Welcome to the Jerusalem Chamber, a collaborative effort between four friends who are pastors as they sit down to discuss the Westminster Confession of Faith. Let's join the discussion. Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 33, Paragraph 1 God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given of the Father, in which day not only the apostate angel shall be judged, but likewise all persons that have lived upon the earth, shall appear before the tribunal of Christ to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds, and to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil. Well, welcome back, friends, and thanks for joining us on another episode in the Jerusalem Chamber. Today, we open the last chapter of the Confession of Faith, chapter 33 of the Last Judgments. This paragraph highlights the biblical fact that God has appointed a day wherein He will judge the world by His Son, Jesus Christ. And we confess the Church's great hope in the consummation of Christ's redemptive work in this day of the Lord's justice and mercy. Well, with that, let's begin this paragraph, guys. I should say I'm joined by my good friends, Nathan, Joel, and Kyle. Hi, the Lee-hoo! It's good to be in the chamber again. So guys, why is the doctrine that God has set a day for judging everyone, including angels and all people, why is that so important to our faith? I'd begin by noting that the return of Jesus Christ for judgment, in Romans chapter 2, the Apostle Paul says, this is part of our gospel. The very gospel that we believe and the gospel that we proclaim is the gospel that says there is a day coming when Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead. And because then, right, Paul himself situates this, you know, sometimes, and I don't always like the distinctions, but sometimes we talk about those things that are gospel issues versus maybe what might be secondary. And again, I don't want to quibble about those categories, but surely we can agree by the way in which Paul emphasizes this, this is, according to that kind of a division, this is a gospel issue. that Jesus Christ is returning, that there is a day that God has appointed for the judging of all men and for the disclosing of their secrets. And that's the reason why, for instance, you think of the Apostles' Creed. The Apostles' Creed, which often is, at least in a nutshell, this is the centrality of what Christianity believes. And the Apostles' Creed rightly recognizes he is returning to judge the living and the dead. This is a doctrine that's really at the heart of the Christian faith. And it is, as we're going to see, it's very practical as well, just for our everyday lives and the trajectory and the scope and the way in which we seek to live our lives. Yeah, I think one of the other ways that This is something that is important to our faith, is that the Great Day of Judgment is going to be the full vindication of the work of Jesus Christ. When you think about the whole grand scope and purpose of redemption accomplished and then redemption applied, when we come to the end of time, and sheep and goats are separated, the elect and the reprobate are separated, whatever divisions you want to give believers and unbelievers. Those believers are going to voluntarily be bowing to the Lord Jesus Christ and giving him all glory for that, and unbelievers will also give God glory through the work of Christ as well in the final judgment. Yeah, I think those are excellent points, helpful. So can you help our listeners look to passages and places in the Bible where this final judgment day is taught and where it's talked about? And maybe further help us understand how these passages help us to appreciate what's going to happen at the final judgment. Well, there's several places in the Word of God that speak to this issue. The Day of Judgment is something that is spoken about in various places of the Scriptures. Even Ecclesiastes 12 talks about a Day of Judgment that is to come. We can think of 2 Corinthians 5 being a place where we are reminded of that judgment. But I think that when we look at the Word of God, the one that we find most in the person that speaks of the final judgment, the most in the Word of God is actually the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not something that is not spoken of by Christ, but someone that Christ speaks to the matter quite a bit. Matthew 25, 31 through 46 comes to mind as an example of that. Yeah, I think Nathan's identifying some of those major texts. I think that there are other ones as well. For instance, Acts chapter 17 tells us that he has set a day in which he will judge the world with justice by the man that he has appointed, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's interesting because there in Acts 17, we are told that he has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. So, right, Act 17 is actually telling us that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is confirmation and proof of that which is yet to be. And so you see this doctrine of the Judgment Day being closely associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You see this in the author of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 9, the apostle there speaks of our own death, that we are all destined to die once, and after that comes judgment. Jesus in John chapter 12 really throws the gauntlet down in a very real sense and says, you know, the one who rejects me and doesn't accept my words, they will be condemned on the last day. And so Jesus, even there, Jesus is, like I said, he's throwing the gauntlet down. And he's saying there is this last day and those who reject me and reject my words, they're going to stand condemned for that. And so I think even together with what Nathan is saying, this is a truth that is woven throughout the whole of the biblical witness. Both the Old Testament, both the New Testament anticipate this and indicate that this is a certainty. You know, sometimes when we come to talk about eschatology, there are certain things that are not revealed to us or things as well that are revealed in ways that can be hard to understand through symbolism and through simile and metaphor and imagery and these types of things. The Bible is not unclear on this doctrine when it comes to the last things. It is a very clear, very plain, very elementary doctrine that the day of judgment is coming wherein Christ will do this. What a comfort for the believer that the very one who was promised in the beginning to come and crush the head of the serpent, deal with the sin problem, will be the one that we face. He is the one who came, took our sin upon himself, has given us his righteousness, and he's the one that we will stand before to face judgment. The idea of the judgment day can be a horrific idea for many people, but it shouldn't be for the believer. because He is the one in whom we find our comfort and our hope, and He will be the judge. That's great. Well, the Confession highlights that this day of judgment will be carried out by Christ, by Jesus. What's the theological significance of this in light of the scope of Scripture as well as world history? I think Joel began to allude to this, and I think it's such a comforting thing to believers, at least from the believer's perspective, right? The wonderful thing is that it is carried out by Jesus Christ. So again, we've referenced a number of passages where that is explicitly said, Acts 17, Romans chapter 2, God is going to judge by Jesus Christ. Now, one of the wonderful things, scripturally speaking for us as Christians, is what an actual comfort that is to us, because Christ is not only our judge, he's our savior. And if Christ has saved us, then what grounds do we have to live quaking in our shoes, so to speak, when our savior is the very one who judges? You know, I remember growing up in church and one of the tactics that was always used with us as as youngins was, you know, you guys, there's going to be a day of judgment. And on that day, your whole life, it's going to be like your whole life is going to be replayed on a movie screen. And you're going to see every wrong thing. And not only you, but all of heaven is going to see all the wrong stuff that you've done, all the secret things you've said. And as a grown man, that's terrifying. But I think, as Joel was saying, and I want to develop here, it's a comfort to us as believers that our judge is our savior. And that rather than being this day of dread and terror to us, You know, as I think, Sean, you said it earlier, or maybe it was Nathan, you know, it is the final culmination. It is the universal vindication of the people of God. It is not a day for us to fear. It is a day for us to welcome. And, you know, will the secrets of my heart be disclosed? Will every careless word that I have spoken be called into an account? Yes, absolutely it will. And then standing in eternity, I will see more clearly, and I trust all those around me will see more clearly, this is why Christ has died. This is the greatness of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that then we will forever bask in glory in, in the grace that he has shown. And so even that judgment for believers that it's by Jesus Christ is going to give us a greater awareness. This is why Christ died. And that's not a reason for me to mourn and to grieve, but to rejoice for all eternity, even as we are called into judgment. Well, as we continue in this paragraph, what does the confession mean when it states that all persons will give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds? So the categories of word, thought, and deed are are categories that we find within the catechism. These are ways that the law of God is broken by humanity. So when we talk about law or obedience to God, we're not just talking about outward obedience. And we're not just talking about the words that we speak, but we're talking about also the inward thoughts of our being. And we're accountable before God for all of those things. Westminster Larger Catechism 149 uses these categories when talking about the law of God. So When we see this, what we see is that we do give account on the Great Judgment Day for all of these things, not merely something where our outward sins are accounted for, but thought and word also accounted for. Well, in light of the biblical teaching that we're not justified on the basis of our good deeds, but by grace alone, through faith alone, how would it make sense of what the confession says here, that all people will receive according to what they've done in the body, whether good or evil? That sounds more like performance-based in terms of judgment, so I wonder how you'd help us with that. It's obviously a great question. Can I speak to a general hermeneutical principle is that every portion of scripture is in complete coherence with every other portion of scripture. And so the first thing that we can say is that we won't at this point be judged in our salvation by deeds done in the flesh because the deeds done in the flesh are not what saves us. And I think that's where a lot of the fear for those who even are believers comes into play. It's thinking, I'm gonna get to that moment by grace through faith is gonna go right out the window and it's gonna come down to what I've done. And that simply is not true because that's not incoherent. That's not, that's incoherent to other portions of scripture. It doesn't stand coherently with them. And so this can't be meaning that those who have trusted Christ will then discover whether or not they actually make it to heaven based on their works. for believers, we will be judged according to the righteousness of Christ. And we will receive rewards based on that service rendered to the kingdom, but it's all of grace. It's all in a sense superfluous because we are judged by Christ in Christ. I think too, so I appreciate what Joel has added there. So we do need to go back and maybe encourage our listeners to re-listen to the chapter on justification, because we are Protestant and we are Reformed. And as such, we reject, for example, the Roman Catholic teaching of two justifications. There is one justification. And Paul is able, in Romans chapter 8, verse 1, to say, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And yet you cannot deny, because the Scriptures testify to it, that Christians will be judged according to works when Christ returns. I have personally—I've been helped by this in the Puritans, but I will readily admit I have especially been helped by Mark Jones' dissemination of the Puritans on this point. And I think there's a way to begin to build an understanding then of how a judgment according to works is not contrary to the doctrine of justification by faith alone. And in order to begin to lay the groundwork for that, we have to remember the nature of saving faith. John Owen wrote, there is a faith whereby we are justified, which he who has shall be assuredly saved, which purifies the heart and works by love. And there is a faith or a believing which does nothing of all of this, which he who has and has no more is not justified nor can be saved. So we need to, as we think about this question, we need to keep as a foundation to our answer, we need to keep in mind the nature of saving faith. That true saving faith, yes, we are justified through that faith, but as we often say, you know, that that faith is never alone, because that faith goes on to purify our hearts in demonstrable ways that bears evidence. And without that, we don't have true saving faith, because that's the very character of faith. And so we begin to appreciate that, and then we need to appreciate that within justification, there is, we speak of justification in terms of declarative, God declaring us as righteous, but we can also think of it in terms of demonstrative, that those who are justified, there is a demonstrative aspect in our lives of that reality. And I think when we begin to appreciate and we begin to understand some of those things, then we begin to understand how, in the day of judgment, it can be said that we are judged according to works. Not as though we are saved as the causal basis by our works, but that our works are going to be the demonstration and the evidence of that which God has declared to be true of us. And in that way, and I think, too, it's always worth pointing out, right, the way in which, and we've talked about this in previous episodes, the way in which all of this falls out. The resurrection precedes final judgment. And the resurrection, as we've talked about in previous episodes, the resurrection for the believer means that we are now perfected by the grace of God, resurrected in a glorified body, that we are confirmed in righteousness and we are confirmed in holiness, and then comes the judgment. And we need to keep that priority in mind as well so that we avoid the idea that, as Joel was saying, when we are judged according to works, it's not like we enter that judgment, oh, uncertain, where do I stand? Where do I stand? Christ has already perfected us. He's already glorified us. And it's an open declaration. It's an open vindication. God declaring to all universally, these are my children, and it's evidenced in this and that way. Yeah, I think that's really the key. The key is that it's demonstrative, our works demonstrating that we have been justified by faith. The old saying, justification by faith alone is never alone. That by which it's never alone is going to demonstrate that we have been saved by faith. Yeah, and I think you guys have hit on this too. So in the judgment, there are other things that are being judged apart from just whether we ought to receive hell or wrath for our sin, or whether in Christ's mercy we have received pardon for our sin and his righteous status. Other things that are being judged, of course, is, Kyle, you were talking about this, is our works. and whether we have done as Christians that which is pleasing to God or that which is not pleasing to Him. And so this language, to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil, is a quote right out of 2 Corinthians 5. And in that passage, Paul is speaking about how whether at home or absent, we are to seek to be pleasing to God. And then he says, all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may be recompensed for his deeds. So the receiving here is not receiving judgment, but receiving reward, receiving gifting for what we've done. This is also taught in 1 Corinthians 3, where Paul speaks about all of our works being laid in the fire of judgment, and that which is wood, hay, stubble will be burned up. In other words, works that are not really worthy of—works that were not done in faith, works that were not worthy of the glory of God in Christ versus those that are able to withstand because they were done in faith and there are even various degrees. And so what's being really highlighted here is the idea of degrees of reward in heaven that are also included in the judgment. And you can think about the parable in Luke chapter 11, or no, I'm sorry, chapter 19, where we have the people, Jesus teaches the parable, people given various talents, right? And those who invest the talents and use the talents and increase the talents, they're rewarded with more. Those who do not use what's been given, what's been given is taken away and they're judged. So there's not just penalty and mercy in judgment, there's also reward in judgment. which can be hard for us to really begin to appreciate. I'll just say this and we'll let the listeners discern, but Jonathan Edwards wrote about this. Cornelis Venema in his book, what is that book, The Promise of the Future? I think he deals with this in the last chapter. Actually, if I remember, encouraging us as Christians to use the rewards that will be presented one day as a bit of a motive for the Christian life, as a promise that is held forth for us. And I think a lot of people hear that, and then they begin to think, well, you know, how is that fair? Does that mean, you know, is Joel's experience of heaven just going to be infinitely greater than, is Kyle going to live forever with some sense of deficiency because he lacks these rewards? And the illustration that is often used when it comes to thinking about rewards in the life to come, is that all of us will be filled to the brim with the knowledge and the blessedness of glory in the presence of Jesus Christ. But sometimes the illustration is used, but in this life, our well, the well that is dug, is sometimes deeper, sometimes more shallow. Each person will be filled brimming, completely realizing that in glory they have all that fullness of the capacity that they have to experience the blessedness of the life to come. But there are those who will, in one sense, experience even in greater ways those things. Yeah, I think that's really helpful. I think we don't always hear enough about the idea of rewards in heaven, and yet it's clearly taught in scripture. So, let me ask, this being a Reformation document, do you guys think that the Westminster Confession's interpretation of the final judgment reflects any development of this doctrine within church history? You know, as I was thinking about the idea of historical development, I think in some ways this statement has come far from where the church was in late medieval theology. The idea of Christ as this angry judge that needs to have a mediator between Christ and sinners. was very popular for the view of the final judgment in late medieval theology. You see that a lot in medieval artwork as well, where there's sort of an angry Christ up in the clouds and then the mother of Jesus standing between him and the humanity. But Here, when we see that it's the Lord Jesus who will judge and he is merciful towards his people, I think that's a huge development. At least in a hundred years of church history, it was a huge development. Yeah. I think the Christology that the Reformation sought to reform and to get back to biblical roots, I often think of with that medieval Christianity, Luther's own struggles. Not that I countenance pictures of Christ, but Luther will say in his writings, when he was a young man, there was a picture of Christ, and out of one side of his face was coming an olive branch, indicative of peace, and out of the other was a sword, which was just about his justice and his anger. And Luther would say, when I contemplated that picture, all I could see was the sword. I saw no real peace. And of course, the reason was because the gospel had largely been lost under all the man-made superstitions and doctrines of the Catholic Church. And so not only was Christology, I think, kind of put back into its place, but we also think of the sociological categories that were put back into place in the Reformation. And that is inevitably going to have a consequence on helping articulate a right doctrine of judgment. because this doctrine of judgment is going to be related to the doctrine of justification by faith alone, the doctrine of sanctification, so that you can only see that coming out of the Reformation as those things were clarified, as those things were further purified by the Word, of course there's going to be a development in the history of the church for this doctrine coming out of the Glorious Reformation. Yeah, I think that is, again, an important consideration when we think about church history and the teaching of the church. So just thinking pastorally here, how can we help people, or how do you help people, not be scared of Judgment Day, but see it as something hopeful? What kind of conversation should we be having in the church about the Day of Judgment? Well, in the church, there's a whole discussion on the idea of the justice of God and the vindication of Christ against the enemies of the church. And I think that maybe that's not something we think about too much in American Christianity, because we're were rather comfortable, but in other parts of the Christian world where there is persecution and things where there are a lot of... misappropriations of justice that we can look forward to a time when Christ will make all things right. And that may be something that could comfort those in our congregations as well. You can think of different abuse situations, or you can think of times when people feel as though their session, or their presbytery, or their synod has not vindicated them. They can look forward to a day of judgment where Christ will make all things right, and I think that's a great comfort for the people of God. Which, I mean, even the Apostle Peter, Nathan, uses that language when he speaks of, you know what, some of you are going to suffer for righteousness sake. It happens. And, you know, I think the impulse, especially in Americans' hearts, is, well, we always have to protest and we always have to do this and that. And sometimes the apostolic command is, You suffer in silence for righteousness' sake, and you entrust yourself to the one who will judge, and who will judge justly. And Peter says, that's what Christ did. Christ was reviled, he bore reproach, and he suffered for the sake of righteousness. And there was a time for Christ to just be quiet, and to shut his mouth, and to entrust himself to this day when judgment will come. You know, we always think of those words in Genesis, the judge of all the earth. He will do right. And the reality of a fallen and miserable world is that sometimes in silence and patience, we need to bear the cross and wait for that day. I also think, Sean, you know, in one sense, when we speak about this in the context of the church, I'm okay with bringing a little bit of dread because we know the visible church is a mixed community. And there is an appropriate fear that people need to have as they think about these things, as a way to wake up false professors and say, you know, the day is hastening and, you know, you've got to—you think of those parables, the kingdom parables of Jesus, and you think about, you know, the ten virgins and the way in which he uses the coming of the bridegroom Yes, in a sense, as a comfort to those whose lamps are trimmed and burning, but as a warning to those who think that they're okay and they're really not. I think another way to minister to people pastorally in light of this, I often want to use, and I hope I do, the idea of final judgment to encourage and motivate believers towards a circumspect life. It is not without purpose that Jesus tells us every careless word is going to be judged. It's not without purpose that Jesus says the secrets of our hearts are going to be manifest and they're going to be disclosed. Not as cultivating an unbiblical or an unhealthy fear where I just stand with my knees knocking all the time and I don't have the comforts of the assurance of faith and things like that. but as a motive to be circumspect, to be sober-minded, to seriously think about the way that we use our words, the thoughts and the attitudes of our hearts, and the actions of our hands. And we need to use this pastorally. Yes, there is tremendous comfort, but we also need to use it pastorally in our own lives and in the lives of the people that we're privileged to pastor to encourage them towards that circumspection that comes with a Christ-oriented life. What this also does, Sean, is break down the imposed wall between gospel, word and sacrament, evangelism, ministry, and seeking justice for people. that those have become separated out in our contemporary culture. What this does is remind us the connection of those two things, because where ultimate justice will be found is before Christ on that last day. And so nudging people, calling people, directing people, into the correct line that will stand before Christ on that day is seeking ultimate and better justice for them. Because it's not about merely this life, it's also about the life to come. And that is where that justice will be found. Yeah, I think that's a good reflection. And I think that as you put your hope in Christ, You know, the Day of Judgment, it's interesting. I have been going through the Minor Prophets, and the Day of the Lord just keeps showing up over and over and over again. Both terrifying for those who oppose God, for those who choose to walk in their own ways, and it's also a day of great hope and expectation for those who are waiting for God to come and put right and to fix so many wrongs in this life. And so if we're going to find hope in the judgment day, it's got to be only found by hoping in Christ himself. And if we don't cling to Him, if we don't trust in Him, if we don't rest in Him and hide in Him, as it were, then we have every reason to be scared regarding the Day of Judgment. And so I think that Christ is going to be the answer for hope in the Day of Judgment. Well, maybe this is a softball answer, but I'm just curious of your thoughts on this. Should we talk about the Judgment Day when we're sharing the Gospel with friends and loved ones? And if we should, then how do we do that? I mean, it is a softball because the answer is yes. The Bible never hesitates. The Apostolic Gospel never hesitates to bring people to final judgment. God makes a division between humanity, and we need to let all of humanity know that they're on one side of the line or the other. You think of the Psalm 1, right? We love Psalm 1. We sing Psalm 1 all the time. And you think even of the way in which the first Psalm ends, therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment. nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." We have to make that distinction. We have to make that division. I do think it's worth considering, and I know we're running out of time, but it's worth considering how that is presented. because I think sometimes it's an easy thing to manipulate in a psychological way. I don't think sometimes the way in which we present the Day of Judgment, Scripture does test the boundaries of language to speak of this Day of Judgment and the terrors that await those who are outside of Christ. At the same time, We want to present it with the biblical emphasis and within the scope of what the Bible says and not simply as some kind of manipulative tactic of, there's a lake of burning fire and you're all going to be thrown. You think of the way that John Tetzel did that to try to conjure up, the way he spoke about purgatory and trying to get people to throw a coin in the coffer so a soul to heaven would spring. We don't want to be that. sometimes the church has characterized, you know, that's just fire and brimstone. And that always grates on me in multiple ways, because well, fire and brimstone is real, like it's really going to happen. But there's a way to use it as a manipulative scare tactic. And that's not what we're to do either. We're to bring this in a sober way. warning way that there is a judgment, and these things are very real. But I think we need to be careful in the way we navigate that because of the prejudices and because of, I think, some of the ways that it's been mishandled or characterized by certain people. But most definitely, it has to be presented. It has to be. Yeah. And maybe so bold as to say that I think it's good to remind people to go to scripture, to remember these things and interact with these things. They're not going to be judged by the standard of their brother-in-law who recently found the Puritans and is now wrecking every family get-together because he believes something now that he didn't believe five minutes ago, and that's the new standard for everybody around him, all of that. They're going to be judged by Christ. which in some ways is more comforting and in other ways is more horrifying. And so scripture is the standard of this day and what will happen on that day. And they should be driven to God's word to find God's safe haven in the midst of judgment. Yeah, and even in this whole chapter, not specifically this paragraph, but the whole chapter, there is a lot of comfort here as well. It's something that can be used to remind people of the sobriety of this, but it's also something that can be used to comfort. So there's multiple ways that the Day of Judgment can be used. Yeah. I'm reminded of how much Christ used the Judgment Day even as well in terms of witnessing to the world that he came into. Well, I think that this has been another great discussion as we consider the Day of the Lord. And we want to thank you all for tuning in and listening to the discussion. Again, we have a host of places you can find us. You can go to our website, JerusalemChamber.com. You can go to Sermon Audio. You can go to various podcasts. We want to thank you for your support and for the ways that you encourage us to keep doing this. We're nearing the end here. And it's been a great journey as we continue to work to those closing words of the confession and the scriptures. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Jerusalem Chamber. To become a full subscriptionist, head to Apple Podcasts and subscribe to this podcast. Visit us at jerusalemchamber.com or drop us an email at thejerusalemchamber at gmail.com. Jerusalem Chamber is copyrighted.