I invite you to turn with me to Matthew chapter 25 as we read verses 31 through 46 and consider this familiar story of the sheep and the goats, a story in which our Lord teaches us exactly that which we just sang, that He will come to judge the nations in His righteousness. Matthew chapter 25, beginning at verse 31. Hear now the Word of the Lord. When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate the people one from another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, Come, you who are blessed by My Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited Me in. I needed clothes and you clothed Me. I was sick and you looked after Me. I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The king will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Then He will say to those on His left, Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in. I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me. I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me. They also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison and did not help you? He will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. There ends the reading of God's Word. May He add His blessing to it. Well, beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus ends Matthew chapter 24 talking about the fact that no one knows the day or the hour of His return. And then He moves forward in chapter 25 and tells three parables. The first is the parable of the ten virgins. And there we learn that five of them were not ready when the bridegroom returned. And then the parable of the servants and the talents where the servants are given money by their master to take care of for Him while He is gone. And then we learn there that the servant who was given one talent had nothing to show for it when the Master returned. And third, the story of the separation of the sheep and the goats that will take place when Christ returns. Do you sense a theme here? Do you sense an important message here? Jesus Christ is coming back. You see, we tend to be here and now kind of people. We tend to be out of sight, out of mind kind of people. But our Lord's clear message is, I will return. Don't forget about it. In fact, prepare for it. Get ready for it. Because when He comes, beloved, He will complete forever His great work. He will judge all men. He will put His enemies away forever. He will deliver the final, the complete kingdom to His Father. Indeed, the final judgment is the background of the message of saving grace, salvation from the eternal wrath of God against sin. And when He comes, the lines will be perfectly and eternally drawn as the final judgment identifies mankind. First of all, with the two-fold separation. Now, in recent weeks, we have mentioned quite a bit, we have spoken quite a bit about the fact that there are only two kinds of people. It is not just a theory. It is indeed a fact which Jesus reinforces here. There are only two kinds of people and the true identity of every single person, your true identity, my true identity, the true identity of every single person will be made unmistakably clear on that day. Our text begins again, when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Now, we need to remember too that as Jesus teaches a little bit earlier in chapter 24, this will be a cosmic event. A cosmic event as heaven comes to earth once again. And there's a two-fold separation by the judge. Well, who is He? What's His identity? Well, it's really very simple, isn't it? It says the Son of Man. Jesus Himself. And all will see Him. All will know Him. Remember, at His first coming, not many, we should say, none recognized the Son of God. He came in complete humility. He came as a newborn baby. He came completely alone. When He came the first time, He came in suffering. As we confess, all the days of His life He suffered, but especially at the end of His life. He came in the form of a servant from the manger all the way to the cross. When He came the first time, none recognized Him as the Son of God. But at His second coming, He will come in all of His divine glory. He will come in His infinite wisdom and power and majesty and perfection and holiness. He will come not alone, but with His army, with His entourage of angels. And when He comes, He will be recognized. He will be known by absolutely everyone. Yet when He comes, He will also receive a two-fold reception. Paul in Philippians 2 says that every knee will bow before Him. But we know, of course, that not every knee will bow in faith. Every knee will bow, but not every knee in faith. And therefore, He will have a two-fold reception for those who have been purchased by this King. His appearing, His revelation of Himself will be a beautiful sight. A glorious sight. As they will be filled with joy and delight as they gaze on this One for whom they had prayed so often, Come quickly, Lord Jesus. This One from whom they have received peace that passes understanding. Indeed, that peace with God. That peace with God which will be experienced in the ultimate sense when they come face to face with Him. Because when they see Him, they will not face Him with fear. They will not face Him with anxious anticipation. They will not face Him wondering am I in or am I not? When they see Him, they will not be filled with worry and torment and anxiety, but with pure joy and excitement. But for those who rejected Him, there will be a different reception when He makes Himself known what a terrifying sight for them that will be. As they will be filled with fear and dread, terror, crying out for the mountains and the hills, the Bible says, to cover them from the glory of the Lord. Terrified as the truth of Him is unmistakably clear to them as they will see that He is who He claimed to be, and they will tremble as they see that to Him has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, even over them. As they see that indeed God has exalted Him to the highest place and given Him the name that is above every name. As they see that He has been given authority to carry out the two-fold separation of the judged. Those that will be gathered before Him. Who are they? Well, the Bible says, the text says, all the nations will be gathered before Him. This is one of those times in Scripture that all definitely means all, each and every one without exception. We said in our consideration of a limited atonement that sometimes in Scripture we showed how all sometimes means all kinds of or all in a particular place or at a particular time. But this is universal. All without exception. All who died in the first Adam, every man, woman, and child who has lived, does live, or will live, Every single last one will stand before the second Adam, Jesus Christ. No one will escape that gathering. No one will be excluded. No one will be exempt. Instead, they will be separated. In the final judgment, the two kinds of people will be clearly identified by Judge Jesus as they are separated into two groups, the sheep and the goats, not into nations, not into church affiliations, not even into families. And it will not be determined by ethnicity or wealth or one's abilities, but it will be individually. One here, another there, this one back over here. Two groups. And this analogy of the sheep and the goats really is a fitting analogy. Sheep, even though we know that they're not always too smart, Sheep need to be led. They need to be cared for. And Scripture identifies God's people as sheep. Identifies them as those who are known by the Good Shepherd, as those who know His voice, those who follow Him. But the goats, it's the opposite. Goats are seen as temperamental and stubborn and troublemakers. Goats are a picture of disobedience. Those who do not follow. And those who rejected Jesus Christ, unbelievers, are called goats. When Jesus comes again, beloved, He will identify Himself with the sheep as He did in His earthly ministry. With those who by God's grace recognized their need to be led and cared for those who followed Him. He will place them at His right, the place of honor. And this separation, this picture of separating sheep and goats would also have been a familiar picture for the people of that day because in that day the sheep and the goats during the daytime they grazed together in the same field but they were separated for the night. Ever since the fall of mankind we know that the world has been filled with both sheep and goats living side by side. Even in the church as Jesus also told the parable about the weeds growing up with the wheat and that they would be separated at the harvest or as He taught in the Sermon on the Mount of wolves in sheep's clothing. And only God can truly tell the two apart and Jesus will separate them without error, without mistake, and it will be done, secondly, with the divine standard, according to the divine standard. And simply, it is not man's standard. How does Jesus determine who are sheep and who are goats? Well, one's interpretation of our Lord's words here determines if that one believes salvation by the grace of God alone or salvation by the works of man. Man's standard, of course, is separation based on works. That man will be judged by the fact that he has or hasn't performed certain good or certain works. After all, that's what Jesus says, right? Verse 35, For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited Me in. Or it says that you didn't do these things. Either you gave to Christ or you didn't give to Christ. Either you helped Him or you didn't. And therefore, according to man's standard, all men will be judged by their works. And Jesus will say to you and Me, then based on the standard of our works, either come you who are blessed by My Father, or He will say, depart from Me. That's man's standard. However, the true place of works, in this case, these works of mercy that Jesus talks about, or we might say the failure or absence of them, the true place of them is that they reflect the divine standard, but they are not that standard. Jesus is not saying that if you perform works of mercy, then you will be saved, or then you have earned your way. Works of mercy, and also we should know that they're not limited to the six that are listed here as some make it to be, but these represent all the works of mercy that can be done for others. But these works of mercy are evidence of the divine standard, which is exactly that. It is divine. It's not man's standard, but God's standard. Verse 34, Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Very simply, beloved, the standard is the decision and the good pleasure of God Himself. Notice the sheep are blessed. Not going to be because of what they have done. But they are blessed. That blessing has existed. That blessing continues to exist. That blessing is that they have been chosen by God. I believe we see that here. Chosen by God since the creation of the world, as Jesus says, the kingdom has been prepared for them. Specifically, for them. Since the creation of the world, even before performing one single work of mercy. The sheep are dear to the Father, blessed by the Father, who apart from anything they would do or could do, and in spite of their awful sinfulness, not only chose them to be in His fold from eternity, but He has prepared for them His kingdom for the eternal future without end. And for them, beloved, Judgment Day will usher in the crown of God's blessing. Their works of mercy are not the reason that they inherit God's kingdom, but evidence of the blessing of God, evidence that God has chosen them and that God has been gracious to them for His kingdom. But on the other hand, On the left hand are the goats. Verse 41 says, Then He will say to those on His left, Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And then He goes on to say what they didn't do. The very same works of mercy neglected function as negative evidence against them. Notice, though, that Jesus doesn't condemn them for horrendous sins that they may have committed like murder, adultery, embezzlement, you name it. He doesn't condemn them for those horrendous things that maybe even the sheep have committed. And possibly the goats never even committed. But He condemns them for sin of omission, what they failed to do. Beloved, our Lord teaches us here that the great question, the question of judgment day is what did you do with Jesus? What did you do with Jesus? These works of mercy or lack of them are evidence of belief or unbelief. Evidence of faith or no faith. Paul indeed says we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. We know on account of Christ alone. But he also says we've been created to do good works. And notice the beautiful reminder here too that all sins can be forgiven and wiped out by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, the most horrendous sin, except the sin of unbelief. Except the sin of rejecting Jesus. And the divine standard reveals the object of man's attention as he travels on this earth. Verse 40 says, The king will reply to the sheep, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me. And then verse 45, And He will reply to the goats this time, I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me. Now a very important detail is that Jesus says that these works were either done or not done to Him. And the responses of both the sheep and the goats demonstrates their belief or unbelief, respectively. It demonstrates their true motives. it demonstrates their object of attention. And our Lord teaches here that He identifies with His people throughout this life. Now, this passage is not a social mandate to go out and save the world or even to feed the world as some make it to be. Indeed, we are to be conscious of all those in need. And Paul in Galatians 6, verse 10 says, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people. And then he adds, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. That's Christ's family. He says, these brothers of mine. Well, who is his family? Listen to what we read in Matthew chapter 12. While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, your mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you. He replied to him, Who is My mother and who are My brothers? Pointing to His disciples, He said, Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother. Jesus is talking here about hungry believers. Sick believers. Incarcerated believers. And even more specifically, the least of these, those who cannot take care of themselves, those who are weak, those who are often overlooked and neglected and ignored by the rest of the world. A family loves and cares for one another. A family rejoices with one another and mourns together. And the same is true for the family of God. The family of God shares a special bond of love. Paul made that clear in Ephesians 4 and 5 that we read this morning too, that it's a family of love, the love of Christ. and the motivation of the sheep it's clear that their motivation is that they did not perform these works of mercy for a reward when they say when it's truly a surprised when and it's not that they are saying well we never did these kinds of things they always did but they're surprised at what Jesus says it was a natural part of life for them they didn't have to think about it But it's clear that they were not performing them for reward because when they say when, they didn't know that they were doing them to Christ. They didn't know that they were doing them for Christ. Their works of mercy give evidence of having been brought into the family of God through the love of Jesus by demonstrating Christ's love throughout God's family. Evidence of Christ living in them. evidence of understanding the grace of God that had been poured out so richly upon them, so undeserved. And therefore, they too naturally treat others as better than themselves. They saw the needs. They filled the needs without expecting anything in return and really without ever thinking about it again. And their works, beloved, were not some great and impressive works before the eyes of men, but they were very simply the humble duties of day-to-day living for the child of God. Not those works that are rewarded and applauded and noticed by men, but those things which are recognized and affirmed by God and are dear to Him because of His people. These works were done not to earn a reward, but as evidence of God's grace in their life, as evidence of a committed life to Christ. They performed what they professed. It was love for Jesus Christ in action, following the example that He has left His people that He gave on this earth. Beloved, it seems clear to me that they did not depend on those acts of love in order to be accepted by the King. I said at the beginning that they will not be wondering, am I in or am I not? They weren't depending on these acts of love to be accepted by the King. When? They were natural. They were selfless. They were Christ-like in that Christ also gave to and for those who could never repay Him. The motivation of the sheep was faith in Jesus Christ who had given and done all that they needed in their darkest hour of need. But the motivation of the goats, the motivation of the goats is clearly selfless. there when? On the one hand, I believe it really is an admission, well, we never did anything like that. But it implies that if they had known that they would have been doing these things for Christ, if they had known there would be a reward in it, even though they misunderstood that there is nothing to earn, but it implies that certainly they would have done these things. In essence, they say, it's not our fault. We didn't know. They were selfish with the what's in it for me attitude and that's the point, isn't it? They hadn't met preachers and teachers and believers of the Gospel, yet they had scoffed at the Gospel of Jesus Christ because they didn't see anything in it for them, only what it would cost them. And beloved, they will be punished for their sin of rejecting Jesus Christ for their sin of unbelief and therefore they will suffer punishment for all of their sins because apart from Jesus Christ, There is no forgiveness whatsoever. Their lack of love shown is evidence that they are not a part of the family of God. Jesus teaches that when we serve His people, we serve Him. He teaches that if you love His people, you demonstrate love for Him. By the grace of God, it's a demonstration of being under the love of God, of having been loved by God, of being in His family. And we might ask ourselves, is that evidence existent in my life? Is it existent in your life? If it is, it's not to make us arrogant, but to give us humble assurance of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Final judgment identifies the two kinds of people with the two-fold separation, with the divine standard, and finally, and very briefly, with the eternal sentence. Verse 46, Then they, the goats, will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. The eternal sentence for the sheep is that they will inherit that which God planned and prepared for them and that which their elder brother, the Savior Himself, has earned for them, eternal life. Those who have demonstrated faith in Jesus Christ by the grace of God and demonstrated gratitude to God for His forgiveness and salvation are those who will enjoy eternal peace in the bosom of the Heavenly Father. God has adopted them and they have given evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in them by loving their fellow adoptees and theirs is the glory of heaven. And we know what the Bible says about that in Revelation. It's a place of no sin, no sorrow, no sickness, no tears, nothing that defiles will ever enter it. All those things that we struggle with here will not be found there. And therefore, beloved, think about this. In heaven, no mercy is needed because no misery exists. Eternal life in the glory of heaven in the presence of God. But the eternal sentence for the goats is that they will go away to eternal punishment with the devil himself. And listen to this. To that place prepared for him. I had never thought about that before. The place prepared for Satan. The father of lies. And that tells us, beloved, that nothing will be worse or can be worse than that. Forever separation away from the grace and love of God or any opportunity for it. To spend eternity bearing the horrible, never-ending torment of God's wrath against sin. And, beloved, on that day for them, there will be no second chances. There will be no probation periods. There will be no plea bargains for a lesser charge. No excuses will be accepted. All the things that fly in this life not be found there. No goats will sneak into heaven. No sheep will be left out. Beloved, this Word of God is a call to the selfish and unbelieving to forsake themselves. To forsake their sinful selfishness and look to Jesus Christ. If that truly describes you this morning, it's a call for you. To look to the selfless one who alone saves from that wrath to come that will come on that day. He shed His love, He poured out His love for those for whom He would die. He loved them all the way to the death of the cross. And yet this is also an encouragement, beloved, to the humble in Christ Jesus to rejoice in the transforming love of God and an encouragement to persevere to the end because our eternal salvation is sure, as Jesus makes clear. And therefore, it is also an encouragement to serve Christ by serving His people. And even though that kind of activity is scorned and despised by the world because it's a waste of time. It is the cause of Christ by which He is glorified. By which He is pleased. And it's also a word of assurance, beloved, that our believing in Jesus Christ is not in vain. It's not for nothing. It's not a waste of time. In essence, he says, not only is this loving service the character and the practice of my people on earth, but receiving the eternal inheritance is the truth and guarantee for My people on Judgment Day because I love you, He says, and because I have secured it for you. Amen. Let's pray together. Dear Heavenly Father, we cannot help but to be struck by the pointedness and the truth of Your Word. Indeed, O Lord, You call us to be a people who demonstrate Your love poured out upon us in Christ by loving one another. And Father, we thank You for Your love poured out upon us. your love which guarantees for us life in your presence forever. We do pray, Father, that you would continue to mold us and shape us after your will. That you would increase our desire for you and our love for one another. That you would give us strength as a family of God even as we go forward from this day on and from day to day. that indeed the love of Jesus Christ might be found here in this place and among your church throughout this world as you continue to care for us through each other. Father, again we pray that you would make us ready for that day, that we would expect it and look forward to it when Jesus Christ comes again to take us home forever and ever. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake. And in His name we pray. Amen.