gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. 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? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the king will answer them, truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. Then he will say to those on his left, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal 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 welcome me. Naked, and you did not clothe me. Sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer 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, truly, I say to you, 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 eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Let us pray. Father in heaven, even as we have already confessed in prayer, your word is sharper than any two edged sword. It is able to divide asunder. It is able to discern. It is able to judge. And Lord, we pray that even as we hear the scriptures, that we might judge ourselves, as Paul tells the Corinthians, that we might not come under judgment. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it. From his presence, earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by what was written in the books. according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20 verses 11 through 15. This is the judgment day. This is the last time that it is mentioned in the scriptures, but we find it anticipated throughout the scriptures. As we have been seeing here in our study of Matthew 24 and 25 in the Olivet Discourse, the Discourse on the Mount of Olives, not only has that judgment day been anticipated in prophecy, it has been anticipated by events, historic events of judgments, provisional judgments made on nations, made on kingdoms, made on cities, all looking forward to that last great judgment day. And here it is described, the same scene as we have before us here in Matthew 25. One of the things that is often disconcerting about all of these accounts of the judgment day is that we, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, will all be there. Paul says very clearly to the Corinthians, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And I think we will find it is a tonic for our grasp and our understanding of the doctrines of grace, for us to square those doctrines with the fact that we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and we will be judged by our deeds, judged by our life. As we encounter this passage, we do come, remember, to the second coming of Christ. Christ has described his second coming, his, what we call the parousia, the visitation or the presence of Christ in his second coming. He will come to judge. And that is the first thing that occurs. We see the great white throne in Revelation 20. We see here the judgment day immediately following his return. We don't have any indication of signs or warnings that Christ is going to return. Everything is going as it is always gone and people are saying peace and safety. One day is like another. And then like a thief in the night, Christ returns. And it will be something that will not have to be reported from one person to another. We won't have to worry, even in our day and age, about it showing up on the news. Every eye will see. It will be like lightning from one end of the heavens to the other. And on that day, time will be no more. all will stand before the judgment day. As we look at this passage in Matthew, and we see especially how it is that the Lord makes a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. and the criteria, we might say, the standards by which, or the standard by which he makes that decision. It's worthwhile for us to understand what the scripture teaches about this judgment day and how it applies to us. The judgment day applies to us. First of all, it's important for us to understand when we see We really infer from this, and we certainly see it from other passages of scripture about the judgment day, that it is unilateral, it is universal, it is personal, and it is infallible. Now let's take those one at a time. The last judgment is unilateral. Literally that just means it's one-sided. There are complaints against any individual or any small group of people who make decisions unilaterally. Because, and usually the complaint is something like, who does he think he is, God? Because God does make decisions unilaterally. He's God. So many times we charge God with error because we forget that he's God. He's not a man. He is not a sinful, fallen, short-sighted man. It's good for human beings to sort of have a balance of power, to have several different viewpoints and come to decisions together by consensus. And it's good for us and it's imposed upon the church. And throughout the scriptures, it speaks of being humble and speaking to one another and listening to one another, recognizing that we don't see it all. We don't know it all. We can make errors. None of those things applies to God. God is wise. He is right. and he is good. And so all of his decisions are right. There is nothing that he does not see. There are no motives that are hidden to him. He looks upon the heart. So he not only sees the deeds that are done, he not only sees the words that are uttered, he sees the thoughts and intents of the heart. He is able to judge all by himself. He does not need a counselor, as Paul says in Romans 11. So it's bad for humans, but it's good for God to make judgments unilaterally. Secondly, it is universal. This means it's comprehensive. Notice all the nations are brought before him. Now, We are sort of, we get used to this from biblical language that, you know, all the nations, you know, the Moabites, anybody know a Moabite? And the Ammonites and even the Egyptians. Well, we might perhaps know some of them, but as we bring this forward into our modern context today, These are all of the people groups, all of those who self-identify in various ways, whether they come from different nations, whether they have different religions, whether they have different lifestyles. It doesn't matter to God how human beings define themselves. especially when they define themselves in rebellion against Him. You know, I just don't identify as this, that, or whatever God made me. You are what God made you. You are made in His image and you are accountable to Him. He does not have a different set of standards for those who were brought up with a different religion. Now it is true that to whom much is given, much is required. And it's certainly reasonable. And I think it's borne out in the scripture that unto whom less is given, less is required. Certainly in the parable that Jesus gives of the servant who knew his master's will and who failed to do it, He would be punished with many stripes, but he does say that the one who does not know his master's will will be punished with few stripes. It does appear that our just God, that there are degrees of punishment. However, there is no such thing as one who is absolutely completely ignorant, or you might say innocent. What we, the picture we find in Romans chapter one is that all people inherently understand that they were made by God. And in Romans one, it speaks of their very being, their very makeup. You know, from the creation, the divine power and the nature of God. In Romans two, it goes on to speak of the inherent understanding that God's creatures have of right and wrong. Now it all gets warped and twisted. And as a matter of fact, God says his wrath is upon those who deliberately deny the truth that they inherently know. It's a, There are remarkable accounts of this actually. There was a, um, I don't remember what particular tribe it was, but, uh, it was one, uh, which was known for their treachery. They actually made a virtue of treachery. They would, um, this was one, uh, a tribe which was reached by the gospel. And this was the testimony of, of one who had come to Christ. But he was recalling being raised in this tribe where you would cultivate the friendship of someone from another village and make a friend of them and do all kinds of good things for them. And then when they least expected it, you would betray them, either taking their property or their life or whatever. And it was seen as a virtue to be good at doing this, this kind of deception. And this believer, even as he looked back, he said, but you know what? We knew it was wrong. We knew it was wrong. What a testimony to the fact that God has made us who we are, and there is a deliberate rejection of what we inherently know to be true. And so ultimately the original sin is not one of ignorance. The original sin is one of pride and rebellion. Now it, again, God graciously makes a distinction between those who have been given much understanding and who deliberately rebel against that understanding and those who have been given less. Nevertheless, God's judgment is universal. It is according to one standard. It is personal. Each individual will stand personally before God. Each will give account for his own life. God will have no interest in the blame you lay upon others. He has laid your blame upon another, and that must be your plea. That must be your plea. And he only does that for those who admit their guilt. All of our attempts to blame someone else for what has happened and what we've done are to absolve ourselves. They're to excuse what we've done. there to make it appear that what we've done isn't so bad. Whereas when we lay our blame on Christ, we do so by acknowledging our guilt, by admitting we deserve what Christ suffered, death. We deserve what he underwent. And when we acknowledge that, then Christ's righteousness is reckoned to us. And so, this is a personal, each one of us stands before God. And finally, it is infallible. It is incapable of error. God's judgment is unable to fail. God is always right. Now, this is arrogance for a man. But God is not a man. On the other hand, Christ is a man. It is after all Christ, is it not? The risen Christ who is seated upon this throne. But remember, he never sinned and he is God. So he is a judge who has undergone all the temptations, the suffering involved in being human. He is, we might say, doubly qualified to judge. Not only is he the creator, and so the creature must give account to him, but he is a creature as well. He has been there. He has done that. He is one of us. And so we can't say, well, it's all well and good for you being God to judge me, but you've never been in my shoes. You have never had to face what I faced, gone through what I've gone through. Oh, but he has. Jesus has. And where we all fell short, where we all failed, he succeeded. And he didn't even do it just for himself alone. He did it for us. That's who is seated upon the throne. That is the judge, a judge who does indeed judge unilaterally, universally, personally. And in this case, he judges us. infallibly, without error. And secondly, we see that the course of one's life reveals the character of the person. As we look at all of these, this list of things that Jesus gives, that you did this for me or you did not do this for me, it focuses, of course, on deeds which were done, but The interest that Jesus has here is what that reveals about the character of the person. Notice that in both cases, the response of the people is, well, when did we do that? Even those that were obeying, you can see the second group wanting to get off the hook. Well, you know, when, when did we do that? But, but those who are being credited, those who are being told you, You clothed me when I was naked. You visited me when I was in prison. And honestly, those who are being praised for what they've done are shaking their heads and saying, when did we do that? And so what this tells us here is that each group are caught in the act of just being who they are. It's not like each one was, especially those that are declared righteous are not those who kept a list of all the things they ought to be doing. And then, I'm so glad somebody noticed, but they are just being themselves in the ordinary course of their lives. These are the things that they do. Now, nothing is said here about salvation by grace. And nothing is said about the atonement upon which it is based. But it's important for us to set this in the context of scripture, because the character that these righteous display would be impossible without the atonement. If Christ had not died for their sins, and by His Holy Spirit given them new life and created them anew in Christ Jesus, they would not be this way. Nevertheless, if Christ has died for them and if His grace is at work in them, they will be this way. And if they're not this way, if they're not this kind of people, there's a problem. It just may very well be that whatever they profess, the grace of God is not really at work in them. So Jesus makes the point that the atonement and his saving grace must be demonstrated. It must be proven out. The outcomes of the doctrines of grace must be love. They must be love. We love because he first loved us. If we have not loved, then the doctrines of grace are not at work in us. Now, what these deeds of mercy, and that's what they all are, they're deeds of mercy. They reveal a merciful heart. And this is only a representative list. I mean, imagine we're going to get to this in a moment. We think, well, who are, what are some examples of these people? we might encounter that are naked, and we have given them clothing, or they're in prison. And, you know, I can imagine some people getting a little nervous, thinking, I've got to go. I mean, have you seen prisons? Well, I've seen them on television, and they don't look good. I don't know if I want to go visit in a prison. But I guess if I have to, in order to make it into heaven, I better schedule something. Is there a low security place I can go where people are just in there because of parking violations? And I'll go visit them. This is not what we have in view here. Remember Paul, Silas. They were in prison. And wrongly imprisoned. But here, it's not necessarily, well, is the person who has gone to prison, are they unjustly there? And then it's okay to go visit them. But is this someone upon whom you ought to have compassion? Someone that you ought to care for. Someone with whom you have a connection. And you'll demonstrate that you have a connection with that person. You care about them by doing just these kinds of things. Like I say, it's just a representative list. We could perhaps add, you gave me money when I was in a tight spot. You covered for me when I was sick. You stood by me when I was slandered and it was not acceptable to be my friend. In other words, you were a friend to me. And on the other hand, the refusal of mercy is a sign of a hard heart instead of a merciful heart. A heart that says, I have nothing to do with you. Your problem is not my responsibility. Just go your way, be warmed and fed. But I'm not going to lift a finger for you. The refusal of mercy shows that the one who refuses mercy does not accept this person as a brother or sister. Because that's the way Jesus defines these people. He says that this person is my brother. This person is the least of my brothers. Insofar as you did it unto them, you did it unto me. Clearly, Jesus identifies himself with believers. Even as he said to his disciples, I have called you friends. And he says, he has laid down his life for his brothers. And so this is a description, not just of anyone in general, it is a description of fellow believers, of members of Christ's body. This is the language that Jesus uses exclusively for those who believe in him. and however despised they are by the world, however they may not be recognized by them, he knows them. When Saul is persecuting the church and he's stopped by the Lord himself on the way to Damascus, Saul says, who are you Lord? And he says, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. And Saul very well could have said, I have no problem with you. And certainly I'd have more problems than I could count if I picked a fight with everybody who appeared to me in the sky. No, he's talking about believers, the church. You're persecuting me, Jesus says. He has that close a connection to them. And so what he's saying is, if you truly are mine, if you're a believer in me, then you will have a fellow feeling. You will have sympathy with your brothers and sisters in Christ. If you say you love God, you will love your brother. And so this really brings us to the sole criterion, the sole standard of judgment that Jesus uses. He is, I remember my dad used to like to say all the time, that God does not judge us. We are not justified by our works. Nevertheless, God inspects fruit. And what this is an example of is the fruit of the grace of God at work in someone's life. What will be demonstrated on the judgment day by believers is that the saving grace of God made a difference in their lives. It made them into people who, even though they still sinned, were basically unselfish. Their orientation had turned from being self-serving to serving God and serving others. All the things we know, we have to remember what the scripture says about how we still struggle with this. We still struggle with selfishness. We still struggle with that, with wanting to do what is right. We have that, I don't know what to call it besides sometimes vapor lock that Paul speaks of in Romans 7, where we know the good we ought to do, but there is in our members that old nature, that other law, struggling and pulling us to do what we do not want to do and away from what we ought to do. But unlike the unbeliever, we are involved in a struggle. There is that new nature that is seeking to grow. There is that new creation in Christ Jesus that life is asserting itself and it struggles against the old sinful nature by the grace of God. This is why we speak of our not only having been saved by grace but we are being saved by grace. We are in a process of sanctification, of salvation. So basically we're asking what direction are your feet pointed in? What is the direction of your life? That is what is is demonstrated, is evident in your lives now and it will be evident at the Judgment Day. You have sought to obey God, sought Him, sought His honor and glory. Stumbled, fallen, and gotten distracted, but continuing to repent by God's grace, led to repent by God's kindness. So the fruit shows whether or not you are truly united to Christ. If so, you share in his character. You sympathize with those with whom he sympathizes. The death of Christ is at work in you, putting to death your natural selfishness, and the life of Jesus is growing in you. that new creation, that you are now in Christ Jesus is being nourished by the power of the resurrection. As we now look forward to the celebration of the Lord's Supper, it is this reality that is being signified and sealed in the Lord's Supper. We, our lives, have been brought about, brought into being. We have been given new life, regenerated, reborn as is signified in baptism. And that life is being nourished and sustained as is signified in the Lord's Supper. All in union with Christ. So that is what will be the criterion. We in Christ and therefore love him and love the brothers, or are we not? And therefore are dead to him and dead to the brothers. The final thing, the final warning that is given there is, and these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. There is no way to get around the fact that the two are equivalent as life eternal life means yes the knowledge of God and the knowledge of Jesus Christ whom he has sent but it does mean forever and the description that is given to us in the scriptures is that just as this is conscious union and fellowship with the Lord God forever and ever. So eternal punishment is conscious and it is in banishment from the presence of God and all of God's goodness. This is what the scriptures teach. And anyone who seeks to deny it or replace it with some other doctrine is simply not faithful to what the Bible says. All any faithful messenger can do is to give the warning, but consider, consider the invitation. Come buy wine without money and without price. Come receive and accept a righteousness that is not your own, a sacrifice that you did not make and was made on your behalf. What but absolute pride can cause one to turn down such an offer, such an invitation, And so Jesus, here, even as he predicts the judgment day, is urging, urging all who will hear, come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, how we thank you for your loving kindness. We thank you for that kindness that induces us and draws us to repentance. Oh Lord, we pray that it would have its effect in us even as your word goes forth. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.