Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 33: The Last Judgement

Order of Service

• Sermon

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Sermon Title: The Last Judgment

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

I. The Last Judgment and the Judge

A. God has appointed Jesus Christ as the judge of the last day

1. John 5:22, 27 — the Father has given all authority to execute judgment to the Son
2. The title "Son of Man" comes from Daniel 7:13-14 — dominion over all nations given to one like a son of man
3. Acts 17:31 — God will judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed
4. 2 Corinthians 5:10 — we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ

B. Christ's call to believe is not merely a call to a happy life; it is the call of the coming judge

1. Gospel messengers are like envoys entering a city the king is coming to conquer, calling people to bow the knee before he arrives
2. To honor Christ as sovereign now is to be spared his judgment when he comes

II. The Last Judgment and Angels

A. Fallen angels are being held for judgment on the last day

1. Jude 6 — angels who left their proper dwelling are kept in eternal chains until the judgment of the great day
2. 2 Peter 2:4 — God cast sinning angels into hell, committed to chains of gloomy darkness until judgment

B. Believers will participate in the judgment of angels — 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

1. If Christ is the final judge, believers are something like the final jury
2. Paul uses this future responsibility not as a reason for speculation but as a present call to judge rightly among ourselves within the body of Christ
3. Context: believers taking other believers to secular courts — if we will one day judge angels, how much more should we be able to judge matters within the church

C. End-times realities in Scripture are given primarily as incentives for present godly living, not as occasions for speculation and debate

1. The Westminster Confession deliberately avoids speculative millennial questions
2. Revelation 22:12, 16 — Christ's final words to John are given "for the churches," to teach them how to live now in light of what is coming

III. The Last Judgment and Humans

A. The purpose of judgment: the manifestation of God's mercy in the salvation of the elect and his justice in the condemnation of the reprobate

1. Matthew 25:31-46 — the separation of the sheep and the goats illustrates the twofold outcome of judgment
2. The wicked respond with obstinate self-justification — "When did we not do these things?" — displaying arrogance and self-assurance even before the throne
3. The believers respond with humility — "When did we do these things?" — undone before the holiness of the glorified Christ, as Isaiah was in Isaiah 6
4. For both groups the verdict will seem "unfair" but for opposite reasons: the unbeliever does not believe he deserves judgment; the believer knows he does, yet receives mercy — "Well done, good and faithful servant"

B. Judgment as a deterrent to sin and a consolation to the suffering Christian

1. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 — we make it our aim to please him, knowing we must all appear before his judgment seat
2. 2 Peter 3:11-14 — since all things will be dissolved, what sort of people ought we to be? A double reality: reverent fear that spurs obedience, and joyful anticipation as one lives in obedience to the judge

C. The purpose of not knowing the day or hour

1. The confession follows Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 12 — because we do not know the day or hour, we must always have our house in order
2. We cannot postpone repentance; today is the day of salvation
3. Christ has not given us a timetable so that no one can set aside eternal matters in favor of present worldly concerns — the unknown hour keeps us in daily readiness