Grace and peace be unto you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
In Revelation 20[:11-15] St. John vividly sees the final judgment of all mankind that takes place after the resurrection of the body. He writes: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” The books that are opened are the record of every thought, word, and deed of every person who has ever lived, because every person who has ever lived will stand before the throne. On that day everyone—including you and me—will be judged according to their works.
The thought of this should terrify us. How often have we sinned in our thoughts—thinking ourselves better than others; objectifying others in lust for our own pleasure; cursing God when things don’t go our way; discontent with what God is giving, or taking from us in in any moment? No one else hears our thoughts. Yet when Christ returns to judge the quick and the dead, he will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:5. How often do we sin in our words? Do we curse others? Do we use obscene language? Are our words coarse and vulgar? James calls the tongue “a fire, a world of iniquity” (Jam 3:6). But do we speak idle, careless words, too, which betray the thoughts of our hearts? Jesus says in Matthew 12[:36-37], “I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” How often do we sin in our deeds and behavior, doing that which God forbids in His commandments? How often do we know the right thing to do but do not do it? James reminds us, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (Jam 4:17).
But aren’t we justified by faith in Christ and not by works of law? Doesn’t Christ tell us in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life?” He did. He said right after that, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Christ’s apostle writes in Ephesians 2:8 that it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” That is why in the vision John sees another book opened, which is the Book of Life (Rev 20:12). The book is not a record of sin. It is a record of those who repented on their sins and believed in Christ for their forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation. In the Book of Life is written all who were in Christ by faith during their life, and persevered in that faith unto the end. This is why we confess that Christ “is the Book life, in whom all are written and elected that are to be saved in eternity, as it is written Eph. 1:4: He hath chosen us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world” (FC Ep XI:7). The book life is God’s eternal election of those whom He foresaw would persevere in faith unto the end by the power of His Holy Spirit.
That is why, in the parable Christ tells His disciples in today’s gospel lesson, after dividing humanity into two groups, He says to those on His right, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” The sheep are those whose names are written in the Book of Life. These are God’s elect. During their lives they heard the voice of their Good Shepherd in the Gospel. While living this life they adhered to His Word, prayed diligently, abided in God’s goodness, faithfully used the gifts God gave them. Those whose names are written in the Book of Life are called to inherit the kingdom of God which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world. It was not prepared for them to earn, merit, or win by their works. It was prepared for them to receive by God’s grace for the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rm 6:23).
But they are judged by their works, nonetheless. Why? Because works are witnesses to what is in the heart. They are testimonies to true faith. Jesus says to those on His right, “I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” The righteous respond, ““Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” Christ calls them the righteous, not because they did righteous works but because they believed in Him, because faith is accounted for righteousness as Paul says in Romans 4:5. The sheep don’t even realize they had done these works for Christ. Their faith in Christ was active in love towards their neighbors, not for the sake meriting the kingdom, but because they believed Christ’s promise to give the kingdom to believers. Their works for the brethren—their fellow Christians—were testimonies to the true faith in their hearts. Their works witnessed to the fact that they were righteous by faith, the people of Christ’s pasture, God’s elect.
To those on His left, Christ says, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” God did not elect them to everlasting fire. That was prepared the devil and his angels. But the goats, since they refused repentance and rejected God’s will that they be saved, God consigned them punishment prepared for the devil. Jesus says in John 3:18, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” They condemn themselves by their rejection of Christ, and their works witness to the unbelieving state of their hearts. Christ was hungry and they gave Him no food; He was thirsty and they gave Him no drink; He was a stranger and they did not take Him in, naked and they did not clothe Him, sick and in prison and they did not visit Him. Unbelievers do none of these works of mercy—or any good work—for Christ’s brothers, His Christians, because they do not love Christ or believe in Him for their forgiveness, new life, and salvation. Their works toward the brethren—or rather, the lack of works done in faith for the brethren—testify that there is no true faith in their hearts. Their works witness that they are not righteous by faith in Christ, for if they were righteous by faith, their faith would be active in love. These will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Dear saints of God, the final judgment which Scripture teaches and which we confess each Sunday will come to pass. How then ought we to live in light of this? We’re not to live in fear of our sins which deserve God’s righteous wrath and punishment. We aren’t to fear our sins being exposed on that day, for God tells us in Holy Scripture, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). To those who confess their sins in true repentance He says, “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins” (Is 44:22). He promises to all who repent and believe, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). We have no reason to fear the final judgment, for on that day all believers will be judged as righteous and welcomed into the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. If we willfully, deliberately, and knowingly sin, then the thought of the final judgment should terrify us. Not, however, so that we run from the Judge, but so that we run to the Judge in true repentance. For the Judge on that day is, in this time of grace, our Good Shepherd who graciously forgives the sins of the penitent and who graciously gives His Holy Spirit so that we amend our lives.
This faith is also encouraged by the final judgment to be more active in love toward our neighbor, especially those who are brothers in Christ. It spurs on to the look for opportunities to provide mercy, encouragement, generosity, and help to our brethren in need. Since our works will be testimonies and witnesses to this faith which accounted as righteousness, let the thought of the final judgment spur you on to love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere, persevering faith each day. Amen.
May the peace of God which passes all understading guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
