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welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our god for our call to worship you can turn to psalm 24. psalm 24. i'll begin reading in verse 1 a psalm of david the earth is the lord's and all its fullness the world and those who dwell therein for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters who may ascend into the hill of the lord or who may stand in his holy place he who has clean hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully he shall receive blessing from the lord and righteousness from the god of his salvation this is jacob the generation of those who seek him who seek your face salah lift up your heads o you gates and be lifted up you everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is this king of glory the lord strong and mighty the lord mighty in battle lift up your heads owe you gates lift up your everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is this king of glory the lord of hosts he is the king of glory salah well please turn in your hymn books to number 213 2 13 will stand as we sing together [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] is [Music] uh [Music] well two things i want to mention before we pray the first is that don mars did arrive safely on friday to oklahoma it was a long journey but god preserved her and kept her and then secondly you know or i mentioned that the dryden reform baptist church plant took a vote they voted today well they had a week to vote on two things one whether they would adopt the 1689 confession and two whether they would ask us formally to assist them in this church plant work so they did vote in the affirmative on both propositions so please continue to pray for the unfolding of god's plan there in northern ontario so that's good news and then of course we'll remember ryan who's in vernon this weekend he ministered there at the church plant so let us pray our great and our blessed god we thank you so very much that you are most high that you are father son and holy spirit that you are the god of absolute sovereignty and glory and power we thank you for the works of creation and providence we marvel at the redeem redemption of your people through the lord jesus christ we praise you today on this sabbath day and we ask that as we gather our hearts would be drawn out in worship and in praise and adoration to our great god that you would fill our hearts with that reverence and that fear that is appropriate to those who approach such a great and holy god but may it be mingled with joy with thanksgiving and with gratitude for the reality that we are blood-bought children of the living and true god we rejoice in the gospel of our salvation we rejoice in what christ accomplished in his earthly ministry in terms of his obedience to the law at every point and in terms of his sacrifice as a substitutionary sacrifice on the cross for our sins we praise you as well for that resurrection on the third day for his exaltation to the right hand of god most high and for the current session where any reigns over all things for the good of his church god help us to live in light of this blessed reality and may it encourage and strengthen our hearts may you build us up in our most holy faith and may we live in a manner that is consistent with the word of the living god help us to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and give us courage and boldness to hold forth your word of truth and even now lord god as we enter into your courts with praise we ask that you would forgive us for all of our sin and transgression of your law we know that we are called to holiness into righteousness not because or not unto salvation but because we have been saved but we confess that remaining corruption in our hearts captured wonderfully by the hymn writer when he said prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love we ask for cleansing in that precious blood we ask for the presence and the power of the holy spirit in our lives that we would love the law of god and that we by grace would strive to keep that law for the glory and honor of god almighty we ask for your blessing upon any and all who are here tonight any and all who find themselves under gospel preaching on this lord's day that are still dead in their trespasses and sins we don't appeal to them and their free will but we appeal to the god who is able to make man willing in the day of his power we ask that you'd open hearts and cause sinners to receive the word of truth grant them the graces of faith and repentance that they may lay hold of the lord jesus christ that they may find the blessedness of being found in him not having their own righteousness which is from the law but that which is from you received through faith in jesus christ our lord we thank you for the good news concerning this dryden church plant we ask god that you would bless the the brothers that are seeking to lead this small flock we pray god in heaven that you would guide them and direct them according to your holy will we know that there is a dearth in the land in terms of good sound churches and so we look with great anticipation to see what you will do in northern ontario we thank you as well for the group in vernon we pray for ryan that you would bless his ministry there we ask god that you admit their hearts together and continue to look with favor upon that local church plant we rejoice in your goodness to the saints in surrey we thank you for pastor mike and his faithfulness over the years there and we ask god in heaven that you would continue to uphold him and grant him grace to labor diligently in the word and doctrine and god be with john in honduras we thank you so very much and we rejoice in your goodness to the flock there it is a beautiful building that you have given to them and god our hearts desires that pastors carlos and luis would labor diligently in that place to preach the whole counsel of god almighty for the encouragement and the strengthening of the saints there and for the calling of sinners out of darkness into marvelous light and father thank you not only in these places named but but all throughout this earth you have faithful churches that are proclaiming the truth as it is in jesus we thank you for those in our local community we thank you for pastor coopman and for pastor champ thank you for pastor schuman and for other brethren and men that we have come to to greatly appreciate over the last couple of years may you just prosper them and may they know the nearness of god has their good as well father we think of the persecuted church we know that there is great suffering for the cause of jesus christ throughout this world we ask god in heaven that you'd undertake on behalf of your bride we ask that you would continue to bless and strengthen the saints in china we are so encouraged god to see in the midst of the heavy hand of oppression from that communistic system the saints of christ are faithful the preachers are proclaiming the truth and god is glorified in that so lord continue to look with favor upon the saints there and all over this earth where they suffer for the cause of jesus christ our lord may you just bless them may you cause them to have the courage necessary to stand fast and to continue to hold to the truth of our blessed lord jesus christ and god we do pray in our country for the governing authorities as we heard this morning in first timothy too this was a concern of the apostle paul that we pray for kings and for all who are in authority and we pray that you would grant wisdom grant wisdom to our prime minister grant wisdom to the several premiers and the health officials in each of these provinces and god we pray that there would be a turnaround in terms of these mandates and the various things that we have experienced over the last couple of years that if not god give us grace to continue to persevere to continue to be faithful to continue to acknowledge the crown rights of jesus christ the lord over everything including earthly governments we are greatly encouraged at the first chapter of revelation to see that jesus christ now is the ruler over the kings of the earth may this steady and encourage and comfort each of our hearts and may you cause us by your grace and for your glory to persevere in this lower world in a manner that is consistent with your written word and we ask your blessing now upon this time of worship and we pray in the name of the lord jesus christ amen you can turn with me again in your hymn books to 458 458 will stand as we sing together [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is oh [Music] you can turn in your bibles to the book of leviticus where in leviticus chapter 16 leviticus chapter 16 a very monumental section of holy scripture day dealing with the day of atonement one man has argued that it's the theological the structural the the literal uh literary uh center point of the book of livit of leviticus and if we appreciate what is happening here we see the typology concerning the gospel of our lord jesus christ so beginning in chapter 16 at verse 1. now the lord spoke to moses after the death of the two sons of aaron when they offered profane fire before the lord and died and the lord said to moses tell aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the holy place inside the veil before the mercy seat which is on the ark lest he die for i will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat thus aaron shall come into the holy place with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering and of a ram as a burnt offering he shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body he shall be girded with a linen sash and with the linen turban he shall be attired these are holy garments therefore he shall wash his body in water and put them on and he shall take from the congregation of the children of israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering and one ram is a burnt offering aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his house he shall take the two goats and present them before the lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting then aaron shall cast lots for the two goats one lot for the lord and the other lot for the scapegoat and aaron shall bring the goat on which the lord's lot fell and offer it as a sin offering but the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the lord to make atonement upon it and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness and aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his house and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself then he shall take a sensor full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the lord with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine and bring it inside the veil and he shall put the incense on the fire before the lord that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the testimony lest he die he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side and before the mercy seat he shall he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering which is for the people bring its blood inside the veil do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat so he shall make atonement for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of israel and because of their transgressions for all their sins and so he shall do for the tabern tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness there should be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the holy place until he comes out that he may make atonement for himself for his household and for the assembly of israel and he shall go out to the altar that is before the lord and make atonement for it and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar all around then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his fingers seven times cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of israel and when he has made an end of atoning for the holy place the tabernacle of meeting and the altar he shall bring the live goat aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat confess over it all the iniquities of the children of israel and all their transgressions concerning all their sins putting them on the head of the goat and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man the goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land and he shall release the goat in the wilderness then aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place and shall leave them there and he shall wash his body with water in a holy place put on his garments come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people the fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar and he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and afterward he may come into the camp the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place shall be carried outside the camp and they shall burn in the fire their skins their flesh and their awful then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and afterward he may come into the camp there shall be a statute forever for you in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you for on that day the priest shall make atonement for you to cleanse you that you may be clean from all your sins before the lord it is a sabbath a solemn rest for you and you shall afflict your souls it is a statute forever and the priest who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father's place shall make atonement and put on the linen clothes the holy garments then he shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary and he shall make atonement for the for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly this shall be an everlasting statute for you to make atonement for the children of israel for all their sins once a year and he did as the lord commanded moses amen well this was the only time in israel's yearly calendar that the priest the high priest would go into the holy of holies and we see it with sacred business and if you look specifically at the very beginning verse 1 tells us the lord spoke to moses after the death of the two sons of aaron when they offered profane fire before the lord and died and the lord said to moses tell aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the holy place inside the veil before the mercy seat which is on the ark lest he die for i will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat if you look back to chapter 10 we have that account of nadab and abihu after nine chapters of detailed legislation on how the children of israel were to present sacrifice such that they could do what psalm 24 asks who can ascend into the mountain of the lord well after these long chapters and detailed legislation nadab and abihu offer up strange fire so instead of god consuming their sacrifice he consumed them he killed them and the text is very clear verse 3 by those who come to come near me i must be regarded as holy and before all the people i must be glorified if you look at chapter 10 at verse 9 do not drink wine or intoxicating drink you nor your sons with you when you go into the tabernacle of meeting lest you die it's a very popular interpretation to suggest that nadab and abayu engaged in intoxicating drink it clouded their understanding and they therefore offered up strange fire now this is a prohibition to be sure not to engage in intoxicating drink when you engage in the sacrificial system but it seems more likely that nadab and abihu with their strange fire went in to the holy of holies the fact that the day of atonement in chapter 16 links the giving of that legislation with the destruction of nadab and abahu especially with verse 2 of chapter 16 it says tell aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the holy place inside the veil before the mercy seat which is on the ark lest he die for i will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat that seems like a likelier interpretation nadab and abide who with their strange fire went into a place that they were forbidden or prohibited so now the legislation comes in terms of the day of atonement and we see very simply what is in view it is to deal with the sin of israel how does sinful man enter into the presence of god it is through a bloody knife and a smoking altar and that's what leviticus 16 demonstrates so the priest would go beyond the veil or inside the veil and there he would take the blood of the of the animal and he would pour it on the mercy seat and if you notice he does that to make atonement he does that to make atonement for himself for his house for israel for the holy place for the tabernacle for the altar and for the priests notice he doesn't do it for the pagans he doesn't do it for the heathen he doesn't do it for the hebites he doesn't do it for the jebusites or the hittites it's a particular redemption that applies specifically to the nation of israel so after the priest does that after he takes the blood into the holy of holies puts it on the mercy seat there is this other animal called the scapegoat and when the priest lays his hands on that scapegoat he confesses the sin of israel he confesses their transgression of the decalogue he confesses the fact that they have engaged in idolatry and blasphemy and sabbath breaking and insubordination to authority and murder and adultery it isn't nebulous it isn't undefined it's not generic oh lord we just wish or hope that you'll receive us into your presence no the priest means business he lays israel's sins on the head of that goat and then that goat is driven out into the wilderness it is a wonderful typological depiction of the removal of sin that we have in the person of our lord jesus christ one man says the two goats thus symbolized both propitiation for sins by death and the complete removal of the sins for which atonement was made so it was a very rich and a very wonderful ceremony engaged in by the faithful remnant of israel and it does illustrate or underscore how seriously god takes sin without the shedding of blood there is no remission and of course the blood of these bulls and goats could never atone for sin but they typologically pointed forward to the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world so leviticus 16 is all about jesus it's all about propitiation he bore the wrath of god for us it's about expiation the removal of our sin it's driven out into the wilderness via that particular scapegoat i guarantee you the faithful in israel on the day of atonement were rejoicing they were thankful they praised god that they could enter in to the presence of the most high well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for this rich symbolism this prefigurement of our blessed redeemer's work on behalf of his people and our god in heaven i pray that you would bless more and more open eyes so that they may see their sin before a holy god their need of a great savior and may they by grace flee to the lord jesus christ we thank you so very much for the gospel of our salvation we thank you that you have dealt so mercifully and graciously with us and god as we sing and as we continue to direct our attention to the word of god may our hearts be drawn out in worship and in praise in adoration to our blessed god even father son and holy spirit and we pray these things in jesus name amen we can turn with me again in your hymn books to 470 470 we'll stand as we sing together so [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Applause] my teach me [Music] [Applause] well you can turn in your bibles to matthew's gospel matthew chapter 25. matthew chapter 25 last sunday night ryan referred to the judgment to come in his sermon and i thought we'd look at that judgment to come in more detail tonight at the end of matthew chapter 25 specifically verses 31 to 46 which i'll read when the son of man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him then he will sit on the throne of his glory all the nations will be gathered before him and he shall or he will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats and he will set the sheep on his right hand but the goats on it on the left then the king will say to those on his right hand come you blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for i was hungry and you gave me food i was thirsty and you gave me drink i was a stranger and you took me in i was naked and you clothed me i was sick and you visited me i was in prison and you came to me and the righteous will answer him saying lord when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink when did we see you a stranger and take you in or naked and clothe you or when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you and the king will answer and say to them assuredly i say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me then he will also say to those on the left hand depart from me you cursed into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels for i was hungry and you gave me no food i was thirsty and you gave me no drink i was a stranger and you did not take me in naked and you did not clothe me sick and in prison and you did not visit me then they also will answer him saying lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you and he will answer them saying assuredly i say to you inasmuch as you did not do it to the to one of the least of these you did not do it to me and these will go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into eternal life amen let us pray again father thank you for the sober account and holy scripture we know and are mindful that this is our future we know there is a day appointed and we know that you have furnished proof of this by having raised the lord jesus christ from the dead we see that he will be the one that conducts this judgment and god i pray that all of us be would be ready all of us would be cleansed in his precious blood all of us would have that righteousness that avails with a holy god we ask that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to receive this truth tonight fill us with your holy spirit forgive us for all of our sin and its influences in our minds and hearts and we pray these things through jesus christ our lord amen well if you look back for just a moment to chapter 24 you will see what we call the olivet discourse and the olivet discourse is jesus prophecy concerning the destruction of jerusalem that took place in ad70 and at the end of the prophecy proper beginning in chapter 24 at verse 36 jesus gives practical application not only in dealing with the judgment that will come upon jerusalem but in dealing with the second coming of our lord jesus christ wherein he will judge the living and the dead the overarching concern of our lord is on watchfulness you see that in chapter 24 at verses 36 to 44. be watchful be ready and then he goes on to describe what watchfulness looks like it looks like being faithful chapter 24 verses 45 to 51. it looks like being prepared chapter 25 verses 1 to 13. it looks like being diligent chapter 25 verses 14 to 30 and it looks like understanding and recognizing the accountability that we have before the just judge of all the earth that's what we find in verses 31 to 46. notice that jesus speaks of the sheep and the goats this is a simile designed to highlight the separation that occurs but the teaching is not parabolic it is rather prophetic jesus is telling us what's going to happen on that day of judgment that all men everywhere no matter who you are no matter where you come from no matter what you've done you will stand before the throne of our lord jesus christ so that's the scene portrayed in verses 31 to 46. i want to look first at the setting of the judgment and then secondly we'll look at the execution of the judgment but notice in the first place the setting of the judgment the judges identified in verse 31 when the son of man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him then he will sit on the throne of his glory from this point onward jesus refers to himself as the king the king separates the sheep and the goats the king receives the sheep into his into his fold the king calls the goats to depart from him and pronounces a curse upon him and this designation son of man is a favorite one of our lord jesus of himself in the gospel records some refer to it as according to his humanity whenever jesus speaks of son of man we ought to appreciate the true humanity i think it's precisely the opposite whenever we see that identifier in the mouth of our lord concerning himself it typically refers to his divinity intriguingly in luke chapter 3 where he's referred to as the son of god there it's his humanity that's stressed in terms of the genealogy that comes or that connects him with adam so the son of man reflects a prophecy in daniel chapter 7 in verses 13 and 14. i was watching in the night visions and behold one like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven he came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples nations and languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and is kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed you see the significance of this in the trial before the sanhedrin turn over to matthew chapter 26 specifically at verse 62. jesus on trial before the sanhedrin verse 62 the high priest arose and said to him do you answer nothing what is it these men testify against you but jesus kept silent and the high priest answered and said to him i put you under oath by the living god tell us if you are the christ the son of god jesus said to him it is as you said nevertheless i say to you hereafter you will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming on the clouds of heaven look at the response of the high priest in verse 65. the high priest tore his clothes saying he has spoken blasphemy what further need do we have of witnesses look now you have heard his blasphemy what do you think they answered and said he is deserving of death so when jesus says of himself he is daniel son of man that is not lost on the high priest the high priest equates that with blasphemy and they order him to be executed for that sin for that crime so back to matthew chapter 25 and verse 31 it is the lord jesus christ it is the son of man it is the king of kings he is uh glorious he is attended by angels and he sits upon the throne of glory and then in verses 32 and 33 we see the target of his judgment it says all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats and he will shut the sheep on the right on his right hand but the goats on the left so simply the target of his judgment is all nations all persons that are in those nations that have ever lived we will not escape this it is appointed for man to die once and then comes judgment there is that old quip that there's only two certainties in life death and taxes you cannot pay your taxes if you're okay with going to jail but to die and to stand in judgment is absolutely certain that will happen we will all give an account of deeds done in the body whether good or ill and so jesus brings us to consider that awful scene and now we come to the execution of the judgment and this breaks down into three sections first the judgment of the righteous verses 34-40 secondly the judgment of the unrighteous verses 41-45 and then finally the summary concerning the judgment in verse 46. notice in the first place the judgment of the righteous beginning in verse 34 the declaration then the king will say to those on his right hand come you blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world most glorious most wondrous most awesome and most excellent that is our future come is what the blessed king says when the king in his earthly ministry bids us come and when we by grace do come in the eschatological judgment to come we are bitten by him to come in to that kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world that is the declaration of the king to the righteous now notice the reason provided by the judge in verses 35 and 36. notice he makes this pronouncement come you bless it come you inheritor come you receive the kingdom which was prepared for you from the foundation of the world and then he gives the rationale he gives the reason and in verse 35 he says for i was hungry and you gave me food i was thirsty and you gave me drink i was a stranger and you took me in i was naked and you clothed me i was sick and you visited me i was in prison and you came to me now i realize that this passage causes a great deal of confusion among the people of god it seems to suggest that we enter into heaven or we are excluded from heaven by the works that we have done well let me just encourage you this passage not only shows us what the day of judgment looks like but it also underscores for us the glorious doctrine of justification by faith alone justification by faith alone always results in the sanctification of the one who was justified in other words those saved by grace will engage in good works those saved by grace will manifest that salvation in their gratitude toward god that fleshes itself out in the way that they conduct themselves to the least of these my brethren in other words they have a heart to serve the people of god not perfectly we're justified by grace through faith in the perfect one our lord jesus christ on that day of judgment we're not going to be able to proffer works that are absolutely spotless and pure the best that we do needs to be cleansed by the blood of jesus our repentance needs to be cleansed by the blood of jesus any good thing that we offer to god needs to be cleansed by the blood of jesus so he provides this rationale in verses 35 and 36 now notice the response of the righteous in verses 37 to 39 they're surprised at his assessment why do you think they're surprised with his assessment not least of all by his association of himself with the least of these my brethren notice the first person singular verses 34 35 and 36 i was hungry you gave me food i was thirsty you gave me drink i was a stranger you took me in i was naked and you clothed me i was sick and you visited me i was in prison and you came to me that uh response in verse 37 is absolutely consistent and the righteous will say to him or answer him saying lord when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink when did we see you a stranger and take you in or naked and clothe you or when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you they're surprised again the association that the good works they did to the people of god jesus says you did it unto me now the new testament goes on to elucidate this even further in acts chapter 9 when when the the risen christ the enthroned christ comes to the apostle paul on the road to damascus and paul asks for his identity and he says i am jesus whom you are persecuting we have no historical record that paul the apostle actually persecuted the lord jesus christ we have a historical record that paul the apostle was on his way to damascus with extradition papers so that he could seize believers and take them back to jerusalem and punish them so when jesus says i am jesus whom you are persecuting we see the solidarity between the head and the body the rest of the new testament again underscores that reality christ's connection to his bride he is the head and we are the body so they are surprised at the association but as well they're surprised because the righteous did not do these works in order that they may garner a reward they simply did it because that's the reflex of having been saved by god's grace through faith in our lord jesus christ they didn't do the works to get saved they did the works because they had been saved knox chamblin says they have acted from love of god and neighbor rather than from hope of reward you see it's a consistent thing those justified freely by god's grace live a life of sanctification they engage in good works now i know we don't engage in good works like we ought i know our sanctification isn't you know red-hot as it ought to be but again brethren the point is is that the works done by believers are not done so that they may be given reward by god in terms of eternal life the works done by believers is because they have received eternal life from god and then the judge confirms this in verse 40. notice and the king will answer and say to them assuredly i say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me the solidarity between christ and his bride is most excellent it's most wonderful and hopefully it tempers the way we approach service to others when we engage in good works christ is the one who receives those and approves them now notice in the second place the judgment of the unrighteous in verses to 45. again you have a declaration by the king in verse 41 just the opposite then he will also say to those on the left hand depart from me you cursed into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels the sheep are told to come they come the goats are told to depart ryle says they would not hear christ when he said come unto me and i will give you rest and now they must hear him say depart into everlasting fire don't miss the significance of that before this in matthew chapter 11 jesus does that very thing come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and i will give you rest you refuse and you reject that rest offered now and at the final day you will hear these words depart from me there's no more coming at that point there's no more reception at that point there's no more accepting jesus into your heart at that point at that point you hear the words of the king in verse 40. assuredly i s verse 41 depart from me you cursed into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels the king calls them cursed whereas the sheep are identified as those blessed of my father the king casts them into the everlasting fire notice it's prepared for the devil and for his angels spurgeon makes the observation they had joined the devil in refusing allegiance to the lord so it was but right that imitating his rebellion they should share his judgment you identify with the devil on this side of the day of judgment you resist and reject the lord jesus christ don't be surprised when you hear depart from me go into that place that was created for the devil and for his angels now again similar to the judgment of the righteous the king furnishes proof the king furnishes a rationale the king gives reasons and notice that the emphasis falls on the sins of omission they are condemned for not doing the good that they were supposed to do in contrast with the righteous who did the good that they were supposed to do the unrighteous did not do the good that they were supposed to do notice in verse 42 for i was hungry you gave me no food i was thirsty you gave me no drink i was a stranger and you did not take me in naked and you did not clothe me sick and in prison and you did not visit me in the same place you have their surprise verse 44 similarly then they will answer him saying lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you so it's the exact contrast with the righteous the declaration of the king the rationale afforded by the king and notice it was failure to act in or engage in acts of charity or sins of omission and again brethren i want to clarify that it's not the case that when you get on that day of judgment you'll enter in or you'll be excluded from heaven solely and alone based on your works no we enter in based on what christ has accomplished or we are excluded because of our refusal or our unbelief or our lack of reception of what christ has accomplished the passage teaches us what the new testament elsewhere manifests that when sinners are saved by grace through faith they will by grace continue in or engage in rather good works our confession puts it this way it says faith thus receiving and resting on christ and his righteousness is the alone instrument of justification yet it is not alone in the person justified but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces and is no dead faith but worketh by love that is an appeal to galatians 5 6. you can turn there galatians chapter 5. it would be an odd twist of events if the apostle having declared the doctrine of justification by faith so clearly in chapter 2 of galatians and having condemned those who would distort that gospel of grace in chapter 1 showing its covenantal framework in chapters 3 and 4 to now come in chapter 5 and say oh and by the way you're saved by the degree to which you love people that would be contrary to the apostles whole argument in galatians notice in chapter 5 at verse 1 stand fast therefore in the liberty by which christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage indeed i paul say to you that if you become circumcised christ will profit you nothing and i testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law you who you have be you have become estranged from christ you who attempt to be justified by law you've fallen from grace for we through the spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith for in christ jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but faith working through love he's dealing with justified by grace through faith in christ believers he is dealing with the place of love relative to our sanctification which follows on the heels of our justification like the confession says faith thus receiving and resting on christ and his righteousness is the alone instrument of justification yet it is not alone in the person justified but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces and is no dead faith but works by love machine on galatians 5 6 love according to the new testament is not the means of salvation but it is the finest fruit of it a man is saved by faith not by love but he is saved by faith in order that he may love and then of course you have the teaching of james in james chapter 2. we're not supposed to blunt that sword in our defense of justification by faith alone james affirms justification by faith alone james affirms sovereign grace james affirms the work of god in opening the dead sinner's heart and implanting the the the living word there james and paul agree theologically james and paul agree even with reference to justification and sanctification you see everything that james does james does in james 2 fits with justification by faith he's talking about a particular type of faith a species of faith that is not accompanied by all other saving graces it is a dead faith it isn't legit it isn't real so james is simply telling his audience that those who profess faith in jesus saving faith in jesus will always result in good works it will always be like abraham who believed god and it was accounted unto him for righteousness abraham is appealed to by james in james chapter 2 to show that abraham was justified by faith in genesis chapter 15 and then james or rather abraham's demonstration of that was at moriah when he took his son the only son the son that he loved and he offered him up to god so you see justification by faith and then the works consistent with it the same thing in leviticus brethren guess what happens after the day of atonement in leviticus chapter 16. guess what happens when your sins are forgiven then comes the holiness code then comes how then must we live you live this way as justified freely by grace through faith in christ sinners and just for the record it's not only abraham but it's also rahab rahab the harlot confessed her faith in yahweh the works that she did in hiding the spies demonstrated the validity of that faith in the living and true god incidentally turn to ephesians chapter two paul emphasizes the same thing as james does justification by faith and the place of good works following that justification by faith notice in ephesians 2 8 for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of god not of works lest anyone should boast four we are his workmanship created in christ jesus for good works which god prepared beforehand that we should walk in them why did they ever try to posit any antipathy between james and paul well the papists did that to try and maintain their galatian heresy but there is no antipathy between the apostle paul and james they both preach justification by faith alone but that faith is not alone but it's always accompanied by all other saving graces our confession at chapter 16 paragraph two says these good works the good works done by the people of god by those who have believed the gospel these good works done in obedience to god god's commandments are the listen to this fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith they are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith so in matthew 25 31-46 jesus isn't turning on its head the doctrine of justification by faith alone to basically say on the day of judgment it's up to you on the day of judgment whatever you did or you didn't do that's the basis upon which you'll enter in or you'll be excluded so going back to matthew chapter 25 understanding the evidentiary nature of these acts or good works that's the emphasis in the passage so in terms of the response of the unrighteous in verse 44. notice then they will also answer him saying lord this indicates or evidences that these are false professors in the christian camp similarly with matthew chapter 7 turn back to matthew 7 the very end of the chapter in the sermon on the mount the lord jesus ends the sermon on the mount by speaking of two ways two trees two claims and two builders and notice the two claims in chapter 7 at verse 21 not everyone who says to me lord lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father in heaven notice lord lord these are muslims these aren't hindus they aren't these aren't atheists these are persons that are describing jesus the king as lord so not everyone who says to me lord lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father in heaven many will say to me in that day lord lord have we not prophesied in your name cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name notice that jesus does not negate the claim jesus doesn't say oh you're lying you're false no you didn't do any of that no he doesn't do that see people take this passage and turn it on its head as well and tell people you need to do more you need to work harder you need to be better a brother you need to do more i do we need to work harder we need to be better i i grant that but this is not the text that is to get it absolutely positively wrong doing the will of the father is belief on the lord jesus christ john 6 and verse 40. doing the will of the father is not us going out there working our fingers to the bone thinking that somehow we can erase the sin problem and thinking that somehow our obedience is exact it is entire it is perpetual and it is personal and we're going to offer it up to god lisa be a covenant of works and say take me into your kingdom no the doing of the will of the father in heaven is to believe the gospel of our lord jesus christ verse 23 and then i will declare to them i never knew you it's not like they were saved and lost it i never knew you depart from me you who practice lawlessness so imagine you're doing those things you're doing those good works you're casting out demons you're healing people but you're not doing it by grace through faith in our lord jesus so jesus says jesus condemns that as lawlessness it's not just the work it's the attitude or the mindset of the heart behind the work if we're doing things to earn our favor with god we are lawless men and women if we are doing things because god in his grace has saved us has forgiven us and given us a righteousness that's the right tenor in which to engage in our good works so back to matthew chapter 25 they address him as lord it is the insincerity of professing christians but it certainly demonstrates the vivid reality of philippians 2 10 and 11 that at the name of jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on earth and of the and those under the earth and that every tongue should confess that jesus christ is lord to the glory of god the father make no mistake about it you will confess that he is lord confess him now and by grace you're saved confess him then it'll be the last thing you say before you depart and are cast into the hell that was prepared for the devil and his angels and then notice the assumption that they seem to proffer is that if they knew it was jesus well then they would have done it look at verse 44 then they also will answer him saying lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you what's the implicat lord if we would have known you wanted a burger if we would have known that you wanted some water if we would have known that you wanted a visitation well by all means we would have been there for you that's not the point the point is you do what you do because god has saved you you do what you do because it's right you do what you do not because of who the target audience is you do what you do because god calls you to do it now notice the confirmation by the judge verse 45 that he will answer that saying assuredly i say to you inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these you did not do it to me so the absence of acts of charity highlights what the absence of saving faith make sure you don't miss this i want you to get this yes we all need to do more yes we all need to try harder yes we all need to be better but brethren the point of the passage is that these are evidences these are fruits of a faith that god has given by which we close with the lord jesus christ the rejection of christ's least of these notice in verse 45 inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these brethren it carries over from the former use it's just a literary dropping of the brethren now there is this teaching that it means all men everywhere usually people that imbibe that particular doctrine end up as a works righteousness salvation it just seems to happen there's a good case to be made the least of these my brethren in matthew's gospel are jesus disciples that doesn't mean we shouldn't help pagans that doesn't mean if your your neighbor is falling off the roof and he's bleeding you say hey can you affirm that christ lived died and rose again can you affirm that you're saved by you know once we know that then i'll you know call it 9-1-1 or then i'll you know put something on your on your bleeding wound no no that's not it we we can certainly do good to all men but what does the apostle say do good to all men galatians 6 especially of the household of faith in other words the least of these my brethren are christ's disciples again it's the solidarity of the head with the body and if we don't care about one another it reflects that ultimately we don't have saving faith in the lord jesus the disciples of christ are his brethren matthew 12 matthew 23 matthew 28 the disciples of christ are little ones it should not be made to stumble chapter 18 verse 6 or despise chapter 18 verse 10 for it is the father's will that they should not perish chapter 18 verse 14. the disciples of christ who are received are on par with the reception of christ himself in fact look at chapter 10 specifically to see this connection chapter 10 at verse 40. he who receives you receives me and he receives me receives him who sent me he receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward he receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall re receive a righteous man's reward and whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple assuredly i say to you he shall by no means lose his reward the nations are judged ultimately based on their reception or rejection of christ and that is demonstrable in the way that they treat christ's people that's the point of the passage the summary statement in chapter 25 at verse 46 underscores what he's already said but there is something intriguing to note verse 46 these will go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into eternal life it's intriguing people don't have a problem with eternal life they have a problem with everlasting punishment they have a problem with eternal condemnation in hell forever and ever but interestingly it's the same word employed by jesus either for blessing or for woe john gill notes this and he comments and which ascertains the eternity of the punishment of the wicked for as the happiness of the righteous will be eternal the punishment of the wicked be so too for no reason can be given why the word which is the same in both clauses should be taken in the one for a limited time and in the other for an eternal duration what hermeneutical framework do you have to deny that everlasting damnation means everlasting damnation when it's strictly parallel with eternal life now in conclusion first of all the passage does not teach salvation by works it's good for us to know what the bible teaches but it's also good for us to know what the bible doesn't teach and i'm going to give you several reasons i'll just run through them why the passage does not teach salvation by works i've already alluded to this i've already invoked our confession the theology behind it the justification by faith the connection between justification and sanctification though distinct they are inter inextricably connected but in terms of the passage not teaching salvation by works in the first place the sheep and the goats are already sheep and goats when they get to the judgment the sheep and the goats are already sheep and goats when they get to the judgment they're not made so at that point secondly the sheep are called blessed of my father which points to them as having been favored by god grace is the emphasis grace is the accent third the sheep are called to inherit the kingdom we don't earn or merit an inheritance we receive the inheritance because we're adopted sons and daughters of the living and true god fourthly the sheep are given a kingdom that was prepared for you from the foundation of the world just like they were elected ephesians 1 4 just like the good works they walk in ephesians 2 10. fifth the good works are the evidence of the presence of saving faith again 25 31 to 46 is not a separate book it's not sort of out there it's not okay here's what you have genesis to revelation where the overarching theme is on justification by faith alone you get it in genesis 15 abraham believed god and it was accounted unto him for righteousness i mentioned zechariah the prophet this morning zechariah chapter 3 with reference to joshua the high priest he wasn't saved because he was a law keeper he wasn't saved because he was good he was saved because god is gracious and god justified him he forgave him of his sins and he clothed them with a righteousness you get to the pages of the new testament the same emphasis is throughout so 31 to 46 is not upbraiding all of that and saying oh and by the way on the day of judgment you're either entering in or you're excluded based on how you treated your brothers and sisters again hear the emphasis brethren treat your brothers and sisters well treat your brothers and sisters with love treat your brothers and sisters with the good works that is glorifying the god is good for your soul and it's certainly good for that six the surprise of the sheep indicates that they were not doing good works in order to be saved they did them as a consequence of their salvation they're shocked look lord when when did we see you when did we do these things when did we engage in this that's a different mindset than the person who's calculatingly trying to accrue enough good works so that they can enter in to the presence of god seventh the continual emphasis in matthew's gospel is on salvation by grace through faith 121 you shall call his name jesus for it is he who will save his people from their sins you've got matthew 7 verses 21 to 23. we just looked there doing the will of god is not more works again in the realm of sanctification do more works but in terms of the day of judgment it's the active and passive obedience of jesus that we desperately need matthew chapter 9 the call of matthew jesus call tells matthew follow me matthew was a wretch matthew was a tax collector matthew didn't have an epiphany in the tax office and say oh there's that jesus of nazareth i'm going to go out and do good things so hopefully he'll he'll bring me into his true into his troop there no matthew chapter 11 25-30 come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and i will give you rest you see those passages are consistent with this passage and then of course in matthew chapter 20 at verse 28 you could turn there just to see again the stress is on the salvation brought out by our lord jesus christ matthew 20 28 just as the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many eighthly the ludicrous notion that jesus and paul are at odds in the matter of salvation it's a rejection of the unity of scripture and don't think that hasn't been tried don't think that there's been a big wedge inserted between jesus and paul there's a school of thought out there that jesus was this wonderful great religious teacher and paul the apostle basically came and messed it all up paul the apostle came and basically convoluted it and twisted it to serve his own needs brethren we know that's that's garbage we know that's wrong but understand there's no wedge between the teaching of jesus in the gospels and paul in the epistles it is the unity of scripture and then ninthly and finally in terms of the passage not teaching salvation by works the application of galatians 2 21. galatians 2 21 the apostle says i do not set apart or set aside the grace of god for if righteousness comes through the law then christ died in vain so if it is the case that we can stand before god as a sheep because of all the great things that we have done then why the cross why the lord jesus why blood atonement why leviticus chapter 16. now secondly the passage does teach first the absolute certainty of judgment to come we don't think about this today we see all kinds of political characters we see all kinds of criminal elements we see all kinds of persons what appears to be get away with things scot-free i mean brethren there are some horrendous heinous things i think in in the state of california right now you can actually walk into a store shoplift i think it's up to 950 dollars walk right out and they don't even arrest you now that's bad isn't it that's horrible that that really does attack at the very guts of a civil society and it does abandon this whole concept of the rule of law i mean we saw the the summer of love in 2020 with antifa and black lives matter basically burning cities down i mean not just a little bit of peaceful protest but actually you know remember chas i'm old enough to remember chaz you remember these renegade maps what's happened to these people where's the accountability where's the punishment where's the punitive or corrective measures where's the sorts of things that ought to be applied across the board well when it comes to the divine tribunal none of us escapes when it comes to the judgment to come all of us will stand before the lord jesus christ secondly the glory of christ as the judge to come the allusion to old testament texts describing judgment to yahweh the title of son of man the self-identity identification of christ as king who is the eschatological judge in john 5 god willing in the coming weeks we will see how jesus says that the father has entrusted to him judgeship over all things well that shows and demonstrates the glory of jesus christ thirdly you'll have the separation of the righteous from the wicked on the day of judgment and into eternity good news isn't it it's not always going to be like this not always going to be the case where there's these sorts of injustices in the new jerusalem revelation 21 and verse 8. it's repeated twice in revelation 22 i think twice that the wicked are excluded from the city of god that is given sir to warn the people of god you make sure you're part of the people of god but it's also an encouragement do you want to go to heaven when in heaven there's all the sorts of crime all the sorts of rebellion all the sorts of pedophilia all the sorts of injustices that obtain this lower world isn't that going to be one of the blessings of being in the new jerusalem the exclusion of the wicked from that wonderful place fourth the truth that works give evidence to the presence of saving faith that's obvious that's patent that's what the text is telling us fifth the identification of good works look at what the text says jesus says i was in prison and you visited me i was hungry and you gave me to eat i was sick and you visited me john chrysostom says mark how easy are his injunctions in other words good works biblically defined don't demand a ton of money on our part don't demand a ton of resourcefulness on our part don't demand a ton of you know ingenuity on our part it's not it doesn't take rocket science to see a a brother who's hungry or a brother who's thirsty and say here's a cup of water that's not rocket science brethren chrysostom says and mark how easy are his injunctions he said not i was in prison and you set me free i was sick and you raised me up again but you visited me and you came unto me sixth we see the necessity for god's people to engage in such good works again not so that we will be saved but because by grace we have been saved calvin says we must be prodigiously sluggish if compassion be not drawn out or drawn from our bowels by this statement in verse 40 that christ is either neglected or honored in the person of those who need our assistance seventhly the passage does teach that there are two and only two places where persons will go for eternity verse 46 summarizes these will go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into eternal life there's no limbo there's no purgatory there's no dreamless sleep there's no anything other than heaven and hell those are the exclusive realities facing people when they enter the day of judgment eighthly the blessedness of the righteous consider the blessedness of the righteous first of all they're with christ secondly they have a prepared kingdom and they have entered into eternal life that right there ought to cause all of god's people to jump up with a mighty leap and to shout glory to his name and then finally the misery of the unrighteous i think i've explained to you typical puritan and reformed sort of commentary on on the doctrine of hell it involves a two-fold punishment there is a punishment of loss and there is a punishment of sense you have the punishment of loss in the words of jesus depart from me if the pinnacle of blessedness is to be with christ then the pinnacle of cursedness is to be cast from him so there is this punishment of loss all of the good of god is deprived in a punitive way but then there is the punishment of sense and you see that in scripture there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth there's no rest for the wicked the bible tells us so you have the blessedness of the righteous and you have the cursiveness of the wicked and then finally it is imperative that the pre that the church preached the gospel this is the means by which men women boys and girls are prepared for the day of judgment if we preach social justice without the gospel of salvation we are doing positive damage to people in the early part of the 20th century they called that the social gospel guess what's making its foray back into the professing churches of our lord jesus christ today we call it social justice warriors again not wrong to be concerned with social justice the bible specifically the proverbs of solomon do you know how many times solomon says that the lord abominates unjust scales we saw last week proverbs chapter 6 god abominates the hands that shed innocent blood of course we should be in tune with social justice of course we should be concerned with the the downtrodden and the poor of course we should be concerned with those things but without the gospel of jesus christ we're doing positive damage to people we're teaching them the be better do more try harder and everything will work out that's not the gospel that's not salvation by grace through faith in jesus so the church has a responsibility at this place or at this point to prepare people to stand in judgment before the living and the true god and it is imperative ultimately that you believe the gospel the one who says in matthew 11 come to me says in matthew 25 on that day of judgment come there is a connection there you refuse him now you reject him now there will be no come on that day of judgment there will rather be depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels there is a way there is a means there is hope and it is in the person of our lord jesus christ well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for its consistency we thank you for the unity of scripture we thank you for the scope of the whole which is our blessed savior bringing salvation to his people for the glory of god almighty may you give us wisdom concerning these things and god may you give us earnestness when it comes to to manifesting that saving grace in our own hearts and lives in the way that we treat one another go with us now we pray bless us in this coming week bless all of our brothers and sisters who are still struggling with illness bless the newfounds with their several difficulties and trials god we thank you that dawn made it safely to oklahoma we pray for your grace and your mercy and your blessing upon her in this new chapter of her life and lord go with your people now we pray in the name of jesus christ our lord amen close with a brief time of meditation [Music] you