"The Lord shall judge His People"
Summary
The Gospel carries within it the promise of judgment. This chapter traces the biblical testimony from Paul’s declaration that life and immortality are brought to light through the Gospel, through the apostolic preaching of repentance and baptism, to the day God has appointed to judge the world. The resurrection of the just and unjust, the gathering of the nations before the throne, and the ultimate abolition of death are shown to be the consummation of the entire biblical hope.
Paul wrote that God has saved us "according to his own purpose and grace," and that this grace is "now revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." (2 Timothy 1:10)[1] The Gospel is not simply an offer of forgiveness — it is an announcement of coming judgment and resurrection that changes everything.
The Lord commissioned his apostles: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved." (Mark 16:15–16)[2] On the day of Pentecost, Peter commanded: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." (Acts 2:38)[3] Philip preached "the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ," and men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:12)[4]
At Athens, Paul declared that God "has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:31)[5] That appointed day is the fixed horizon to which all Scripture points. Felix heard Paul reason about "righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come." (Acts 24:25)[6]
Paul testified to Felix that there will be "a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust." (Acts 24:15)[7] Daniel had the same vision: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2)[8] This dual resurrection shapes the whole economy of the age to come.
Paul told the Corinthians: "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body." (2 Corinthians 5:10)[9] Jesus described the same tribunal: the Son of Man gathering all nations as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. (Matthew 25:31–32)[10]
To the overcomers at Smyrna, the risen Christ promised: "He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death." (Revelation 2:11)[11] The first resurrection is for those who have "part in the first resurrection"; over such "the second death has no power." (Revelation 20:6)[12] Dominion is ultimately transferred — Daniel saw "the judgment was given to the saints of the Most High." (Daniel 7:22)[13]
The kingdom established by the God of heaven "shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2:44)[14] The stone that smites the image becomes a great mountain filling the whole earth, (Daniel 2:35)[15] until at last the final enemy is destroyed: "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:26)[16]