Judgment Day Surprises

 Introduction:

1. The Bible teaches that judgment day is coming;

(Acts 17:30-31)  "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. {31} For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.""

2. It ought to be a very sobering thought to know that you will stand before Jesus and give an account of our lives.

3. Matthew 7:21-23, indicates that among other things, there will be some surprises on the day of Judgment: ""Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. {22} Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' {23} Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

4. The question is, "Will you be one of those who will be surprised?"

I. Some in the Church of Christ Will Be Surprised

A. Christians will be surprised to learn that cold formalism is as bad as innovation:

(Matthew 15:7-9)  "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: {8} "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. {9} They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'""

(John 4:24)  "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.""

(Ephesians 5:19)  "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,"

(Colossians 3:16)  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

B. Christians will be surprised to learn that a heart full of hate, malice, jealousy, anger, lust, and gossip, was as bad as murder, fornication, atheism:

(Matthew 5:21)  ""You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.'"

(Galatians 5:19-21)  "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; {20} idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions {21} and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."

C. Christians will be surprised to learn that they should have taken the commitment they made to Christ seriously, and not with indifference and lukewarmness:

(Revelation 3:16)  "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

D. Christians will be surprised to learn that telling others the good news was an obligation, not an option:

(Ezekiel 3:17-19)  ""Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. {18} When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. {19} But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself."

(Mark 16:15)  "He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

(Acts 8:4)  "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went."

E. Christians will be surprised to learn that restoring the erring was an obligation, not an option:

(Galatians 6:1)  "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."

(James 5:19-20)  "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, {20} remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins."

II. Those Who Rejected the Bible Will Be Surprised

A. The atheist will be surprised to learn there is a God:

(Psalms 14:1)  "For the director of music. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good."

B. The unbeliever will be surprised to learn that Jesus really was the Son of God, the Savior of the world:

(John 8:21-24)  "Once more Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come." {22} This made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, 'Where I go, you cannot come'?" {23} But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. {24} I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.""

(John 12:48)  "There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day."

C. The materialist will be surprised to discover that man does have an immortal spirit:

(Ecclesiastes 12:7)  "and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."

(Matthew 22:31-32)  "But about the resurrection of the dead--have you not read what God said to you, {32} 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' ? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.""

 D. The good moral man will be surprised to discover that he was a sinner in need of salvation:

(Romans 3:23)  "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

III. Some Who Claim To Be Christians Will Be Surprised

A. Many preachers will be surprised to discover that God meant what He said about preaching the truth of the gospel:

(Galatians 1:6-9)  "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- {7} which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. {8} But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! {9} As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"

(James 3:1)  "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly."

B. Many religiously sincere people will be surprised to discover that a person can be sincere & zealous, but lost:

(Matthew 7:21-23)  ""Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. {22} Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' {23} Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

C. The innovator will be surprised to learn that having Christ's authority was important:

(Colossians 3:17)  "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

D. The unimmersed will be surprised to learn that baptism was necessary for salvation:

(Mark 16:16)  "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

(Acts 2:38)  "Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Conclusion:

1. There is no need to be surprised on the day of Judgment.

2. God’s word gives us the answer to all the questions.

3. Follow it, and you’ll do just fine.