C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON For May 26th, 2019, Eternal Plan of God for Man, LESSON TEN : TOPIC – FINAL JUDGMENT
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C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
Eternal Plan of God for Man.
May 26th, 2019.
LESSON TEN
FINAL JUDGMENT
Jesus is coming as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah to judge the world. If you don’t accept Him now, it is going to be too bad. Please, be born again!
MEMORY SCRIPTURE
For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).
BRIEF COMMENTS
Eternal life is a gift that was given on the basis of God’s grace, through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Christ will still judge each of us. This judgment will be based on how we have lived our lives, here on earth, and the reward will follow.
God’s gracious gift of salvation does not attempt us from the requirement of faithful obedience (2 Cor. 4:2). Therefore, all Christians must give account of their stewardship to God, the creator of all. The Day of judgment will reveal the sincerity of each person’s work, where God will determine whether one is faithful to Jesus’ instructions, or not. Good work will be rewarded and unfaithful and inferior work will be discounted.
The nations will not be left out of God’s eternal judgment. This means that no one will escape God’s final judgment in the entire world. The scripture says, … we must all appear… It is compulsory that we all appear before God in the end, to receive the reward, or retribution, as the case may be, of all we would have done in the course of our stay here on earth. Beware, lest you display the wrong attitude to Christ, and lest you misbehave regarding His commandments. These would be the bases of the coming judgment.
DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READINGS FOR WEEK ONE
Mon. 20: Judgment is God’s (Deut. 1:17)
Tue. 21: Judgment will Consume the Ungodly (Psa. 1:5)
Wed. 22: Judgment shall Fall upon Murderers (Matt. 5:21)
Thur. 23: Judgment has been Committed to Jesus (Jn. 5:22)
Fri. 24: Judgment will be Executed upon All (Jude 15)
Sat. 25: Judgment of Ungodly Nations (Rev. 16:19)
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
1. As God has prepared a place of bliss for those who love Him, so also He has designed a place of everlasting torment for Satan and his followers.
2. We shall all be accountable to Christ, not to others. God’s judgment on the world will produce shock and fear on that day. We must all have our lives laid open before the tribunal of Christ, where our services for Him will be revealed, exactly as they have been.
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES: Romans 14:10: Exphesians 6:8
AIM AND OBJECTIVES
AIM: To enlighten the learners that the judgment day is coming, when everyone will account for his or her deeds, here on earth.
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this lesson, the learners should be:
i. showing genuine signs of being fully aware that the judgment day is coming, and is at hand;
ii. able to discuss the fact that individuals and nations would be judged of the Lord, i.e. everyone will be judged, accordingly;
iii. able to describe the final judgment of Satan and his cohorts; and
iv. living according to Christ’s holiness, and be helping others to do same, in preparation for the coming of Christ.
INTRODUCTION
TEXTUAL SOURCE: MATTHEW 25:1-13, 31-46; 1 CORINTHIANS 11:30-32; REVELATION 19:11-21; 20:1-15
We appreciate God for how He has been feeding us with His wonderful Word. Glory be to Him. Our previous lesson, THE GLORY OF THE ETERNAL CITY, has gone a long way to enlighten us regarding the quality, gravity and awesomeness of the magnificence of the expected New Jerusalem. We are going to be graciously reunited with Christ permanently as His spotless Bride, before we should we would be ushered into consummation of eternity with Him in His eternal home/kingdom —- heaven. May we not miss this rare, irreplaceable opportunity, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
LESSON 10 is here to help us better understand what God has in mind concerning the FINAL JUDGMENT that is to come at His appointed time, the time He alone knows, because He sets it.
“Judgment” is a word coined out from the Hebrew word Dun, which has been for long period. Judgment, in the context of this lesson, is an opinion formed or a decision arrived at, and pronounced by God in response to the motives, actions, reactions and inactions of man. It is a misfortune regarded as a divine punishment for folly or sin.
The first judgment was the wages of the sin committed by Adam, Eve and the Serpent, in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1ff). The Bible teaches that the judgment of God is dreadful. Judgment is inevitable for all in the universe. Judgment day is known as the day of vengeance when the mercy and goodness of God will cease on the wicked. It is a day of regret for the ungodly.
In this lesson, some of the forms of divine judgment that would greet the end of the age shall be discussed with the aim of getting us prepared with the right lifestyle that would help us to avoid retributions in the end. May we not be found wanting when Jesus shall come for His own. Amen.
INTRODUCTION TO EACH DIVISION
This lesson is divided into two sections, I and II. Each of the sections is further divided into A and B.
DIVISION I: INDIVIDUAL JUDGMENT
Man is privileged to be given the opportunity to choose whatever pleases him, but for the fact remains that God will surely judge man for what he choose to do. You have control over your choices, but you have none over the consequences. The nations as a whole will face God’s eternal judgment. This section describes the judgment of the nations, which is to be distinguished from the judgment seat of Christ and the judgment of the great white throne. Here, three classes are mentioned — sheep on the right hand, goats on the left hand, and Christ’s brethren who refuse to deny His name in the tribulation. This challenges us to choose where would belong in the end, now.
DIVISION II: THE FINAL JUDGMENT OF SATAN
This division shows the Lord Jesus as the supreme ruler, whom every power must submit to His reign. The destruction of God’s remaining foes from every class of the society will take place. The beast and the false prophet will be captured and hurled alive into the eternal lake of fire burning with brimstone. The archenemy will be confined to the bottomless pit, during the millennium reign. He would still raise his ugly head the moment he is temporarily released after the millennium, but he would be permanently cast into the lake of fire for eternal torment, and that is with his agents. Don’t align with him.
LESSON OUTLINE
I. INDIVIDUAL JUDGMENT
A. PERSON ARE JUDGED
B. NATIONS ARE JUDGED
II. THE FINAL JUDGMENT OF SATAN
A. SATAN IS DOOMED
B. SOME FEATURES OF HIS JUDGMENT
LESSON EXPOSITION
INDIVIDUAL JUDGMENT (Matthew 25:1-13, 31-46; 1 Corinthians 11:30-32)
Judgment, in this context, is the decision arrived at and pronounced by a God on His subjects, man and the universe. It is the act of God, making a positive or negative pronouncement about somebody. It is also a misfortune regarded as a divine punishment for folly or sin, or blessing regarded as reward for faithfulness to God and His Word. God’s judgment is both immediate and ultimate. Ultimately, He is coming to accord the right judgment to both individuals and nations. How?
A. PERSONS ARE JUDGED (1 Corinthians 11:30-32)
But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world (v. 32).
i. Jn. 19:30: Judgment of the Cross is that, finally dealt on the Adamic sin when Jesus said, it is finished. This is the foundation and source of our faith.
ii. The judgment of the believers. This is the instant judgment on every believer as a result of sin committed against God (cf. Acts 5:1-5), in order to escape hell (Heb. 12:3-15). We are judged by God now (1 Cor. 5:1-5) so that we are not condemned in the end (1 Cor. 11:30-32).
iii. Judgment on believers’ works: This will be done when the trumpet shall sound, when Jesus shall receive the saints into the air. This is called “Bema” (Jn. 5:34; 1 Cor. 5:10; Eph. 6:8), when our works shall be rewarded.
iv. Self-judgment: This comes as a result of constant confession of our sins (1 Cor. 11:31-32; 1 Jn. 1:7-8).
v. Self-judgment: too will face judgment, though their eternal destiny is secure, but failure to exercise self-judgment now, will result in God’s disciplinary measures immediately, and most dreadfully, ultimately. No one would be able to withstand that judgment.
B. NATIONS ARE JUDGED (Matt. 25:1-13, 31-46)
All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats (v. 32).
i. vv. 1-13: The parable here refers to the judgment of Israel. They shall be judged according to their unbelief, i.e. refusal to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour (cf. Ezk. 20:33-44), thus not prepared for Christ’s Second Coming.
ii. vv. 31-33: The Son of Man is also gloriously coming with angelic entourage (cf. Dan. 7:13, 14,27) to judge the nations (i.e. Gentiles). This is the judgement of the nations (cf. Joel 3:11-15). Sheep and goats have different natures. The shepherd normally herded them together, but at the end, he would separate the two. This is the picture here.
iii. vv. 34-40: The sheep on the right are those doing Christ’s will. They are the ones to inherit the Kingdom prepared before eternity (v. 34). Only they would be partakers of the millennium reign. Do you constantly examine/judge yourself (2 Cor. 13:5)?
iv. vv. 41-46: The goats on the left are those doing otherwise. They are the evil ones. They shall regret in the end (v. 46).
v. Check the class you are now! Are you a sheep or a goat? God’s judgment is mandatory and irreversible. The sheep would rejoice eternally, while the goats would have themselves to blame everlasting. Don’t make eternal mistake you cannot live to remedy by rejecting Christ’s to the end (Jn. 3:36).
LESSON DERIVED
1. Jesus is coming to judge the world very soon. He first came as the suffering Lamb of God, but is coming again as the awesome Lion of Judah to judge the believers and unbelievers alike.
2. Only those who align with Christ now would laugh last on that Day. Accept His Lordship now and escape the doom that is imminent upon the world.
WORK TO DO
Why is it that some churches and Christians are no longer comfortable with the teaching on Christ’s impending judgment on the world? Any way out?
SUGGESTED ANSWER TO WORK TO DO
Some churches and christians are no longer comfortable with the teachings on Christ impending judgment on the world because:
i. It is one of the signs of the end time.
ii. The devil is fighting, tooth and nail, to make sure the Truth doesn’t appeal to man (cf. Jn. 8:44; 1 Pet. 5:8ff).
iii. Churches and Christians today only want to hear teachings that can soothe their interest.
iv. The love of the world has dominated the heart of some Christians, rather than the love of God.
v. God’s judgment is likened by some preachers and Christians, today, to man’s judgment that can be perverted or partial, believing that God can be bribes or given excuses, into making Him overlook the sinner’s misdeeds.
vi. There are false teachers and false doctrines that counter biblical teachings on Christ’s impending judgment.
Way-out:
i. Christians and churches should not relent in sound biblical teaching.
ii. Evangelism and soul-winning must be given priority.
iii. Daily Bible reading and meditation on God’s Word will open the eyes of Christians against false teachings.
iv. Biblical prayers should be carried out often and often to restore the full presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit into churches.