1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,100 In the name of Jesus, Amen. 2 00:00:04,433 --> 00:00:07,733 From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. 3 00:00:09,166 --> 00:00:11,833 There are three miracles moving 4 00:00:11,833 --> 00:00:16,100 in and out of this final clause of the second article. 5 00:00:17,333 --> 00:00:20,066 The first miracle involves what has been fulfilled 6 00:00:20,066 --> 00:00:23,033 in the past and is continuing. 7 00:00:24,166 --> 00:00:27,866 The second involves what will take place in the future, 8 00:00:27,866 --> 00:00:30,966 the work that still awaits completion. 9 00:00:32,033 --> 00:00:37,866 The third miracle involves what is happening here and now. 10 00:00:39,100 --> 00:00:42,266 The first miracle is what is confessed in the second article 11 00:00:42,266 --> 00:00:45,866 before the bit about Christ's coming and judging. 12 00:00:46,900 --> 00:00:50,633 Jesus Christ is the only son of God conceived by the Spirit, 13 00:00:50,833 --> 00:00:54,266 born of the Virgin. He suffered and was crucified. 14 00:00:54,266 --> 00:00:58,166 He died and was buried. He descended into hell and 15 00:00:58,166 --> 00:01:01,833 after three days rose from death to life again. 16 00:01:02,633 --> 00:01:06,366 He ascended to heaven and there sits at the right hand of God. 17 00:01:07,066 --> 00:01:09,633 All of this is marvelous. 18 00:01:10,866 --> 00:01:14,833 The second miracle is what is confessed at the end 19 00:01:14,833 --> 00:01:17,766 of this article, namely Christ's return 20 00:01:17,766 --> 00:01:23,066 and judgment. Our text from 1 Thessalonians 4 21 00:01:23,066 --> 00:01:26,933 tells us more. The day will come when the Lord himself 22 00:01:26,933 --> 00:01:31,266 will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel 23 00:01:31,266 --> 00:01:34,600 and with the sound of the trumpet of God. 24 00:01:35,366 --> 00:01:38,500 The dead in Christ will rise first, 25 00:01:39,133 --> 00:01:42,433 then those that are left, those still alive, 26 00:01:43,033 --> 00:01:45,966 will be caught together with them in the clouds 27 00:01:45,966 --> 00:01:48,966 to meet the Lord in the air. 28 00:01:50,233 --> 00:01:53,133 And so we will always be with 29 00:01:53,133 --> 00:01:56,366 the Lord. This day will come 30 00:01:57,100 --> 00:02:00,000 and it will be amazing. 31 00:02:01,833 --> 00:02:04,633 But the third and last miracle 32 00:02:04,633 --> 00:02:08,600 is the greatest of all, at least for our 33 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,966 purposes this morning. From thence He will come to judge 34 00:02:12,966 --> 00:02:16,433 the living and the dead. The most amazing thing about this 35 00:02:16,433 --> 00:02:19,200 is that you believe it. 36 00:02:20,333 --> 00:02:24,266 You confess this. I just heard you a moment ago. 37 00:02:25,066 --> 00:02:27,533 You confess this before God. 38 00:02:28,166 --> 00:02:31,966 You confess this before one another. You confess this before 39 00:02:31,966 --> 00:02:35,766 the whole world. Now how 40 00:02:36,433 --> 00:02:40,366 you believe this will be taken up in the third article of the Creed 41 00:02:40,366 --> 00:02:44,233 and we're not quite there yet. For now we have the second article 42 00:02:44,233 --> 00:02:48,166 and what you confess here is wonderful. 43 00:02:49,133 --> 00:02:51,733 You believe that this Jesus 44 00:02:51,733 --> 00:02:56,400 is your Lord who has redeemed you, lost and condemned 45 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,900 as you are. You believe that He purchased you 46 00:02:59,900 --> 00:03:04,166 and won you from all your sins, from death and from the power 47 00:03:04,166 --> 00:03:08,366 of the devil with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering 48 00:03:08,366 --> 00:03:12,166 and death. And He is coming again 49 00:03:12,166 --> 00:03:16,166 to judge the living and the dead. You believe that 50 00:03:16,166 --> 00:03:20,166 this Jesus is your Lord and you believe that 51 00:03:20,166 --> 00:03:22,733 he will be your judge. 52 00:03:24,233 --> 00:03:28,166 You are relying on Christ's judgment 53 00:03:28,166 --> 00:03:32,000 of you. Not on your own verdict 54 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,233 of yourself, nor that of anyone else. 55 00:03:37,333 --> 00:03:40,266 Not the judgment of any power in this 56 00:03:40,266 --> 00:03:44,533 world, not according to any rule or any law 57 00:03:44,533 --> 00:03:48,166 but according to Christ's own 58 00:03:48,166 --> 00:03:51,833 word. This you confess. 59 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:54,933 Why is this? 60 00:03:56,266 --> 00:04:00,666 The judge before whom we will stand on the last day 61 00:04:00,666 --> 00:04:04,033 is the one who was judged himself. 62 00:04:05,133 --> 00:04:08,533 He is the only one who fulfilled the law 63 00:04:08,533 --> 00:04:12,733 in every respect, the only one who is 64 00:04:12,733 --> 00:04:16,233 truly innocent but was declared 65 00:04:16,233 --> 00:04:20,766 truly guilty. The judge before whom we will stand 66 00:04:20,766 --> 00:04:24,600 on the last day is the only one who bore the sin and guilt 67 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,666 of the whole world on the cross taking upon himself 68 00:04:28,666 --> 00:04:31,500 our sentence of condemnation. 69 00:04:32,866 --> 00:04:35,833 This judge is the only one 70 00:04:35,833 --> 00:04:39,666 who rose from death to life again. 71 00:04:41,033 --> 00:04:42,933 And He is the only one 72 00:04:43,833 --> 00:04:47,500 who raises the dead to life again. 73 00:04:48,366 --> 00:04:51,833 The only one who will come again to judge is the one 74 00:04:51,833 --> 00:04:56,033 who with His own voice calls the living and the dead 75 00:04:56,033 --> 00:05:00,233 to himself. Only the one victorious 76 00:05:00,233 --> 00:05:03,800 over sin and death will 77 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,366 judge those condemned by sin 78 00:05:07,366 --> 00:05:12,033 and death. Although in our sin 79 00:05:12,033 --> 00:05:14,800 we stand guilty before the judge 80 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,933 yet because of what He has done, He 81 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,733 pronounces us innocent. By faith in his 82 00:05:23,733 --> 00:05:27,733 word we stand not guilty, innocent, 83 00:05:28,666 --> 00:05:31,833 justified. Our justification is perfect 84 00:05:31,833 --> 00:05:35,933 and complete and on the last day 85 00:05:35,933 --> 00:05:39,766 will be revealed for the entire world to see. 86 00:05:40,066 --> 00:05:43,933 This is no lie, this is no grave 87 00:05:43,933 --> 00:05:48,233 mistake, this is no justification in air quotes 88 00:05:48,233 --> 00:05:51,833 but a real and true and everlasting 89 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,166 judgment. The basis 90 00:05:56,166 --> 00:05:59,433 of our Lord's judgment will be His word 91 00:05:59,433 --> 00:06:03,300 which is true. He will speak 92 00:06:03,300 --> 00:06:07,466 law and He will speak gospel. He will 93 00:06:07,466 --> 00:06:11,166 judge all the wicked rejecting 94 00:06:11,166 --> 00:06:14,833 the gospel and those believing 95 00:06:15,433 --> 00:06:19,533 and righteous according to it. His judgment 96 00:06:19,533 --> 00:06:23,066 according to His justice. 97 00:06:24,866 --> 00:06:26,700 We believe this 98 00:06:26,700 --> 00:06:30,933 even while we already live in Christ, 99 00:06:31,633 --> 00:06:34,700 with Christ and under His Lordship. 100 00:06:35,733 --> 00:06:38,766 We believe this even while we are still living 101 00:06:38,766 --> 00:06:42,166 among the dead. But nevertheless 102 00:06:42,700 --> 00:06:46,800 we believe, we confess, we 103 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,333 hope for our own resurrection, for our being 104 00:06:50,333 --> 00:06:54,833 always with the Lord, with those already 105 00:06:54,833 --> 00:06:57,833 dead but who will live again. 106 00:06:59,233 --> 00:07:03,033 From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. Waiting for that day 107 00:07:03,033 --> 00:07:06,566 we are not idle. As Paul exhorts us 108 00:07:06,566 --> 00:07:10,800 we encourage one another. While we 109 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,466 wait we encourage one another with the promise, 110 00:07:15,766 --> 00:07:18,533 with the confession, with the 111 00:07:18,533 --> 00:07:22,800 proclamation that our heavenly Lord will come again to 112 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:26,733 judge the living and the dead. This Jesus is our 113 00:07:26,733 --> 00:07:30,466 only comforter, our only helper and protector, 114 00:07:30,866 --> 00:07:34,766 our only savior against every power in the world 115 00:07:34,766 --> 00:07:38,633 that might come against us. This Jesus 116 00:07:38,633 --> 00:07:42,866 will be our judge. The judge who gave up His own 117 00:07:42,866 --> 00:07:46,833 life once for all to save us from our 118 00:07:46,833 --> 00:07:51,000 sins and from the eternal death that we deserved. 119 00:07:53,533 --> 00:07:54,766 This message 120 00:07:55,766 --> 00:07:58,566 is the one that you are bringing. 121 00:08:00,300 --> 00:08:02,900 This message is the one that you are preparing 122 00:08:02,900 --> 00:08:07,033 to bring before the world and to 123 00:08:07,033 --> 00:08:11,333 all people. That they too may be 124 00:08:11,333 --> 00:08:15,333 the Lord's own, live under Him in His kingdom 125 00:08:15,333 --> 00:08:18,666 and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, 126 00:08:18,666 --> 00:08:22,766 innocence and blessedness just as He is risen 127 00:08:22,766 --> 00:08:26,900 from the dead and lives and reigns to all 128 00:08:26,900 --> 00:08:29,300 eternity. Amen. 129 00:08:30,666 --> 00:08:33,966 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 130 00:08:34,933 --> 00:08:35,066 Amen.