From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part two of a series. Read part one.

As all human beings move toward the Last Judgment, who is the adversary of the unbeliever?

In the first article of this series we began examining the Last Judgment as Jesus describes it in Mathew's Gospel. We saw that it is not a judicial inquest to determine into which category each individual falls - saved or lost. That verdict has already been rendered. The innocent have been distinguished from the guilty. The Lord places the innocent on His right hand and the guilty on His left, at the very beginning of the judgment scene. It is not a trial or an inquest, but the announcement of an already-determined verdict.

Why is this so? We find the answer in a parable that Jesus spoke to the people of Israel in the Gospel of Luke:

Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the West, immediately you say, 'a shower is coming'; and so it is. And when you see the South wind blow, you say, 'there will be hot weather'; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky end of the earth, but how is it that you do not discern this time?

"Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart from their till you have paid the very last mite." (Luke 12:54-59)

Words Spoken to Intelligent People

A parable in Scripture is a word picture that communicates truth. It conveys it in such a way that a heart that is open to hear the truth can readily understand. Likewise, a parable always has a central message. What was the message of this parable?

To answer this question, we must first of all notice the audience. Jesus is speaking to "the multitudes" - a mixed gathering of both believers and unbelievers. Our Lord is saying this: Every one of you is on your way to judgment. And that judgment is a reasonable judgment.

You are reasonable, intelligent people, Jesus says. You know that if a cloud comes from the west, from the Mediterranean, that it is going to rain. You know that if the wind blows up from the south, from the desert, that it is going to be hot. You can discern these things very easily.

You are also able to understand that I, Jesus, have been preaching to you that the kingdom of Heaven is at hand (as we find in the verses preceding this parable). I have been preaching to you that you must repent. And so, Jesus asks, "How is it that you do not discern this time?" - this critical time.

An Adversarial Proceeding

Furthermore, Jesus says, the judgment toward which every one of you is moving is an adversarial proceeding. You are going "with your adversary to the magistrate."

Who is your adversary? Scripture tells us that Satan is the adversary of the believer in Christ (1 Peter 5:8). But who is the adversary of the unbeliever? God is, apart from Christ. Jesus has told the people repeatedly that apart from faith in Him, they are the enemies of God. Romans 5:10 tells us that it is "when we were enemies" that believers were reconciled to God through the saving work of Christ.

What did Jesus say to Nicodemus, in John chapter 3?

He who believes in Him [he who believes in the Son of God] is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. (John 3:18-21)

How Many Sins Must You Commit to be Condemned?

Once again, Jesus is speaking of the judgment. He is speaking of the verdict that is already been rendered. Apart from faith in Christ, every human being is on the way to stand before the Magistrate of the Universe with a guilty verdict already pronounced - "condemned already." Your sins are the evidence. And not only your sins, but your sin.

How many sins must you commit to be condemned at the judgment bar of God? The answer is, none. How can this be so? We have the answer in Romans chapter 5 beginning at verse 15:

But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

Who is the "one man" and what was his "offense"? Verse 14 tells us that the "one man" is our first parent, Adam, and we know from Genesis chapter 3 that his offense was rebellion against the commandment of God. It is significant that the Holy Spirit through Paul speaks of "the offense" and of "one man's offense." He says that it is by that one offense, the first sin of Adam, that the human race was plunged into condemnation. We are born with Adam's sin nature. That in itself is enough to condemn us to eternal death. But then Paul continues in verse 16:

And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment [in the original language, the krima, the verdict] which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

How many sins must you commit in order to be condemned? How many sins did it take for God to render a judgment resulting in condemnation? Only one - and that was not even a sin of your own. It was the sin of your father Adam. Verse 18:

Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.

The offense, singular - Adam's offense - is what condemns us. The sin nature that we inherited from him - that is what condemns us. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are by nature sinners.

And so all the evidence that is needed before the judgment bar of God is this: You are a descendant of Adam. You have the nature of your father Adam. You do the works of your father Adam. You sin after the manner of your father Adam. And so all that remains is for you to be sentenced based on that evidence.

Your Good Works Will Not Save You

That is the evidence of which Jesus is speaking in the passage in Matthew 25 that we considered in our last article. Jesus Christ will not, as so many falsely teach, weigh the good you have done against the bad you have done, and if the good outweighs the bad, grant you eternal life. No. Your works do not and cannot save you. Your works are the evidence of spiritual death or spiritual life. Notice the words that Scripture uses to describe the present status of the believer in Christ - the one who will be placed on His right hand at the Last Judgment:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

[K]nowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified....I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside [atheto, nullify] the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. (Galatians 2:16, 20-21)

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7)

What Must You Do?

In view of these facts, what must you do? How can you be certain that on the Day of Judgment the Lord Jesus will place you in His right hand - declaring you innocent and inviting you to "inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world"? How can you be certain that He will not place you on His left hand, to "go away into everlasting punishment"? We find the answer in another statement of the Lord Jesus, which we shall examine as we continue.

Next: Agree With Your Adversary on the Way to Judgment

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