Luther on Judgement

1 Corinthians 15:22
Just as in Adam all must die, so in Christ shall all be made alive!

Martin Luther writes, "Paul speaks here only about christians. He wants to teach and comfort them about being made alive in christ. Non-christians also arise in the dead, but it may not be for comfort or joy to them because they are raised to judgment and not to life. This is not a comforting or happy message to the world, because godless people don't want to hear that there's going to be a judgment day. It's just the way I felt when I wanted to be a holy Monk and tried it to be pious. I would rather hear about devils and hell than about judgment day. Every time I heard of this the hair on my head and shoulder stand, the whole world hates thinking about leaving this life. They don't want to die, and are terrified when they talk about death and the afterlife. Aside from that, all of us are stuck in the muck of our own messes. We think that by our life and works we can make God happy, and avoid his judgment, and earn our own place in heaven. All we accomplished by this kind of thinking is to become more and more hostile towards judgment day. I won't say anything about that group of people who look for all their pleasures and comforts here in this world, who despise God's word, who won't give any help to others or pray for God's kingdom - it's no surprise that those people get aggravated when they hear about the resurrection. But for us, this message is one of comfort and joy, because we hear that our greatest treasure is already deposited in the Bank of heaven. Only a small portion of it remains here on earth, which Christ will resurrect and draw to himself as easily as a person awakens from sleep."
There are days as a pastor when I long for a time people actually worry about what God might think of what they thought, what they did, or how they stand in relationship to God. It seems we've come into a time when thoughts, words and deeds hardly matter! I just read recently about a politician who responded to an honest inquiry from a constituent with a blistering email belittling the person, making fun of their political position, basically treating them less than human. When called on it he said he didn't care what somebody thought or felt about what he said anymore, he wanted to tell them they were wrong! And he did so in the firecest possible way! Apart from political repercussions of such thinking, it would seem that this is a microcosm of the world in which we live. We no longer care about how people feel, what they think, or what God thinks. Luther lived in a simpler time, and though he spent every waking moment worrying about death and hell, there was still a surety about where he was going to end up. Christians have this security, they know where they will end up because Christ is risen and we too shall rise! Yes, death is real, and there will be a judgment day and an afterlife, but that judgement has already been rendered for the faithful by a merciful God. Now, we are given the freedom to live in the world with grace, and not with fear and danger! We can be gracious because we are products of forgiveness, not judgement, products of mercy, not condemnation! We need to be able to speak this message to the world, a message that might challenge the world, make it rethink its positions and words, but also a message that ultimately will lead it back to a confrontation with a living God! And this confrontation results not only in salvation for the individual, but redemption for the world. We need to open our mouths, and speak the truth, the truth spoken in the love of a risen Christ.