Tonight, I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 25, as we read together and consider the very last section. Matthew 25 is made up of three parables, the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents, and then of the sheep and the goats. Some say that it is a parable, some say it isn't, but it is a story nevertheless that our Lord Jesus Christ told. Each of these fits a particular theme. Maybe you've noticed the theme already tonight in every song that we have sung, including in the song service, the truth of Christ's coming again and His judgment on the world. And we're going to read in just a moment, before we read the Scripture, Article 37, the last article of the Belgic Confession, found on page 89, if you would turn there as well. But again, in the parable of the ten virgins, our Lord teaches us that we are called to keep watch. We are to be ready because we do not know the day or the hour of our Lord's return. The parable of the talents, He teaches us that we are called while we wait, while we watch to use the abilities and the opportunities God has given us to that end. And we even see there at the very end of that the warning for those, the end of those who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. They will be thrown into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And that leads into the story of the sheep and the goats. But first, again, I would like to read Article 37, The Last Judgment. Again, this article does not deal with all the different theories out there, pre-millennialism, post-millennialism, those kinds of things, but it simply talks about the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again and what will take place when He does. Finally, we believe, according to the Word of God, when the time appointed by the Lord, which is unknown to all creatures, is come, and the number of the elect complete, that our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven corporally and visibly as he ascended with great glory and majesty to declare himself judge of the living and the dead, burning this old world with fire and flame to cleanse it. Then all men will personally appear before this great judge, both men and women and children that have been from the beginning of the world to the end thereof, being summoned by the voice of the archangel and by the sound of the trump of God. For all the dead shall be raised out of the earth and their souls joined and united with their proper bodies in which they formerly lived. As for those who shall then be living, they shall not die as the others, but be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and from corruptible become incorruptible. Then the books, that is to say the consciences, shall be opened and the dead judged according to what they shall have done in this world, whether it be good or evil. Nay, all men shall give account of every idle word they have spoken, which the world only counts amusement and jest. And then the secrets and hypocrisy of men shall be disclosed and laid open before all. And therefore the consideration of this judgment is justly terrible and dreadful to the wicked and ungodly, but most desirable and comfortable to the righteous and elect. Because then their full deliverance shall be perfected, and there they shall receive the fruits of their labor and trouble which they have borne. Their innocence shall be known to all, and they shall see the terrible vengeance which God shall execute on the wicked who most cruelly persecuted, oppressed, and tormented them in this world and who shall be convicted by the testimony of their own consciences and shall become immortal, but only to be tormented in the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels. But on the contrary, the faithful and elect shall be crowned with glory and honor and the Son of God will confess their names before God his Father and his elect angels. All tears shall be wiped from their eyes and their cause which is now condemned by many judges and magistrates as heretical and impious will then be known to be the cause of the Son of God. And for a gracious reward, the Lord will cause them to possess such a glory as never entered into the heart of man to conceive. Therefore we expect that great day with a most ardent desire to the end that we may fully enjoy the promises of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. As you can tell, that article contains, we might say, all of the most familiar passages dealing with this subject. We considered it a little bit this morning as well. And now we turn to this familiar passage, Matthew 25, beginning at verse 31, as we give our attention to the reading of God's Word. 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. 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. Beloved, shall we bow together in prayer. Our gracious God and Heavenly Father, we confess that You have wonderful things, riches in Your Word to reveal to us. We thank You for Your most precious Word and we pray for Your blessing upon the reading and preaching of it in this evening hour. We pray, O Lord, You might strengthen us unto more faithful service as children of the Most High God. And in all these things may you be praised. And prepare us, Heavenly Father, for glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen. Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is coming again. This is what we believe. This is our confession. And with good reason. As I've already pointed out, Our Lord clearly teaches this in Matthew 25 alone with these three parables or stories. First of all, the ten virgins and the talents. We are being necessarily reminded that Jesus Christ is coming again. As well, we know that Paul teaches this truth in a variety of places. John in the book of Revelation. And it's possible that one of the reasons our Lord left us with this teaching is because He knew that in our busyness and in our preoccupation with this life and with the things of this life, that we would often forget this beautiful truth about Christ's second coming. You know how it is. Out of sight and therefore out of mind. And indeed, we must confess that when we wake up in the morning, most of us never stop to consider that this could be the day. As Dr. Godfrey reminded us in adult Sunday school last week's Sunday, the truth is we do believe that Jesus is coming again, but how many of us really believe it will be in our lifetime? Probably most of us think it won't be for whatever reason. It's been so long. Why would it be in my lifetime? Yet the Word of God is clear, even for you and me today in the year 2005. Watch. Be ready. As well, we are called to diligently work where God calls us with that end in mind. The end of Christ coming again. No, we don't know when He's coming again. Jesus said that it would be when we do not expect Him. He said that it would be as a thief in the night His return would be. And of course, that idea is not talking about a rapture in which Jesus secretly whisks believers from this earth out of their cars, away from their office, or away from their school desks, or away from a conversation. or any other sort of sudden disappearance so that the unbelieving world which remains will be totally confused and bewildered. When Jesus comes again as a thief in the night, there won't be confusion in the sense of a sudden disappearance of believers. But there will be a sudden worldwide appearance of the one they believed in. When Jesus Christ comes again, the believer's weight will be over. As we said this morning, that glory will be revealed. That weight will be over as our Lord completes forever His great work. He will judge all men. He will put away His enemies forever. And He will deliver the final and complete kingdom to His Father. When Jesus Christ comes again, the lines will be perfectly and eternally drawn. And therefore, we consider this Word of God, the final judgment identifies mankind. We want to notice the unmistakable separation, the uncompromising standard, and the unchangeable sentence. Well, again, with this story, our Lord identifies. He goes back to the beginning of chapter 25, as it were, and He identifies those who are represented by the five wise virgins who faithfully watched and were ready for the bridegroom. And as well, He identifies those who worked according to their abilities with the kingdom talents and opportunities that had been given to them. But He also identifies, on the other side, He identifies the five foolish virgins, as well as those who ignored their kingdom, talents, and abilities. The text begins, 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. Beloved, this is going to be a cosmic event as heaven comes to earth once again. But from heaven comes the judge, while on earth will be the judged. Jesus Christ, who often referred to Himself as the Son of Man, is the judge who will come in all of His glory with His entourage of angels, His heavenly army at His side, and He will take His seat on His glorious throne. What a sight that will be! We cannot even begin to comprehend that. But this One who is God Himself will display the full glory of God which is infinite perfection and holiness, which is transcendent above all things and which perfectly exposes the sin of man and lays wide open man's inner heart and deepest thought. But what a beautiful sight this will be, as the article refers to. A beautiful sight this will be for those purchased by the king who have received from him that peace that passes understanding. But on the other side, what a terrifying sight for it. And what fear and dread will come upon those who judged and rejected him as they see with their own eyes all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him and that indeed God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name. You see, on that day, Christ will come as the One and the Only One approved by God His Father. You know, many did not recognize Jesus when He came the first time in complete humility and suffering in the form of a servant from the manger to the cross. But all will recognize Him. Not all believingly. But every eye will recognize Him when He comes with the glorious majesty and the honor of heaven and heaven's throne. There will be no mistake about who this judge is. And again, He comes for a reason. There are also those who will be judged. And they will be identified by an unmistakable separation. Well, first of all, who is to be judged? The text says all the nations will be gathered before Him. This is one of those times in Scripture when all truly means absolutely all. Every one. This has universal scope. All of mankind from the beginning to the end, from the first man, Adam, to the last. All the kingdoms of the earth, every person whom God created, every man, woman, and child, willing or unwilling, Prepared or not prepared, as the article says, all will personally appear before this great judge. And when all are gathered before him, Christ, the judge himself, will separate them into only two groups, the sheep and the goats. Now notice, brothers and sisters, this separation is not going to be into nations or denominations or even into families. The separation will be individual. And the standard of separation, as we will talk about in a moment, will not be determined by any earthly condition as such as we might separate by, like race or color or wealth or denominational affiliation or talents or who you are, who you were. or who you know, who you knew. Jesus uses the analogy or example of sheep and goats, which is both significant and fitting, and it is unmistakable. Scripture, as we know, speaks of God's people as sheep who are known by the Good Shepherd and who know the voice of the Shepherd. Sheep, we know, are needy animals. They're needing to be cared for and led, but they're also seen as gentle and obedient and will follow the Shepherd. in contrast to the goats, which are seen as troublemakers. They are temperamental and stubborn. They will not follow. Goats are a picture of disobedience. Jesus is telling us here that there are only two kinds of people. Mankind can be identified in only two ways. There are the sheep and the goats, the righteous and the wicked, believers and unbelievers, the elect and the reprobate. And when Jesus, the righteous judge, comes again, he will identify himself, as he did during his earthly ministry, with the sheep. With those who recognize their need, by the grace of God, to be led and cared for. And he will place them on his right side, by his right hand. Boys and girls, the right hand is the hand that symbolizes power. But the goats will find their place on his left. Now, this picture of separating the sheep from the goats was a familiar picture to the people of that day because during the day, the sheep and the goats grazed together out in the field, but at night, they were separated from each other. Ever since the fall of mankind, this world has been filled with sheep and goats as the seed of the serpent has been living in with and alongside of the seed of the woman. The parable of the wheat and the tares reminds us that even in the visible church, The sheep and goats sit side by side in the church pew. Only God can truly tell the two apart. Not you, not me. But on that day when Jesus Christ returns to judge all of mankind, He will separate the sheep from the goats without error. No mistake. And it will not be based on opinion as we might do. but his unmistakable separation will be based on fact. Now, Christ's separation itself is the beginning of his judging process, but then he also teaches us the uncompromising standard used for this judgment. Notice now he refers to the Son of Man as the King when he says, then the King will say to those on his right hand. He gives a clear indication of his authority, especially to be the judge. But what is the standard he uses? How does he determine who are sheep and who are goats? Well, beloved, here is where one's interpretation will determine whether you believe in works righteousness or in the grace of God. Many will say, of course, that Jesus makes the separation based on works. Man is judged by the fact that he has or hasn't performed good works or certain works. After all, the text says, I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. And I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. Or it says you didn't do these things. Either you gave to Christ or you didn't give to Him. Either you invited Him in or you didn't. Either you clothed Him or you didn't clothe Him. So therefore, all men will be judged by their works. On that day, either Jesus will say to you, based on the standard of your works, Come, you who are blessed of my Father, or He will say, Depart from me. Beloved, our works reflect the uncompromising standard of judgment. But they are not the standard. Jesus is not saying here that if you perform works of mercy, then you will be saved. Then you have earned your way. In the same way, he is not saying that this is a complete list of works of mercy to be performed. Calvin points out that there were some monks who believed that these six works of mercy, and only these six, nothing more, were required by God. But the truth is, these six point to you. They represent all that can be done to show love for your neighbor as yourself. Now, why does Jesus describe the sheep in this way? These works of mercy, beloved, are evidence of the uncompromising standard. That standard, though, is the decision and the good pleasure of God. Jesus says in 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. He does not say, Come, you who are going to be blessed of My Father. They already enjoy that blessing. That blessing already existed and continues to exist. That blessing is that they have been chosen by God since the creation of the world before having performed anything good at all. The sheep are blessed because they are dear to or are beloved by the Father who, apart from any works of theirs, not only elected or chose them from eternity past, but also prepared for them His kingdom for eternity future. You see, these works of mercy are not the reason why they inherit God's kingdom, but they are evidence of God's electing love and saving grace in their lives. But on the other hand, on the left hand, are the goats. Jesus says to them in verse 41, 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. Those very same works not performed function as negative evidence against them. Notice that Jesus, the King Judge, doesn't condemn the goats for what they may have done, such as murder, adultery, stealing, cheating, covening, you name it. Instead, they are condemned for their sins of omission. What they failed to do. It doesn't mean that we are allowed to do all those other things, but they are condemned for what they failed to do. You see, these works of mercy give evidence of belief or unbelief, of faith or no faith. Remember, Paul says that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works. But then he adds that we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Maybe you've heard the saying, a person is saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. As James says, the believer will show his faith by his works. An interesting and important detail here is that Jesus says these works were either done to Him or not done to Him. And the responses of both the sheep and the goats demonstrates their belief or their unbelief as well as their true motives. Now, it's no secret that people, including us, are incentive or rewards-driven people. We work hard for a part of the gold. These things motivate us. When I was in sales some years ago, in inside sales, every quarter of the year, there would be a bonus. A bonus from the profits of the company, but your share depended on your performance. Even many years before that, when I was a paper boy, there were always incentives. You get a new customer and you get this prize. Incentives. Many young people work hard on their grades not only to get the A on the course, but also, hopefully, to get the scholarships. And fortunately, even for us as believers, so often in order for us to do our best, we need an incentive. Otherwise, we are just content to get by. But notice the motivation for the sheep. In every case, Jesus says that He was the one whom they helped, But it's clear that they did not perform these works of mercy for a reward. In fact, they say, when? When? They didn't do these things expecting a reward, which is clear because they didn't know they were doing these things to and for Christ. How were they doing these things to Christ? He says, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. believers are called to look out for and care for their brothers and sisters in Christ. We are not to be in stiff competition with each other. We are not to wish failure upon each other. But we are called to see to the needs of each other. Now understand though that this passage, this particular passage, is not a social mandate for us to go out and save the world. That's not what Jesus is teaching us here. The Bible, indeed the Bible instructs us in other places to help all men indiscriminately as the Good Samaritan teaches. But not here. Our Lord teaches us that we must exercise special care over the family of God. Paul says in Galatians 6 verse 10, And therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Why the family of believers? Well, because this is Christ's family. He says, these brothers of mine. Well, then who is Christ's family? In Matthew chapter 12, we read in verses 46 to 50, 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. And therefore, here in the text, Jesus is talking about hungry believers, sick believers, incarcerated believers. And notice how specific. The least of these. He's talking about those, beloved, who cannot take care of themselves. those who are weak, those who are often overlooked by the rest of the world, those who cannot repay you in any way, shape, or form. The sheep give evidence of having been brought into the family of God through the love of Jesus Christ. And they give evidence of that by demonstrating that same love of Christ throughout God's family. They give evidence of Christ living in them. They have learned by the grace of God to follow Christ's pattern of servanthood. And by doing so, they have learned the fundamental lesson of grace. That each and every one of us is the least of all the saints because we are unworthy sinners saved by grace alone. Beloved, the cause of Christ is and is to be the cause of the Christian. But that's part of what the world, as Article 37 says, only counts as amusement and jest. You see, the wicked world does not see any hope in a crucified Christ, and that's because they do not see with the eyes of faith a living and reigning Lord who has been given authority over all things, even them. Now, these works of mercy are not somehow a going above and beyond the call of duty, but in reality are to be the humble duties of day-to-day living for the child of God. It's clear that the sheep didn't consider these works of mercy to be out of the ordinary, but that they considered them to be a natural part of their lifestyle. Their motivation shows that they performed these works out of hearts filled with Christian love and the grace of God. It's clear, I believe, that they were not trying to earn a reward, but their works were evidence of a committed life to Christ. Evidence of God's grace in their lives. Evidence of a reward already theirs. And evidence of the genuineness of their profession. These works had a distinct confessional quality as they performed with their lives that which they professed with their mouths. And these works were Christ-like in that Christ also gave to and for those who could never repay Him for what He did for them. Does that sound familiar? We cannot repay the Lord Jesus Christ for taking upon Himself the punishment due to us because of our sin and offense to God. But on the other hand, there are the goats again. Their response of surprise to the charge of not doing these things to and for Christ also demonstrates something significant. Their motivation was selfishness. They also say, when? But their question, when, suggests that if they had known that they would have been doing these things for Christ, and if they had known that there would be a reward for it, well, certainly they would have performed these works of mercy. Why wouldn't they? That's quite an incentive. You see, in reality, they try to pin the blame somewhere else. It's not our fault. We didn't know. Nobody told us. Instead, they spent their lives looking out only for themselves, and in truth, their response is just as selfish as their lives, because by this time, remember, the gospel had reached the ends of the earth, and no doubt the goats had met preachers and teachers and believers of the gospel, but the goats convicted them as being fools, following a foolish message. Beloved, Jesus Christ identifies Himself with His people. Think of the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. Jesus said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting who? My people? No. My church? No. Why are you persecuting me? Works of mercy done from true faith as evidence of the grace of God are done to Christ Himself through His people. But when these works of mercy are ignored or are even done from selfishness, then Christ is ignored. As professing Christians, beloved, we represent Christ in all of our life, especially as we deal with each other. And all those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ alone for salvation. So therefore, each one of us must consider how do you represent Him? Are you considerate of the needs of your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? All the opportunities are there. God gives us many, many opportunities. As the young people know, there's opportunity right in Mexico, Tijuana, right across the border as they continue to work to help a church and their pastor from time to time. But there are also many opportunities closer to home. Are you doing all that you are able to do? Needs are put before you at times for rides to the doctor, for meals, for prayer, for help in any number of ways. Are you doing all that you are able to do? I'm not saying doing everything because not one person can do everything, but that's why we are a family. Are you doing what you are able to do? Do you demonstrate love for your neighbor as yourself by being his servant for Jesus' sake? Young people, how do you represent Christ to your friends? I hope that that sticks with you. That every day, if you need to be haunted by it, then I hope that you're haunted by it. Every day, in every situation, that you might remember this. How am I representing Christ in this situation to my friends, boys and girls? Remember, every hurtful and hateful thing you do to others is really done against Jesus. Which side of Christ does your life point to? The right or the left? Well, very briefly then we notice that our Lord also speaks of the unchangeable sentence given to both the sheep and the goats. The last verse, Then they, the goats, will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. The sheep. Those who are called blessed and righteous by Christ will inherit that which their brother, the Savior Himself, has earned for them. Nothing less than eternal life. And those who demonstrate their gratitude to God for His forgiveness and salvation by showering mercy upon others, even as God in Christ showered it upon them, they will enjoy eternal peace in the bosom of the Heavenly Father. God's children will enjoy life in His house. and fellowship with Him forever because in His grace He has adopted them for Jesus' sake. But the goats will be sent away to eternal punishment because they rejected Jesus Christ and demonstrated that rejection by rejecting His people. Dr. P.Y. DeYoung wrote in connection with this, Men will despise our hope as delusion. They will deride it as unscientific. They will detest it as an insult to man's own capabilities and courage. But all this still leaves them standing in the sharp wind as the darkness deepens around them. Since they determined to live without God in the world, they are doomed to a future without hope. Yet, beloved, the Christian, even in the midst of the world's rejection and abuse, as we said this morning, sings of his victory through Jesus Christ. And He has the consolation of our Lord's gracious and glorious coming again. On that day for the goats, there will be no second chances. There will be no probation periods to try to make things right. There will be no plea bargains for a lesser charge. The sentence will be unchangeable. No goats will sneak into the sheepfold. And no sheep will be left behind. What this means, beloved, is if you are here tonight and you do not yet believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, don't wait. It's not meant to scare you, but He could come back tonight. We are called to be ready to watch. Don't wait. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation. And that Jerusalem, the golden, will be yours. He has secured it for you. With a final judgment, Jesus Christ will unfailingly and without error identify the sheep and the goats, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, those who believed on Him by grace through faith, those who did not believe because of their own hardness. And He will identify those who demonstrated the family resemblance of their elder eternal brother from those who are a part of the family of God's enemy, the devil. Kingdom citizens give natural evidence of that citizenship in this life. Are they perfect? No. But they are justified in Christ. And they are being sanctified in Him. How will the goats face the final judgment? With much fear, terror, and trembling. When they get a glimpse of the glory of the judge, they will cry for the mountains to fall on them. But how are true believing sheep to face it, even today? With peace, with eagerness, with hope. A longing for Christ's return, praying, even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Because although sheep are easy prey for the enemy, Jesus promises that no one is able to snatch them out of His Father's hand. And beloved, what joy for you who truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as He comforts you at His right hand. Amen. Shall we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that You would prepare us for that day. That You would not allow us to be caught not watching and not ready. And until that day, O Lord, may we be busy and active working for You. Giving of ourselves in Christian love. Extending mercy to our brothers and sisters in Christ, especially who have need. Not that we might gain by it, but knowing that together we are the family of God and You prepare us all together for that great day of our Lord's coming. What a day that will be, O Lord. Indeed, prepare us for it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.