Welcome To Judgment Day
Preaching
Shaking Wolves Out Of Cherry Trees
And 149 Other Sermon Ideas
Purpose Statement: Judgment day and getting saved may not be exactly what we are anticipating.
We need to help church members tweak their beliefs concerning salvation and that pearly gates thing. They may have some misconceptions that will lead to disappointments. But more important, it could make a significant difference in how they conduct themselves in the here and now. I have always been amused by the way Amos describes judgment day (Amos 5:18-20). He makes it sound just the opposite of what we normally expect. The "Day of the Lord" will be sad and gloomy, not happy and bright; it will be like a person running from a lion and getting caught by a bear. Perhaps I should be less amused and more on guard. Yes, I might have lifted the passage just a tiny bit out of context, and some eschatological folks will reprimand me for confusing judgment day and the "Day of the Lord" which they might say is the "great rapture," or whatever. Let's not quibble. The question is: Do we really understand salvation and getting into heaven? Let's look at three assumed assurances:
a. Just believe in Jesus. Jesus abhorred legalism and we have made John 3:16, "Whoever believes in Jesus is saved," into a legalism. It makes salvation into a formula. It tends to make everything too easy and routine. Reality is more like John 12:44-48. We must "obey" Jesus and follow his words. I hear John 3:16 everywhere and even see it on banners at sports events. Believing in Jesus means becoming transformed, growing gradually in our faith, and serving others. Don't give me the old story that we are not saved by works. Works and faith are inseparable (James 2:14-20). Read Matthew carefully. (Matthew 7:21, 12:33-37, 21:28-31, 25:31-46 or a host of others.)
b. God loves us. But we are building our own judgment just as a bodybuilder lifts weights to strengthen the body. We need to build our spirits with love and service. A professor once told his students to grade themselves for the final grade of the class -- and he stuck by those grades. Judgment is built in. We are developing our souls for life after death. It is like packing a suitcase for a trip. We mature in our salvation relationship with God through love for others. How healthy will your soul be?
c. We can get right tomorrow. Sneaky as we are, we whisper to ourselves that we can wait a while longer to make the commitment, change our ways, and serve the Lord. God hears us. The practical problem with this eleventh hour approach is not that it can't work, but that it is so much harder to accomplish later. The analogy I like is: We come to a fork in the road and must choose either the path that leads to salvation or the other one. We take the other one telling ourselves we can go back and take the salvation road later. But the paths diverge and it becomes harder to cross over the farther apart they become. And it is a long way back to the fork and easy to get lost. Think about it: Today is judgment day; are you satisfied with it?
We need to help church members tweak their beliefs concerning salvation and that pearly gates thing. They may have some misconceptions that will lead to disappointments. But more important, it could make a significant difference in how they conduct themselves in the here and now. I have always been amused by the way Amos describes judgment day (Amos 5:18-20). He makes it sound just the opposite of what we normally expect. The "Day of the Lord" will be sad and gloomy, not happy and bright; it will be like a person running from a lion and getting caught by a bear. Perhaps I should be less amused and more on guard. Yes, I might have lifted the passage just a tiny bit out of context, and some eschatological folks will reprimand me for confusing judgment day and the "Day of the Lord" which they might say is the "great rapture," or whatever. Let's not quibble. The question is: Do we really understand salvation and getting into heaven? Let's look at three assumed assurances:
a. Just believe in Jesus. Jesus abhorred legalism and we have made John 3:16, "Whoever believes in Jesus is saved," into a legalism. It makes salvation into a formula. It tends to make everything too easy and routine. Reality is more like John 12:44-48. We must "obey" Jesus and follow his words. I hear John 3:16 everywhere and even see it on banners at sports events. Believing in Jesus means becoming transformed, growing gradually in our faith, and serving others. Don't give me the old story that we are not saved by works. Works and faith are inseparable (James 2:14-20). Read Matthew carefully. (Matthew 7:21, 12:33-37, 21:28-31, 25:31-46 or a host of others.)
b. God loves us. But we are building our own judgment just as a bodybuilder lifts weights to strengthen the body. We need to build our spirits with love and service. A professor once told his students to grade themselves for the final grade of the class -- and he stuck by those grades. Judgment is built in. We are developing our souls for life after death. It is like packing a suitcase for a trip. We mature in our salvation relationship with God through love for others. How healthy will your soul be?
c. We can get right tomorrow. Sneaky as we are, we whisper to ourselves that we can wait a while longer to make the commitment, change our ways, and serve the Lord. God hears us. The practical problem with this eleventh hour approach is not that it can't work, but that it is so much harder to accomplish later. The analogy I like is: We come to a fork in the road and must choose either the path that leads to salvation or the other one. We take the other one telling ourselves we can go back and take the salvation road later. But the paths diverge and it becomes harder to cross over the farther apart they become. And it is a long way back to the fork and easy to get lost. Think about it: Today is judgment day; are you satisfied with it?
