Christ will be Glorious in Judgment

Colossians 1:18

There is a day coming when the Lord Jesus Christ will cast every unbeliever into hell, when ever sinner shall be throne into the lake of fire. In that great and terrible day, the Lord Jesus Christ shall be pre-eminent and glorious, as glorious in wrath as he is in mercy, because he is the righteous Lord who loves righteousness. In that great and terrible day, when the great white throne is set and the books are opened, Christ will be the Judge (John 5:22-23; Acts 17:31; 2 Cor. 5:10-11). “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after death the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). When Christ comes again the judgment seat will be set. Every person who has ever lived will be called before the bar of God’s august, omnipotent, omniscient, and strict justice to be judged according to his works. And the Judge we must face is the God-man, Jesus Christ.

The standard of judgment by which we shall be saved or damned shall be Christ himself. We shall be judged according to the standard of perfect righteousness required in God’s holy law and perfectly fulfilled by him as a man. All who fail to perfectly measure up to the standard, shall be forever damned. All against whom any charge of sin can be made before his throne, shall perish forever in hell. It is written, “It must be perfect to be accepted” (Lev. 22:21; Rev. 22:11).

And Christ will be the executioner of justice. It is Christ who will cast the wicked into hell, saying, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire” (Matt. 25:41). But I must tell you something else. In that great and glorious day Christ shall be something more. He will be our Advocate, our Righteousness, our Plea, and our Salvation. All who believe on him, being washed in his blood and robed in his righteousness shall, be forever blessed of God upon the grounds of strict justice. There will be found no charge of sin against any of God's elect; and there shall be found a record of perfect righteousness established for us by the Judge himself (Jer. 23:6; 33:16; 50:20).

Our Lord Jesus Christ shall be pre-eminent in the glory of the eternal world to which we are going. The pre-eminence of Christ shall be our happiness and bliss in the glory world. Christ has been given the highest place that heaven affords. In the world to come Christ shall be the Object of endless, universal adoration and praise. In him we will see the fullness of the triune God perpetually revealed to our everlasting astonishment. In Christ we will see the purpose of God, in all its wisdom and goodness, fully accomplished. In Christ we will see all the mysteries and wonders of redemption and grace made manifest. In that world to come our Savior’s great prayer of intercession (John 17:24) shall be answered perpetually, throughout the endless ages of eternity, to the inexpressible gladness and joy of our souls.

Then, oh, then, we shall praise, honor, extol, and worship him who loved us and gave himself for us. What an everlasting song of praise we shall sing to him who is the pre-eminent One of the triune God -- Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the purpose that is purposed of God in all things -- “That in all things he (the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior) might have the pre-eminence.” And he will have it! He shall have it! He must have it! And all who love his name love for it to be so. When we see him pre-eminent over all things and in all things , we will shout, “Amen and Amen!”

Grace Baptist Church of Danville - Grace For Today Radio Message #760

2734 Old Stanford Road - Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438 -- Donald S. Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 606-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net