Key Bible Passage(s):
Psalm 73; Matt.25:31-46; II Thess.1:6-10
Tier 1:
Whilst Christians are sometimes hesitant to believe in or talk about the Day of Judgment, it remains a critical part of the Bible’s (i.e. Jesus’) teaching. So often our concerns are focussed on the question of how a God of love could allow such terrible things to happen to ‘good’ people. In the Bible, the questions run in the opposite direction: Why doesn’t God judge ‘bad’ people far more quickly and unambiguously that He does? Why doesn’t a holy God judge poeple now?
Tier 2:
The vast majority of the Bible’s teaching on the reality of judgment comes directly from the lips of Jesus. For Him it was an integral part of the Good News of the Kingdom. Far from Jesus somehow calling into question the possibility of judgment, He is not only clear about judgment itself, but also about His own role as Judge. Only in Jesus can we find relief from the tension of injustice that is inevitably caused by the grace of God.
Tier 3:
Christ will judge the nations, and that is cause for worship and joy in the life of the Church. Intriguingly, it seems that the Church will also be involved in the dynamics of judgment - not only in our own experience of judgment, but in sharing in Christ’s judgment of the nations. This is a powerful backdrop against which to reflect on our commitment to evangelism in this present age.
God’s grace is not infinite. God is infinite and God is gracious. We experience the grace of an infinite God, but grace is not infinite. God sets limits to His patience and forbearance. He warns us over and over again that someday His axe will fall and His judgment will be poured out.
R.C.Sproul
Group Discussion Questions:
Would you bring someone who wasn’t a Christian to a service / event where you knew the sermon would be about the Day of Judgment? Why / why not?
How does ignoring, rejecting or forgetting the Bible’s teaching about God’s judgement affect a Church?
How do you feel about the prospect of Jesus coming again to judge the living and the dead?
How should Christians respond to the reality of judgement?
And later in the session:
Can you think of other ways in which a focus on Jesus’ return to judge the living and the dead affects our ability to follow Him here and now? How does it help or hinder us in our worship and our obedience of the commands of Jesus?
Given that Jesus spoke so much about Judgement, do you think there should be greater emphasis on it in our preaching and evangelism?
Read Rev.20:11-13 & II Cor.5:10. Are Christians judged too? Why are we judged by what we have done? Aren’t we saved by grace??
What about those who have never heard about Jesus?
And let’s pray in our groups…
How are we going to pray about this?
Homework:
Continue to memorise the Apostles’ Creed
Over this half-term we will be working to memorise Matthew 5:11-16. You will have to keep refreshing Matt.5:1-10 whilst you do this.
(we’ll memorise the whole of the Sermon on the Mount over the next 3 years)
To Be a Christian, Q&A 76-83 & A Prayer for the Son’s Mission.
Go back through the commands of Jesus distilled from Matthew’s Gospel. What teachings, warnings or promises are there around those commands that are designed to help us to obey them?
Invitation week.
How is DTP going?
Reflect on what you have learned of the Creed so far. What have you learnt? What has surprised you? How are you thinking differently about Jesus and discipleship now?
Are you doing anything different now to what you started? What is changing in your experience of being a Christian?
As you were memorizing the Beatitudes, what was the Spirit teaching you?
…and don’t forget to pray for each other.
