Final Accounting
Study Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46
Lesson 9

 We pray that by studying this lesson you will be edified and immensely blessed.  Email your questions or comments concerning this study to questions@7thdaybaptistchurch.org  If you wish to use or reproduce content from this web site please see guides lines for use.

Key Verse

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Matthew 25:40

INTRODUCTION 

Everyone wants to know the future and in Matthew 24 and 25 Jesus outlined clearly and in detail, what the ultimate fate of the earth will be. Even so, we note that Jesus’ did not disclose any special secrets or decoder of the future in his discourse, despite the great deal of helpful knowledge that he imparted.

Instead he basically called his followers to a greater sense of their responsibility and faithfulness as his disciples and an insistence that they continue to carry out the instructions or ‘orders’ that he had given them with care and diligence. He cautioned that there hope of his soon coming remains strong and fervent and that there be no relaxation in their commitment to their life of faith. They were to live and work through the power of God, serving their fellowmen and their Christ.

All through his discourse the constant theme was that his followers should watch, be on the alert.

The emphasis of Jesus was in response to the kind of concerns and observations that the disciples made after one of the most angry, woe filled and blistering sermon Jesus ever gave to the scribes than Pharisees. He accused them of hindering men from knowing the t ruth of God and living lives of complete hypocrisy, though outwardly appearing to be righteous. They behaved exactly like their fathers who being vipers, persecuted and killed all the prophets and righteous men.

Those religious leaders Jesus said, had rejected the pleadings of their Messiah and so they were rejected and their house was left desolate. Because of their stubborn and wicked actions they would not have the privilege of seeing him, until the time when they would be prepared to exalt and welcome him.

The disciples were obviously in a mental quandary and as Jesus left the temple after predicting its destruction and the desolation of the nation, not quite accepting that the world they knew was about to crash and there would be no place of safety, they pointed out that the house of God surely would not be destroyed again. The temple was so beautiful and its construction so solid, that the destruction of the temple and the religious way of life it represented would be too tragic and inconceivable an event to contemplate.

Jesus dashed their hopes, emphasizing that the destruction of the temple would be complete, with not one stone left upon another. The Temple which was the center of the nation’s life would be gone and life would never be the same for the people. There would be no escape from its destruction and the violation of their sacred place and of their nation.

The disciples then came to Jesus on the Mount of Olives to ask him privately when these things would be. When could they expect him to come in glory, marking the end of the age; with its Gentile domination, many evils and the subjection of the people of God?

The disciples obviously assumed at this stage that terrible things were going to happen and that they would suffer and so they wanted specific advice as to how they could avoid the difficulties and survive the coming troubles, until he was ready to take over and establish his rule. Jesus’ words however, did not indicate that he intended to protect them from the impending problems.

Rather, as he sat looking at Jerusalem and understanding that his darkest hour was fast approaching there was much on his mind. His enemies were scheming in secret to destroy him and his close associate Judas would join them in their planning. His friends were so weak He could not depend on them, they would run away from him, the strongest mouth among them would deny him with curses and that ahead of his people was a long dark night of pain, distress, and fear. Jesus then sadly told his disciples the plain t ruth about the perils ahead of them.

WHAT WAS AHEAD

Jesus warned them to stay alert, to keep their eyes opened, to evaluate and test every spirit, so that they would avoid the deceit and confusion of the age.

He warned them three times against listening to the voices of those proclaiming bogus emergencies based on signs in the heavens or signs or events on the earth. Many false prophets and false Christ’ would appear and deceive many, but despite that, not one believer should be railroaded into inappropriate reactions and behavior.

In this age there would be powerful, deceptive threats to the faith and these would mislead men, making it difficult for them to believe and turning them away from the t ruth . These phony Christ’ would come claiming to have the message of the true faith and that they were the true Messiah.

Many natural calamities would happen and the terrors would make men shiver. Wars would occur and there would be rumors of war to sicken men and bring despair.

Persecution would further threaten the faith and the cost of being a disciple would be high.

Apostasy would be another peril and combined with persecution, many would succumb to the pressure and those standing firm would increasingly find themselves standing alone.

Under the growing wickedness of the age, the increasing influence of false prophets teaching false philosophies and false religious teachers, the love of many would grow cold and many would become indifferent to life and faith. Cynicism about the t ruth of God would prevail and moral apathy and callousness by those who had lost all natural affection would become the norm.

The anti-Christ ian current would reach its crescendo, bringing great tribulation and threaten to sweep away everything of God.

God would give his true followers the power to survive and they would not be deceived but would see the magnificent and glorious coming of the Son of Man to bring about his kingdom on earth.

Then, when it appeared to be business as usual, the end would come and there would be a selective removal and separation of people.

WHY THEN THESE PARABLES FOLLOW

Clearly there is a warning against the mindset that nothing will ever change, that things will go on exactly as they were and that no one will have to give any accounting for their life.

We must be aware that there are siren voices telling us that nothing really matters, that we can wait for another day to deal with the things of God. Precisely the opposite is true.

Jesus went on to relate some parables to alert his disciples and us to the signs of his coming and to encourage and exhort them to faithfulness. He provides some details to his actual appearing and subsequent events with emphasis on rewards, though the rewards for some will surprisingly turn out to be judgment.

These final parables close his Olivet discourse on “last things” in Matthew’s Gospel. Parables of the Fig Tree, Faithful and Evil Servants, Ten Virgins, The Talents and the Sheep and Goats shed light on the Second Coming and its attendant consequences. For the faithful, the underlying theme in all these parables is the need for personal accountability and constant preparedness; be prepared to wait for any length of time and be ready to go to him directly.

One writer puts it this way:

“Embedded in all these stories is Jesus urging watchfulness upon us: Be alert, On track, concerned; maintain priorities.

He is not telling us to be watchful as someone with a crystal ball who can predict the coming things and arrange our life to be right on time with events as they proceed out of the future. He denies that it’s possible to do that. We don’t know when our Master will return, when the accounting will be made. Our watchfulness is to be that of a servant who has an assignment, who has the possibility of influencing the world in our lifetime, who has t ruth to dispense, reality to live, and joy to declare. That’s the point of these stories.”

We with certainty and no apology stress that we all should have an attitude of expectancy and an attitude of persistence, staying alert, faithful, responsive, loving and always led by God.

Today’s study called the Final Accounting will highlight the glory of Christ’s return and looks at the basis for the accompanying eternal rewards or punishment. We will learn that those to be rewarded will be the ones who belong to Christ and therefore manifest the works of God towards the poor, neglected and downtrodden.

Sadly even at this late stage people whose hearts are far from God, but believe good works can carry the day, will plead their case to no avail.

Now note carefully that these parables tell about normal things which happen in everyday life. There are no dramatic, different new things happening, for these parables depict normal everyday occurrences. As we look at these parables we see that eventually the things that have been true about the individuals involved eventually gets revealed, or come to the surface in plain view.

The individuals in the stories have become their own kind of person because of the many choices that they had been making over the long period of their life.

Those who are faithful have made the choices to believe, they watch and stay alert and when they have been given a responsibility as steward, they take their job seriously, noting carefully what their Master cares about and everyday they themselves show that they care about the same things as their Master. As one writer describes it:

“Over a lifetime everyone becomes either a wise or a foolish virgin, either a faithful and wise servant or a wicked one, an outgoing servant and investor and enthusiast for the things of God, or a huddled and frightened and negative servant.”

He then notes:

“Everyone of these stories end with a very hard warning. The door is shut and the bridegroom says, “I don’t know you.” Servants are cast out into a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. These stories are frightening and severe on one level. But they exist here in Jesus’ teaching to issue an important warning: We cannot forever put off responsiveness to do things he has given us to do.

We cannot imagine that they will never be on accounting, that there will never come a time when our life will have been made something by our choices…The real warning here is that we are becoming the kind of person who can’t pay attention if we’d go on forever stiff- arming the t ruth . And then the day will come when the accounting needs to be made.”

We are now dealing with salvation issues as well as the issue of rewards. Some who get judged have actions which indicate that they don’t really believe and so their judgment is exceedingly severe. Others who get judged in contrast to the unbelievers, not only believed but were prepared and were faithful and fruitful and so were rewarded.

Accordingly this section of the text is very different from the other. Here we see the Son of Man coming in glory with his Angels and judgment results in entrance to Heaven or banishment to Hell. This is the climax where we look at eternal priorities so we highly recommend to:

Seek the lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near (Isa. 55:6).

Many profess themselves to be Christ ian s but it is only sincere Christ ian s who are the wise virgins and hypocrites the foolish ones. As in another parable, these same people are represented as wise and foolish builders (Matt 7:24-28). Importantly, those who are truly wise or foolish, are so called, because they show wisdom or folly in the affairs of their souls. True religion is true wisdom and sin is folly.

THE TEXT

Given the fact that these parables in Matthew 25 and in the entire ‘Olivet Discourse’ deal with the coming of Jesus as Judge and Lord and because of the context and the fact that the punishment for the unfaithful is extremely severe and apparently terminal, these are probably the most debated parables in the Bible.  

Many believe that all the people in these parables are believers and so the parables are seen as about rewards or loss of rewards.  

However, in view of the context and description of the punishment for the unfaithful it is quite likely that these parables are dealing with issues about salvation primarily and secondarily about rewards.  In all of these stories some simply did not believe that they would be held accountable for all that the scriptures had enjoined on them.  They did not believe and stay prepared, working hard for the Lord, expecting him to come back any minute.  

Our text sometimes called the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats is not really a parable, though parabolic language is used, such as separating sheep and goats and the dialogue between the Judge and the persons being judged. It is properly to be described as an explanation of the parables told immediately before.   

This is rather a description of the process of separating professing Christ ian s, the real from the hypocrites, with rewards for the real and damnation for the rest. Having dealt with what the proper attitude and activities of his people should be in the time before his return, Jesus now tells them what will happen at his Second Coming. This is the final chapter.

31.   Christ’s coming will be glorious, marvelous, wonderful and as we are told in

2 Thessalon ian s 1: 7-8, he will be accompanied by a host of angels befitting his exalted personage. He shall sit upon his throne of glory. He is the fully exalted King.

The name “Son of Man” recalls the ‘days of his flesh’ and the t ruth of his humanity, when his glory was veiled as the Suffering Servant of Jehovah. Daniel 7:13-14. records his enthronement and glorification following the humiliation of the cross. This scene pictures the King in his full glory, power and authority, displaying all the perfections of the divine nature.

This coming in real glory for this King, who is God, will show the world just how rich is his glorious Kingdom and how excellent his Majesty.  It is abundantly clear that Jesus is the brightness of his father's glory, as well as glorious in his own right.

Every eye shall see him, for this long expected Second Coming will completely disorient and frighten his enemies but will signal salvation for his persecuted people, for this Coming will be visible, sudden, and glorious.

Note that in this bright cloud of glory will be his holy Angels, a magnificent throng, who come to finally whip Satan and those demonic, fallen Angels, who had turned away from the true God and made such a mess of the earth.  They will be there to serve Jesus, to call his Court into session, to witness the glory of the transformed things as Luke 12:8 declares, to bundle up the tares and confirm the sinners in their misery.  What a glorious spectacle!

John 5:22-29 tells us: “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son. That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.  He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.

For as the Father hath life in himself so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice,

And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

Again we note that in this context Jesus asserted who he was and condemned all those who did not come to him and those who did not believe on him, though he came in his Father's name.  The question of belief therefore stands out in all of these teachings about the Second Coming of Jesus and his sitting in judgment.

32-33.   The administration of Judgment is committed to Christ (John 5:22). All must appear before the Judge of the whole earth (Romans 14:10) and the distinction will then be made between the precious and the vile, between the wheat and the tears.

Presently, the wicked and the godly live together and sometimes it is difficult to tell them a part, but in that day they will be separated and parted forever (Mal 3:48; 1 Cor 5:10). The Lord knows his own, he calls them by name and the separation will be so exact that the most inconsiderable saint will not be lost in the crowd of sinners, nor the most plausible hypocrite be able to hide in the crowd of saints (Psalm 1:5) but everyone shall go to his own place (Dan 12:2)

Those on his right, the place of honor, are the elect of God, the ones for whom he laid down his life and who follow his ordinances and appointments. They are likened to sheep, for their meekness, simplicity and inoffensive lives. On his left, the foolish virgins, evil and slothful servants, graceless professors are called goats as a brand of disgrace and condemnation, a sign of their imminent fate.

As we live our lives from day to day, we are surely marking out a spot for ourselves on one side or the other.

Note that when Jesus comes there will be a separation for all eternity.  The tribunal obviously will not look the same way as our human kind of tribunal.  But note that once Jesus comes the elect will be resurrected and transformed, gathered to him in the true rapture and all of those who have not been so gathered will be consigned to their eventual doom.

One group will join him in eternity while the other group will be withdrawn from him in eternity.

This is the Chief Shepherd who treats men individually as they truly are, holding them accountable personally.  He knows thoroughly and intimately all those on earth.  God knows his own, for He has the always “searching eye” and nothing is hid from him.

This Chief Shepherd has always fed his flock, and his sheep are like sheep: innocent, patient, mild and always hear his voice and follow him.  They will never hear the voice of  another.  One must therefore be always cautious about listening to the many deceptive voices in this age Jesus described as being marked by confusion and error.

The separation will take place now, at Jesus’ Second Coming. There will be no second chance after that Day.  Probation will have ended.  All that would remain after the Millennium would be the final playing out of the elimination of the wicked.

We should now stop and note carefully that this is a judgment between sheep and goats, not between those that are obviously bad and those that are obviously good.

It is only the power and nature of Jesus that qualifies him to make this final and definitive judgment.

In this judgment Jesus distinguishes between people who all professed to be Christ ian s and came to belong to the family of God and those who wear a mask, play a role, who are really hypocrites and are not real, but are false on the inside, not true believers at all.

34.   Here our Lord gives himself his rightful and magnificent title “King”, this underlines his authority to make the ensuing pronouncement: Come ye blessed of my Father, because he has redeemed his people from the curse of the law, he can now call them blessed. He rightly points out that all blessings flow from the Father through the Son (Eph 1:3) The “Come” is like welcome to the kingdom prepared for you. Of the glories and pleasures of this kingdom Paul writes: “eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him”. 

Note, his people inherit the kingdom. This estate is not gained by their doing, merit or industry but is a gift of the Heavenly Father to his children. This place of bliss having always been prepared, even before they were born, shows God’s eternal love and grace and removes any claim outside of His benevolence one could make to this inheritance.

It must be recognized that the people separated to God inherit a kingdom, a most valuable thing. Nothing on earth can compare to this kingdom, for it is a kingdom that the great and all-powerful and all wise God and Father has designed and lovingly prepared, not during human time but in eternity.  There was no limitation at all by “ time” or anything else doing its preparation.  Infinite wisdom, love, power and eternity is in the creation of the Kingdom.

The saints will find the kingdom designed for them and they will have it throughout all eternity, because they are the adopted sons of God and since they are children, they are heirs of God, and in full possession of what grace has given them.  Nothing will ever disturb them, or ever threaten what the all-powerful God has given them.

These are authentic Christ ian s, the sheep who follow their Shepherd, for they believe in him and know him.  Now conformed to his image they do what he does.

Since they are in Jesus' family he deals with their situation first, bestowing his glory on them, showing them that they have been redeemed and therefore preferred and rewarded.

They had been persecuted, attacked, denigrated, not allowed to buy or sell during the ‘Great Tribulation’, worn out by the Antichrist, slaughtered and martyred.  They had been crucified with Christ but now they are elevated to glory.

So they are told to ‘Come close, sit beside me in the place of honor.  Never will you be far away from me’.

35-36.   These two verses are not mentioned as reasons for their inheritance but rather testify to and provide evidence of their character and the grace of God in them.

We should not infer that any good works of ours merit the happiness of the Kingdom, as if works have some intrinsic value which when added up will give us enough points to make a claim. Rather their works are mentioned as evidence of their obedience arising from a love for Christ. They do ‘good works’ simply because they demonstrate that they are really converted in heart. These works not only demonstrate the second great commandment, but are done with a believing regard to Jesus, being done for Christ sake is what gives them merit and acceptance with the King. (Eph 6:5-7; Col 3:17).

Their actions show their love, for when they responded in love to meet the need of others, it was invariably done at great cost and risk to themselves.

The love of God was there first and so the actions of love followed.

Be warned that simply doing good things without the love of God on the inside, will not help us in the day of judgment.

We entreat all to accept Jesus, repent and believe and be led by the Holy Spirit in everything that you do.

One writer explains these verses in part: ....the sense is, that when some of the servants of Christ, ministers, or private Christ ian s, were in distress for want of the necessaries of life, these gracious souls supplied them with food; which to do, especially in a time of persecution, showed not only love to Christ, but great faith in him, and that they were not ashamed of him, and their profession of him, nor of his poor ministers and members; for this was done by them, not as the effect of mere humanity to the poor in general, but as an instance of affection to Christ's poor; and was done for his sake, and because they belonged to him, were preachers of his Gospel, and professors of his name; and therefore was considered as if done to himself personally:

The practical demonstration of love to the poor, sick and imprisoned, is recognized as a real indicator of a heart that is right towards God. When there is opportunity to help someone, especially the saints, we must. Jesus identified himself with the needy, claiming to actually be the one to whom love is shown.

Note these descriptions of the destitute state of many Christ ian s over the centuries and in our present day, gives the lie to the “word of faith preachers and their adherents”, that Christ ian s will be wealthy if they only have faith.

37-39.   The gracious humble spirit of the people of God is evident in their questions of mild surprise. All through their lives their genuine faith has been producing its inevitable fruit of good works.

They kept no records, they expected no praise, not thinking they were doing anything unusual, only regarding their activities as a glad privilege to minister in Christ name to meet the needs of others. Their good works did not go unnoticed by our Lord, and they had laid up abundant treasures in Heaven.

One writer’s take on these verses:.....which answer arises partly from not attending to, or thoroughly understanding the words of Christ, which they seem to take in such sense, as if he meant these things were personally done to him; whereas the far greater part of them had never seen him in the flesh, and much less in such circumstances as required such things to be done to him; and partly from surprise and astonishment, that he should take notice of such mean actions, and so highly extol them, and graciously reward them; as also from a forgetfulness of them, their left hand not knowing what their right hand had done: which shows, that they had put no confidence in their works, or depended upon them for their justification before God, and acceptance, with him; these were out of sight, and mind; their only trust being in the person, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ.

Let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. (Gal. 6:9)

These people had contempt for the world and the way that the world treats those that are not in their mould.  They faithfully follow the second great commandment.

40.   Here Christ though in his full glory, splendor and majesty shows his goodness and condescension to answer the queries of his people. Very firmly he asserts the astonishing answer, any kindness done to the very least of his brethren is kindness done to himself. He speaks not in the sense to limit “brethren” to the Apostles or the least of them or so broadly as to include all mankind, though kindness should be shown to all, rather he refers to the saints, for indeed only they are the “brethren” of Christ.

One might not be an Apostle, martyr, preacher or one particularly gifted for service, but even one weak in spiritual matters as well as poor in temporal things is called his “brethren”. Such is his humility and infinite grace, that even the most wretched saint is called brethren and any instance of kindness or respect shown to such is counted as done to Christ personally, and will be noted, accepted and rewarded. This clearly illustrates the intimacy between Jesus and his people.

Certainly we are not lacking in opportunities to do charitable deeds to Christ, just let our motives be pure.

Notice something peculiar here.  God seem to have set up this world in such a way that some are put in a situation where they are able to help others while others are always there to need this help.  There are always those who are able to feast, and live in houses, stay out of prison, stay out of hospital, while others are either in need of food and clothing, need a place to live, need medicine for their bodies, or need sundry helps and comfort while imprisoned. The poor we will always have with us, says Jesus. 

Obviously the Providence of God must have set up the circumstances and now we know why. We must show extreme caution in our behavior and what we do. One writer suggests:

“There must be proof of our love and of our professed subjection to the gospel of Christ.  But they that show no mercy, shall have judgment without mercy”.

Just remember that Jesus is talking about giving food and clothing and shelter to real people and visiting those real people in real prisons.

Clearly we do not have to wait for Jesus to return to bless him, for it seems clear that everywhere there is oppression, loneliness, sorrow, hopelessness, helplessness, sickness and nakedness. Jesus is right here present and he is calling on us to help him.

What is peculiar is that the righteous, separated to Christ, are quite stunned and surprised by what Jesus says.  But don't we know right now what Jesus wants from us?

It seems that despite our knowledge we as well as the wicked expect Jesus to use a different basis of judgment.  We are so accustomed to hear sermons and lectures about the basis of judgment that we do not quite believe that this is going to be the basis of judgment.  One writer is quite pointed in his comments:

“It is clearly evident that both groups expected a different basis of judgment.  As they were being divided into one group or another they doubtless felt they knew the reason for the choice.  Surely the sheep would feel that the basis was that of faith.  There would be ringing in their ears all the great and marvelous words of Scripture declaring that justification before God is by faith alone.  Can’t you see them waiting to come before the King, each one nervously reviewing his testimony, trying to recall the exact wording of the great promises on which he would rest all his hopes for this moment?

But the strange thing is, not one if ever given the chance to say a word.  The issue is already settled.  Each person is simply told to which group he belongs.

But of course the issue really is one of faith.  The sheep are asked to take their place on the right hand of the throne because all through their lives their genuine faith has been producing its inevitable fruit of good works.  Unthinkingly, unconsciously, born of love for Jesus Christ they have been responding to the pleas and the needs of those about them.  They kept no records, they expected no praise.  For them it has been a glad privilege.  They were unaware they were doing anything unusual, but found a real delight in meeting the needs of others.”

Let us be careful of our thoughts congratulating ourselves when we do something good. Let us not seek the praise of others for what we think are our good works.  That kind of attitude is hereby totally condemned and when we see that attitude in ourselves or in others we know that we and they are simply wrong.

There can be no boasting, no left-hand knowing what the right hand is doing, no automatic denial of those in need, no living motivated by self-interest in even the slightest way, no withholding our hand from doing good, no doing good and talking about it afterwards. This is the standard and we should ensure that we ourselves as well as our Church behave appropriately.

These great t ruth must be impressed on our minds.  The saints must be humble, filled with the desire to glorify God, to minister to the poor and worthless according to society standards.

The gracious cannot think highly of their own good deeds.  Clearly our best good deeds are not worth it to be compared with the glory that awaits us.

When we see Jesus everything we have done will pale into insignificance and we will wonder why he really chose us. Let us never boast and keep talking about what we do for God. Let our treasures be accumulated in Heaven and leave the seeing of our good deeds to the Father in Heaven.

We are well advised by one writer:

“ It's worth paying attention to all the things that he (Jesus) cares about rather than postponing them, ignoring them, or getting distracted. A great moment is coming when you will hear the Lord tell you what you did for him.  He will recall what has been forgotten, sort out the beauty in your mixed motives, expand on efforts you see as inadequate.  That day will eclipse every doubt and struggle in this life.  He will say it was worth everything. “ You did it for me.”

41.   Here is the final word to those who only profess religion. Yes, they were in the visible church, hoped to have been with Christ but have only the empty shell of profession and some external works to trust, now they are banished from his presence with the chilling words: “Depart From Me”.

Great works are simply not good enough.

They are characterized as cursed, for their heart was not right with God, the externals could not save them and so they are justly rejected by God. The blessings of the righteous are from God “blessed of my Father”, but the wicked are called only “ye cursed”, for their damnation is of themselves.

They had forgotten that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that deeds done to be seen of men or for private satisfaction had already been rewarded. 

Sometimes we remember that Jesus uses this as a basis for judgment, but sometimes we do not remember and we look the other way, ignoring the demands of the sick, helpless and dying, whether physically or spiritually.  We often leave people lying by the wayside injured and turn deaf ears to their pleas.

So when Jesus confronts us about these long forgot incidents, we can quite honestly say in astonishment, “Lord when?”

Clearly we cannot afford to be indifferent.  Those not properly prepared for the kingdom, those who have not treated the followers of the Son of Man properly, are now shown clearly that works cannot be separated from faith, for entrance to the Kingdom. Works must be the evidence of that true faith.  When one's heart has truly been changed it will be reflected in one's life. 

We know that works in themselves will not impress God positively in his role as Judge.  We also know that Works are never ever separated from the faith of individuals and therefore one must flow from the other.

It is amazing that one can be so near to Christ, called from the world to come to a life of peace and rest and yet refuse to listen properly to his commandments.  ‘So close and yet so far’.

Therefore they must depart not with a blessing or a kind word but with a curse.  They have really cursed themselves, damned themselves, placed themselves under the curse and sold themselves into eternal punishment.

As the resting place of the righteous was prepared, so the place of the wicked is prepared. Actually it was for the Devil and his angels but now that evil and odious host is joined by the hypocrites and carnal professors. The fate of the ungodly is one of unimaginable terror.

This is a departure into fire, grievous torment to both body and soul, for this is the wrath of the eternal God.

This is not a gentle fire but a prepared fire, created for beings who sinned in eternity and whose punishment was prepared from then by the all-powerful unconquerable and incomparable God.

Because of their sinning in eternity these demons will be punished in eternity with everlasting fire which will never go out.  Those foolish men of earth are heading for terrible company, the sworn enemies of God and since they too also hated God, they will forever be associated with Satan and his misery.

42-43.   As the judge explains; the rejection of the goats is not based on what they did, but on what they failed to do. (Amos 6:4-6). Omission of works of love, even if one often performs the sacrifices and burnt offerings, means that the damning sin remains.

They were among Christ ian s and had all the trappings, yet disregarded poor Christ ian s in distress when it was in their power to help. It was the sin of omission towards “the least of these” that exposed them as having no true faith or love for Christ and are rightly condemned by Him.

 Failure to do good is in fact to do evil. The good works are the fruit that demonstrates the reality of the conversion of one’s heart. Works are not the basis or ground of salvation but can be the evidence of it. Note charitable works to the sick, poor, hungry and the disadvantaged are highly regarded by God.    

44.   Here the wicked attempt to plead their case. They too are surprised by the words of the King, and the basis of his judgment. These “goats” might have done some good deeds but note. Good deeds that are not the unconscious, automatic response of a heart in-dwelt by Jesus Christ are not truly “good” deeds. They are planned deeds, contrived, carefully performed for the public eye, or if in private done to curry favor with God.

God searches the heart, he knows our thoughts and motives. Jesus is the righteous Judge and all his judgments are right.

45-46   The “goats” hear the indignation of the King, how in his time of need, he was ignored, turned away, forgotten and scorned. Their excuses will not be accepted, their pleas to no avail, pretensions to interest and love for Christ will be brushed aside.

Their pleas are regarded as frivolous. They had been inconsiderate and had slighted the poor and the persecuted.

Despite the fact that they read the Bible just like us, they could not imagine that by doing this they were offending Christ. They simply did not care about those that belonged to Christ. They did not believe.

The sentence is final and irrevocable, there is no higher authority to which to appeal. Now they will experience the frightening despair and terror of their immediate fate, everlasting punishment. This is an unalterable state.

This will be speedy sentencing, with no reprieve.

The righteous on the other hand go into eternal life. Though they had done works of righteousness, they did not depend on them but on Christ for life and salvation.

CONCLUSION

These last parables of Jesus directly or indirectly point to the Second Coming at which time the final destiny of all individuals will be determined and this occurs at the consummation of the age. The exact timing of the event is unknown but each follower should anticipate and be ready for the coming kingdom. There will be only two choices, eternal life or eternal punishment.  

Jesus will return to earth to conduct judgment and the decision of that awful day will be final, irreversible and unending. Those who He rejects are permanently excluded from the Kingdom. This scenario rules out universalism, purgatory and second chances. When we face Christ our final destiny, eternal life or eternal punishment, would already have been determined by our response to him in this life. We are gathered before him to be directed to one or the other.  

Only those who are truly saved will have manifested the works that give evidence of salvation. Note, not all good works reveal true salvation. The distinction between the saved and the ungodly is not necessarily evident, due to the presence of hypocrites among the saints. The Righteous Judge will however make the separation between the two groups.

Works cannot be separated from the faith one exercises, for works are evidence of that faith and surely a change of heart will be reflected in a person’s life. The life of a follower of Jesus must therefore be a constant exercise of faith in order to obey and please God. (Matt. 7: 21-23).

We are clearly instructed in this lesson about the attitude we should show to outsiders and the poor among us.

A wall of self-satisfaction is not to be built up, nor should anyone consider himself or herself to be part of a holy elite. Beware of self-conscious righteousness.

God expects spontaneous generosity towards all in need. Pay attention to the destitute. Note both the righteous and the wicked were astonished at the verdict.  Neither group recognized the King when they accepted or rejected the Him.

In the light of our lesson and the preceding parables we are exhorted to a state of conscious preparedness, faithfulness and vigilance, as we await our Lord’s return.

WATCH, BE ALERT, WATCH.