Boldness in the Day of Judgment—
“Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” “The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment.” “We may have boldness in the day of judgment.” With all time prophecies fulfilled, and all prophecies relating to the events that are to take place before the Lord comes, being fulfilled before our eyes, may the Lord impress upon our minds the truthfulness of this first statement, “The hour of his judgment is come.” “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so; but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment.” That we may have boldness in the day of judgment is shown by the following scripture: “And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us, God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world.” “We may have boldness in the day of judgment,” thank the Lord! Let us take hold upon that assurance. “The hour of his judgment is come.” It makes no difference what men say, or what they do not say—the hour of his judgment is come. And then we should add that other assurance with equal emphasis, “We may have boldness in the day of judgment.” And the foundation of that boldness is found in this, that “as he is, even so are we.” This is no uncertain foundation. The day of his judgment is upon us, and yet his own assurance is that we may have boldness, we may have confidence, in the day of judgment, and the reason is, “As he is, even so are we in this world.” Character is the basis of the judgment. His character will pass the judgment. His character is given unto us; therefore we may have confidence. We can stand on that platform with confidence. Let us make that so clear that if there is any one whose heart is filled with fear and terror when he hears that the hour of God’s judgment is come, he may take courage, because “as he is, even so are we in this world,” through the abounding grace of our God. Again we read: “The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent.” What was the difference between the times before, when God overlooked certain things, and the time when he commanded that all men should repent?—Just this: there had been such a revelation of God’s presence and God’s plan as would leave men utterly without excuse; there was no longer need that any one should be in ignorance concerning these things, since the light had been manifested. That which had been hid in silence from times eternal was now manifest. Christ had come to earth and taken human flesh, and dwelt among men, and through him God had manifested his purpose, his glory, his plan, in such a way that there was no longer any times of ignorance. “Inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness in the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” “He hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness in the man whom he hath ordained.” This is why we may have boldness in the day of judgment. The standard of judgment will be a man. Humanity need not be afraid of the judgment now, because the standard in whom the judgment is conducted is our Brother. We may have confidence in the day of judgment because the standard of judgment is the standard to which humanity has already attained; and in attaining that standard in humanity, Jesus our Lord has lifted humanity unto that plane. We may have confidence in the day of judgment because in and through the gift of Jesus his Son, God has lifted humanity into the highest heaven, and the standard of the judgment is the standard whereto humanity has attained in Jesus Christ, and it is the standard to which all humanity may be to-day lifted in Jesus Christ. Is not that a solid foundation for confidence? It is not by works of righteousness that we have done, but because of his abundant grace which we have received. When once we can lay hold of the provision that God has made for humanity, fear and terror are gone, and we have boldness in the day of judgment. Let us read again in the Gospel of John, third chapter: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have5eternal life. For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him. He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For every one that doeth ill hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved. But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God.” Notice especially this statement in the eighteenth verse: “He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.” This brings before us a most remarkable truth, and that is, in the judgment men are not condemned simply because they are sinners: they are condemned because they have not believed on Jesus Christ for deliverance from sin. It should be emphasized that in the day of judgment, men are not condemned simply because they are sinners—of course they are sinners, and they are condemned as sinners, but they are judged over this one simple thing—“Did you believe on my Son Jesus Christ?” It is true that the scripture says with all clearness that we are judged according to the deeds done in the body; but behind the deed is that which accounts for the deed, and God, in dealing with men in the hour of judgment, deals with them upon the basis upon which he has put them in the gift of his Son to save sinners. The only sin for which any one will be condemned in the judgment is the unpardonable sin which refuses pardon. These are the sins that will bring us into judgment in that day—the sins for which we refuse pardon. Do we believe? Then the whole question is settled. Now look at the simplicity of the proposition. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Every mouth is stopped, all the world is guilty before God. On the other hand, “God so loved the world [guilty, lost], that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish.” So the whole question of whether we have boldness in the day of judgment, or whether we perish under sin, is, “Do we receive the gift of God?” Every one who receives the gift of God stands clear. This is the judgment, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. God says that the thing which will deliver us utterly from condemnation of sin, and give us confidence in the day of judgment, is this: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” No human being can stand before the judgment bar of God, and give one single excuse for being under condemnation; for “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.” We shall be speechless in that day, if we have not believed on Jesus Christ. When that last invitation is sent out into the highways and hedges, and the voices are heard everywhere sounding forth this final message in the world to every nation and kindred and tongue and people, there will be no excuse for any one who appears in the wedding chamber without the wedding garment. And when the King comes in to see the guests, and he finds one not having on the wedding garment, and says to him, “Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?” he will be speechless—there is nothing that he can say.