Please turn with me once again to John chapter 5. And I will begin reading at verse 25. The main focus of our sermon will be verses 28 and 29, but we'll be reading verses 25 to 30. Truly, truly, amen, amen, 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. I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. The bodily resurrection and final judgment of all men by Christ is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul includes in the gospel not just the death and burial of Christ, but also his resurrection. And he goes on to show in the verses that follow that Christ's rising secured the resurrection of all other men. So the church is right to confess belief in the resurrection and final judgment. For example, the Apostles' Creed, teaches that faith in Jesus Christ includes the truth that, quote, he will come to judge the living and the dead. Amen. Later, it professes belief in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. We're just saying it. Our 1689 confession discusses these two things in two chapters. In other words, the Bible teaches these truths and the church has recognized them. They are as certainly true as Jesus declares them to be. Amen, amen. Certainly true. My focus this morning will be verses 28 and 29, but I've read a bit more because I want you to notice that both of Christ's appearings are found in these verses. In his first coming, verse 25, he brings salvation by raising the spiritually dead to life by the power of his voice. He has life in himself. And so he freely imparts it to those whom he chooses by speaking the words of life. But one day, he will come a second time, verse 28. Once again, his voice will ring out, and all men will be gathered to him, body and soul, even the dead. With his authority to judge, he will reward with eternal life those who have practiced good, and he will sentence those who practiced evil to eternal condemnation. Now these verses are one of four foundational texts that teach that at the end of the age, all men will stand before Christ to give account and receive their due. Another of these scriptures is Acts 24 15. Having a hope in God, Paul says. Well, what's your hope, Paul? That there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. Another is Daniel 12 too. Those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. Some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Finally, there is Romans 2, verses 1 to 11. Here are the salient parts of that text. Do you suppose, O man, that you will escape the judgment of God? He will render to each one according to his works. To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, He will give eternal life. But to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good. And many other scriptures could be added to these four. The Bible's teaching about personal eschatology, what happens to people after they die, is really quite simple. It teaches that at death, people's souls or spirits go to heaven or hell. Their lifeless bodies return to the earth. But that's not the end. It's just the in-between time, what's usually called the intermediate state, until Christ returns. Then he will raise the bodies of the dead, reunite them with their souls, and declare their eternal destinies. That's verses 28 and 29. If in this life, Now listen to the connection between this life, the intermediate state, and the eternal state. Listen to the connection here. If in this life they were already condemned by their unbelief, John 3, 18, then their souls spent the intermediate state in hell. And after the resurrection, they will spend eternity in a worse hell, with body and soul. But if in this life they gained eternal life through faith in Christ, their spirits enjoyed the presence and blessings of Christ in heaven until their body and soul were reunited at the resurrection. Then they will experience an even better heaven, a new heaven and a new earth with Christ. Now, it's the last part of this personal eschatology in verses 28 and 29 that I want to talk about. The resurrection of all men's bodies, their reunification with their souls, and the final judgment. So from this passage that we read, notice five things about the resurrection and judgment. First, they are future. Now, before you go, duh, pastor, listen to this whole section. All right, these things are future. Jesus teaches in verse 28 that an hour is coming. Unlike the first hour he spoke about in verse 25, this hour is not also now here. It is just yet to come. Now, it's an appointed time. It's a certain coming. But it is also a future time. These two things, the general resurrection and final judgment, will occur when Christ returns. We know this because his voice initiates these events, verse 28. And as Paul explains in 1 Thessalonians 4.16, the Lord himself will descend from heaven This is his return, his second coming, with a cry of command, with a voice of an archangel, with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead will rise. Now this was future in Christ's day. It was future in Paul's day. It is still future in our day. But there is a belief that some of you may have heard of. It's called full preterism, or hyper-preterism, and it disagrees with that. Preterism, the word, comes from the Greek meaning the past. And so preterism teaches that these events are not future, but have already taken place. They actually teach that Christ has already returned. and the resurrection and final judgment, those two are also passed. It's interesting that while modern full preterism was first proposed by a Jesuit priest in the 1600s, there were preterists of a sort in the Apostle Paul's day. In 2 Timothy 2, he names two men who he says, quote, have swerved from the truth. Well, what truth did they swerve from? Well, they say that the resurrection has already happened. He goes on, they are upsetting the faith of some. In 2 Thessalonians 2.2, Paul asks his readers not to be shaken by those who teach that the coming of the Lord has already happened. Jesus himself in Matthew 13 taught that these things will all happen, quote, at the end of the age. And so they are indeed not past, but future. And it is a necessary part of the Christian faith to believe that the coming of Christ is future. And he will then raise all men and judge them. To believe otherwise, Paul says, is to leave the faith. A second truth about this resurrection and judgment, it is universal. It's universal. It includes all men. In verse 28, it says, all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out. In other words, their bodies will live again. They will rise to life. This includes believers and unbelievers. As Paul said in Acts 24, 15, there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust. Did you hear that closely? There will be a resurrection. one, not several, of every just person and every unjust person. There will be one general raising up by Christ of all peoples. No one escapes the power of his voice. But if all people will stand in judgment, why aren't the living listed here? Are they going to somehow escape? Why does the verse include only those in the tombs? Well, I think there are several reasons why the Lord speaks this way. First, and I hope this is obvious, the living don't need to have their bodies raised in order to be judged. They are already a whole body and soul person. Second, the vast majority of people will have died when Christ returns. So the largest group, the dead, represent all men. But third, and I think most appropriate to this context, is that Jesus emphasizes two main works by his father that he, the son, also works. What are those two works? raising and judging. He says, my father raises, my father judges, I raise, I judge. And all of his explanations in the verses 19 to 30 revolve around these two works only. So he declares that he will not only give spiritual life and healing now, verse 25, but on the last day he will raise all the dead. This is one of the greater works that he spoke of back in verses 20 and 21. And it's much more astonishing than merely claiming to judge the still living by showing up. So this resurrection and judgment is future. It's universal. It's effective. It's effective. When Christ returns, he will speak and everyone, even those who are dead in the tombs, will hear him. When the one who is life commands those in the tombs to live, guess what? They live. They hear. They come out. They are all actually raised. Not a single one of them is missed. None have been dead for too long. None have been so disintegrated that he can't raise them. None have power to deny obedience to his command when he says, rise up. And the same effectiveness is true for his judging. For the one who has the power of life is also the judge. His verdict and his sentence are executed. They come to pass. There are no appeals, no plea deals, no endless judicial reviews. When he judges, some go to life and some go to condemnation. But he determines it all. And that's what comes to pass. His raising and his judging always achieve their intention. Fourth, these things are just. These things are just. Christ's raising of men is fair and impartial. He made them. He owns them. He has every right to raise them. His judgments are the same, fair and impartial. Verse 30 says, my judgment is just, because it's not just his, it matches the will of God. And there is no favoritism with God, as Paul says in the Romans 2 context that we quoted earlier. You see, every sentence to every man is precisely equitable. Oh, what a great day. Justice will finally reign. Well, here's the fifth and final characteristic of the general resurrection and judgment. This word is dichotomous. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for this word. I know it's not often used. But it is precisely the right word to describe the two, and only two, mutually exclusive outcomes of this resurrection unto judgment. In other words, there are only two possible results, life or condemnation. There are only two tests, doing good or doing evil. There are no gradations. There are no mixtures of these. There are no other options. You see, when Jesus returns and raises men to judge them, there'll only be two findings and two matching sentences. That is the dichotomous nature of the final judgment. Notice, in thinking about this a bit more deeply, notice that each and every man will be judged by his works. Has he done good things, as the text says? That is, has he practiced good works toward God? Or has he done evil things, practiced evil works against God? Has he obeyed righteousness or has he obeyed unrighteousness? as Paul says in Romans 2. In each case, which one of the two is it? Now, most of you are feeling really conflicted right now. That's good. Hold on to that. OK? Don't go away. Each person has either done one or the other. All his life's works, according to this verse, are either good or evil. And in the Bible, final judgment is always according to works. Listen again to how Romans 2 plainly puts it. God will render to each one according to his works. To those who by patience in well-doing, patience, perseverance, this is the regular practice of doing well, seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But to those who are self-seeking and who do not obey the truth, but obey in righteousness, there will be wrath and fury. That all men are judged only one way or the other is plainly taught here. and in many other places in scripture. And then depending on those works, each individual will enter either life or condemnation. The dichotomy continues with only two possible sentences. There is life or there is judgment, which here means an adverse judicial sentence. or we might say in some of your Bibles might read condemnation. It's either life or condemnation. The two ends are heaven or hell. Eternal life or eternal death. No one gets neither. No one goes to a third place. No one spends some time in one and then some time in the other. These are eternal destinies. These are eternal dichotomous existences. Now in light of all this, Christians often ask several questions. And I have time I only have time to give short answers. I hope they're satisfactory. If not, talk to my pastor. He will help you. The first one is, why is the final judgment based on works when salvation is by grace through faith? Or it could be asked this way. Why doesn't God just see who believed in Jesus and send them to heaven? Well, the short answer is this. Works are the way God sees who believed in Jesus. Good works are the infallible way God knows who believed in Jesus. Good works are the certain evidence of saving faith Yes, salvation is always by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But the grace that saves, brethren, and you know how this sentence ends, I trust, the grace that saves is never alone. Never. Faith is never alone. It's always accompanied by good works, by obedience, by patience in well-doing. This doing good may be long, it may be short. It may be as short as a thief on a cross. It may be as long as the Apostle John, probably a teenager when called by Christ and probably lived into his 90s. Right? It may be long, it may be short. It may include many works or few works, but every true believer lives a life of doing good. Always? Yes. Yes. Remember, faith without works is, well, it's just less rewarded. No, it's dead. It's not saving faith. It's false faith. Faith without works, it's dead. But saving faith produces works. and God's examination of our works shows the true nature of our faith. It's really easy to say, well, I believe in Jesus. He is my Lord. I've trusted him. Now, I still live exactly like I did before. I don't hate my sin. It doesn't grieve me. In fact, I really like it. But I believe in Jesus, so he has to take me to heaven. No, he doesn't, because you don't have saving faith. You have self-seeking faith, Romans 2, that we read about. No. Ephesians 2.10 is so helpful here. And dozens of sermons could be filled with texts that are helpful here, but we're just going to look very quickly at one. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. You see, our new spiritual lives are not our own work, they're the work of God. He created us anew in Christ for the purpose of doing good works. Now, does He work so that He can fail? No, God never fails in His work. And if this wasn't enough, we're told that in eternity past, He actually ordained good works for us to work in them, walk in them. It is certain if we are in Christ, we will do good works. The God who ordained our faith also ordained our good works. So in summary, people alive in Christ certainly do good works. Doesn't mean they never struggle. Doesn't mean they never backslide. Doesn't mean life is easy. Doesn't mean a thousand other things. But if you have saving faith, you will do the works of faith. And therefore, examining your works and judging you by your works is a sound basis for a right judgment. Well, here's a second question that sometimes people ask. And this is really for those of you who are Christians. But how should I think about this? Because, pastor, I'm not in either group. I'm somewhere in the middle. Christians look at their lives, as they should, Paul said, examine yourself to see that you're in the faith. They look at their lives, and they say, I do some things unto God. I do some good. I practice some righteousness. But I do some evil. I follow my lusts, and I disobey God. So all this talk about judgment, this is frightening. I mean, how can I even think about Judgment Day and not be apprehensive? Or if I'm really thinking clearly, absolutely terrified. Well, let me just say it is frightening. It is indeed terrifying to consider our poor works before God by ourselves. That's a terrible thing to think about. To think about God directly examining our lives is dreadful. But those who by grace have believed in Christ never stand for themselves. They do not exist now, nor in the intermediate state, nor in the eternal state, by themselves. Christ stands for us and with us at all times. Here's where American individualism is really not helpful to us to understand the Bible. If you are a Christian, then you are eternally, securely united to Jesus Christ with a bond that cannot be broken. So you are never alone, whether before God or in any other situation. Since believers are unbreakably united to Christ, God always and only sees us in his son. And since he lived a perfect life and we are in him, his perfect obedience is counted to us. He died a curse bearing death, and since we're united to him, our guilt and penalty are gone. Romans 8.1 anyone? There is therefore now no condemnation. Oh, you mean on Judgment Day? No, right, no condemnation. That's a Judgment Day term for all of those who are in Jesus Christ. So to stand in judgment, think about this, brethren. So to stand in judgment before the Christ who loved us so much that he died for us and promised never to leave us, Why would we fear to be judged by that Christ? Oh, but pastor, I've sinned so much against that Christ. Yes, yes you have, more than you know. What's the saying? Be happy because you're much worse than you know. That's how much Christ loves you. Yes, but he's removed those sins as far as the east is from the west. pastor all the good I tried to do it was always every single time marred by sin yes yes it was but as our mediator Jesus Christ took every attempt he removed the sin he perfected the good he presented it before the father who wholeheartedly embraced it it's a good work So now at this final judgment, all the judge sees is us having done good. He knows our persistence in well-doing, as weak and off and on and pathetic as it was. And the just sentence for this is eternal life. Just like it is just for God to forgive us our sins, 1 John 1, because Christ has died for us, so with the Judgment Day, it is just to receive eternal life because Christ has lived and died and risen for me. That is why there is not a single place that I'm aware of in the New Testament where Christians are taught to fear the second coming, or the resurrection, or even the final judgment. Brothers and sisters, that is Vindication Day. That's the day when God publicly owns you. Who are you now? You're a nobody now, the world tells you. No, you are kings and queens in waiting. You are the sons and daughters of God. And on that day, these vile bodies and our awful spirits will be so purified that we will shine like the stars. God will say, these are the ones I have made. I am proud of them. I love them. These are mine. We will be vindicated. He won't be going, you know, you shouldn't have done that. And I'm going to hold that against you. And I'm going to put none of that. None of that. Don't let yourself think that that's not what the word of God teaches. Rather, the second coming, the resurrection and the final judgment, there are hope, there are joy, there are longing Christian on that day, you will not be in the middle. a mix of good deeds and evil deeds. By faith on that day, you who are in Christ will be fully seen and pronounced to be righteous. So all will be well. Brothers and sisters, forget all the questions about eschatology. Forget about how many of this and how many of that. Just believe what the plain, repeated teaching of the Word of God is and be at peace. You do not have to fear death. Death is the entrance to joy. You don't have to fear the judgment because God is not unrighteous. So there's nothing that he can justly hold against you because Christ paid it all. Well, here's the third and final question. Is the difference between these two, this resurrection of life and resurrection of judgment or condemnation, is the difference between these two really that big? I mean, you seem to be getting kind of worked up, little old man. Like, really? Is that really that important? Yes. It's the difference between heaven and hell, between eternal paradise or what Isaiah calls everlasting burnings. And this should motivate you to do the work of God, which is first what? Well, according to John 6, 29, is to believe on him whom the Father has sent. Verse 40 says that everyone who looks on the Son and believes will be raised up to eternal life on the final day. The resurrection of believers, this is a beautiful phrase. Don't overlook this. The resurrection of believers is the resurrection of life or to life. Here's my attempt to poorly explain that glorious phrase. To be raised to life means to be brought into the immediate glorious presence of him who is life itself. and his life and his light will fill us forever. All that life should have been and could be, it will be. We will gaze upon Jesus Christ, the God-man, and we will see the face of God. The happiness of that beatific vision will be experienced as our salvation is entirely perfected. God will be glorious to us and we will be glorified, fully glorified. We will dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. Psalm 27. We will seek his face and find him ever near and never far. Not a shade of guilt or shame will be in our minds. No shadow will mar our joy. Not the least bit of misery will ever be felt. We will experience a wholeness of life we've never known before. And it will never dissipate. It will only grow as we see more and more of the infinite glories of God. There will be an indescribably pure and blessed fellowship between us and every other redeemed person. Our companions will be the perfected saints. rehearsing the mighty saving deeds of the God who loved us. We will sing his praises forever and ever with thanksgiving and joy. We will love each other perfectly. No one will even give the least disappointment, let alone sin. Peace will reign as heaven comes to earth and all that man was meant to be, he will become. There'll be no more curse, for that is death. But justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. We will live in the land of eternal life, which really, really, really will never end. Brethren, think often on these things to your joy and peace and assurance. But there's another resurrection. This is unto judgment, or better, as we said before, the judicial sentence of condemnation. If believers obtain eternal life, unbelievers obtain the judgment of eternal death. Their bodies are raised to life of a sort, but it's really more like an existing. in the continuing state of ruin and death. It's interesting. I don't think anywhere in the scripture does the Bible describe those who live in hell as, well, living. I think they always use other words, if I've caught that correctly. Life belongs to saints. They're depraved souls. will be reunited to their bodies for the just purpose of receiving God's wrath and righteous rage. They will only know tribulation and distress. Their torments will be both in body and soul. And if the redeemed will be made beautiful in the presence of Christ, it seems right to think that the depraved will show the miseries of sin in an ugly, perhaps even terrifying appearance. As the Bible teaches, God is present in hell, but not in grace, only in justice. You see, hell is terrible because the just God is there. No one can escape him there. No one there will know anything of joy or friendship or even momentary relief. They will experience the undoing of all of their hopes. They will reach heights of frustration they never knew even in this life. Shame and everlasting contempt will mark their relationships. They will be friendless, alone in their guilt, and their continuing rebellion. They will be among what the psalmist calls in Psalm 26, the assembly of the wicked. That is, they will be surrounded by others who hate them and are seeking to harm them. They will never stop sinning. But worse, if that's possible, hell will be filled with demons and Satan himself. And while those can no longer trouble the saints, they will inhabit the same place of damnation with sinners. Imagine, instead of seeing the face of Christ, you have to live forever in the presence of a powerful fallen angel who detests you. His enmity will be full and open. So hell is a place of great terror. The place where there is indeed, as God says, no peace for the wicked. and it never ends. So you must understand both of these sentences and places are real. They are real. These are not the ravings of a religious fanatic. These are the plain teachings of Jesus the Christ from our text. And you must believe in them because you will certainly go to one of them. So yes, to answer the question. The difference between them really is that big. Here are four short uses to close first. Jesus' teaching about the resurrection and judgment are a vital part of the Christian faith, and you must believe it. It is amen and amen. Certainly true. Secondly, Christian efforts at obedience are not in vain. You know, putting sin to death, bringing righteousness to life by the help of the Holy Spirit, that's hard work. It's very discouraging. I was about to say at times, all the time. But it's worth it. It's worth it. It's not only an evidence to your own heart of your standing before God, that your faith is real, but there will be the reward of grace. And that reward is eternal life. Third, if you are a believer in Christ, you have no reason to fear death or the judgment. Really. I know your heart says, but. But no, really, there's not a good reason to fear it. 1 John 4, 17. Love has been perfected among us in this. Can you even imagine this? That we may have boldness in the day of judgment. What? Because as he is, so are we. in the world. We are so united to Christ that we can face the judgment with boldness. Or to paraphrase Calvin, God has embraced us in love so that on the day of judgment we can go confidently, even cheerfully, being like him in works and assured of his fatherly love. Brethren, again, Do not doubt, but believe. Well, fourth and finally, if you are not a believer in Christ, if you have not done the work of God by believing in his son, why not? Why not? Look at the end result of believing in Him. It's an inheritance of indescribable blessing that will never fade away. Compare that to the end result of your self-seeking, disobedient lifestyle. It's an eternal existence so terrible words fail to convey its misery and terror. Jesus sincerely calls to you, come to me. Deny yourself and live. Repent and believe the gospel. Turn from your sin, trust Christ, and gain eternal life. Let's pray.