JUDGEMENT DAY

0:01 God, I thank you that this is not an ancient history book. It's your word. It's a timeless truth. And so today then is not a history lesson. Today is an opportunity for lives and hearts to be transformed. And that's what I pray takes place. That the hearing of your word would turn into the doing of your word. That the gospel would go from our heads down into our hearts. and that we would leave changed. That's what we need today. We ask all these things in your son's name. Everybody said, amen. You can find your seats this morning.

0:44 It started with a pull-up contest and it ended in the hospital. Let me explain. I was 18 or 19 years old visiting Dallas-Fort Worth from the East Coast because there was a girl I fancied. Her name was Laurie Young. Her name is now Laurie Young Kelly, so I did something right. But after you hear this story, you'll see what a miracle that is. And so I'm visiting in town and I'm hanging out one night with Laurie's brother. His name's EJ. He oversees our Dallas campus. And for those of you who don't know, Laurie and EJ are two of the children of our pastors, Ed and Lisa. So I'm not just the boyfriend visiting in town, There's a lot of pressure here. I've got to perform if I want to keep this relationship going. And so I show up and hanging out with EJ one night. It's getting kind of late.

1:35 I don't remember exactly what was taking place, but I know we were playing video games. I was dominating him in like Madden or FIFA or NBA 2K. That's besides the point. It was getting late and EJ turned off the Xbox and then turned to me and said, you want to have a pull-up contest? And I looked at him and was like, that was not on my bingo card for tonight, but I'm in. Because I'm a competitive human being. And so he begins to go to his closet and pull out a pull-up bar, of which I'm sure many of you have seen from like an infomercial that goes on the frame of a door.

2:11 So he begins to get this pull-up bar, put it on the frame of the door. And before he goes to attempt his first pull-up, he looks at me and goes, by the way, I can't do pull-ups. And I'm like, what, dude? who challenges someone to a competition in something that they can't even do he looks at me he's like I can't do pull-ups but I'll tell you what I can do I can do knee ups and I'm like I don't know what that is but let's see what it is and so he begins to make this movement to where he puts his knees to the bottom of the pull-up bar to where his back is completely parallel with the ground and so I see him make the first move and I see some of your faces it's like yeah what are you doing EJ and so he does this and I'm like that doesn't really look safe and he goes up for a second one. I hear something click. You guessed it, the pull-up bar dislodges from the frame of the door and EJ begins to descend rather rapidly to the ground.

3:06 The first thing that hits is his head. Thankfully, it was carpet, but it didn't look great. I wish I could stand on the stage this morning and say that my number one priority was the health and safety of EJ. It wasn't. my main priority was ensuring that I didn't have to give the bad news to pastors and Lisa so I could have a girlfriend after this trip concluded so I I started to run to EJ and I'm like EJ that was awesome man did you mean to do that that was cool you won the contest I don't even have to go you won it he's like Sam I'm not I'm not good dude I I need you to get my parents and I'm like now look I don't think that's a good idea and obviously you're not thinking straight you know what I mean so let's not do that. I'm Googling how to find out if someone has a concussion. I'm doing the flashlight test and like if their pupils dilate or something, it means they don't or do, I don't know, but I did it.

3:59 And I thought he didn't have one. So I'm like, all right, green light there, we're good. I can delay giving the bad news to Ed Lisa. We're just gonna like get through the night and everything's gonna be okay. And so I'm like, EJ, here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna hop in that bed right over there. We're gonna go to sleep and we're gonna wake up and we're gonna pretend like this never happened. And EJ's like, Sam, I don't even think I can make it to the bed. And I'm like, don't worry, I'll bring the bed to you. Here's a blanket, here's a pillow.

4:24 And again, I'm 18 or 19. The only piece of discernment I had that night was to stay in the room as EJ went to sleep, which is kind of the worst thing you could do for someone with a head injury. But anyways, I'll keep moving. I lay on the floor about five feet away from him. And an hour and a half later, I wake up to him saying, Sam, get me a bucket now. And so I run and I bring a bucket to him and he throws up. And I realized at this point, I can't delay the bad news anymore. I've got to tell Ed and Lisa. And so I do. And the next thing I know, I'm standing in EJ's room as he's being escorted out in a stretcher and being put in an ambulance and taken to the hospital. Now, thankfully, today, everything's completely okay. But when we arrived to the hospital, it was found out that he had a minor fracture in his skull. And there was a little point of a brain bleed. And remember, I'm just a boyfriend.

5:15 I feel horrible, and you see, it is a miracle that I'm a part of the young family and standing on this stage today. But I realized in that moment that if you delay giving bad news, it could lead to a pretty dangerous place.

5:36 Paul, when he's writing the book of Romans, doesn't make the same mistake I did. He does not delay giving you and me and the church at Rome the bad news. And I'm just here to tell you, it is some bad news. Here's the bad news. Here's the point that he's trying to make. Every single person in the world due to their sin is guilty before a perfect, holy, and righteous God. There is not one that does not stand guilty before a perfect, holy, and righteous God. But we have to understand why he's giving us the bad news. He's not just giving it to us so that you feel absolutely horrible about yourself. He's giving it to you because he knows that if you don't understand how bad the bad news is, you won't comprehend and treasure how good the good news of the gospel is.

6:32 He's trying to ensure that we understand that if we don't view sin as deadly, we won't see Jesus as necessary. And so his goal and my goal this morning is to help us see how necessary Jesus is for every single person in this room, including the guy holding the microphone. Jesus is absolutely necessary for all of us because remember, we're all guilty. And so I'm just warning you, this is a bad news message, but buckle up and hang on because we're gonna get to the good news at the very end, but we need to understand the bad news. If you're new here, maybe it's been a while since you've been to fellowship, we've been taking a journey through the book of Romans and it's one of the most important books in all of the Bible. And week one, we dove into Romans chapter one, 16 and 17.

7:26 This is the creme de la creme, the chef's kiss of Romans. Paul is giving the thesis statement of not just the book of Romans, but of the gospel itself. We unpacked what the gospel is. And the gospel, if you don't know, literally translates to this, good news. The gospel is good news. It's not good advice on what we do to get to God. It's good news of what God did to come down to us. So that was week one, and that's awesome. We're like, yeah, that is awesome. I love that. I will receive the righteousness of Christ. I love it. Then last week we dove into the bad news and Paul is painting the ugly picture of humanity. He's pointing out the blatant immoral people of this world, the wickedness of the human heart, and that they are the recipients of the wrath of God. He's making the case that people who flaunt their sin are going to receive the wrath of God.

8:20 And it's not a very hard case to make. And we also dove into the understanding that the wrath of God is also the evidence of the goodness of God. The wrath of God is evidence of the goodness of God. And in Romans chapter two, Paul is continuing in the bad news, but he sets his sights on a different group of people. People who would be less likely to see their guilt. He's looking at moral people. People who we would consider, man, that's a good person. And then he's looking at religious people. The people who fill the seats on Sunday mornings at church, the people who go to the Bible study classes, the people who might look at other people's guilt before they look at their own. In 1922, the world was captivated by the discovery of King Tut's coffins. He was a famous Egyptian pharaoh.

9:14 And it was found and discovered, and they began to see that it was like coffins inside of coffins. And the further that they got into these coffins, the more beautiful and extravagant these coffins got to where the last one was pure gold. And it was like, I mean, it's a piece of art if you've ever seen it before. They open up the pure gold coffin and there's the famous golden mask. I don't know if you've seen it. We've got a photo of it. It's in a museum. And you see this extravagant thing that when they took it off revealed a dried, withered, old, lifeless, Corpse. Impressive on the outside. Lifeless on the inside. This is the point that Paul is making to moral and religious people. You may look impressive on the exterior, but without the gospel of Jesus Christ, you are lifeless on the inside.

10:16 You need the good news of the gospel just as much as the blatant, immoral people of the world. and in this text, if you dive into it, you see the genius of Paul, because in Romans 1, he's painting this picture again of the blatant immoral people, and this letter is going to be read out loud, and so there's going to be people who are hearing this, the moral and religious groups that are like, get them, Paul. That's right. They're guilty. They deserve the wrath. Tell you what, they're bad people, and Paul's like, oh, oh, just wait, because you're guilty too, So in Romans 2, we pick up, and this is what it says in verses one through three. You therefore have no excuse. You who pass judgment on somebody else, for whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself because you who pass judgment do the same things.

11:11 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such thing is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, Pass judgment on them and do the same things. Do you think you will escape the judgment of God? Here is what Paul is saying. You're not the judge. God is. You don't have the right to point the finger and condemn other people because you're just as guilty. Paul is saying, before you point the finger at someone else, examine yourself. And here's what'll happen. You'll slow down in your judgment of other people. Now, I don't know about you, but I am really good at seeing other people's flaws.

12:07 Like, it's honestly a gift of mine. I'm really good at it. Like, man, that person's messed up. Man, I'm glad. I'm glad I don't struggle with that. And you know what's hilarious when we do that? someone could do that exact same thing with the sins that we struggle with. Man, I'm glad I don't wrestle with what Sam struggles with. And you want to know what, if I'm being totally honest, why I do it? Makes me feel better about myself. There's a sense of moral superiority that rises up with inside of me. But here's what we have to understand. God doesn't grade off of a curve. He judges based off truth, which means we all stand guilty. Verse 11 says, God shows no favoritism. So God, in other words, doesn't look at me and be like, oh, well, he's a second generation preacher.

13:02 He's a pretty good guy, pretty handsome as well. Maybe I'll give him a pass on this. No, no, no, no, no, no. It doesn't matter if you come from seven generations of pastors or seven generations of convicts. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. And guess what? We're all guilty. We're all guilty before a perfect and holy God. So Paul says, hey, hey, hey, before you start doing this, why don't you do this? Why? Because the most important day of your life is judgment day. It's on God's calendar. It's already set. You're not going to delay it, and you're certainly not going to avoid it.

13:57 And I'll give you a wild guess of whose life you're going to be held accountable for. Yours. And I'll be accountable for mine. So that leads us to go, wait a second. I need to stare the person in the mirror and take a look at the flaws and discrepancies that are there and deal with them and honestly come to a place of repentance that I might live and lead a changed life. There was an English professor who gave his class the assignment. It's not a Christian college, wasn't a Christian class. He gave his class the assignment to read the Sermon on the Mount. It's a famous teaching of Jesus, and he just wanted to have a discussion. The entirety of the class had not ever read the Sermon of the Mount. Half of them hadn't even heard about it.

14:55 And so they read this, and it's a famous teaching of Jesus, and the overall conclusion from the class was, yeah, we don't like this. We don't like this because it makes me feel like I'm supposed to be perfect. And it kind of points out, you know, some of the things where I'm not measuring up. And the English teacher looked at the class and said, wait, but hang on a second. Because the type of person that this describes, isn't this the type of people you want to surround yourself with? If you're looking for a boyfriend or a girlfriend, I mean, isn't this like the picture perfect one? And the English professor is pointing out something, that we often hold other people to standards that we don't even hold for ourselves. Because we often judge others by their actions and we judge ourselves by our intentions. But God judges based off truth. Paul is probing at the hypocrisy of humanity. And thankfully in 2025, we don't deal with any hypocrisy inside of the church.

16:00 there was a study done recently, a nationwide study, that was done, and the goal of the study was this, to see what differences there are, tangible differences, there are in those who are Christ followers and profess their faith in Jesus Christ and those who are not. this is what the study concluded.

16:30 Christians give more money to religious non-profits. They give a little bit more to the poor. They're less likely to recycle because you know the world's just going to burn up anyways. they found that Christians cuss less in public, not so much less in private.

16:51 Christians on the whole buy fewer lottery tickets. Man, we are crushing it. However, Christians are just as likely to visit a pornographic website, steal something that wasn't theirs, just as likely to do illegal drugs or take prescription medicines that's not prescribed to them. Just as likely to be willing to lie to get out of a difficult situation. Just as likely to have intentionally done something to get back at someone within the last 30 days. Just as likely to have said an unkind thing about someone behind their back in the last 30 days. Just as likely to get drunk. Just as likely to consult a medium or psychic. And just as likely to physically abuse someone. Man, are we showing out for Jesus or what? the study came to the conclusion that 84% of non-believers knew personally a person who was a Christian. And of the 84%, only 15% of them said that the believers lived a different life than they did.

17:55 the stats are in. We don't practice what we preach. And I don't say that to heap shame on us. I say that to hopefully bring a sense of conviction that leads us to repentance. That the Holy Spirit would pinpoint areas in our lives where I'm living and leading a double life. In the early church, their mentality of following Jesus was literally this. Look at my life. Watch the way I live. Watch the way I interact with people. And you will see a display of the gospel and of Jesus. An imperfect one, but you will see a display of Christ and the gospel in my life. In 2025, we're like, no, don't look at me.

18:50 Why are you looking at me? Stop looking at me. Okay, maybe look at me at like 11.15 to 12.15 on Sunday morning. Outside of that, do not look at me. Look at the Bible. Look at Jesus. But Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 says, imitate me as I imitate Christ. So a convicting question for all of us who profess our faith in Christ, can you say the same thing? Can I speak to the dads in the room? Can you look at your family and say, hey, family, imitate dad. because dad's imitating Jesus. Paul is saying God is the judge and we're not. And if he's the judge, it'd be helpful to know what he's judging. And in verse six, I believe it is, we see that God is judging our deeds. God will repay according to which of that which we do. This is where some people, and the question should be raised.

19:47 Now, hang on a second, Sam, because I thought that salvation, I thought that my justification came from faith and faith alone, not my works. And you are absolutely correct. Salvation comes from faith alone and grace alone through Christ alone. But a faith that saves doesn't stay alone. There will be evidence of your beliefs in your life. So I explain it this way often. If I told you that there was a person, an individual that I loved, like I, man, you don't know how much I love and respect this person. I just, man, this person is a great person. I love them. And then you saw me continually doing things that this person said they hated, and I didn't bat an eye. Just kept on doing the things. Or I ignored the things that this person loves.

20:43 Would you honestly believe my words? No, because there's no evidence to my words. So here's the million dollar question. What does your life declare about your belief in God? This isn't about moral perfectionism. This is about the sum total of your life. Does it showcase your faith in God? and if not, it's certainly worth addressing those areas because Christianity is not lip service. Christianity is life service and in Dallas-Fort Worth, we got all the people with the Instagram, the verse on the Instagram bio and the stories, read my Bible today. That's awesome. Love that. What does your life say?

21:35 What does your life say about your belief in God? And then Paul makes this interesting detour that I think is worth us addressing just for a moment. He speaks to the moral person who maybe didn't have the Bible, didn't have the law, didn't have the commandments. And all of us have thought this at some point in our life. Yeah, but what about the person who like, I mean, they're just, he's a great human being. And he just didn't know about the Bible. He didn't go to church. So he didn't know what to do and what not to do. It just seems fair that he would be guilty before God when he didn't even know about it. Paul answers this question in such a brilliant way. We see the brilliance of Paul and we also see the brilliance of God ultimately. He says that they will be judged based off their conscience. Okay, so here's what Paul's saying. Because every human being is made in the image of God Almighty, stamped on every single soul, is an intuitive, innate understanding, a basic level understanding of what is right and what is wrong, and it's found in the form of conscience.

22:41 And even people who don't have the Bible, they have this innate understanding of moments when they find themselves in situations, and I just feel that this is wrong, and they do it anyways. Or they know that there's something that they should do, and their conscience is telling them to do, but they ignore it. So Paul says they'll be judged by their own conscience, and they'll still be found guilty because every single human being at some point has met at that crossroads and done the wrong thing. Francis Schaeffer, a famous Christian philosopher, says it this way. It would be as if on judgment day, you get to God and he pulls out an invisible tape recorder that was on your back. And he plays the statements and standards you set for other people. Man, I can't believe this person did this. I can't believe this person did that. I can't believe this person did that. And then God rolls back the tape and shows all the times where you didn't even meet your own standards.

23:33 your own standards condemn you, you're still guilty, which friends is why it's so important to understand the gospel and to share the gospel because everyone without the gospel is lifeless. It's not about morality. It's not about good behavior. It's all about the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Then in verse 16, we get some more convicting words from Paul. He says this, and this is the message I proclaim, that the day is coming when God through Christ Jesus will judge everyone's secret life. What secrets are you hanging on to? you might fool people.

24:32 You might take those secrets to the grave. You won't fool God on judgment day and you won't take those secrets beyond the grave. God knows. He's aware of it all. And we'll see in just a moment that his patience is pushing you to repentance. but the last thing that God judges is the heart. It's not just the actions, it's the motives. And this is what Jesus does so brilliantly through the Sermon on the Mount and other teachings. Because people look at the 10 commandments that God gave his people and are like, well, I haven't killed anybody, so I'm doing pretty good there. but Jesus comes and fulfills the law and helps us see the law for what it is.

25:28 It's not just a list of rules. It's a posture of the heart, and so I want to take a look at three of the Ten Commandments, and if you feel like you've passed these three, you can find me after the service. I'll see if you pass the other seven, but I want us to think about in the posture of our heart, have we actually kept the Ten Commandments? This is commandment number one. You shall have no other God before me. Can you say I have never put anything before God in my life? I have never loved or trusted or obeyed anything more than God. God has always been preeminent in my thoughts, affections, and actions. Worshiping him has always been my greatest passion. You kept that commandment? I saw some of you this morning during worship. I'm just kidding. Stop judging, Sam. Anyways.

26:19 Commandment number nine, you shall not lie. The heart posture. I've never bent the truth to get out of a bad situation. I've never stretched the truth to make myself look better. I have never slandered another person. I have always told the truth in every situation regarding every person I have ever known and I've always fulfilled any promises I've made. Have you kept that commandment? Commandment number 10, you shall not covet. I've never been greedy for something that wasn't mine, nor have I been jealous of the abilities, looks, or position or possessions of others. I've rejoiced with others in what they have, glad that they have it even when I don't. I have never complained about what God has provided for me and I've always been thankful and fully content with what I have and where I am in life, willing to share what I have with others who have less than me. Have you kept that commandment? I've read three out of 10. We all have something in common. We fail miserably. you're just so encouraged in church today you're like man this is great we're guilty and God doesn't grade on a curve he judges based off truth and that puts us in trouble but verse four Paul begins to point us to the gospel listen to these words don't you see how wonderfully kind tolerant and patient God is with you Does this mean nothing to you?

27:52 Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? Here's what I like to do with this verse. Put your first name at the start of the verse. Sam, don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God has been with you, even when you've blown it? And his patience is not permission. his patience is pointing you towards repentance and when you turn from your sin and repent you're not met with condemnation you're met with grace john 3 17 the verse after the most famous verse in all of the bible for god did not send his son in the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him. Here's what I hear as a pastor sometimes. God's not fair. Man, God is just not fair. And here's my response. You're right, but not in the way that you think. If God was fair, we'd all be condemned. God offers grace, which is a million times better than fairness. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. And when you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which means on judgment day, I'm not seen by my flaws, my discrepancies. I'm seen as the righteousness of Christ Jesus. Friends, that is the good news of the gospel. You're guilty. Jesus is not. And if you put your faith in him, you receive his righteousness.

29:44 So yeah, the bad news is real and it's bad. You're guilty, like so guilty and so am I. So guilty. But here's the good news. Jesus took your place. He stood condemned so that you could stand accepted. And friends, when you fully understand how bad the bad news is, that I've got nothing to offer God, And yet he extends his grace and righteousness to me. It opens your eyes to the treasure of the good news of the gospel. Would you pray with me? maybe you're in the room this morning and you didn't know the bad news.

30:40 Or maybe you just didn't know how bad it really was. It's bad, but the good news is greater. I'd love to lead you in a prayer to make the decision to put your faith in Christ Jesus and receive not just forgiveness from your sins, but the righteousness of Christ Jesus. simply say this, Lord, today, I admit, I'm guilty.

31:10 I'm a sinner. And I need you. I believe you are who you said you are, that you died on the cross and took my place and rose again from the grave three days later. And today, I put all my trust all my hope in you thank you that today I receive your righteousness and God, right now, I lift up every single person under the sound of my voice, that these wouldn't just be words that go into our heads, but they would travel into our hearts, and they would transform us, that the gospel would be alive in the hearts of your people.

32:08 God I thank you for your grace I thank you for choosing us we ask all these things in your son's name everybody said