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Bibles to Matthew chapter 25. Matthew 25, our last message 
on the Olivet Discourse, Jesus' fifth discourse recorded in Matthew's 
Gospel, chapters 24 and 25, also known as the eschatological discourse, 
as Christ speaks concerning the last things. And specifically 
here in chapter 25, He gets real practical, and He makes application 
to the lives of His people, and He tells us that we are to be 
watchful, actually the end of chapter 24. He tells us we are 
to be watchful, and watchfulness, according to our Lord, does not 
mean sitting by the window, looking up into the sky and waiting for 
the Savior's return. But watchfulness looks like faithfulness. Verses 44 to 51 in chapter 24, 
the faithful servant and the evil servant. That evil servant 
thought the Master's return would be delayed for a long time, so 
he beat his fellow servants. He got drunk with the drunkards. 
He was not faithful. As well, we need to live in a 
prepared state. That's the parable of the foolish 
and the wise virgins. The wise virgins are those who 
not only had the lamp, but they also had the accompanying vessel 
with the oil necessary. The foolish virgins were caught 
off guard. They were unready. to meet the 
bridegroom. And then the parable of the talents 
in chapter 25 verses 14 to 30 indicate that we are to be diligent 
in light of Christ's return in glory. We need to be a faithful 
people, using the gifts and resources, the talents, if you will, that 
He's entrusted to us, and put those to good use. So all of 
that we could identify as living in light of the coming of the 
Son of Man. When we get to chapter 25, verses 
31 to 46, we are thrust forth into a consideration of that 
day, when the Son of Man comes and the judgment that ensues 
from there on. So I want to read beginning in 
chapter 25 at 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. 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. Then 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, in as much 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? Then he will answer them saying, 
assuredly, I say to you, in as much 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. Well, let us pray. Father 
in heaven, this is a very sobering passage of Scripture, and I pray 
that the Spirit would guide us and lead us as we look at it 
in detail. We pray for the forgiveness of 
sins. Certainly any bare reading of 
Scripture always lays us open to the charge of uncleanness. 
Certainly when we dig deeper, when we examine your truth, God, 
we see ourselves before you, a holy and a righteous God, and 
we are filthy and undone. How we praise you for the blood 
of the Lord Jesus Christ that does wash and purify and cleanse 
us from all sin. And how we pray that even now 
you would do that, you would forgive us, that you would help 
us to receive with thanksgiving your word. For any and all who 
have come here this morning that are not in Christ, those who 
have not believed the gospel, we pray that today would be the 
day of salvation, that your Holy Spirit would work. We know it's 
impossible for us to raise dead sinners, but with God all things 
are possible. So we appeal to sovereign power 
and sovereign grace and great mercy, and we would pray that 
you would be exalted and glorified in the salvation of sinners. 
And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. Well, as we look 
at this particular passage, we looked at the first half last 
week, and essentially we saw the setting of the judgment in 
verses 31 to 33. We see the identification of 
the judge in verse 31. When the Son of Man comes in 
His glory, that Son of Man is a reference to Jesus Himself. 
He uses it often in His earthly ministry, and I suspect that 
when we hear that, we associate it with His humanity. But more 
often than not, he is suggesting the Daniel passage in 7, 13, 
and 14, that Son of Man who comes to the Ancient of Days and is 
given authority and power and dominion and rule over all things. So it's a title descriptive of 
the glory of Jesus Christ. But he goes on to highlight, 
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. He then 
highlights the target of judgment in verses 32 and 33. It says, 
all the nations will be gathered before him. He will separate 
them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 
He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on 
the left. And so often persons look at 
this and say it's the parable of the sheep and the goats. It's 
not a parable. There's a simile used concerning 
the sheep and the goats and the division that there will be made 
or the separation on the day of judgment, but this is not 
parable. It is prophecy. It is certainty. It is true. 
What Christ specifies concerning the judgment to come is the judgment 
to come. And we need to take heed to that, 
and we need to seek by the grace of God to be ready for that. 
lest we be caught unawares, or we be caught off guard. That's 
been the recurring theme in this practical section in the Olivet 
Discourse. Remember the days of Noah. They 
ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, 
and then the flood came and swept them away. That next parable 
concerning the man who, or the next reference to the man who 
knew the master of the house, if he knew at what time or hour 
the thief was going to come, he'd stop him. He wouldn't invite 
him in. He wouldn't have tea with him. 
He wouldn't allow him to rape his wife or his daughters and 
take all of his property. That man would stop him if he 
knew what hour he was going to come. The point is, don't be 
caught unawares. Don't be caught off guard. The 
wise and the faithful servant, the same thing. the unwise and 
the faithful servant, the unwise or the wicked servant, he wasn't 
ready. He thought the master was going to delay his coming, 
so he engages in wicked lawless conduct. Same with those foolish 
virgins. They thought there would be no 
delay and that the bridegroom would come immediately, but they 
weren't ready for the long haul. You see, all of us are going 
to have to stand before this Lord. All of us are going to 
have to give an account to this Lord All of us will face this 
Lord, and if we are unprepared, if we are caught off guard, that 
will be the absolute worst thing you've ever experienced. Oftentimes 
we spend more time estate planning, or planning where we'll go to 
school, or planning even what we'll have for dinner tonight, 
than what we will do when the Son of Man returns in His glory 
to judge the living and the dead. Shame on us for living as if 
there is no God. Shame on us for living as if 
there is no eternity. Shame on us for living as if 
this life is all that there ever is. This passage calls us to 
consider the Son of Man coming in His glory with all His holy 
angels, separating the nations from before Him as a shepherd 
divides the sheep and the goats. Are you a sheep? Have you, by 
the grace of God, tasted and seen that He is good? Or are 
you one who continues to reject and continues to rebel and continues 
to resist? It will not be good for you on 
the Day of Judgment. Last week, we considered the 
righteous. With reference to the execution 
of the judgment, we looked at the judgment of the righteous. Notice in verses 33 to 40, the 
sheep are dealt with here. He will set the sheep on his 
right and the goats on the left, and the king will say to those 
on his right, the sheep, come, you blessed of my father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 
Essentially, what we have here is the declaration of the judge. 
And you'll see the passages structurally parallel. What he says to the 
righteous, he says to the unrighteous, but the opposite. You see, the 
righteous are told to come, the unrighteous are told to depart. 
The righteous are told to inherit a blessed kingdom, The unrighteous 
are told they're going to a kingdom, the kingdom of the devil himself 
that was prepared for him and his angels. It is structurally 
parallel. Our Lord is trying to tell, not 
trying, but He is exhorting us and telling us what this judgment 
will look like. So He declares this to the righteous. 
He then provides a reason in verses 35 and 36. Essentially, 
these acts of charity demonstrate that their faith was real. I'm 
going to give you several reasons why this passage does not teach 
justification by works in just a moment by way of review. But 
notice in verses 35 to 36, I was hungry, you gave me food. I was 
thirsty, 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. A past reporter read Mark 
chapter one. What does Jesus say concerning 
the kingdom? Repent and believe. What's the scripture everywhere 
declare? We're justified freely by His 
grace through faith. Jesus is not teaching salvation 
by works in this particular instance. Jesus is not teaching us that 
if we do enough good, we'll somehow balance out the scales or correct 
the scales and find acceptance with our God. No, the idea here 
is that these works demonstrate the validity of one's faith. 
The works function the way James teaches in James chapter 1 and 
2. These works function the way 
Paul teaches in Ephesians 2, 8 through 10. We are saved by 
grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, lest anyone 
should boast. We have been given this freely 
by God. Grace through faith, salvation. grace through faith, 
acceptance with God. But then he goes on in verse 
10 to say, for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good 
works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk 
in them. So you see, the works that we 
engage in give evidence to the faith that we profess. That's 
the emphasis at this judgment. It's not, wow, you handed a poor 
man a sandwich, so welcome in. That's going to mitigate all 
the effects of your wretchedness and your evil and your vileness. That's not the way it works. 
The only thing, the only remedy to mitigate the effects of our 
wretchedness is the cross. It's the Lord Jesus. It's what 
He accomplished. It's His life of perfect obedience. 
It's His death on Calvary and His resurrection the third day. 
That's what mitigates the wrath and fury of God. Not us leaving 
today and buying somebody a sandwich. And I want to give you several 
reasons why we know that's the case in the first place. The 
passage does not teach salvation by words, because the sheep and 
the goats are already sheep and goats when they get there. They 
don't become sheep and goats. This isn't a trial. There's no 
evidence produced by an attorney. There's no back and forth from 
the bench to the dock. This is already settled. The 
sheep and the goats are sheep and the goats when they appear 
before the Lord God Most High. The sheep are called blessed 
of my Father, secondly, which points to them having been favored 
by God. We're not blessed of God or we're 
not blessed of the Father because we're good. We're blessed of 
the Father because He's good. We're blessed of the Father because 
He's merciful. We're blessed of the Father because 
He's gracious. Thirdly, the sheep are called 
to inherit the kingdom. You don't merit or earn an inheritance. The whole idea behind inheritance 
is something freely given by the king to those unworthy. We 
are told to inherit, not merit or what you have worked for. 
Fourth, the sheep are given a kingdom that was prepared for you from 
the foundation of the world. If you think in terms of Paul 
in Ephesians 1.4, he says, just as he chose us in him before 
the foundation of the world. It's an amazing thing, isn't 
it? That God who chose us has well prepared this kingdom for 
the ones He chose. And these good works that we 
actually do engage in, when we hand somebody a sandwich, when 
we give them a cup of water, when we clothe the naked, when 
we visit the sick, when we visit the imprisoned, all of those 
good works were prepared beforehand by God that we should walk in 
them. As I said last week, whenever 
you do something wrong, you get all the blame. Whenever you do 
something right, God gets all the glory. It's a good rule of 
thumb. Fifthly, the good works are evidences of the presence 
of saving faith. That's how it functions on the 
Day of Judgment. Sixth, 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. And he said, well, of course 
we did that. Now give us what is our due. Of course we handed 
out sandwiches. Of course we visited the poor. 
Of course we helped the imprisoned. Now give us this kingdom. They're 
surprised. They're shocked. They're not 
living in terms of a ledger system. They're not living in terms of 
assets and liabilities. These good works are the consequence 
of the faith that's in their hearts. These good works are 
the natural outflow of what God in Christ had done in saving 
them from their sins. As well, seventhly, the continual 
emphasis in Matthew's gospel on salvation by grace through 
faith. It's an amazing thing. Persons 
say, well, you know, there's this problem between Jesus and 
Paul, or at least Matthew's Jesus and Paul. There's no problem. You shall call his name Jesus, 
for it is he who will save his people from their sins. It couldn't 
be any more Pauline, could it? This is a trustworthy statement, 
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into this world 
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Look at the emphasis in 
Matthew chapter 11, 25 to 30. Christ praises the Father that 
thou didst hide these things from the wise and prudent, but 
thou didst reveal them unto babes. Even so, Father, for thus it 
was well-pleasing in my sight. You see, Matthew teaches the 
same thing as Paul and that brings us to another consideration. 
The ludicrous notion that Jesus and Paul are at odds in the matter 
of salvation. As if Paul was not sharp enough 
to try and tailor his writings to a version of salvation by 
works. The Bible is a consistent whole 
because it's given by a consistent God, and there is no contradiction, 
there is no discrepancy. The same thing taught in here 
by Matthew's Jesus, as if there is such a thing, Jesus himself, 
is the same thing taught by the Apostle Paul. Persons see problems 
with James and Paul. There's no problem whatsoever 
from James and Paul. James is dealing with a bunch 
of people who profess saving faith and are like bumps on logs. So he tells them, what good is 
it if you're going to say you're a believer? Can that faith save 
you? This is consistent Orthodox Christianity throughout the ages. 
We're not saved by works, we're saved by grace through faith 
unto good works. And then the last thing I would 
argue in terms of this passage not teaching salvation by works, 
the application of Galatians 2.21 to such an interpretation. You could turn there because 
I think this is decisive. The other eight points didn't 
convince you, I hope this point nine does. I don't think we often ponder 
the wretched consequences of self-righteousness. I don't think 
we ponder how bad a sin self-righteousness really is. I mean, it's easy 
to see the sin of crack usage, or it's easy to see the sin of 
prostitution, or it's easy to see the sin of somebody who's 
engaged in sexual immorality. It's easy to see that sin, but 
somehow this idea of self-righteousness seems to typify and characterize 
all of us to some degree or other, and we minimize it. It's not 
that big of a deal. I like what John Gerstner said. 
It's not so much your sins that keep you from God, but your damnable 
good works. This idea that these works commend 
me to God. This idea that my visiting a 
prisoner, my feeding a poor man, my clothing a naked man, is somehow 
going to mitigate the effects of the wrath and fury of God 
that is righteously due for me because of my sin against Him. 
That is wretched and ungodly. How about that publican in Luke 
chapter 18? I thank you, Lord, that I'm not 
like other men. What a terrible specimen of a 
human being. What a monster that he would 
then indicate and list together the vile types of beings before 
God. And then he has the gall to say, 
or like this tax collector. You see, self-righteousness is 
wretched. And this is what Paul addresses 
in Galatians chapter 2. He develops the idea, the doctrine 
of justification by faith. Notice in verse 16, we can't 
deal with every jot and tittle, but just jumping in. Notice in 
verse 16, knowing that a man is not justified by the works 
of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed 
in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ. 
and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law no 
flesh shall be justified." You see, what Paul says here is in 
direct contradiction to what Jesus is saying. No, it's not. 
Jesus is saying the same thing all throughout the gospel, all 
throughout his ministry. How does he embark on his public 
ministry? As Pastor Porter read, repent and believe what? The 
gospel. Not repent and go hand out hot dogs. Repent and go get 
clothes to clothe the naked. Repent and go visit prisoners. 
No, no, no. Repent and believe the gospel. Now notice in verse 
17, but if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves 
also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? 
Certainly not. For if I build again those things which I destroyed, 
I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to 
the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with 
Christ. It is no longer I who live, but 
Christ lives in me. In the life which I now live 
in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me 
and gave himself for me." Now note, verse 21, I do not set 
aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through 
the law, then Christ died in vain. If our acceptance with 
God is gained or garnered by our dealing with the poor, as 
good and noble as it is to deal with the poor, if our acceptance 
with God is based on our visiting a prisoner, or calling somebody 
that's in the hospital, or somebody that is thirsty, handing them 
a glass of water, I believe Paul's statement in verse 21 applies. 
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness 
comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. You see, if Matthew 
25 teaches salvation by works, then why Matthew 26 and 7? Why would the Son of God go through 
what the Son of God went through if moral reform was all we needed? Why would the Son of God go through 
that passion if a little better performance was all that was 
necessary on our part? He said there's absolutely no 
way that verses 26 and 27 would be necessary if salvation by 
works was a reality. Now the idea being is He saves 
us freely by His grace, we are justified freely by His grace, 
and that through faith. And when Christ saves us by faith, 
what does he do? He points us to that blessed 
law. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 
soul, mind, and strength. And you shall love your neighbor 
as yourself. What does it look like to love 
my neighbor as myself? It looks like this. Feed him. Give him something to drink. 
Clothe him when he's naked. Visit him when he's sick. Visit 
him when he's in prison. Be there for him. That is an 
application of the law of love. And that's the point of Matthew 
25. You are judged based on your 
relationship to Christ. Is there faith or not? If there 
is faith, then it will have demonstrated itself through love. Now, let's 
look at the judgment of the unrighteous, just to see the opposite or the 
contrast message. Note in the first place, the 
declaration of the judge in verse 41. These are terrifying words. If you're not a believer this 
morning, please pay attention. These are the kinds of words 
that are hopefully calculated under the power of the Holy Spirit 
to awaken you. to give you that shot in the 
arm, to grab you around the neck and say, do you see what's in 
your future? If I told you that you're going 
to go outside today and baseball-sized hailstones are going to fall 
from the sky and they're going to land in the crown of your 
head and bury you, I suspect you'd probably attend the luncheon. 
I suspect that you'd stick around. I suspect that you wouldn't want 
to venture out into a world where baseball-sized hailstones are 
coming from the sky and landing in person's crowns. And yet, 
we talk about the judgment to come, and you live as if there 
is no such thing. It's terrible. Notice in verse 
41, then he will say to those on the left hand, these are the 
goats, depart from me, you cursed into the everlasting fire prepared 
for the devil and his angels. As I said before, the king commands 
them to depart from him, whereas the sheep were told to come. You see the contrary, the contrast? J.C. 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. The king calls them cursed, whereas 
the sheep are identified as those blessed of my father. There's 
only two types of people in the world. We'll note this particular 
application later on when we conclude. The Bible knows of 
no third place. The Bible knows of no purgatory. The Bible knows of no limbo. 
The Bible knows of, well, I don't believe in God and so atheists 
don't go to heaven or hell. Well, that's a novel thought, 
isn't it? Just because you don't believe somehow it magically 
disappears, there's either heaven or hell. Those are the two realities 
set forth for us in this passage. Sheep and goats on the earth, 
there's masters, there's slaves, there's servants, there's There's 
business owners, there's worker bees, all that sort of thing. 
There's rich, there's poor, there's black, there's white, there's 
all these different things that differentiate us. But on that 
day, two groups, sheep and goats, righteous and unrighteous. Notice, 
the king casts them into everlasting fire, whereas the sheep inherit 
the kingdom prepared for them. It is intriguing as well. While 
the kingdom is prepared for the sheep, This everlasting fire 
is prepared for the devil and his angels, but unbelievers participate 
therein. Unbelievers will join the devil 
and his angels. Now, I know that's a big sort 
of a joke today. Oh, I don't know. I want to go 
to hell because all my friends are going to be there. I mean, 
if you've ever uttered such madness, repent. Or that idea that, you 
know, heaven doesn't want me and hell's afraid I'm going to 
take over. I always want to say, what are 
you going to take over? The most misery? The most suffering? The most weeping? The most gnashing 
of teeth? What is it you're going to take 
over in hell? The most wretched state ever? We joke about hell. Look at what Jesus calls it, 
everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Spurgeon 
says they had joined the devil in refusing allegiance to the 
Lord. So it was but right that, imitating 
his rebellion, they should share his punishment. Terrifying. So that's the declaration of 
the judge. Notice, secondly, the reason provided by the judge 
in verses 42 and 43. 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. Again, the idea here is that 
these works demonstrate the reality, the presence of, or the absence 
of saving faith. The fact that you did not receive 
me in the person of these little ones, the fact that you rejected 
me in the person of these little ones, the fact that you didn't 
visit me in prison, you didn't visit me in the hospital, you 
didn't give me food when I was hungry or drink when I was thirsty, 
that means your profession is a sham. It means it's empty. It means it's useless. It means 
it's vile and it's wretched. Again, you see James and Paul 
and Jesus all coalesce. We're saved by grace alone, through 
faith alone, in Christ alone. But as our 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 it is no dead faith, but worketh by love. Now that worketh 
by love is Galatians 5, 6. Paul says very specifically that 
our genuine saving faith, which he just emphasized in Galatians 
chapter 2, is no alone faith, but it works through love. You 
see, it's consistent. It coalesces. It jives. It all makes perfect sense. It 
is consistent. Machen says on Galatians 5, 6, 
love according to the New Testament. It's 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. You see, it's a beautiful thing. 
And I would submit that genuine acts of charity flow out of a 
proper understanding of the gospel. See, when we're doing these things 
in order to get from God, we're doing these things in order to 
achieve some reward, that becomes mercenary, doesn't it? I'm using 
another human being to get something. Now, I suspect we all do this, 
at least in some context or another, but it's pretty vile. And I think 
sinners see through that at times. How about we just be their friends? 
Instead of making them a notch on our belt for someone else 
we led to the Lord, or somebody, you know, some other victim of 
our righteousness. You see, it's the gospel that 
provides the true motivation to engage in acts of charity. 
But if we're looking at persons as a stepping stone to our acceptance 
with God, we have to ask the question, is that a genuine act 
of charity? If you value me as a sick man 
and you're visiting me only so that you can try and garner acceptance 
with God, I would say, go visit somebody else that's sick. How 
about you visit me because you love me? See, that's what the 
gospel produces. Christ saves us by grace through 
faith. Christ points us to his law. 
Love to God, commandments 1 to 4. Love to man, commandments 
5 to 10. This is how we know, brethren. And so the absence of these works 
of charity, these acts of charity, are indicative of the reality 
that they have no saving faith. And it is intriguing. I didn't 
mention this last week, but it bears mentioning, both with the 
righteous and the unrighteous notice. Well, I'm sorry, with 
the unrighteous notice, these are sins of omission. Well, I haven't killed anybody, 
so I should be okay. I haven't murdered somebody, 
so I should be okay. We look at sins of commission, 
the actual act of transgression as, you know, that defining moment 
in the life of a sinner. These are sins of omission. You 
didn't do these things. God requires. Sin is any want 
of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God. We think in 
terms of transgression or commission, but it's also a lack of conformity 
unto it. In other words, you can sin a 
whole host of ways as well. It's okay that you don't commit 
adultery. It's okay that you don't commit 
murder. It's okay that you go out and you don't commit those 
acts of transgression. But are you omitting things? 
Are you supposed to be doing things that you're not? You see, 
this is why this passage is peculiarly terrifying, even with reference 
to those saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Where are we at? Acts of charity, and notice, 
these are basic acts of charity. Jesus isn't saying we have to 
raise the dead, we have to speak in tongues, we have to prophesy, 
we have to cast out demons. Those are things that are easier 
to fake, actually. Matthew 7, 21 to 23, not everyone 
who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. 
Many will say to me on that day, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your 
name? Didn't we cast out demons in your name? Didn't we do these 
wonderful things in your name? And he says, I will say to you, 
depart from me, for I never knew you. It's easier to fake that, 
I guess. You can't fake whether you handed 
a brother a hot dog or not. You can't fake whether or not 
you've actually given clothes to someone. You can't fake whether 
or not you've actually visited someone. These are basic acts of charity. God's not saying, justified freely 
by his grace through faith, now go out and change the world. We have that mindset. If I can't 
change the world, I'm gonna do nothing. If I can't fix everything, 
I'm gonna fix nothing. How about we rise up and do a 
bare minimum thing in our love for Jesus? Maybe if we all just 
did the bare minimum things in our love for Jesus, more stuff 
would get done. We'd start seeing a bigger impact. 
Do you live like that? I can't fix that, so I'm just 
going to lay back down. I can't do that, so I'm going 
to do nothing. I can't save the heathen and the bush, so I'm 
not going to tell my neighbor about Christ. Bizarre mode of 
thought. But notice, back to our text, 
the absence of these acts of charity demonstrate the absence 
of saving faith. Now note, thirdly, the response 
of the unrighteous. Again, very parallel to what 
we see in his treatment of the righteous. Their use of Lord, 
that ought to be observed. Notice verse 44. Then they also 
will answer him saying, Lord. Why would they say Lord? Well, 
it could indicate that they are professing Christians, those 
who have professed to believe the gospel. This wouldn't be 
out of line in Matthew's gospel, Matthew 7, 21 to 23. Not everyone 
who says to me, Lord, Lord. He's not talking about Buddhists 
there. He's not talking about Muslims there. He's talking about 
the professing people of God. Those who cast out demons in 
His name. Those who did mighty miracles 
in His name. He doesn't deny even the validity 
that they did those things. Judas was one that did it. Judas 
went on the preaching tour. Judas got power. Judas engaged 
in that sort of thing. But he didn't do the will of 
my Father in heaven. Now some say, well that means he needed 
to do more. Doing the will of my Father in heaven in Matthew 
7, 21 to 23 is not more works. The problem isn't that they didn't 
have works. They had spectacular works. They 
didn't have faith. This is the will of my Father 
who sent me, John 6, 40. That you believe in whom he sent. See, we look at Matthew 7, 21 
to 23 and say, well, I need to do more. You probably do need 
to do more, but that's not the point of Matthew 7, 21 to 23. 
Doing the will of the Father there is that they were goats. 
They were not believers. They had works. Christ's instruction 
to them isn't go out and do more good works. Because as we've 
seen, the doctrine of justification by faith is biblical. It's right, 
it's true. Salvation by works is wrong. 
It is devilish. It causes us to posit a Christ 
who died for nothing, to put a Matthew 26 and 27 into the 
Bible that didn't need to be there. If Matthew 25 was decisive 
in how men enter into heaven, then Matthew 26 and 7 make no 
sense, because the Son of God came to die for His people. I think it highlights the vivid 
reality of Philippians 2, 10, and 11. Notice, verse 44, then 
they also will answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry? 
Philippians 2, 10, and 11 says 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. You see, you may not confess 
Christ as Lord now, you may not confess Him as Lord and Savior 
now, but you will confess Him as Lord. This is what Paul testifies. The worst blasphemer out there, 
the most sophisticated atheist out there, the most noble-minded, 
pious, unsaved person out there will confess the lordship of 
Jesus Christ. This is Philippians 2, 10, and 
11. This is what's happening in verse 44. Then they also will 
answer and say, Lord, Lord, And then notice what they seem to 
assume. When did we see you hungry or 
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did 
not minister to you? Now, perhaps the assumption could 
be this. If we would have known it was 
you, then we would have done something. brings us back to 
that whole barter system. If I know I'm gonna get credit 
for something, then I'll do it, you see? If we'd known it was you, Lord, 
if we saw that it was Jesus in that hospital room or we saw 
that it was Jesus in that prison, then we would have been there. 
You know, it's often on Tuesday mornings, I come around the corner 
here and I see people camped out under that stairwell. This 
would be akin to me saying, if I'd have known that was you, 
Jesus, I wouldn't have asked them to leave. We struggle with 
that in light of this particular passage. But then I conclude, 
that's not a house. Underneath the stairs, it's just 
not. It's not healthy, it's not good. 
But you see, if I'd have known, then I would have said, oh yeah, 
you can stay. But I think the importance of 
this passage is to tell us, don't fool yourself. Even if you knew 
it was him, you'd still reject it. Even if you knew it was him, 
you still wouldn't visit him because he's told us what the 
particulars are. He's told us what he has in mind. 
Notice when he says to them in verse 45, this is the confirmation 
by the judge. Then he will answer them saying, 
assuredly, I say to you in as much as you did not do it to 
one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. So don't 
fool yourself. Well, if Jesus made an appearance, 
I'd give him a hot dog. Well, Jesus' disciple is there, 
give him a hot dog. See, that's the point of Christ's 
statement here. I mentioned last week, there's 
a universal application which lends itself well to a salvation 
by works interpretation. In other words, the needy in 
view are the needy everywhere. But Christ's language suggests 
that disciples are in view. Whatever you do to the least 
of these my brethren, who are brethren according to Jesus in 
Matthew's gospel? They are those who do the will 
of my father, Matthew chapter 12. They are those who are called 
brethren by Jesus. They are specific disciples. 
They are the least of these, I'm sorry, the least of these, 
my brethren, in other places in the Scripture. Matthew 12, 
48 to 50, 23, 8 to 11, 28, 8 to 10. The disciples are little 
ones in Matthew chapter 18 that should not be made to stumble 
or be despised, for it is the Father's will that they should 
not perish. And then specifically and decisively, look at Matthew 
chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10, just to sort 
of flesh out what Christ means. And as much as you did not do 
it, to the least of these, my brethren, you did not do it unto 
me. It has to do with receiving or 
rejecting Christ. In other words, as the gospel 
is proclaimed by Christ's representatives, as the gospel is testified to 
throughout the world, men are ultimately judged based on their 
response to that truth. Whether they believe it, whether 
they embrace it, whether they do the works consistent with 
having believed it, or whether they reject it and forsake it 
and despise it and dismiss it. You see, when men reject the 
church, When men reject Christ's disciples, that is the equivalent 
of them rejecting Christ. There's solidarity between Jesus 
and his people. You see it in Acts chapter 9 
as well. When Saul of Tarsus is confronted 
by Christ on the road to Damascus, Saul says, who are you, Lord? And Jesus says, I am Jesus, whom 
you are persecuting. You say, wait a minute. That 
does not flesh itself out in the history of the book of Acts. 
For you see, Jesus had already ascended on high, he'd already 
led captivity captive, and he'd already given gifts to man. Saul 
of Tarsus meets him much later on the road to Damascus. What's 
Christ's point? When Saul of Tarsus is armed 
with a decree or a letter so that he can arrest the people 
of God and he drags both men and women off and puts them into 
prison, or when he stands there at the stoning death of Stephen 
and he gives his approval, his hearty consent, Christ says, 
I am Jesus whom you're persecuting. I'm in Stephen. I'm in the church. There's a solidarity, and that's 
the point ultimately in Matthew 25. It turns on our reception 
of or our rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in Matthew 
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. And 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." 
So back to 25. These acts of charity are specifically 
targeted at those who are Christ's disciples. When you reject them, 
you reject me. When you receive them, you receive 
me. Now that doesn't mean we can 
be miserable nightmares to everybody out there that's not a believer. 
Paul says in Galatians chapter 6, let us do good to all men, 
especially to the household of God. You see, when Paul went 
about collecting money for famine relief in Judea, guess where 
he took that money? He took it to James at the Jerusalem 
church. He didn't take it to Caesar. 
He didn't give it to the government. He didn't trust in their infinite 
wisdom to disperse those funds to all the downtrodden and poor 
in Judea. Paul took money collected by 
the churches in his missionary enterprise, took it to James, 
put it at his feet, and said, go ahead and use this as you 
see fit for the brethren. Again, I'm not suggesting we're 
nightmares and we're vicious and we're offensive and we're 
unkind and we're vile to the unconverted sufferer among us. There is that principle to be 
kind, to be gracious, to be generous to all men everywhere that are 
genuinely needful. But brethren, let us do good 
to all men, especially to the household of God. And I think 
it turns on a great indictment there. If we're out solving the 
problems of the world and we're not looking after our own, Perhaps 
if we look after our own, we'll be better poised to help the 
problems in the world. Spurgeon mentions, not, I was 
gonna say mentioned. Almost sounds like Spurgeon was 
at our prayer meeting this morning if I were to say it that way. 
And I guess he was in a sense. I read a particular meditation 
from his book, Only a Prayer Meeting. But he says, you know, 
we talk about the heathen perishing by the millions out there. He 
says, we got them all around us right here. But let's take that one step 
further down. We want to solve the world's 
food crisis and there's hungry people in our midst, let's help 
them. We want to make sure that an African village gets water, 
and I'm not saying don't. Go home and tear up all your, 
you know, by all means, but if there's a brother or sister in 
the church that doesn't have potable water, maybe we invest 
in them. Maybe we make them get, you know, 
some decent health. We're gonna go visit the poor, 
we're gonna go visit the needy. We've got poor, we've got needy, 
we've got sick. Much of our prayer meetings, 
you know, you could come to prayer meeting and pray for those in 
our midst. You could attend the corporate prayer meeting and 
call upon God with the rest of your brothers and sisters who 
pray for the rest of the brothers and sisters that they can't make 
it. Notice, Jesus Christ indicts 
them for what they did not do because that revealed what they 
did not have vis-a-vis saving faith in Him. The passage consistently 
teaches salvation by grace through faith. that is manifested or 
demonstrated or evidenced by the presence of good works. Note 
his summary statement concerning judgment in verse 46. And these 
will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous 
into eternal life. Just about every few years, a 
new book comes out denying the doctrine of hell. I mean, you 
can just see it, right? Any of you who get book catalogs 
from the major, book buying is changing tremendously with Amazon 
and online and all that sort of thing, but you might still 
get a great Christian books catalog. And every few years, there's 
a new book denying the doctrine of hell. Or every few years there's 
a new scholar that's denying the doctrine of hell. There's 
a new commentary that's produced that's propounding what's called 
typically annihilationism, that when we die, when the judgment 
comes, it's not everlasting punishment, but You know, it's the cessation 
of being. It's a dreamless sleep. There's 
no everlasting life. There's no joy. There's no bliss. 
There's no happiness. But this idea of being tormented 
by an angry god for all eternity, you know, that's what the Puritans 
taught. That's what Spurgeon believed. That's what Whitefield 
used to say to those poor miners. But we're too sophisticated to 
entertain such a thought. Isn't it intriguing that the 
same word is used to modify punishment in life? Why do we take the one 
as eternal and the other limited? because we don't like the concept. But I hope that we can successfully 
demonstrate what we don't like doesn't make not true. Try this at home, kids, when 
your mom wants to serve you brussels sprouts. I don't like them! I 
don't believe in them! Well, open your mouth, because 
it's going to slide down your gullet anyway. This is how we 
approach the Bible. I don't believe God is, so I'm 
not subject to God. I don't believe hell could possibly 
be everlasting, so it must not be. I'm sorry, let's try that 
in the math department. I don't believe two plus two 
could actually be four, so it must not be. Now I realize that's 
probably gonna fly before long in our generation, because we're 
nuts. I mean, we can't say anything 
without the fear of offending somebody. Who do you think's 
ultimately targeted for destruction in such a regime? It's us, brethren. Who do you think this legislation 
is ultimately calculated to flesh out and to tar and feather? It's 
those narrow-minded, bigoted Christians. How dare they preach 
that Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and 
that no man cometh unto the Father but through Him? You see, it's 
perfectly acceptable for feminists in Argentina to dress a woman 
up as the Virgin Mary and simulate an abortion on a city street 
than for a Christian to say that somebody somewhere might be wrong. Brethren, make no mistake about 
it. This hate crime legislation, 
I'm not telling you it's okay to hate. God's gonna deal with 
you for your hate. But when the federal government 
starts to deal with you in your hate, when you haven't committed 
a crime, be very careful about applauding 
such types of legislation, because that gets very much open to interpretation. If I say homosexuality's a sin, 
which it is, that could be conceived of as a hate crime. So back to the word everlasting. It's because we don't like the 
implications doesn't mean it changes the implications. Just 
because we cannot conceive why an infinitely holy God would 
do this doesn't mean he won't. Why modify the life and the punishment 
with the same Greek word if you mean something totally different? 
It just makes no sense. Gill makes this observation. 
And which ascertains, this reference to everlasting punishment, the 
eternity of the punishment of the wicked. For as the happiness 
of the righteous will be eternal, the punishment of the wicked 
will 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. You just can't do that, is what 
I think our beloved Baptist brother is saying. You just can't do 
that. You can't pick and choose. He goes, well, I don't like that. 
I like the concept of eternal life. I like the concept of being 
with God forever. But I certainly don't like this 
concept of eternal punishment and being away from God forever. And this mention of flames just 
sounds so puritanical and unsavory to me. I don't like it. It's 
not going to change the reality any more than you not liking 
Brussels sprouts is going to stop them from sliding down your 
throat. Now, that may be a particularly vulgar illustration, but I think 
you get the point. So we've seen, hopefully, an 
exposition of the passage. We've seen what it does not teach. 
Let's conclude by teaching or by stating what the passage does 
teach. In the first place, the absolute 
certainty of the judgment to come. That much we can conclude. We may differ on some particular 
points all throughout the discourse called all of that, but we can 
all conclude that the certainty of judgment is the absolute certainty 
of judgment to come. Acts 17, the apostle didn't shrink 
back from declaring this either. And here he's not preaching in 
a synagogue, he's not preaching in a church, he's preaching amongst 
pagan philosophers, Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, at a 
place called the Areopagus, or Mars Hill. It's a place for philosophical 
dispute, debate, setting forth new ideas. In fact, that's why 
they call for Paul. because he seemed to be a seed 
picker, an idle babbler. The idea being is that he took 
pieces of philosophy and he went out and sowed them in the ground. 
It was a derisive term because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. 
So when they call for Paul to come and stand in the Areopagus 
and preach, what does he do? Well, no, I'm just not into that. 
No, that's not my ministry. No, I'm not led that way. No, 
I don't think Jerusalem has anything to say to Athens. No, he gladly 
accepts the invitation, and he preaches God most high. And he 
doesn't just sort of leave it out there for them to do with 
it what they will. Those kind of Bible studies are 
somewhat frustrating. Certainly, it's good to know 
what the Bible says, but it's also good to try and bring it 
home. What should we do with this information 
now that we've received it? Notice in Acts 17.31, verse 30 
rather, truly these times of ignorance God overlooked, but 
now commands all men everywhere to repent because he has appointed 
a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by 
the man whom he has ordained. He has given assurance of this 
to all by raising him from the dead. 2 Corinthians 5.10 teaches 
us this reality as well. For we must all appear before 
the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things 
done in the body according to what he has done, whether good 
or bad. And note the emphasis there that we each must stand 
before him. Didn't we see this in the parable 
of the wise and the foolish virgins? The foolish virgins are caught 
off guard and what do they do? They go to the wise and they 
say, give us some of your oil. What do we learn? That oil can't 
be transferred. That oil can't be given over. 
That oil can't be borrowed. You need to stand for your own 
self. You need to be prepared in your 
own right. You say, well, I'm just a kid. 
Well, you're going to stand before God Most High in judgment. I'm 
just a whatever. My family this, or take responsibility. It's another big problem that 
we have today. Nobody's guilty for their crimes. 
He grew up and he raped 500 women because his mother didn't give 
him enough hugs. So therefore, what he did over 
here to these 500 women, that's expected. We live in a culture 
like that, don't we? And Christians become that way. 
It wasn't my fault. It wasn't me. You all have that 
kid in your home, not me. Who did this? Not me. But I'd 
love to find not me one of these days, wouldn't you? He's going 
to get a lot of spankings. Isn't that what I, not me, did 
you do, not me, not me, not me. We grow up in that default mode, 
not me, not me. We're gonna stand before Jesus 
and try and say, not me, not me, it is you. Accept responsibility. You will stand before this judge 
and give an account of deeds done in the body, whether good 
or evil. receive that certainty of judgment 
that the scripture sets forth. Secondly, the glory of Christ 
is so clearly and conspicuously displayed in the passage. He 
comes as judge. I think the illusion there is 
to Old Testament judgment text where Yahweh comes to judge as 
well. He titles himself the son of 
man. He self identifies himself as 
the king in verse 40. He has glory. He has holy angels. You see, Christ is most wondrous 
and most excellent, and we see it in the passage. A third thing 
the passage certainly teaches, the separation of the righteous 
from the wicked on the day of judgment and into eternity, the 
sheep from the goats. The sheep don't go to hell and 
the goats don't go to heaven. There is that eternal separation 
or that chasm that is then rendered between the two parties. Fourth, 
the truth that works give evidence to the presence of or the absence 
of saving faith. This is James's point. This is 
what James is addressing. We're gonna look at James tonight. 
You know what one aspect of saving faith looks like? A bridled tongue. That little tiny thing that's 
between your two lips, how you use that gives evidence to whether 
or not saving faith is in your heart. This is the point of the passage. Fifth, the identification of 
good works or the talents. We might look at the previous 
passage and say, what do these talents look like? It looks like 
these basic acts of charity. Chrysostom, I cited him last 
week, 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 to me. Six, the 
necessity for God's people to engage in such works. You see, 
brethren, if our saving faith is evidenced by these kinds of 
works, then what are we doing? We should be about these sorts 
of things. Calvin says we must be prodigiously 
sluggish if compassion be not drawn from our bowels by this 
statement, verse 40, that Christ is either neglected or honored 
in the person of those who need our assistance. The passage teaches 
in the seventh place the blessedness of the righteous. They are told 
to come, which means intimacy, communion, presence with the 
Lord Jesus Christ. They are told to inherit a kingdom 
that was prepared for them from the foundation of the world. 
It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? I love that text in Luke's 
gospel where Jesus says to his disciples, fear not little flock, 
for it is thy father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. More 
grace, isn't it? It's not my father's duty to 
reward you because you've worked so wonderfully, but rather it's 
his pleasure to give you the kingdom. And as well, what will 
characterize that blessed state when we enter into the presence 
of the Lamb who sits upon the throne is everlasting life. Wouldn't it just make you want 
to sing hallelujah to the Lord God Most High? Because life can 
be pretty miserable here on this side of heaven, can't it? I mean, 
there's just a lot of things that really grate against the 
people of God. I mean, even Lot, right? We look 
at Lot and we say, wow, you know, Peter's assessment is very kind. 
His righteous soul was vexed day by day because he was in 
Christ. He was a believer. That happens 
with us. So when the Bible tells us that 
our portion for eternity is everlasting life, may that be a means for 
celebration. But the passage as well teaches 
us the misery of the unrighteous. into eternal life. Again, please 
pay attention this morning. Please take heed to what our 
blessed Savior is teaching in this particular passage. Realize 
there is a judgment to come. Realize that you will stand before 
this judge. Realize that you will give an 
account for deeds done in the body, whether good or ill. Realize 
that that is coming more certainly than lunch is coming today. It 
is coming more certainly than next Tuesday is coming. It is 
coming more certainly than anything you could imagine because the 
Lord God Most High has spoken. He has promised, and that voice 
which crushes the cedars of Lebanon is the voice of absolute, unrivaled, 
unparalleled authority, and we need to take heed to it. And 
I want to say one more time before we depart, the only way to be 
ready for that day of judgment is to be found in Him. Isn't 
this what Paul learned in Philippians chapter three? If anybody had 
a religious resume upon which to boast, it was me, Paul says. 
Why? Because he's attacking this notion 
that you could be saved by grace, or saved by works, or even by 
faith plus works. Anybody had the goods, I had 
it. I was of the stock of Israel. I was of the tribe of Benjamin. 
I was circumcised the eighth days. Concerning the law, I was 
a Pharisee. I was zealous. I persecuted the 
church. But everything that was gained 
to me is loss. What things were near and dear 
to me, I count as rubbish, literally. Something fit to be cast away. And he says, I count these things 
lost for the sake of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. It's a beautiful thing. And then 
he says, to be found in him. not having my own righteousness 
which is from the law, but having the righteousness which is from 
God through faith. That's the way to stand prepared 
on the day of judgment when you gaze into the face of the Lord 
Jesus. Confess Him now as Lord and Savior, 
because you will confess Him as Lord and Judge on that day. 
And the means by which entrance is accepted by God is grace alone, 
through faith alone, in Christ alone. Why will you die? God says to Israel through the 
prophet Ezekiel, turn and live. Beautiful, isn't it? I'm not 
telling you go out and do 15,000 things and God's going to reward 
you. I'm telling you to look to Christ, to believe on Christ, 
and He will accept you, He will cleanse you from your sins, give 
you a righteousness that avails with God, and when that happens, 
go out and live. Go out and be holy. Go out and 
do those things that are fitting a godly man or woman that has 
been conquered by sovereign grace. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for the truth, we thank 
You for the reality that Christ Jesus came into this world, sinners, 
to save. I pray that all here would be 
looking in faith, that all here would know the joy of being found 
in Him, not having that righteousness from the law, but that righteousness 
which is from You, through faith in Christ, so that we may go 
out and do good works according to the law. Help us to understand 
the message the Bible so clearly and consistently communicates 
and be merciful and bring glory to your name in the salvation 
of sinners. And we pray these things through Christ Jesus our 
Lord. Amen.