The One Talent man
1) Comment to his master: Matthew 25:24-25, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.
2) Reply given by his Lord: Matthew 25:26-30, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
a. Matthew 25:28-30, Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
b. John 15:5-6, 8, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. . . . 8By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
C. Parable of the Pounds (Luke 19:11-26) while not the same as the parable of the talents, has the same basic conversational messages and lessons to be learned. Therefore, it need not be discussed here in detail.
D. Parable of Sheep & Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)
E. Parable of Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16)
F. Parable of the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30; 37-43)
G. Parable of the Dragnet (Matthew 13:47-50)
a. There will be a division of the righteous from the wicked
b. The righteous “will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father”
c. The wicked “will be wailing and gnashing teeth”
H. Parable of the Wise & Faithful Servant (Matthew 24:43-51)[5]
a. “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (v. 24:44).
b. “But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' 49and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (vs. 48-51).
I. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) Actually, After the Judgment!
a. 1st series
1) Rich man’s request, Luke 16:24, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
2) Response to request, Luke 16:25-26, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.
b. 2nd series
1) Rich man’s request, Luke 16:27-28, I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'
2) Response to request, Luke 16:29, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
c. 3rd series
1) Rich man’s argument, Luke 16:30, No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.
2) Rebuttal to argument, Luke 16:31, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.
a. Judgment is based upon conduct in this earthly life.
b. Judgment, once determined, cannot be revoked
c. Principles of judgment are given in Scripture
J. Other parables also describe the judgment day, but do not indicate any conversation or expression by those judged, e.g., Parable of the Faithful & Wise Stewart (Luke 12:42-48).
II. Other Conversations at the Judgment indicated by the Lord -
B. Human condemnation against the wicked, Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31, The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. Matthew 12:41; Luke 11:32, The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
C. Jesus’ declaration of degrees of punishment upon the wicked -
D. Jesus’ recognition of our standing with Him, Matthew 10:32-33, Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Revelation 3:5, He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
III. Conversations indicated by Apostolic Teaching -
A. Romans 14:10-12,For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." 12So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
B. 1 Corinthians 6:2, Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?
C. 2 Timothy 2:11-13, This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. 12If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. 13If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
D. Revelation 1:7, Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
IV. Conversations Protesting Judgment -
A. In this life:
B. At the final judgment:
V. Conclusion: On that Judgment Day, What Will He Say To You? -
A. Summary of lessons learned
B. Visualize what the Lord may say to you
C. If you’re not ready to meet the Lord, make preparations now for that Judgment day before it is too late!
[1]Copyright © by author, Robert L. Waggoner, 2001; slightly revised, 2003. Permission is granted to duplicate and distribute this manuscript, if unchanged, for non-commercial educational purposes. All other rights reserved.
[2]Ecclesiastes 12:14, For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil. 2 Corinthians 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Matthew 16:27, "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
[3]2 Peter 3:10, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
[4]“a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. 5Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. 6And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?' 7They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.' 8So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.' 9And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius”. Matthew 20:1-8
[5]But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' 49and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:43-51.