Judging the Quick and the Dead
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
Rev. 20: 11-15; John 3:16, 17
March 14, 2010

          A pastor dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates.  Ahead of him is a guy dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans.  St. Peter asks the guy for his name.  “Joe Conklin, taxi driver, from Chicago.”  St. Peter consults his list, smiles, and says, “Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”
          Now it’s the pastor’s turn.  He stands erect and booms out, “I am Joseph Snow, pastor at St. Mary’s for the last 43 years!”
          St. Peter consults his list and says, “Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
         “Wait a minute,” Pastor Snow says.  “How come he gets a silk robe and gold staff and I get cotton and wood?”
          “Up here, we work by results,” says St. Peter.  “While you preached, people slept.  While he drove, people prayed.”
          While the theology of this story is certainly a little suspect, the idea that there will be a time of reckoning when it is determined whether we enter heaven or not is a biblical one, although no one likes to talk about it much.  Some of you have even told me that one reason you like our church is because we don’t emphasize God’s judgment too much here.  But as we continue our series on the Apostles’ Creed, we come to that uncomfortable phrase, “from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”  “Quick” is an old English word for “living,” so it doesn’t mean that the “slow” will get a pass!  This phrase refers to the coming judgment of the living and the dead.
          As I prepared this message I was struck by how many passages in the Bible talk about the judgment of God- certainly in the Old Testament, where entire books are devoted to pronouncements of judgment.  But there is a lot about judgment in the New Testament as well.  In fact over half a dozen of Jesus’ parables concern judgment.  Some of those biblical words and stories sound very harsh to 21st century ears, especially in America where we don’t want anyone to be left out of anything, and where we tend to be very optimistic about human nature.  I began to wonder how in the world I was going to preach on this difficult Christian belief that no one wants to hear about.   And I thought, “I wish I had given this one to Lou!” But it was too late to change.
          This morning we’ll look at several questions related to judgment.  Is judgment just, and is it really necessary?  How does it relate to God’s grace?  How can you be sure you’ll come out on the right side of it?
          Let’s begin by reading a passage that vividly portrays God’s final judgment.  (I’d encourage you to turn to it in your pew Bible and keep it open during the sermon.)  It’s found in Rev. 20:11-15 on page 1007.
         11  Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.
         12  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books.
         13  And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done.
         14  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire;
         15  and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
          Here we read about a horrifying final reckoning which includes the living and the dead, the great and the small.  It is clear that no one is exempt from this judgment, no matter how important or insignificant they were in this life.  The great white throne of judgment dominates the scene as both heaven and earth attempt to figuratively flee from the presence of the One on the throne.  Standing in the presence of the One who made you and also has the means and authority to unmake you is a terrifying thing.
          But Christians believe that this judgment is both just and necessary.  Judgment is necessary for justice as is captured well in a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. 
          Calvin, an imaginative 6 year-old, is sitting on a swing at the playground when Moe, the neighborhood bully saunters up and orders, “Get off the swing, Twinkie!”
Calvin says, “Forget it, Moe.  Wait your turn.”
With one gigantic punch, Moe flattens Calvin.
Lying on the ground, beaten and battered, Calvin says, “It’s hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.”
          Something inside us cries out for justice, and judgment is necessary if justice is to be done.  In this life bullies in workplaces, neighborhoods, schools, and even churches seem to run roughshod over people without penalty.  In many communities criminals prey on the vulnerable with no observable consequence.  In some countries tyrants terrorize entire nations, enriching themselves without remorse or penalty, while the poor starve.  If God is just, such situations must eventually be made right.  That’s part of what final judgment is about.  Wrongs are finally made right.  The last become first and the first become last.  Judgment is necessary if God’s justice is to be done.
          Still, if God is truly a God of love, how can he refuse to admit some people to heaven?  Is that fair, even if they’ve done evil on earth?   Universalists believe that God will admit everyone to heaven, but that belief is problematic on at least two counts.  First, judgment is necessary if there is to be a heaven.  Consider someone who habitually lies and breaks promises to those he professes to care about.  He is selfish and only looks out for his own needs and wants.  He frequently causes pain and sorrow to all who are close to him.  If he were allowed to enter heaven, it wouldn’t be heaven for those around him, would it?  They would experience the same kind of disappointment and grief that they experienced here!  If heaven is to be different from earth, something there needs to be different than earth.
          The Bible teaches that the difference is that evil will not be admitted.  Now we need to acknowledge that each one of us has an evil heart, a heart which is “turned inward on itself” in the words of the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther.  A heart which is capable of all kinds of destructive behavior given the right situation.  But God has offered to forgive our sin and change our hearts if we are willing for him to do so.  The problem is that many are not willing.  As C.S. Lewis put it, there are only two groups of people: those who are willing to say “Lord, thy will be done” and those who refuse, to whom God finally must say, “OK, your will be done.”  If you refuse to acknowledge me as Lord, then you are choosing to live in a place apart from me.
          But you say, couldn’t God just magically make all of those people good, whether they wanted to be or not?  Perhaps, but the Bible teaches that God respects our wills.  He has always given his creatures the right to choose good or evil, and apparently he will continue to do so.  Let me emphasize here that God is not gleefully awaiting the day of Judgment so he can zap some folks.  The Bible says that God “is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  (II Peter 3:9)  And in Jesus Christ, God has made a costly provision so that no one needs to be separated from God.  But justice requires judgment, and judgment is necessary if there is to be a heaven.
          We should note that there is a tension between this passage in Revelation and other biblical teaching concerning the basis for judgment.  What is the basis upon which people are judged in this text?  A book containing their deeds is opened up.  But aren’t people made right with God through their acceptance of God’s grace, not by the works that they do?   Which is it?  Well, Scripture must always be interpreted in the light of other Scripture, and the rest of the New Testament is very clear about the fact that we are made right with God because we trust in what God has done on our behalf through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
          But there is a close linkage between entrusting our lives to Jesus and the way we live.  If we trust in God, our lives will give evidence of that trust.  Rather than stealing, we will work hard and trust God to meet our needs legitimately.  Rather than lying, we will trust God to take care of us when we tell the truth.  Rather than gossiping, we will use our mouths to encourage and build others up.  Rather than being consumed by greed, we will act generously, trusting God to meet our financial needs.  We are indeed saved by the grace of God, but a life lived by grace results in good works. 
          You’ll also note that there is a second book mentioned in our Scripture passage, the book of life, which is kind of a citizenship roll for heaven.  Those written in that book have a secure future with the Lord.
          Well, then, the trick seems to be to get your name in that book!  How do you do that?  Listen to these familiar words from John’s gospel.   “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  (John 3:16,17)  Those who trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior have their names written in the book of life and will not perish.  Do you believe in Jesus Christ and trust him as your Lord and Savior?  That’s the critical question here.
          But what about those who have never heard of Jesus and have had no chance to accept or reject him?  What happens to them?  Great question!  Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer.  There is no indication in Scripture that anyone can be made right with God apart from Jesus Christ.  Perhaps those people will be given a chance after death.  That’s what the author, C.S. Lewis, believed.  Perhaps God has some other plan for them which he has not revealed to us.  We don’t know.  But we do know that God is always just and loving and compassionate and fair.  We can trust that God’s judgment of humanity will be absolutely fair.
          And the Heidelberg Catechism gives us some further good news about judgment. 
         Q.   “What comfort does the return of Christ “to judge the quick and the dead” give you?
          A.  That in all affliction and persecution I may await with head held high the very Judge from heaven who has already submitted himself to the judgment of God for me and has removed all the curse from me...”  That’s right.  Jesus Christ, the one who willingly sacrificed himself for you and your sins, will be the one who judges us at the end.  That, my friends, is very good news.
          In 2005, 26 years after their first record release, the rock band U2 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  The band members, while appreciative of the honor, did not let themselves get too caught up in all the hoopla.  Bassist, Adam Clayton, said, “I suppose if people want to shower you with honors, the only reasonable thing to do is accept them.”  Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. added, “But it does feel premature.  We’re trying to stay focused on the big prize.”  The message of final judgment is designed to help us do the same thing- to stay focused on the big prize.

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