Disciples will be worshiping out Lord through eternity. This devotion look at how Jesus will be the judge of the living and dead.
Nuggets
- Jesus been designated Judge as a reward for His obedience in becoming the Sacrifice for our sins.
- Everyone will stand before the judgment seat — the living and the dead.
- Even though it says every knee will bow, it does not mean every person will be saved.
- We won’t get to the worshiping in heaven part if we don’t worship in this life.
The problem with Paul’s letters is each verse is so jam packed with wonderful nuggets that it fills up a devotion quickly. That is what happened with the previous devotion. It filled up before I had all the verses done. So, I broke what I had been planning on into two devotions.
Another problem is I woke up with a migraine this morning. I was able to sleep several more hours, but I woke up again with it still there.
So, this devotion is going to be shorter than normal. That is okay. I have been planning on doing the Final Judgment two series from now. I am going to do a very narrow focus here and hit it harder then.
Let’s finish out the Sunday Morning Bible Story lessons.
Let's Put It into Context
Worship, according to the Holman Bible Dictionary, is “Human response to the perceived presence of the divine, a presence which transcends normal human activity and is holy.”
Resource
According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, the Sabbath is “the day of rest, considered holy to God by His rest on the seventh day after creation and viewed as a sign of the covenant relation between God and His people and of the eternal rest He has promised them.”
Resource
Jesus as Judge
“But you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Rom. 14: 10 CSB)
We are back talking about being judgmental and censorious. Again, Paul told us not to be critical of others.
But this time, Jesus is the Judge. He has been designated Judge as a reward for His obedience in becoming the Sacrifice for our sins. When judgment day comes, He will judge the living and the dead. “For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead” (Ac. 17: 31 NLT).
We finished up the last devotion talking about how Jesus is Lord of the living and dead. That is very important. Paul said that everyone will stand before the judgment seat — the living and the dead. He also does not distinguish between sheep and goats. We all just give an account of ourselves.
But did we see what Paul did here? He called Jesus God. “I and the Father are one” (Jn, 10: 30 ESV). Paul called them One because Jesus said They are.
Fulfilling Prophecy
“For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Rom. 14: 11-12 CSB)
It was important that Paul establish Jesus’ divinity and His role as judge. Paul was fixing to quote Isaiah 45: 23: “By myself I have sworn; truth has gone from my mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow to me, every tongue will swear allegiance” (CSB). Paul had to identify the Me he was talking about.
Even though it says every knee will bow, it does not mean every person will be saved (Thomas). Some worldview people may think that because God is love and they are made in His image, that is enough to gain them salvation in the end.
It isn’t. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (Jn. 14: 6 NLT). Salvation only comes through Jesus.
If we don’t gain freedom from Jesus (Jn. 8: 36), we will be subjected to torment in hell.
To read a devotion in the Hell Does Have Fury series, click on the appropriate button below.
Making the Connections
We won’t get to the worshiping in heaven part if we don’t worship in this life. Once Jesus comes, it is going to be too late to change our minds.
So, let’s recap what we learned in this series.
- The fourth commandment instructs us to keep the Sabbath day holy.
- If Day Seven of creation is the Sabbath — the day we are to worship — and it hasn’t ended because there was no evening listed in Genesis 2, we are to continuously worship the One true God.
- We worship God because we praise Him as Sovereign God.
- We are to worship the One true God on the Sabbath and at all times by proclaiming His worth to show that we are in a covenant relation with Him.
- Everyone is supposed to praise God by shouting joyfully and triumphantly.
- We are to focus on all things spiritual on the Sabbath.
- There are three types of worship: personal, family, and corporate.
- Worship is voluntary. It must be sincere, but it also has to be consistent.
- The Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around.
- Sabbath was made for all mankind — Jews and Gentiles. If mankind would have been made for the Sabbath, it would have just been made for the Jews because the Jews were His chosen people.
- We shouldn’t argue about what we believe.
- We get to make our choices – even if we choose not to follow Him – but we need to be convinced when we do.
- No one is excluded – unless they chose to be excluded.
- We are to worship daily so that the consistency helps us change our character to imitate God.
- Disciples have to choose to worship God and live accordingly.
- Worship is a life and death matter.
- It is all about our frame of mind when we think about death.
- Described as the cornerstone (Eph. 2: 19) and the head (Col. 1: 18), Jesus is greater than the temple.
- Jesus came to earth to live and die for us, making Him the master of the living and dead.
- Jesus has been designated Judge as a reward for His obedience in becoming the Sacrifice for our sins.
- When judgment day comes, He will judge the living and the dead.
- Even though it says every knee will bow, it does not mean every person will be saved.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
We’ve been asking these questions all along so we can prepare for when we are asked. Here is the worksheet again. If someone asked you about worshiping for eternity, what would you tell them?
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
To up our worship game, we have to be sincere and consistent. We have to put in the time to do it.
That doesn’t mean just go to church every time the doors are open. That means we have to faithfully seek God. We have to worship God privately as well as publicly.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
Heaven right now is filled with praises to God. Think of what it will be like when we all get there. And heaven will ring with Hs praises for all of eternity.
Don’t miss it.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Father. We praise You in this life. We can’t wait to praise You face to face for eternity. Amen.
What do you think?
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