Final Judgment by John Sartelle

Final Judgment

-John Sartelle-

"It is the Lord who judges me" (I Cor. 4:4). Evangelical Christians have a proclivity to pronounce judgment on all things pertaining to our Lord's church. We treat this as a right and an obligation. It begins most Sundays over lunch, or in the car on the way home, or perhaps in the church foyer after the service.

We pronounce commendations and condemnations on the music, Sunday school teachers, sermons, choirs, ministers, elders, and deacons. Sometimes that judgment renders a commendation that lifts individuals to a completed sanctification or a condemnation that exiles others to a region in the vicinity of purgatory.

In 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Paul warns us of the danger of declaring such verdicts. He reminds us that Jesus is the judge of anything associated with His church. Thus, we are usurping His position when we deliver these rulings. Let's imagine for a moment that we have been transported to the final judgment. The world has already received that justice that cannot be appealed. The sentence from which there is no parole has been executed. The holy, catholic, apostolic church stands before her Lord and Judge to receive commendations and scathing reviews that will burn away the worthless word, hay and stubble of our trivial endeavors (3:12-15). At that moment, who would step forth to correct or otherwise amend His evaluations? Who would suggest: "Jesus, You need to step aside and let me sit on the throne. I think I am better able to assess these matters"? Who would raise his hand and demand to be a counselor to the Judge? That is what we do when we pronounce other Christians hold or unholy. We put ourselves in the place of the Lord of heaven and earth.

In the church, we are servants of Christ (4:1). In serving Him, we are to serve each other, even washing the dirty feet of our brothers and sisters. Paul reminds us that Christ alone is the Master. We, however, as servants hand our acclamation or defamation to other servants as if ours is the approval or disapproval that matters. As a minister, I am guilty of courting the praise of others more than the approbation of Christ. If given space, this inclination will grow into a habit, and I will make decisions in order to please the crowd instead of Christ. At the final judgment, the applause of people, the acclaim we so avidly sought, will seem trifling and detrimental. Likewise, the one given to judging fellow saints will unwittingly encourage his "judges" to seek his approval more than Christ's.

Who among us is able to perceive the motives and purposes of the deepest recesses of the heart? The minister or elder who worked tirelessly may have been chiefly motivated by a desire to rise to a place of power. The one who seemed so humble, may have been totally motivated by a raging fire of pride in his inner being. The pastor whom we thought should have been more of an extrovert and more visible in the community may have been the quiet priest who spent hours on his knees daily for his city and flock. This is why Paul said, "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart (v.5). He, alone, is omniscient and just.

How do we live our daily lives waiting patiently and compassionately in anticipation of His judgment? We can live moment by moment through the day thinking that the Lord may return in the next hour. We can live through details of the week knowing that judgment will certainly come. In the darkness of this world, we can live anticipating the light of His judgment. Such thoughts are not morbid but are filled with wisdom. We will be prompted not to live and die for the approval of those whose opinions are neither healthy nor absolute. We will be reminded to refrain from judgment as we are neither sovereign nor omniscient. We will be fearful of assuming the judgment seat that belongs to Him alone.

We have a taste of that final judgment now as His Word cuts into the depths of our being: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to who we must give account" (Heb. 4:12-13). Sometimes His Word exposes our innermost sins and, by the power of His Spirit, cleans out the dirt. At other times, His Word commends and encourages as we reflect His glory in the darkness of this world. One day a final accounting will be given. His Word will surgically remove all vestiges of our sin nature, and we will hear Him acclaim the battle-worn warriors to His Father. That is the day we should ever keep in mind, and we should live, even now, in its light. Certainly, it will be a fearful time. Yet that day will be more sweet than any previous, for there will be no more sin as we live in communion with Him in a restored creation that has been set free from decay and bondage.

-Article taken from Tabletalk Magazine, Nov. 2010-

Do Your Prayers Shake the Earth?

Do Your Prayers Shake The Earth?

John P. Sartelle

"And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel" (Rev. 8:4). God loves to hear His children speak to Him. As the architect of the tabernacle and temple, He designed the altar of incense as an integral part of worship. The burning of incense produced a fragrant aroma that was symbolic of the prayers of His people: "And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" (Rev. 5:8).

There was a set time of day when the priest would ignite the incense on the altar; it was when the worshipers gathered to pray (Luke 1:10). Through this ritual God's message is clear: "Your prayers are like a sweet bouquet to Me."

I am the father of three married children who now live some distance away. When I see one of their phone numbers appear on my caller identification, a joy spontaneously erupts. I love to hear their voices. I am eager to hear their words. My Father is like that with my prayers, with my words to Him. I am saddened that my sinful heart is sometimes not so fervent to speak with Him. Dear Father, move upon my soul and make me as eager to speak to You as You are to hear me.

True prayer positions us in a holy place. The prayers of Revelation 8:1-5 are before God on His throne. These prayers are in the real Holy of Holies. The great angels are there. His court, in its glory and majesty, is the site of our prayers. Prayer is not a casual conversation between peers. Prayer is daring to converse with the Almighty, the Creator of the galaxies, the Lord and Ruler of all that is or ever will be. There is a dearth of reverence in modern evangelical worship. I fear that same drought of holy fear is absent from our times of prayer. The apostle John noted in his vision: "There was silence in heaven for about half an hour" (v.1). The silence was a holy hush as entreaties ascended to Jehovah.

True faith teaches us to wait on the Lord in our prayers. The prayers in these verses were offered on previous occasions by the martyrs (Rev. 6:10). God instructed them to rest for a time in the certainty that their requests would be addressed in the future. My father prayed early in the morning every day. A few years before he died, I expressed my concern that after he went home I would no longer be covered by his daily prayers. He corrected my faulty theology, saying "John, all the prayers I have for you since you were a baby are still before the Lord - and will be long after I am gone."

God takes the prayers of His children and shakes the earth: "And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightening, and an earthquake" (Rev. 8:4-5). God takes the prayers of His people and throws them to the earth effecting a storm of thunder and lightening and even a fearsome earthquake. Eugene Peterson in his book Reversed Thunder gives a summary picture of the scene: "The prayers which had ascended, unremarked by the journalists of the day, returned with immense force in George Herbert's phrase, as 'reversed thunder.' Prayer reenters history with incalculable effects. Our earth is shaken daily by it."

There is a picture of this 'reversed thunder' in Acts 4. Peter and John were arrested in the very early days of the church after Pentecost. They were taken before the Sanhedrin and faced the same men who plotted the crucifixion of Jesus. Their courage was impressive, but the court strongly threatened them against any further mention of Jesus. When they safely returned to their fellow Christians, the prayer of the congregation was for boldness in response to the world's power: "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness" (Acts 4:29). How did God answer their prayer? "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness" (v.31). God replied with an earthquake. He wanted them to know that their prayers could shake the earth. It is as if the incense is changed and thrown back to the world as dynamite.

When I read passages like this I do think we play at praying. We know of John Knox as a preacher. However, it was not his preaching that Mary, Queen of Scotland, feared. She confessed, "I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe." She may not have known the theological foundations of prayer, but she did know the effects of his prayers.

God revealed to a persecuted and suffering church in Revelation: "There is power in prayer - power that can shape history and shake the earth." Does the world fear our prayers?

Rev. John Sartelle is senior minister of Tates Creek Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Kentucky. This article is taken from Tabletalk Magazine, Ligonier Ministries, Orlando, FL.