How do you see
the Day of Judgement?
Do you have
the idea of
some kind of court house?
If so,
who do you see
as the judge?
Who do you see
to be the counsel
for the defence?
Who do you see
to be the counsel
for the prosecution?
Is there a jury?
Are there bailiffs?
[PAUSE]
Of course,
that's a very
twenty-first century
view of a court.
But the question
of Judge, Prosecution and Defence
seems very important.
If you remember your Te Deum
you'll remember the phrase
"We believe that
Thou shalt come
to be our judge "
So, therefore
Jesus is to be our judge
on the Day of Judgement.
Who is to be our Prosecutor?
That ought to be Satan
for "accuser" is the meaning
of Satan.
What about our
counsel for the defence,
our advocate,
our mediator?
Well,
that's Christ.
But Christ is the judge.
That can't be right.
And we have further problems.
We are guilty of sin,
so we must be punished.
And then some will say
that Christ takes the punishment
of our sins
upon himself.
So the judge is
our advocate
and receives the penalty
for our guilty verdict
while we go scot-free.
Confused?
Well, we have just
stretched an analogy
to its breaking point.
[PAUSE]
If we see our salvation
purely in terms of a law court
then we miss
some very important details
which make Our Lord's Incarnation
very powerful and awe-inspiring.
We know that
we need salvation
because we are fallen from God
and separated from Him.
We cannot see Him.
We cannot hear Him.
We cannot tell right from wrong
without Him.
All because we are born in sin.
This is not the state
in which we are created
- not the state that God wants for us.
Our salvation consists
of putting this fallen state right.
This is at the
very heart of Judgement.
The Incarnation
of Our Lord Jesus Christ
is our judgement.
He shows us that we are fallen
and then seeks to reconcile us to God
with a new covenant
sealed in His own blood.
But God's blood
is His life.
To take His blood into us
rejuvenates us.
To take His body into us
repairs and nourishes us.
To receive the Body and Blood
of Our Lord Jesus Christ
is to receive
communion with Him
life in Him
reconciliation to Him.
Jesus says,
"unless you eat
of the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink of His blood
you shall not have life within you."
Incarnation makes
Christ physically present
and this allows us
to find that reconciliation in Him.
This is Christ's judgement
and it is judgement
for all who want to receive it.
To recognise our sin
shows us that we need Him.
To confess that sin,
to accept His covenant
and receive His Grace
brings about God's judgement upon us
and we are saved.
[PAUSE]
We believe that Christ shall come
to be our judge.
This means
we have nothing to fear
from the Day of Judgement
for perfect love
casts out all fear.
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