you Good morning. Good morning. How's everybody doing? Sorry I was running late. Hope everybody's doing well this morning. We'll go ahead and open up a word of prayer before we get started. Dearly Father, we thank you for allowing us to gather in your house once again, Father. Thank you for the beautiful weather that we've had, Father, and just thank you for getting us here safely and getting us through the week, Father. As we gather here this morning, Father, to talk about your word, Father, as we look at the final judgment of the wicked, Father, I pray that you open our hearts and our minds and have us to see what you would have us to see through your scripture, Father. We love you. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. So we're continuing on our study this morning and we're looking on Chapter 23. I pray I studied the right chapter. The final judgment of the wicked. The final judgment of the wicked. What do you think about when you think about the final judgment? Anybody want to share? It's final. It's final. It is the end. It is absolute. And final means what? Final, it does not change. Paul Walsh starts off here, he says, I don't think I ever looked at it that way. But this doctrine, that every one of Adam's race will stand before the righteous and all-knowing God and be judged according to his or every thought, word, and deed, is something that goes beyond the scope of our wildest imaginations. Can you imagine being judged for every thought that you ever had or every word that you ever spoke? And as we look at this, we must remember who he is pointing this out to, the final judgment of the wicked, all right? If we are washed in the blood of Christ, we are the redeemed, right? And it gives us more praise as we look at this and be thankful for the great love that Christ has bestowed upon us, right? So this is some very insightful stuff. It's some stuff that's very eye-opening and it's stuff that makes you examine yourself. At least it did me. As we look through this lesson that Paul's laid out before us, I pray that it really just makes us think about the final judgment, what it means, and how important it is to know and teach as doctrine. And he says, in fact, as God being judge of creation, he governs creation. He says it is not just his prerogative, but it is demanded by his righteous character. And then he asks this question, shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Is it not indeed necessary that a moral God carry out moral justice in the universe that he has made? Shall we deny God the very right we demand for ourselves in our own courts of law? Certainly not. The final judgment is a fundamental doctrine of scriptures. It is impossible to hold the divine inspiration and infallibility of the Bible without embracing the doctrine of the final judgment and eternal condemnation of the wicked. And although much about this doctrine remains a mystery, it nevertheless is an absolute certainty according to the scriptures. Each and every one of Adam's race will be judged by God, and the wicked will be condemned to eternal punishment. Remember that the wicked will be condemned to eternal punishment and the redeemed in Christ will inherit the fullness of salvation. So the day of judgment, the final judgment, is something that needs to be taught because it fulfills our salvation, right? It completes it. And we also see by the same righteousness that God judges the redeemed, He also judges the wicked. And that's what we're focusing on this morning. The final judgment is an essential doctrine of the scriptures and the Christian faith. This truly is clearly communicated in Hebrews 6, 1 through 2, 1 and 2. And how does the writer refer to the doctrine? So looking at chapter 6, verses 1 and 2, it says, Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying against the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. Verse two, of instruction about washings and laying of hands and the resurrection of the dead and the eternal judgment. This teaching, how does the writer refer to the doctrine? He refers to it as an elementary teaching about Christ. So when we think about elementary teaching, what does that make you think of? Elementary teaching. The basics, the basics. We have a beginning of knowledge, right? We have a beginning. The teaching is from the beginning. There is a beginning. We learn about the basics and we are to study them. We are to feed on them like an infant would feed upon milk, but we don't stop there. We are to mature in Christ. The word for mature means a perfect, a perfecter. God has given his chosen faith to believe in him. With that, we are to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the only way we can grow to maturity is to keep our eyes on who? Christ. God's final judgment of mankind is so embedded in Old Testament What am I saying here? God's final judgment of mankind is so embedded in Old Testament thought that to deny it's reality would be to deny the infallibility of scriptures. What do the following Old Testament passages teach us about the certainty of God's final judgment? We're looking at Psalms 9, 7, and 8. But the Lord abides forever. He has established his throne for judgment, and he will judge the world in righteousness. He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. So what does that tell you, anybody? What's the first phrase in verse seven? But the Lord abides, what? Forever. This text tells us that God is forever. He has no end. He alone established his throne and determines our judgment. He will judge in righteousness because he is what? Holy, he's a holy God, and he is the only one who can rightly judge. He will execute judgment for all mankind and will do so What did it say, the last word? Equity, equally. He has no favoritism, right? He does not vary from his standard. God will forever remain on his throne, and he alone will judge the world in complete righteousness. Psalms 96, verses 10 through 13. Say among the nations, The Lord reigns. Indeed, the world is firmly established. It will not be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar and all it contains. Let the field exalt and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness. There's a lot there in that verse, is there not? Say among the nations. What do y'all think that means? Everywhere. Everywhere. is speaking to all the people in the earth. And then goes on to say, the Lord reigns. And this is a proclamation to the entire world that means whether others recognize His reign or not, He reigns. Amen. The world is firmly established means that God didn't make the world in a careless way. His ways is perfect and everlasting, and He shall judge the people fairly. God is a righteous judge and it is before him that all people must give him account and he will judge all mankind by his rules of justice and he will do it righteously. The rest of the verse talks about how creation is glad for the coming of judgment. How is the rest of creation glad for coming of judgment? May the heavens be joyful and may the earth rejoice. May the sea roar and all it contains. May the field be jubilant and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord, for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth and he will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. So moving on, Ecclesiastes 3, 17. I said to myself, God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man for a time for every matter and for every deed is there. Spurgeon said this, honesty, veracity, integrity will rule upon his judgment seat. No nation shall be favored there and none be made to suffer through prejudice. The black man shall be tried by the same law as the white master. The aboriginal shall have justice executed for him against his civilized exterminator. The crushed and the hunted bushman shall have space to appeal against the boar who slaughtered his tribe. And the South Sea Islander shall gain attention to his piteous plaint against the treacherous wretch who kidnapped him from his home. There shall be true judgment given without fear or favor In all this, let the nations be glad, and the universe rejoice. God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man. Ecclesiastes 11, verse 9. Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood, and follow impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. anybody everything they want to share what that verse says to them and follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things Solomon was a wise man right he's telling the young man to Enjoy the good times, but be careful. The good times you seek must be proper. It must be wholesome and productive. He's saying be aware that God is watching our every move and remember that He is the judge and the final judgment is coming. So some things to think about as we look at that, right? Ecclesiastes 12, verses 13 and 14. We read, the conclusion, when all has been heard is, fear God and keep His commandments because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. By our definitions, do people do good? By our definitions, yeah, right? We have good motives that we think are good motives. We try to do well. We help people, right? But if we never know Christ, what are we? We're wicked. This phrase here, it's very important to remember and it's something that I struggle with. Fear God and keep his commandments, always. How we live this day and every other day will matter on that great and final day. What we do matters, right? Verse 13 points out to us that it is time to decide who will we serve. Verse 14 points out to us that it is time to obey. Every day we are to obey because God will pass his judgment on that final day. We don't think about that final day, do we? We don't. We tend to think there's always tomorrow. It's important to understand that the truth of the final judgment is not merely an Old Testament doctrine. What do the following New Testament texts teach us about the certainty of God's final judgment? We look at Romans 14, 10 through 12. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall give praise to God. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Everyone will give an account to God. We will all give an account to God in the end, and we will all stand before God's judgment seat. So how does that make y'all feel? Does anybody want to share anything on that? When we look at our salvation, it makes us thankful for what Christ has really done for us, right? Because remember what the focus of the lesson is, the judgment for the wicked on the final day. Do we tend to think that we can do things in secret? We do, don't we? We'll get to that here in a minute. Hebrews 9 27. And in as much as is appointed for men to die once and after this comes a judgment. You see, there's no second chance. After death, there's only one judgment. There's only judgment and judgment comes from a holy God who will judge in righteousness. 2 Peter 3 verse 7 says, But by his word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men. So when we look at this right here and we see what he says here in verse 7, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men, and he says it's going to be reserved for fire. Where can we confirm this as we understand what this judgment means? Where have we seen judgment before where God destroyed the earth? Where did we see it? In the flood. And then what did God say that he was going to do the next time? It wasn't going to be by water, it was going to be by what? So it's a confirmation of a truth that he already stated, right? That's just a thought that popped up in my mind. This text reminds us that the future judgment will be by fire. Isaiah 66, 15 and 16 tells us, For behold, the Lord will come in fire and his chariots like a whirlwind. It's kind of hard to imagine that, right? Chariots like a whirlwind. To render his anger with fury and rebuke with flames of fire. For the Lord will execute judgment by fire and by his sword on all flesh. On what? All flesh. And those slain by the Lord will be many. Malachi 4.1 tells us, For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaffed. And the day is coming will set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts. So that will leave them neither root nor branch. I guess if I wanted to, I could use this as text to scare people into believing Christ, right? But the words here. And what did he say? And those slain by the Lord will be what? Many. That's why it's important for us to get out and share the gospel. And moving on to number four in the scriptures, there are many names given to describe the day when God will judge all men. Identify each name according to the scripture given, then write your thoughts on what each name communicates to us. I struggled with this a little bit. The first thing we look at is 2 Peter 2.9. then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment. The day of judgment. This makes me think back up to there when we are to fear God and keep his commandments. He is a holy God. He is righteous. He tells us how we are to live, yet we try to live our lives the way we want to and we forget about what the Bible teaches about the day of judgment, right? The word judgment comes from the Greek word which the English word crisis is derived. It denotes a legal judgment or judicial decision or evaluation. The phrase here indicates the day when the omniscient God evaluates and decides the fate of all men and his decision will never be overturned. That's something to think about when we look at Romans 2, 5. But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Stubbornness. What do you think stubbornness is? What's that? Rebellion. Rebellion. When we've got someone stubborn, we say they're hard-headed, right? Well, the Greek word for stubbornness here is from the root word that refers to something that is hardened. Hardened. like hardened arteries. It talks about the hardened hearts, the stiff-necked people. And we must remember that the treasure that is stored up due to stubbornness and a hardened heart is wrath. So when you're looking at Be There, the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, the wrath and the judgment of God. Paul Washer says here, on the day of judgment, God's perfect righteousness will be revealed. Every man will be given exactly what he deserves, whether it's a reward or wrath. On that day, no one will doubt that God is righteous. Moving on to C, in Jude 6, we read, and angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper abode. He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day." The great day. This great day, it is a day that is coming and what God will judge on that great day. Paul Walsh says the word great comes from the Greek word I don't know how to say that. But it's the greatness of the day that is determined by its relevance and significance for humanity. The day of judgment stands out above all the rest. On that day, the eternal fate of all men will be decided. So that would be a great day. It would be a very important day. We're looking at, moving on to D, 2 Peter 3.12. looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat. the day of God. We are to seek those things that are above. Colossians 3, 1 through 6, we read, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, do not on the things of the earth, for you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, you will also appear with him in glory therefore put to death your members which are on the earth fornication uncleanness passions evil desire covetousness which is idolatry because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience so where do we find our sanctuary right we are to seek the things above How easy is it for us to follow the desires of our heart? And how do we know they're always right? We don't. If we're leaning on our own understanding, right? This puts out another important reason why we are to measure our life according to what? The scripture. Our Bibles are very important in our lives. Very important. Follow your heart. Why does the Bible teach us about our heart? That it's wicked. The day of judgment will be God's day. This is what Paul Washer says. It will be a day when God will be vindicated before all creation. All doubts with regard to his existence and character will be put away. All will know who God is. Number five, on the day of judgment, God will consider the thoughts, words, and deeds of every member of Adam's race. What do the following scriptures teach us about the thoroughness of God's judgment? And will anything be overlooked or hidden before him? Mark 4.22 we read, for nothing is hidden except to be revealed, nor has anything been secret that it would come to light. And then we look at Luke 8.17. For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. And then we look at Luke 12, 2 and 3. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and whatever you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops." Wow. Three different verses. The exact same thing said by the same man, right? There is nothing that we can hide from God. Nothing. There is nothing that we can keep a secret from God. There is nothing that we can cover from God. He knows all, and He sees all, every thought, every word, and every deed. What do you think about that? Anybody? How precious is Christ to you now? Ecclesiastes 12 and 14. For God will bring every act to judgment. Everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil, every single thing that we have done on this earth, the good and the bad and the ugly, will be brought into judgment. Everything, thoughts, words, and actions, again, There's nothing we can hide from God. 1 Corinthians 4 5. Therefore, do not go on passing judgment before the time. But wait until the Lord comes, who will bring both who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts, and then each man's praise will come to him from God. God's verdict is the only one that matters. The Lord said in 1 Samuel 15 verse 7, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as a man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. He knows our heart. He knows our heart. This, to me, makes me realize what do I feed it? What do I feed my heart? Hebrews 4, 13. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid before the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Again, he sees everything about us. There is nothing we can hide. Paul Walsh says here in his notes, the word open comes from the Greek word, which means naked. The phrase laid bare comes from the Greek word, which means to lay bare the neck. It is used outside the New Testament to describe the pulling back of a sacrificial victim's neck in order to expose it for a slaughter. Wow. Moving on. Closing up. We're doing pretty good. All right. And Revelations 20 verses 11 through 15 is found the most descriptive passage in the scriptures regarding the final judgment. Read the text several times until you're familiar with its contents and then answer the following questions. Then I saw the great white throne and him who sat upon it. From whose presence the earth and the heaven fled away and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, and the great and the small, standing before the throne. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and the death in Hades gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. How are God and the throne of God described in verse 11? How are the greatness and holiness of God communicated? What does verse 11 say? Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them. What do we see in that verse? Anybody? Here, John sees a white throne. It's symbolic of the purity of the one who sits upon it. Who's sitting on it? Christ. Christ. The throne demonstrates God's absolute sovereignty over all creation. The whiteness of the throne signifies the holiness or moral purity of the one who sits upon it. That's what Paul Washer says. Christ, His finished work. He is the final judge. According to verses 12 and 13, who are standing before the throne of God? Does anyone escape from the judgment? Is anyone exempt? Verses 12 and 13, we read, and I saw the dead. Who did they see? The great and the small. Who? All of them, right? Standing before the throne. What throne are they standing before? The great white throne. And books were opened. What are books used for? Records? And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. And death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. So what does that tell us? Everybody. Everybody. Everybody. According to verses 12 and 13, how are men judged? What's the basis for God's judgment? And the judgment, is the judgment thorough? Explain your answer. Again, verses 12 and 13, we see books and we see the book of life, right? So what are they judged by? What 13 tell us? and they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. The plurality of the word books indicates the completeness and extensiveness of God's record of every man's deeds. The repetition of the phrase, according to their deeds, seeks to drive home to the reader the fact that all men will be judged according to every thought, every word, and every deed. I like what he says right here, for the thinking man, this truth is very terrifying. According to verses 14 and 15, what is the fate of every person who rejects Christ and is judged according to his own deeds? In verse 14, then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. So what does that tell us about the lost? The wicked. What's their final judgment? The lake of fire. The lake of fire. It's hard to imagine a life without God. Where he is not. He's casting them off. He does not know them. Paul Washer closes here. He says this is a terrifying reality that cannot be explained away. It is the great and certain truth of scriptures that unending punishment awaits. Unending punishment. An eternity of punishment awaits all those who have rejected God's mercy. In the following chapters, we'll consider this biblical doctrine of everlasting punishment. It's hard to imagine that, is it not? I know as I'm getting older, I found out more and more my body hurts. I've heard old men talk about it and I never, I thought they were just weak minded. The older I get, the smarter I realize people are. May we never quit growing in the knowledge of Christ. May each and every one of us always be thankful, truly thankful, for the gift of salvation that he has given us. That us, as Christians, Do not follow what Paul Walsher just laid out for the judgment of the wicked, a final judgment. The world teaches us today that we are to live for now. That we deserve now that we deserve the desires of our heart now. I encourage each and every one of you to get in God's Word. And see what the true desire of your heart is. Is the desire of your heart to live in eternity with the Father? Or to live eternity without him? We all know how great love is. We all know how we love our children and love our grandchildren. They don't even come close to how God loves us. So please keep that dear thought in your heart, in your mind. Stay in God's Word. We have any prayer requests for