Here come da Judge....

⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.  Acts 10:42

John MacArthur, in a two-part set of sermons on the resurrection, takes a different
approach from many on the Resurrection. He discusses What the Resurrection proves
as opposed to What proves the resurrection. The later, paraphrasing here, is proven by
the Holy Scriptures.

One of the five major areas that he discusses regarding what the Resurrection proves is
that it proves that Christ is the Judge of all creation and that upon His return, all will be judged by a righteous and just judge.

Well, we don't necessarily feel real comfortable with this whole judgment thing; yet, the
fact remains that there will be judgment of all by Christ as granted by God the Father
based upon Christ's fulfillment of His incarnate walk and Resurrection.

So we have two final and eventual verdicts: eternal life with Christ in a place He has
prepared for us or eternal life away from Christ in a place inhabited by the fallen angels
and those lost and deemed unrighteous. 

Without a belief and trust in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, we cannot and will not
be welcomed into rest and grace. In a very real and frightening sense, this is a choice
that we have the ability to make. It seems a very easy and uncomplicated one, but there
are many who simply choose to be their own salvation makers, whose efforts center
around their own ability to do enough good to reach a level of acceptance. There are even
those who believe that they can, through their own efforts and deeds, reach a state of
'God-ness' themselves.

God and man are simply in opposition; God is holy and just, unable to tolerate sin, and
we are sinful creatures unable to stand before a Holy God, ever, without the gift
of justification provided through, and only through, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His
Resurrection, His Ascension and Intercession. 

So we are faced with a choice. It's monumental in its significance and so simple in 
its nature. We have to accept that we need a Savior and realize that a loving God showed
His amazing grace by offering His beloved's life for the chance for us to make that
eternal choice.

How, then, can we avoid praising God!