Sermon Tone Analysis

1. Death is a state of {separation} .

2. Both believers and non-believers will be {raised} from the dead.

3. Believers Rewarded

A. Immediate Reward

a.

This judgment will occur in heaven immediately {after} the rapture of the Church.

{judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes (NIV); NOTE: our conscience is not a sufficient guide to judge ourselves!}

{Rev.

4:4,10 “the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,” 24 Elders, the Church, w/crowns – already have been judged}

B. Thorough Reward

b.

All believers must give {account} for their works during their earthly life.

i. Romans 14:10–12 {v10, bh/ma, judicial bench, place of judgment, court; cf Acts 18:12; Only Christians come before the Bema Seat (only unsaved appear before the Great White Throne); context Rom 14, the strong w/selfish motives gives account to God}

ii. 2 Corinthians 5:10

{All Christians must give account to Christ; The Father has delegated all judgment of humans to Jesus (Jn 5:22).

The Bema Judgment will be retributive but not vindictive.

God will give us what we deserve according to our works as believers}

C. Fair Reward

c.

All believers will either be rewarded for their good works, or suffer {loss} of reward for their misdeeds: 1 Corinthians 3:10–15

{there is no condemnation to fear (v15b; Rom 8:1), but we can suffer loss = be punished (v15).

ILLUS: feeling loss due to a house fire.}

i.

What actions would be considered wood, hay, straw (v12)?

{all “works of the flesh”; imparting to another a sinful attitude, or a shameful practice, or a false doctrine (the imagery here is building upon a foundation picturing discipleship)}

ii.

What actions would be considered gold, silver, precious stones (v12)?

{all “works of the Spirit”; imparting to another a godly attitude, a holy practice, a true doctrine}

iii.

What is the role of the fire (v13-15)?

{it tests, purges and purifies.

The purpose of this judgment is to prepare the Church fully for her presentation as Christ’s Bride; cf Rev. 19-7-8; clothed in white = righteous acts; all unrighteous acts have been burned up!} Conclusion: We believe in the judgment and reward of believers.

4. Non-Believers Judged

1. Death is a state of {separation} .

2. Both believers and non-believers will be {raised} from the dead.

3. Believers will be judged and {rewarded} by Christ.

4. Nonbelievers will be judged and {condemned} by Christ.

Revelation 20:11–15

A. Time of Judgment

a.

The time of this judgment is {after} the Millennial Kingdom (v5, v11).

B. Place of Judgment

b.

The place of this judgment is {before} the Great White Throne (v11).

{This is not the Bema; only believers appear before the Bema, only the wicked before GWT.}

C. Basis for Judgment

c.

The basis of this judgment is the {record} of deeds recorded in the books (v12).

{All these are unsaved & already condemned; this is their final accounting & judgment.}

D. Result of Judgment

d.

The verdict of this judgment is the {Second} {Death} , which is the Lake of Fire (v14).

{This is the final dwelling place of the wicked dead and all fallen angels (cf.

v10); it is the place of eternal guilt, torment, and separation from God.}

e.

Those condemned by this judgment are those who are {not} {found} in the Book of Life (v15).

{The Book of Life contains the names of the Elect of all the ages}

Conclusion: We believe in the judgment and condemnation of unbelievers.

5. Eternal Existence

1. Death is a state of {separation} .

2. Both believers and non-believers will be {raised} from the dead.

3. Believers will be judged and {rewarded} by Christ.

4. Nonbelievers will be judged and {condemned} by Christ.

5.

Both believers and nonbelievers will exist {eternally} .

Matthew 25:46

A. Nature of Existence

a. S. Lewis Johnson: “It is doubtful that there is a doctrine in the Bible easier to prove than that of eternal punishment.

In Matt.

25:46 , the twofold use of the adjective aivw,nion (aionion, “eternal”) with ko,lasin (kolasin, “punishment”) and zwh.n (zoen, “life”) indicates that the punishment for sin is just as long as the life that God gives the faithful.

Both are eternal.”

1. Believers

i. Believers will spend eternity with God enjoying {life} .

John 3:16

(1) John 10:10

(2) Revelation 21:1–4

Revelation 22:3–5

2. Non-Believers

ii.

Nonbelievers will experience eternal {punishment} . 2 Thessalonians 1:9

(1) Sin against an infinite God requires an infinite payment.

Christ, being God, paid an infinite price for sin on the cross.

Therefore, all who are in Christ shall live forever.

But all who are not in Christ must pay for their own sin, which will take infinity.

Eternal punishment is the just penalty (Psa.

24:3-5 ).

(2) God will not force the unsaved to spend eternity with Him or the Saints when they wanted nothing to do with God or His people during their earthly life.

The unconverted and unrepentant will not be allowed to take part in the eternal kingdom of God (Rev.

21:7-8, 27; 22:14-15).

{1 Cor.

6:9-10; Gal.

5:21; Eph.

5:5}

(3) The {nature} of eternal punishment is described in three ways:

(a) “outer {darkness} ” (Matt.

25:30 ; 2 Pet.

2:17 ) {total exclusion from the immediate presence of God, who is light.}

(b) “undying {worm} ” (Mk.

9:47-48 ) {Gnawing of remorse in the conscience; an eternal dying; cf Isa.

66:24 “24 “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me.

For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.””

}

(c) “unquenchable {fire} ” (Mk.

9:46-48 ) {never ending pain and suffering}

(4) The will be {degrees} of punishment: