Fred Dennis
The things that are in the New Testament now will be there at the judgment. We shall be judged according to what is written.
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God (Rom. 14:10-12).
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10).
And we are ready for that judgment? Have we learned the will of the Lord, and have we reduced that law to action in our lives? It is written: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). That has stood on the pages of the New Testament always. Friendly sinner, you may be dead tomorrow, but this passage will be in the New Testament after you are dead. After you have slept the long sleep of death and come up in the judgment it will be there still. Suppose while you are in the flesh you do not obey this command of the Lord. What chance do you think you will have at the judgment? Do you suppose Christ will change the law at the judgment? No, it will stand. We shall be judged by it. The preachers may scoff at it now, but when they stand before the head of the church at the judgment they will not scoff then.
It is written in Matt. 10:32-33, and in Rom. 10:9-10, and in other places that we are to confess Christ. This confession should be made at every opportunity. We may not make it, but whether we do or not the command stands. It has stood ever since Christ was on earth. We may deny him by our lives and words today. Before the sun comes over the eastern hills in the morning we may be cold in death. Our lips are stilled. It is too late to confess him now. However, the old Book still reads the same. It will read the same at the judgment. There we shall have to confess to God. It will be eternally too late for the “good confession” to avail us anything. Are we ready for the judgment on this scale? Time after time it is written that men must repent of their sins. Jesus said the ones who do not repent will perish (Luke 13:3, 5). Have we repented of every sin which we have committed? Baptism will wash away sins that have been repented of. The Christian must repent of his sins and pray God for forgiveness. We may refuse to repent, but that does not change the law of Christ. Brother, it will read the same at the judgment You may abuse your brother here and speak all manner of evil against him falsely, but those sins will face you at the judgment. May I plead with you to repent of those sins before you go the way of all the earth. You will repent of them at the judgment seat of Christ, but then it is too late. While eternity rolls on and you are burning in hell you will remember those sins that kept you out of heaven.
It is written that we must be baptized to be saved. We cannot have our sins forgiven short of a burial in water. The human creeds may say that we can, but the New Testament does not say it. On the birthday of the church believers were told to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. (Acts 2:38.) And to be “baptized for the remission of sins” does not mean to be baptized because your sins have been forgiven. You may have been baptized, but maybe you had been taught that you were saved before you were baptized. The Book does net read that way. It will not read that way at the judgment. If your faith was wrong when you were baptized you had better be baptized with an intelligent understanding of the faith. Maybe when you were baptized you thought that “one church is as good as another.” The Book does not read that way. It will not read that way at the judgment. You had better be baptized to get into the body of Christ (Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26-27). Maybe you were taught that “sprinkling” and “pouring” are baptism. They are not forty second cousins to baptism. Read the Book. Remember it will read at the judgment the same way it does now. There is just one intelligent thing to do, and that is to line up with its teaching now, and then we will be in line at the judgment.
Christians are taught to assemble regularly to worship God (Acts 2:42; Acts 20:7). Brother, have you always done that? Are you doing it now? When you neglect to meet for worship the Book does not change because you refuse to obey it. God tells us not to forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:25). When the Lord opens it at the judgment it will read the same. Are we ready for the judgment on this basis? Were you around the Lord’s table every time it was possible for youto be there? Did you miss it to go visiting, to entertain company, to go about your daily labor? Better do some serious thinking. The judgment is coming.
It is written that every Christian is to give as he is prospered (1 Cor. 16:1, 2; 2 Cor. 8:7). So many refuse to do this. It is still in the Book. We may go around with the Lord’s money in our pockets and use it to satisfy the lusts of the flesh, but that does not change the teaching of the word of God. While time shall last it will remain on the sacred pages. When we stand at the judgment it will read exactly as it does now. Are we ready for the judgment on this score? We will be judged on the basis of our living:
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10).
We had better scan that list again. Folks who do such things are not going to inherit the eternal kingdom of God. They may be preachers, elders, or deacons here, but the judgment is coming. Such folks are not going to heaven. Remember this quotation. It will face us at the judgment.
The New Testament teaches purity of life; purity of thought; purity of word; purity of doctrine. Without this purity we cannot pass the judgment test. Jesus said: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). The inspired Paul wrote to Titus thus: “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2:7-8). Every one of us members should be a pattern of good works. We should be grave and sincere. I am convinced there is too much levity among us. There is too much foolish talking. There is too much jesting. Our speech must be sound. Are we ready for the judgment along these lines?
The widows and orphans must be cared for. This is part of pure religion. The Lord never meant to turn this care over to some other organization. This is the work of the church. Let us not dodge the responsibility. James 1:27 is still in the Book. What I am trying to impress in this sermon is the fact that all of these things will be in the Book at the judgment. We will be judged by them. If we are not practicing them here we are not ready for the judgment. Some will be on the left and some on the right. Those on the right will be the ones that did right. Those on the left will be the ones that did wrong or did nothing (Matt. 25:31-46).
