Lessons in the Small Catechism of Dr. Martin Luther: For the Senior Department of Lutheran Sunday-Schools and for General UseLuther, Martin
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Lessons in the Small Catechism of Dr. Martin Luther: For the Senior Department of Lutheran Sunday-Schools and for General Use
Luther, Martin
Lutheran Church -- Catechisms
3. Christ Himself has given us a beautiful description of His Judgment.
(Read the whole passage, Matt. 25,31-46.) He tells us: _"When the Son of
Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then
shall He sit upon the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be
gathered all nations."_ Matt. 25,31.32. Christ is the Judge of all
nations, of all men. _"We must all appear before the judgment-seat of
Christ, that every one may receive the things done in His body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."_ 2 Cor.
5,10. No one, be He ever so mighty, rich, or learned, can escape His
Judgment.
4. How will Christ judge? He says: _"And He shall separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. And He shall
set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left."_ Matt.
25,32.33. The _sheep are those who truly believe in Christ, their
Savior,_ and in Him have forgiveness of their sins. _The goats are those
who in this life rejected Christ and His grace._ To His sheep He will
say: _"Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world."_ V. 34. On the goats He will
pronounce this judgment: _"Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."_ V. 41. And then the Lord
will prove to all men that His judgment is a righteous one by the good
works of the believers and the evil deeds of His enemies.--This
judgment is final and will never be altered. His enemies _"shall go away
into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal."_
Matt. 25,46.
5. _When will this great Day of Judgment, the day of our Lord, come?_
This we do not know. Our Lord says: _"Of that day and that hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the
Father."_ Mark 13,32. We should not try to find out the exact day of the
coming of our Lord. But God has in His Word revealed two important
things about this day. He tells us that His day will come _suddenly,
when nobody expects it. "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night."_ 2 Pet. 3,10. _"Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor
the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh."_ Matt. 25,13.--We also know
that this day will come _soon. "The end of all things is at hand."_
1 Pet. 4,7. We may and should expect the Lord _daily_ and be prepared to
receive Him. There are many signs which announce the coming of Christ.
Matt. 24,14-31; Luke 21,25-36.
6. _"This is most certainly true."_ With these words we conclude also
our Second Article. From God's Word we know that all we have learned in
the Second Article is most certainly true. Therefore we believe and
confess it.
REMEMBER:--
1. _On the Last Day our Lord will come again visibly and in great glory
to judge the quick and the dead, all men. You, too, must appear before
the judgment-seat of Christ._
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