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“Where Will You Be in the End?”
Matt. 25:31-46
What are some ways life isn’t fair?
How will God make all things right in eternity? How does knowing God will judge the world one day give us patience and perspective for life today?
Who Are You? A Sheep or Goat?
This story is technically not a parable, it is a pairing of similes. However, the overall tone of the passage sounds a lot like a parable and usually is treated as such. Those that do have faith in Christ are said to be sheep that stand on the right hand side of Jesus. Sheep are often used as a metaphor for the children of God throughout Scripture and the right hand is a symbol of God’s strength and power. The right side was seen as a place of honor, while the left side a place of dishonor.
In Jesus’ day, sheep were more valuable than goats because of their wool. The separating of sheep and goats would have been a familiar image to Jesus’ listeners. Palestine is one of the few areas in the world were goats and sheep run together. They would often be separated for the sheep to be shorn or at night because goats are not as tolerant of the cool night air as sheep, and the goats would have to be sheltered in some way.
Just as sheep and goats are separated, so will believers and unbelievers be separated on the last day.
Selfless Deeds Are the Evidence, not the Basis, of Faith
Genuine faith will always be accompanied by selfless deeds- and this is important!
Our actions prove our faith—or disprove it.
James 2:14-18- “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faithbut does not have works? Can that faith save him?If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what goodis that?So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faithapart from your works, and I will show you my faithby my works.”
Why are selfless deeds for others so important to our faith?
Loving/serving other Christians reveals our acceptance of the gospel and models it to the world- and this is important!
When Christians can love one another, they show the world a true picture of the
love of Christ.
When Christians love one another they show they have embraced the gospel.
Matt. 10:40–42- “Whoever receives you receives me, andwhoever receives me receives him who sent me.The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.Andwhoever gives one ofthese little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
Why is so hard to love other Christians at times?
The Joy of Heaven and the Agony of Hell
1 Cor. 2:9- “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Then “we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thess. 4:17).
When we see the Lord “face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12), the vision will transform us.
“We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
Thomas Aquinas- “Heaven will prove to be not so much a reward as the end for which all humans were created.”
What do you think heaven will be like?
Are you ready for what awaits you at the end of your life or the return of Christ?