Why are Christians afraid of Judgment Day?

[Andrew]

You fear Judgment because you're looking at yourself and what you do (Law) instead of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins and resurrection (Gospel).

I fear sometimes especially lately because I'm upset and the devil always attacks you when you are weak, I know it will pass and I've been praying against it but right now I'm just hurting and it makes me doubt sometimes.
I trust in Jesus Christ so it's not so much fear of the end but feeling beaten up now, I lost so many loved ones in the past 2 years the pain is immense.. I know they are in a better place but I miss them so much it's just about unbearable.. I can't afford counseling but I have scripture and reassurance and comfort in Christ.

 

[Lamb]

I fear sometimes especially lately because I'm upset and the devil always attacks you when you are weak, I know it will pass and I've been praying against it but right now I'm just hurting and it makes me doubt sometimes.
I trust in Jesus Christ so it's not so much fear of the end but feeling beaten up now, I lost so many loved ones in the past 2 years the pain is immense.. I know they are in a better place but I miss them so much it's just about unbearable.. I can't afford counseling but I have scripture and reassurance and comfort in Christ.

I read this then went in the kitchen to work on some stuff and noticed my calendar for the month of November that has this verse that applies so well in this conversation:

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

 

[Lamb]

I fear sometimes especially lately because I'm upset and the devil always attacks you when you are weak, I know it will pass and I've been praying against it but right now I'm just hurting and it makes me doubt sometimes.
I trust in Jesus Christ so it's not so much fear of the end but feeling beaten up now, I lost so many loved ones in the past 2 years the pain is immense.. I know they are in a better place but I miss them so much it's just about unbearable.. I can't afford counseling but I have scripture and reassurance and comfort in Christ.

I read this then went in the kitchen to work on some stuff and noticed my calendar for the month of November that has this verse that applies so well in this conversation:

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

 

[Lamb]

Here's another great verse

1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

[Josiah]

I think as we consider the Law.... as we look in the mirror .... we can and MUST be terrified!

But as we embrace the Gospel.... as we look to the Cross and Empty Tomb.... we can and should be entirely comforted, certain and at peace.


IMO, Satan works overtime to get us to look away from the Cross and to the mirror..... to bury the Gospel with the Law.... to cause terror and doubt and fear. For such is his open door.


IMO, synergists and uber-Calvinists also can cause this horrific fear, uncertainty and terror: either because it all really depend on ME (my decision, my choice, my surrendering, my prayers) and self knowing self ain't what self must be causes this terror. OR because there's no way to know if God loves and saved ME since Jesus only loves and died for a tiny few (and no list of who that includes has been found). But I think when we embrace the pure Gospel, there IS certainty, comfort and peace. In God we trust.... but if it depended on ME (even 0.000000000001%) I'd have every reason to be terrorized! And if I can't depend on God (because Jesus probably did not die for me) then I have no choice but to be terrorized.




.

 

[Lamb]

I think as we consider the Law.... as we look in the mirror .... we can and MUST be terrified!

But as we embrace the Gospel.... as we look to the Cross and Empty Tomb.... we can and should be entirely comforted, certain and at peace.


IMO, Satan works overtime to get us to look away from the Cross and to the mirror..... to bury the Gospel with the Law.... to cause terror and doubt and fear. For such is his open door.


IMO, synergists and uber-Calvinists also can cause this horrific fear, uncertainty and terror: either because it all really depend on ME (my decision, my choice, my surrendering, my prayers) and self knowing self ain't what self must be causes this terror. OR because there's no way to know if God loves and saved ME since Jesus only loves and died for a tiny few (and no list of who that includes has been found). But I think when we embrace the pure Gospel, there IS certainty, comfort and peace. In God we trust.... but if it depended on ME (even 0.000000000001%) I'd have every reason to be terrorized! And if I can't depend on God (because Jesus probably did not die for me) then I have no choice but to be terrorized.




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Well said, Josiah! It all depends on which you want to rely on at Judgment Day...yourself or Jesus.

 

[tango]

Well if you're going to rely on those works of yours to get through Judgment Day then you most certainly should be afraid.

If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and that your sins have been atoned for then you have nothing to fear and can rest in the comfort of knowing that because of Him you will have eternal life.

Except that believing in Jesus as your Savior sounds a lot like the people who call him "Lord, Lord" who might yet get a nasty surprise. I don't see this as a warning that we should constantly be afraid of whether we have "done enough", as if life is some kind of test where there's no idea of what the pass mark might be or a credible threat that the time I'm spending right now typing on a message board and drinking coffee will suddenly count against me because I could have been standing outside waving a sign saying "Jesus Loves You" at passing traffic or some such.

I think the discussion in this thread alone shows the whole balance between law and grace, between works and faith and so on. As James said, faith without works is dead. If we claim to love God but that love isn't expressed to our neighbors it might reasonably be asked whether we love God at all. Jesus himself said that if we love him we should obey his commandments, and also said the first two commandments were "love God, love each other". If we notionally call Jesus "Lord" but then act as if he is not lord of anything much, we shouldn't be surprised if he says "I never knew you". The trouble is that the warning he gave sounds like at least some of the people who will get that nasty surprise will actually be surprised. We could discuss whether they are the ones who assume they are saved because they went to church every week and their uncle was in the choir, or because they were born in America and therefore think they get a free ticket to heaven, or went forward "to accept Christ" at some event they went to as a teenager before spending their life living as if there was no God - maybe all of those groups will be in for a shock. Combining the things Jesus said, maybe the people who notionally accept the gold coin from their master but then just bury it rather than doing anything useful with it are the ones told "I never knew you".

 

[tango]

I fear sometimes especially lately because I'm upset and the devil always attacks you when you are weak, I know it will pass and I've been praying against it but right now I'm just hurting and it makes me doubt sometimes.
I trust in Jesus Christ so it's not so much fear of the end but feeling beaten up now, I lost so many loved ones in the past 2 years the pain is immense.. I know they are in a better place but I miss them so much it's just about unbearable.. I can't afford counseling but I have scripture and reassurance and comfort in Christ.

The devil will certainly take the chance to attack when you're already down, whether through circumstance or even a sustained lack of sleep. For good measure he'll also attack if you're doing something he'd really rather you didn't do. He can't stand against the sword of truth, but he'll do his level best to persuade you that you're too weak/unworthy/unqualified/whatever to wield the sword and your best course of action is to just put it down and walk away.

Do you have someone at your church you can talk to and pray with? I have a couple of close friends from church who I can call on to pray for me if I need it. It's very seldom that I do but a little while bak I was struggling with something specific and under heavy attack, and just being able to send someone a text to say "hey, can you pray for me, like right now?" is hugely useful. My wife said she could see a difference in me within 15 minutes or so, as the attack lifted and I was more at peace. If you don't have someone in mind, look to get involved in a small Bible study group or Sunday School class or similar, and try to form relationships like that. It makes a huge difference having someone nearby and being able to offer each other support when needed.

 

[Lamb]

Except that believing in Jesus as your Savior sounds a lot like the people who call him "Lord, Lord" who might yet get a nasty surprise. I don't see this as a warning that we should constantly be afraid of whether we have "done enough", as if life is some kind of test where there's no idea of what the pass mark might be or a credible threat that the time I'm spending right now typing on a message board and drinking coffee will suddenly count against me because I could have been standing outside waving a sign saying "Jesus Loves You" at passing traffic or some such.

I think the discussion in this thread alone shows the whole balance between law and grace, between works and faith and so on. As James said, faith without works is dead. If we claim to love God but that love isn't expressed to our neighbors it might reasonably be asked whether we love God at all. Jesus himself said that if we love him we should obey his commandments, and also said the first two commandments were "love God, love each other". If we notionally call Jesus "Lord" but then act as if he is not lord of anything much, we shouldn't be surprised if he says "I never knew you". The trouble is that the warning he gave sounds like at least some of the people who will get that nasty surprise will actually be surprised. We could discuss whether they are the ones who assume they are saved because they went to church every week and their uncle was in the choir, or because they were born in America and therefore think they get a free ticket to heaven, or went forward "to accept Christ" at some event they went to as a teenager before spending their life living as if there was no God - maybe all of those groups will be in for a shock. Combining the things Jesus said, maybe the people who notionally accept the gold coin from their master but then just bury it rather than doing anything useful with it are the ones told "I never knew you".

Your works won't get you into heaven. Why? Because you can't do them perfectly enough that the Law demands.

Those people who cried Lord Lord and Jesus said He never knew them didn't have faith in Him but wanted to rely on their works. There will always be people who turn to themselves instead of trusting that their sins have been forgiven.

We don't have eternal life because of our works. On Judgment Day if you choose to rely on your works and not Jesus' work on the cross then you'll suffer the consequences of sin permeating those so-called works that you trust in.

 

[Lamb]

1 John 5:6-12

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

 

[tango]

Your works won't get you into heaven. Why? Because you can't do them perfectly enough that the Law demands.

Those people who cried Lord Lord and Jesus said He never knew them didn't have faith in Him but wanted to rely on their works. There will always be people who turn to themselves instead of trusting that their sins have been forgiven.

We don't have eternal life because of our works. On Judgment Day if you choose to rely on your works and not Jesus' work on the cross then you'll suffer the consequences of sin permeating those so-called works that you trust in.

I'm not saying our works get us into heaven - I don't think I've ever said that. I'm pointing out that Jesus said that not everybody who says "Lord, Lord" to him will enter the kingdom, and that he said that some people who thought they were OK will turn out not to be OK. The people who asked "when did we not do those things for you?" and the people who asked "did we not (do these things) in your name?" obviously thought they were OK but actually weren't. The people sifted to the wrong side in the piece about sheep and goats may or may not have understood that their own works didn't save them, the people who said "Lord, Lord" clearly thought they were following Jesus as Lord only to find he never knew them.

The people who said "Lord, Lord" may have been people who accepted Jesus as Lord but thought their works would save them, although I think this argument further blurs the distinction between works and grace. Maybe people called Jesus Lord but thought they could earn their way into heaven, although differentiating them from people who thought they could earn their way into heaven without accepting Jesus at all seems tricky.

I don't think there's any dispute that we can't earn our place in heaven. At the same time I think it's dangerously oversimplistic to act as if it's as simple as a one-time conversion with no ongoing requirements. Jesus himself said that people who did the will of God would enter the kingdom - simply calling him Lord isn't enough. If we don't love God and don't love our neighbors we can't claim to be doing God's will.

 

[Lamb]

I'm not saying our works get us into heaven - I don't think I've ever said that. I'm pointing out that Jesus said that not everybody who says "Lord, Lord" to him will enter the kingdom, and that he said that some people who thought they were OK will turn out not to be OK. The people who asked "when did we not do those things for you?" and the people who asked "did we not (do these things) in your name?" obviously thought they were OK but actually weren't. The people sifted to the wrong side in the piece about sheep and goats may or may not have understood that their own works didn't save them, the people who said "Lord, Lord" clearly thought they were following Jesus as Lord only to find he never knew them.

The people who said "Lord, Lord" may have been people who accepted Jesus as Lord but thought their works would save them, although I think this argument further blurs the distinction between works and grace. Maybe people called Jesus Lord but thought they could earn their way into heaven, although differentiating them from people who thought they could earn their way into heaven without accepting Jesus at all seems tricky.

I don't think there's any dispute that we can't earn our place in heaven. At the same time I think it's dangerously oversimplistic to act as if it's as simple as a one-time conversion with no ongoing requirements. Jesus himself said that people who did the will of God would enter the kingdom - simply calling him Lord isn't enough. If we don't love God and don't love our neighbors we can't claim to be doing God's will.

Jesus in no way said that those people who did those things had faith. That's the key difference between the two of those who get eternal life with Him and those who don't.

Lord was a title. It didn't necessarily mean they considered Him to be their God. As I said, He never said they believed in Him, just that they were trying to prove that they did things in His name.

 

[hobie]

True, although the concept of "when you did it not for the least of these, you did it not for me" could be uncomfortable for some.

Very 'uncomfortable' I would say, if they are not gathered with the rest of the saints...

 

[MOJS4545]

the title of your thread assumes that all believers are afraid of judgment day, which isn't true.
Though I have reverence for God it's is not the same as fear without hope

 

[hobie]

the title of your thread assumes that all believers are afraid of judgment day, which isn't true.
Though I have reverence for God it's is not the same as fear without hope

You are right in having fear of God is more of reverence and respect, so the question is more of why Christian are relying on self and holding on to sin which creates a 'fear without hope' as you say, when they look toward the coming Judgment Day. This is why we must put Christ righteousness, not rely on self which is a issue, even for Christians.