Endorsed by God for Judgment Day
Where will you go on Judgment Day? Romans 2:7, 8 shows us we are Endorsed by God for Judgment Day. You have his endorsement now and forever. Live your life as an endorsement to him. November 9, 2008.
What one thing could sway a person to vote for a different presidential candidate? An attractive promise for lower taxes? The choice of a running mate? A different policy on the war? Those are all good reasons. But there’s a bigger one. If a person you respect suggests a different presidential vote than what you’re considering, you’d be willing to hear more, and may just change your mind. Endorsements can make or break an election for a candidate.
I gave one of my son’s teenage friends a ride home the other night and he recapped the presidential election with the zeal of a CNN political analyst and then said, “I’ll be old enough to vote in the next election. I hope it’s as big as this one.” There will indeed be an election in that young man’s future bigger than all presidential elections combined. And he’ll be one of the candidates. I’m talking about Judgment Day. You’ll be there too as one of the candidates, along with every soul ever created. Someone so influential endorses you that it will seal the deal for God to select you for heaven. You are Endorsed by God for Judgment Day. God himself, in his mercy, pledges to you his full support.
A sure decision
Some citizens in our great country weren’t attracted to either presidential candidate or they were uninformed or confused about the issues, so unfortunately they didn’t vote at all. Picture God caught up in confusion on Judgment Day, fumbling through books for your name, finding some old notes he had misplaced, and finally just throwing up his hands and saying, “Forget it; I’ll just let someone else decide.” The Bible promises the exact opposite. God’s decision on Judgment Day about your eternal destiny will be a sure decision. The Ancient of Days in Daniel 7 presides over Judgment Day as the unshakeable, all knowing, almighty God completely in charge. God will not second-guess himself, or need to perform a background check, or interview your friends. He makes sure that he has all of the information he’ll need to make a decision about you that is firm and final “based on truth” (Romans 2:2).
A clear decision
Some editorials on Election Day morning predicted debilitating dissension in our country if the presidential race did not produce a clear winner (for example, if one candidate would lose the popular vote but win the electoral vote, or if the tally would be tainted by scandal). The finger pointing and disharmony from such a scenario would weaken our country. God’s decision on Judgment Day about a person’s eternal destiny will be very clear. It will not be a close call. No confusion. No recounting ballots. To some God “will give eternal life” and for others there “will be wrath and anger.” Those are the only two options on Judgment Day. There is no purgatory and no reincarnation. There is no “maybe if,” no second chance, and no option for an alternate ending.
To make it as clear as possible, Jesus pictures himself providing convincing evidence for the decision about every person’s destiny. In today’s gospel from Matthew 25 Jesus looks ahead to Judgment Day when he will say to some people, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” And he offers clear evidence of their blessed and righteous status as demonstrated by them behaving in righteous ways while living on earth to the glory of God. He will say to all other people, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” And he offers clear evidence of their cursed and unrighteous status as demonstrated by them behaving in unrighteous ways while living on earth to the glory of themselves. “They will go away to eternal punishment,” Jesus says, “but the righteous to eternal life.”
Where will you go on Judgment Day? That decision is as clear to you now as it will be to God on that day. Look to God’s Word which speaks plainly about anybody’s eternal destiny. “For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” The term “self-seeking” comes from a word that means “mercenary” and implies the desire for a quick return of pay. People who are self-seeking don’t care about future consequences or benefits as much as immediate results or pleasures. They reject the true promises of God that call people to faith and the righteous commands of God that call people to obedience. Their rejection of God will only be publicly acknowledged on Judgment Day by God’s wrath and anger. You and I know people like that. God leaves us on this earth and holds off his day of judgment so that we can warn them, help them, and snatch them from the fire. But whatever you do, don’t become one of them. Stay alert and aware of how good self-seeking feels, how accepted self-glory has become, and how to repent after allowing evil to momentarily have its way with you.
“To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality [God} will give eternal life.” Persistence comes from a word that means “stand under” and implies enduring, resisting, and not giving up. Christians who are persistent live by faith, not by sight. They do what is good not when it is easy but because it is right. They are always seeking, exploring, reaching for the end zone of glory, honor, and immortality attainable through Jesus Christ. They are not perfect, and they know it, so they trust in the promises of God to forgive sins of the past and strengthen them to stand firm to the end. The Bible says to them, “The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one … you are doing and will continue to do the things [God commands]. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance” (2 Thessalonians 3:3-5). The clear decision about your eternal destiny on Judgment Day results from clear direction you now follow in faith “into God’s love.” The clear decision about your eternal destiny on Judgment Day results from clear direction you now follow in faith because of “Christ’s perseverance,” his seeking, exploring, and reaching out for you.
A life-changing decision
In his acceptance speech president-elect Obama said that change has come to America and a new dawn of leadership is at hand. Time will tell if the changes he enacts are going to be for the best interest of the common good of everyone in our country. God’s decision about your eternal destiny on Judgment Day means change. And because it comes from God, it is healthy change. Holy. Heavenly. And it is here and now. Endorsed by God for Judgment Day, you will live every moment now as your endorsement for him. With the hungry you will share your food because it endorses God. With the stranger you will share your friendship because it endorses God. With those confused about their spiritual beliefs you will share your faith because it endorses God. And if you’re not sharing and befriending and witnessing as much as you know you could, then you can change. Change your routine. Change your friends. Change your spending. Change your approach. Because the day is surely drawing near.
“We will win this election!” candidates promise in their campaign speeches, only to be ousted on Election Day because their destiny lies in the hands of the public. “I will live forever in heaven!” Christians state confidently, because our destiny lies not in our hands or the hands of others or even the church, but in the almighty, caring, forgiving, promise-keeping hands of God. You have his endorsement now and forever. Live your life as an endorsement to him. Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (http://www.gracedowntown.org/) on November 9, 2008
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