What He Will Do with His Own, Part 1

2 Corinthians 5:10 Return of Jesus in N.T. Belief & Experience

Pastor Martin expounds on the second coming of Christ, focusing on what Christ will do with His own. He argues that at His return, all true believers, whether dead or alive, will be fully conformed to Christ's image and brought before the judgment seat of Christ. Here, they will be openly identified, vindicated, and confessed by Christ, and receive rewards of grace. Martin emphasizes that this judgment according to works serves to publicly validate the genuineness of their saving faith, which inevitably produces a pattern of good works, rather than being the basis for salvation itself.

5 illustrations in this sermon

Events Connected with Christ's Return: Manifold and Clearly Revealed

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Trinity as Clearly Revealed but Difficult to Understand

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the fourth category: the manifold and clearly revealed (though not easily understood) events surrounding Christ's return, suggesting thinking of them as a…

The doctrine of the Trinity is used as an example of a truth that is clearly revealed in Scripture but difficult for human minds to fully comprehend, paralleling the events surrounding Christ's return.

Things can be clearly revealed that are difficult to understand. Scripture clearly reveals that the God who is Is one God And yet He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit He is not a monism He is the three in one and the one in three That is clear But none of us would sit here and say Our little pea brains can encompass the mystery Of how He can be one in three And three in one And likewise, with the events surrounding the return of our Lord Jesus, they are clearly revealed, though some are difficult to understand, and they are manifold.

7:03 - 7:50 Read in full sermon

palette metaphor

Pie Slices for Events of Christ's Return

The metaphor of a pie with slices is used to help visualize the various events connected with Christ's return as a cluster rather than a sequential checklist, making them easier to grasp conceptually.

And as we began to take up that fourth category last Lord's Day, I urged you to think not in terms of a sequential numerical checklist. Once we hear the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 things are going to happen. But think in terms of a circle. Think of a pie.

7:51 - 8:14 Read in full sermon

palette metaphor

Cluster of Grapes for Events of Christ's Return

The metaphor of a cluster of grapes is used to further illustrate how different events are connected to the main stem of Christ's return but may appear in different orders or emphases in various passages, depending on the pastoral concern.

That is coming. Or you may want to think in terms of a cluster of grapes. I couldn't help but think of that because there's always a Tupperware bowl full of grapes in our fridge. My wife loves her grapes.

8:59 - 9:11 Read in full sermon

Open Identification of True Believers by Christ

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Shepherd Separating Sheep from Goats

In this part of the sermon: He expounds on Christ's open identification of His own, using the imagery of the shepherd separating sheep from goats in Matthew 25, emphasizing Christ's infallible knowledge of…

The analogy of an Eastern shepherd separating sheep from goats is used to illustrate how infallibly and publicly Jesus will identify and separate His true followers from those who are not His own at the judgment.

The Lord Jesus sits upon his throne, looks over the mass of humanity and he openly identifies his own and says, you're a sheep, you're a sheep, you're a sheep, you're a sheep and all the sheep he sets on his right hand. As surely as any competent eastern shepherd was able to identify sheep from goats and even distinguish among his own sheep, as surely as any competent eastern shepherd could separate sheep from goats, so will the Son of Man identify

27:38 - 28:23 Read in full sermon

The Purpose of Judgment According to Works: Vindication

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Baseball Manager's Suicide Squeeze

In this part of the sermon: He answers that Christ judges according to works to openly vindicate believers, demonstrating that their salvation not only readjusted heavenly records but also transformed them…

A detailed baseball story about a manager making an unconventional, booed decision to put in a poor hitter for a suicide squeeze bunt, which ultimately wins the game, is used to illustrate the concept of 'vindication' – showing an action to be right and just by evidence.

And he wants to vindicate his own sentence that they are indeed his people. Now the word vindicate means to clear from suspicion, to uphold by evidence, to justify or validate the rightness of an action. Now you guys that like baseball, it's the last of the ninth. Your team is behind, the score is tied.

52:15 - 52:39 Read in full sermon

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