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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 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 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. 
And 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 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 this sober account in 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 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 AD 70. 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 gonna 
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 wanna 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 judge is 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 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 
three, 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 his 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's 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 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 set the sheep 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 to 40. Secondly, the judgment of the 
unrighteous, verses 41 to 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 bidden by Him to come into 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 blessed, 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 were 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. 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 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 response in verse 37 is 
absolutely consistent. Then 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 
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 Chamberlain 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 41 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. at that point. At that point, 
you hear the words of the king in verse 40. Verse 41, depart 
from me, you curse, into the everlasting fire prepared for 
the devil and his angels. The king calls them curse, whereas 
the sheep are identified as those blessed of my father. The king 
cast 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 five at verse 
one, stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has 
made us free and do not be entangled again with a 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 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. Machen 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 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 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 2. 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. For 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 2, 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'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 to 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 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 aren't Muslims. These aren't Hindus. 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. Oh, brethren, you need to do 
more. I do. We need to work harder. 
We need to be better. 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 vis-à-vis 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 or 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 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 a stranger or naked or sick 
or in prison and did not minister to you? What's the implication? 
Well, 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 them, 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 neighbor 
has fallen 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 God? Once we know that, then I'll 
call 911, or then I'll put something on your, on your bleeding wound. 
No, no, no, that's not it. 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 that should not be 
made to stumble. Chapter 18, verse 6. Or despised. 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 who receives me receives him 
who sent me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet 
shall receive a prophet's reward. He who receives a righteous man 
in the name of a righteous man shall 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. 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 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 him 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 
to God, is good for your soul, and is certainly good for them. 
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 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 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 bring 
me into his troop there. No. Matthew chapter 11, 25 to 
30. Come to me, all you who are weary 
and debilated, 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 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 the state of California 
right now, you can actually walk into a store, shoplift, I think 
it's up to $950, walk right out and they don't even arrest you. 
Now, that's bad, isn't it? That's horrible. 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 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 Chaz? I'm 
old enough to remember Chaz. You remember these renegade men? 
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-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 gonna be like this. Not always gonna 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, sure, 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 wanna 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 in this lower world? Isn't that gonna 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 ingenuity 
on our part. It doesn't take rocket science 
to see 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. Chris Austen 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 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'll 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 cursedness of the wicked. 
And then finally, it is imperative that the church preach 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 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 calm 
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 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 Neufelds 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.