January 12, 2025

The Judgment of the Lord

Speaker: Pastor James Wychers Series: Contending for the Faith Topic: Judgment Scripture: Jude 1:5–7

THE JUDGEMENT OF THE LORD WEB

Pastor James is speaking to us about "The Judgment of the Lord" as part of our six-week series on Contending for the Faith from the book of Jude. He reminds us that judgment has been largely canceled in our culture and even in many churches, where we tend to only emphasize God's love and positive messages. However, he explains that without understanding judgment, we cannot truly understand the good news of God's grace.

Looking at Jude verses 5-7, he shows us three examples of God's judgment:

First, we learn about Israel in the wilderness. Though God saved them from Egypt, He later destroyed those who didn't believe. Even after experiencing God's miraculous deliverance, their unbelief and rejection of God led to judgment.

Second, we examine the straying angels from Genesis 6 who left their proper position and authority. These angels are now kept in eternal chains under darkness until the final judgment day.

Third, we study Sodom and Gomorrah, cities that indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desires. Their destruction serves as an ongoing example of God's judgment on sin that defies His moral order.

Pastor James then helps us understand how we typically respond to these teachings with what he calls "false gospel answers": we might ignore God's judgment altogether, insist it only applies to truly bad people, try to work hard to avoid judgment through our own efforts, or presume upon God's grace while continuing in sin.

Instead, he guides us toward the true gospel response, which begins with humility – recognizing God as Creator and ourselves as His creatures. This leads to honesty about our own sinfulness and tendency to rebel like the Israelites, overstep our bounds like the angels, and follow the crowd like Sodom and Gomorrah.

Finally, he brings us to hope: while we deserve judgment, Jesus bore our punishment on the cross. God's wrath was spent on His own Son, making peace possible between us and God. Through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we can find life and salvation rather than judgment.