Creed (Week 5): No Fear of Judgement
“What we want, if men become Christians at all, is to keep them in the state of mind I call ‘Christianity And.’ You know—Christianity and the Crisis, Christianity and the New Psychology, Christianity and the New Order, Christianity and Faith Healing, Christianity and Psychical Research, Christianity and Vegetarianism, Christianity and Spelling Reform. If they must be Christians let them at least be Christians with a difference. Substitute for the faith itself some Fashion with a Christian colouring. Work on their horror of the Same Old Thing.” –CS Lewis, Screwtape Letters
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. -Nicene Creed
“From there he will come…”
Let these be guesses, opinions, or areas of education. But resist certainty or putting hope or undue energy into any “Christianity And” obsession. Hope in Christ alone and simply be confident and encouraged that He will physically come again so that we can be with Him.
John 14:1-3 NLT: Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
Acts 1:7-11 NIV: 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
“What good is there in arguing about esoteric things, things that would not matter on Judgment Day even if we remained always ignorant about them? What grievous folly to neglect the things that are profitable and necessary while instead turning our minds to harmful curiosities! In this, we have eyes, but do not see.” –Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
“… to judge the living and the dead.
Scripture speaks of God’s judgment of everyone: Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11) and Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10).
I Corinthians 4:5 NIV: 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
I Thessalonians 5:1-2; 4-5; 8-11 NIV: Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night… 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness…. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, one holy Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
