LEGAL ASPECTS OF JUDGMENT

1. Last Tuesday Johnnie Cochran died.

2. Mr. Cochran was especially known for being part of the legal team that defended O.J. Simpson.

3. If we remember the Simpson trial, we probably recall how it dominated the news.

4. In many ways it seems the Simpson trial has led to news organizations following other trials.

5. At the present time, we get more than our fill of the Michael Jackson case.

6. Then there was the legal wrangling over Terry Schavio.

7. Most of us have heard the name Scott Peterson.

8. We are hit from all sides with information about judges, juries, and people charged with crimes.

IF WE THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE INFORMATION WE ARE EXPOSED TO, WE CAN LEARN AND BETTER APPRECIATE SOME THINGS ABOUT GOD AND THE END OF TIME JUDGMENT.

a) Quite often the Bible expresses spiritual truths in earthly language.

b) Some of this “early language” is legal language/imagery.

2) Almost everyone knows that not all the laws in our country are identical.

3) There are state laws that vary from place to place.

4) Not all cities in the same state have the same laws.

5) There are many general legal principles that have almost universal application.

6) There is not a single state which says bank robbery is okay.

7) Another broad legal truth is known as “final judgment.”

a) A final judgment means “an end has been put to a lawsuit or an action.”

b) In the realm of law, there is a point of termination.

c) It may take a while to reach this point, but it does exist.

d) When this time comes, there are no more legal options or possibilities.

e) In the spiritual realm there is a “final judgment” (the end of an action).

f) God will have spent at least 6,000 years getting to that point—a long time—but it will come.

8) When a final judgment is made, we expect to see least one official involved.

9) In the spiritual realm, this official is Christ (2 Cor. 5:10).

10) Someone recently sent me an e-mail that said court justices wear black to intimidate others.

11) I’m not convinced this is true, but Christ will certainly intimidate those who are not ready to meet Him.

12) In the first chapter of Revelation the apostle John had some type of encounter with the Lord.

13) He was a righteous man, but whatever he saw made him collapse.

14) If Christ was overwhelming to a saved man, what will happen to the unsaved and unprepared?

15) Our judicial officials usually wear black and they are to use the law to dispense justice.

a) Most would object and object strenuously if judges had absolutely no regard for the law.

b) Imagine these two scenarios.

c) There is a judge who gets a bad night’s sleep and he is really cranky tomorrow.

d) His case docket has him passing judgment on 30 people within the next 24 hours.

e) Because he has a bad day, he decides before getting to work they will all be guilty.

f) He is not going to listen to any evidence; he is going to just make things easy on himself.

g) Not only will they all be guilty, the maximum sentence will be imposed.

16) On the other side of town, a judge has just gotten the best news of his life.

17) Because he is feeling so good, he reasons within himself, “Tomorrow, I will let everyone go.”

18) “I will order the immediate release of the man charged with being a serial killer.”

19) “The man charged with 10 bank robberies will probably not do it again, so I will free him too.”

20) “No matter what the charge or evidence, everyone goes free.”

21) Even the most liberal person would object to a judge treating the law in this manner.

22) There must be a standard and justice must flow from it.

23) All ultimately agree that this principle is fair, right and necessary.

a) God has a standard – Jn. 12:48 – READ.

b) A lot of people find Jn. 12:48 hard to believe.

c) God is a God of love; how could He possibly judge people?

d) Another passage which repeats the point is Rom. 2:16.

e) God will judge people by the Word of God.

f) God will not save everyone because He is a God is love.

g) What about an earthly judge who is filled with love and compassion?

h) Is he entitled to set aside the law or is he supposed to use the pre-arranged standard?

i) He is not, and certainly God will not behave in this manner — Rom. 2:16 — READ.

24) Jesus will use His standard, the Word of God.

25) This is why Jesus made this point in Mk. 16:16: “He that disbelieves will be condemned.”

26) What is “disbelief”?

27) It is more than saying, “I do not believe in God.”

28) James said the demons believe (Jas. 2:19), but they are not saved.

29) Disbelief is not responding to the gospel.

30) A person may not respond because they do not believe or because they believe but do not want to obey.

31) There are many ways to disbelieve.

32) 2 Thess. 1:8 offers a helpful commentary on the “disbelief.”

33) Christ will render vengeance on those who “know not God” and those who “obey not the gospel.”

34) God will not set aside heaven’s law; God’s word will be the standard used for judgment.

35) If we have not obeyed the standard, punishment is the only alternative.

36) Furthermore, God’s standard will be used in conjunction with God’s omniscience (knowledge).

a) Not long ago I saw the Terry Schavio family interviewed.

b) I felt sorry for them for several reasons, but there was one point that really saddened me.

c) Family members were trying to explain things and their explanations did not come across well.

d) At times we all try to explain something and it does not come out like we want.

e) In our earthly justice system, this can alter the result of a case.

f) A criminal might be able to give a slick explanation and he goes free.

g) An innocent person might not make his case well and he is punished.

37) God is omniscient; He knows all.

38) Because of this knowledge, heaven’s perfect justice will be blended with perfect knowledge.

39) Absolute fairness will be demonstrated at the end of time judgment.

40) When a case comes to trial, a person is typically viewed as being guilty of something.

41) If we are in a courtroom, someone thinks there is a pretty good case against us.

a) Not long ago my family got a letter in the mail; it said we were being sued.

b) Way back when my family had a dentist in Fort Wayne.

c) An Elizabeth Price went there about a year ago to get her teeth cleaned.

d) The mother, whose name was Teresa Price, didn’t pay the bill.

e) The delinquent account had been turned over to a Fort Wayne agency.

f) Teresa almost had to go to court to prove that our Elizabeth didn’t drive 1200 miles for teeth cleaning.

g) Wrong doers are brought courts.

42) In a similar manner, people will appear before the judgment seat of Christ to answer for their sins.

43) At the end of time, however, people will not be mistakenly before a judge.

44) Those who are charged with unforgiven sin will definitely be guilty.

45) It is not difficult to imagine how many of those people will try to plead their cases.

a) If people speak on their own behalf they might argue in this manner:

b) “I was never convicted of an earthly crime, I spent no time in jail; I have a clean record.”

c) “I was so good I never received as much as a parking or a speeding ticket.”

d) “I never stole and I lived a live filled with good works. I should not be condemned!”

46) The judge can say something like this: Rom. 3:10 and 23, QUOTE.

47) Sin can be charged to people in at least two ways.

48) People can be condemned for what they did (one lie qualifies a person for hell).

49) Sin comes by not doing certain things.

50) James said knowing to do good and not doing it is wrong too (Jas. 4:17).

51) Sin can be both active and passive.

52) Moreover, ignorance of God’s law will not be an excuse.

53) Acts 17:30-31 says there was a “time of ignorance in the past.”

54) That time is now gone; “all men everywhere” need to respond to the gospel.

55) Sometimes when I do some visiting at the jail I see a bondsman meeting with a family.

a) Bondsmen help people get out of jail.

b) A judge may say a defendant may be released on a $10,000 bond.

c) A bond company helps reduce that amount of money.

d) Someone can pay 10% of the bond to a bondman, and the inmate is released.

e) Bondmen tell their clients that they must show up in court.

f) Sometimes those who are bonded out of jail do not show up; they skip.

g) Most who flee are found, but this does not deter people from trying to beat the system.

h) There are probably those who think they will be able to escape God’s final judgment.

56) 2 Cor. 5:10 says “all” will appear before the judgment of Christ; there will be no hiding.

57) Those who do appear before a judge sometimes think they can turn things to their favor.

a) Not long ago I saw a man interviewed who had been charged with a drug crime.

b) Someone said they needed some drugs and asked him to buy $1,000 worth of drugs.

c) He did it one time, he made no money on the deal, he and took none of the drugs, but he was caught.

d) He was prosecuted and he decided to defend himself with the help of a local attorney.

e) This man is now free; he outwitted the prosecutor.

f) One of the things that helped him was moving the location of the trial.

g) He asked that the trial be moved to another community that was a college town.

h) He believed there was a lot of drug use in the second community and he would fare better.

58) A certain level of trickery and manipulation is possible in our legal system.

59) There are no games or tricks with God. Hear a familiar text, Mt. 25:31-46 – READ.

60) Judgment will proceed smoothly and there will be no shenanigans.

61) Some might try to quibble about their “rights” when they appear before the Lord.

62) In our judicial system, it is important for their to be no violation of rights.

63) God has given us rights.

a) He has given us the right to live, the right to think, seek him, and obey Him.

b) If we misuse our rights, and this is what the unsaved do, judgment comes.

c) The “judge of the earth does right” (Gen. 18:25) so none of a person’s rights will be violated.

64) Several years ago I had someone point out a passage in the book of Ecclesiastes.

65) If you are ever in a discussion with someone about capital punishment, you need this verse.

66) Many say capital punishment does not work. Others object to incarceration.

67) God says capital punishment does work, but there is a key to making it effective.

68) Eccl. 8:11 contains that key – READ.

a) Swiftness and justice are to be combined.

b) If both of these items are not used together, there are problems.

c) Based upon what was read from Mt. 25, God’s justice will be swift.

d) There will be no appeals process; years and years will not be needed to execute a sentence.

e) It will be more like this: “Hell is your destination, and off you go.”

f) “Heaven is your home; come into the full and unending love and protection of God.”

69) At the present time many criminals go through life “beating the system.”

70) God has no system to beat. There are no “review boards” or “probation” offers.

71) God has no “half way houses.”

72) Jesus said it best: we are “with Him or against Him.”

73) His point is true in both this if and eternity.

74) At the greatest trial of all time, where will we be? With the accused or with the acquitted?