Session 12:

He will come again to judge the living and the dead

The Apostles’ CreedI believe in God, the Father almighty,  

creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,  

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,  born of the Virgin Mary,  

suffered under Pontius Pilate,  was crucified, died, and was buried;  

he descended to the dead.  On the third day he rose again;  

he ascended into heaven,  he is seated at the right hand of the Father,  

and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit,  the holy catholic church,  the communion of saints,  the forgiveness of sins,  

the resurrection of the body,  and the life everlasting. AMEN.

He shall come again to judge the living and the dead

• We don’t take this very seriously these days.– False prophets proclaim dates and doom.– We live quite comfortably in this life.– We are timid.

What does scripture say about Christ’s coming?

• Matthew 24:44– You must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming

at an hour you do not expect.”

• John 5:25-29– 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here,

when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

What does scripture say about Christ’s coming?

• 2 Peter 3:10-13 The Message (MSG)• 10But when the Day of God's Judgment does come, it will be

unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment. 11-13Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we'll hardly notice. We'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.

He shall come again to judge the living and the dead

• How do the future realities of heaven and the return of Christ affect how we live today?– Priorities-What’s important and what isn’t.– Courage-Choosing love over fear.

He shall come again to judge the living and the dead

• He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead. Acts 17:30

He shall come again to judge the living and the dead

• How can God be a God of love and also a God of judgment?

• Two equal attributes of God:– God is infinitely loving and infinitely just.• We cannot fully understand this.

– God is a just God, a God of justice.• We often think of justice as punishing evildoers or

rewarding the good. Getting what you deserve.• Think of justice as being “when everything is in it’s

proper place.” Setting things right.

He shall come again to judge the living and the dead

• That God is our judge lets us know that – It really does matter how we live.• Without judgment, there would be no morality.

– We have hope in Christ• The face of our judge is the face of Christ.• The one who sits on the seat of judgment is the one

who died on the cross. • The one who condemns the sinfulness within us is

the one who took our sinfulness upon himself.

Review

• Why don’t we take the second coming of Christ very seriously?

• How should the certain return of Christ affect how we live today?

• That God is our judge lets us know that....