A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Pastor John speaks of a time when Jesus will judge the nations and why there's so much anti-Semitism in the world today.

John Randall: Folks, have you ever wondered why there is so much attention, why there is so much hatred, so much anti-Semitism, why there is so many hating Jerusalem and hating the Jews? Do you know why? Do you know why? Because that's where Jesus is going to rule and reign from, and Satan knows that and he hates it. And that is why all of these things are going on. This should not take you by surprise when you see all of these things erupting in every different direction. This is supposed to happen, and the reason is because that is where his throne is going to reside, where he will judge the nations.

Guest (Male): Welcome to a daily walk, our weekend edition. In a moment, we'll join Pastor John Randall in Matthew chapter 25, where we're told of a coming judgment of the nations. At the end of the tribulation, Jesus will come again, and a great separation will occur. Some will be granted entrance into the kingdom of heaven, and others will be judged for their sins and receive eternal judgment. How can you be sure you're on the right side? Let's find out as we join Pastor John.

John Randall: You remember when Mary was informed by the angel that she was going to have a child who would be the savior of the world, the Messiah. The angel said to Mary in Luke chapter 1, Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high. And the Lord God will give him the throne of David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. When when is that prophecy fulfilled?

Right here. When he judges the nations right before his millennial reign. Folks, have you ever wondered why there is so much attention, why there is so much hatred, so much anti-Semitism, why there is so many hating Jerusalem and hating the Jews? Do you know why? Do you know why? Because that's where Jesus is going to rule and reign from, and Satan knows that and he hates it. And that is why all of these things are going on. This should not take you by surprise when you see all of these things erupting in every different direction.

This is supposed to happen, and the reason is because that is where his throne is going to reside where he will judge the nations from that place. The millennial kingdom that the Bible describes is the future reign of Jesus on the earth as he sits on David's throne in Jerusalem. Everyone who enters that kingdom will be redeemed by God and therefore righteous. Among those redeemed, there are two distinct groups of people. There will be those with glorified physical bodies. That's us. Those with natural earthly bodies. That will be those who survive and have accepted Christ.

Those who occupy the millennial kingdom with glorified bodies will be the church. Those whose bodies were resurrected or changed at the rapture. Tribulation martyrs who are resurrected after Christ returns to the earth. The Old Testament saints resurrected at the same time all in the millennial kingdom reigning over those who will begin to repopulate the earth as the Bible describes in the millennial reign, a thousand-year reign of Christ. But before that happens, the nations are gathered together both saved and unsaved. Both Jew and Gentile who have survived the tribulation and they will be divided like sheep from the goats and then ushered in to the millennial reign of Christ.

And others will be ushered in to eternal judgment. Now what is the procedure of this judgment? The text informs us in verse 32. It says all of the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides sheep from the goats. And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. The judgment of the nations. There will be a separation similar to that of a shepherd with sheep and goats. The picture that Jesus gives in this parable is one that the disciples would have been very familiar with.

In the East, sheep and goats are frequently herded together, but sheep are more docile where goats are more unruly, rowdy, and they can easily upset the sheep. They don't feed or rest well together. So the shepherd has to divide them one from another. And in the same way, at the end of the tribulation, when the chief shepherd comes back, appears, those sheep and goats that are described here will be separated from one another. We also find that there is a blessing that is pronounced upon the sheep. Listen, folks. People ask the question. I've been asked it many times.

Will there be people who get saved during the tribulation period? The answer to that question is yes. Either they will die a martyr's death or some will survive and make it into the millennial reign of Christ. They will get saved. People will come to Christ. There's going to be people who once the church is gone are going to say we missed it. They were right. And they're going to turn to Christ. They're going to repent of their sin. That will happen. And there will be others who curse God and still don't believe. But the blessing that's given to the sheep, notice in verse 34.

Then the king will say to those on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my father, and inherit the kingdom that's prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And then he describes several things that they did. I was hungry, you gave me food. I was thirsty, you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. And the righteous they'll answer and they'll say, Lord, um when when do we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink?

And when do we see you a stranger taking you in or naked and clothed you? When do we see you sick or in prison and come to you? And the king will answer and say to them, Assuredly I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me. The people who get saved during the tribulation period and survive will stand before the Lord as he sits on his throne and he will reward them by letting them enter into his kingdom. But listen carefully.

It's not because of the works that they have done. Don't misread this. They don't get in because of all these things that they did. The things that Jesus lists from the feeding of the hungry to giving someone a drink, to clothing those that are naked, to visiting those that are in prison or those who are sick. All of those things, listen, are evidence of their faith. Evidence of their faith. During this time when anti-Semitism will be a lot worse than it is right now as the antichrist turns all of his attention to seek to destroy the Jewish people.

If a Gentile during that season be friends a Jew to the extent of feeding, clothing, and visiting, Jesus recognizes, as you did it to the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me. But they weren't saved or entering into the kingdom because of what they did. They trusted in Christ, and the evidence of their faith was demonstrated by their works. The good deeds that are mentioned here in Matthew 25 are the fruit, not the root of their salvation. Good works are simply the evidence of one's faith. I could tell you this morning, I'm a Christian.

And you could say, prove it. And I could say, we see this Bible right here? Notice how big it is. That's still proof that you're a Christian. What is the proof? It would be in the life that I live, not just the things that I say, but the life that I live. It is evidence of my faith. James in his epistle mentions this fact that faith is evidenced by a changed life. Good works follow faith. Good works are the Listen, good works are the evidence of salvation, not the earning of salvation. Please know that. The Bible makes it clear in Ephesians chapter 2, For by grace you've been saved through faith, and not of yourselves.

It's a gift of God. It's not of works lest anyone should boast. And we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. I'm not saved because of good works. Good works follow my faith. So the deeds that are mentioned here of the sheep were signs of their faith. And Jesus rewards them, allows them to enter into his kingdom. And this is consistent throughout scripture that works follow faith. Good works follow faith. I think of what James said in James chapter 2 in verse 15 when he said, If a brother or a sister without clothing and in need of daily food and one says to them, Go in peace, be warm, be filled, and you don't give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead being by itself. Faith without works is just dead faith, a profession with no evidence. John also writes concerning this in 1 John in chapter 3 when he said in verse 17, Whoever has this world's goods and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? And implying that love is action. Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but indeed and in truth. There's a difference between just saying it and actually doing something that backs it up.

This is what we are talking about here. So the sheep that are being judged there at the judgment of the nations they they were surprised. What did we do? How When did we do this? Jesus said, When you did it to the least of these, you you did it to me. Folks, listen. As believers, we should we should do good works. Not not for the sake of Yeah, that's wonderful. Not not for the sake of saying, Oh, look at how many good works you I don't It's just it's just natural. It's a natural byproduct of just living for Christ.

And we talked about this before. When when you just see somebody's faith on display, not because they're trying to prove it to you, but they're just living their life and you wonder, Are you a Christian? They're like, Yeah, how did you know? I don't know. It's just by the way you treat people, by by the kindness of your words. Have you ever met somebody you thought, There's no way that person's a Christian. They tell you, I am. You think, That's surprising. I mean, really. I didn't I would have never known. But the opposite is also true.

So they were allowed to enter in to this kingdom. They were blessed. And there is a real blessing, isn't there, when you're serving the Lord by serving other people. Such a joy. I pray that our church is a church and so many were our servants that just serve people and serve the Lord by serving others. Jesus said the greatest in the kingdom is a servant of all. But then there's another group here that didn't receive a blessing. They were the goats. And it describes the curse that they received. And he will say to those on the left hand, And please These are the words of Jesus.

Depart from me, you cursed into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty, you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, you didn't you didn't take me in. Naked and you didn't clothe me. Sick and in prison and you did not visit me. And they will answer and they and they'll say, Lord, when do we see you hungry or thirsty or or stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you? And then he will answer them, Assuredly I say to you, in as much as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.

And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. The goats to the left are distinctly different from the sheep. They are not welcomed into the kingdom, but rather sentenced to eternal everlasting fire that was prepared originally for the devil and his angels. They will spend eternity with the devil and demonic spirits in a place of eternal torment. They had no faith in Christ. They did not believe that he was the Messiah even during the tribulation when it was evident that these judgments were coming from God rather than repent of their sin.

They cursed God for what he had done. They still didn't repent. And for those the goats, they will be separated and judged. There was no evidence of their faith whatsoever. They were probably part of those who were actually persecuting the Jews alongside of the antichrist. At this judgment of the nations, there are those who go into everlasting punishment and those who go into everlasting joy and eternal life with Christ. The division is complete. The judgment is swift and it is final. I I want to say this to you. There is no way to water this down.

The unbelievers, those who are unprepared for the return of Christ, who have rejected him, the hypocrites, the wicked revilers, the haters, they'll be consigned to a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24 verse 51 says, The parable of the talents describes this place as outer darkness. Matthew 25 verse 30. Elsewhere, it's referred to as a place of eternal punishment. Chapter 25 verse 46. This is real. And again, it's something that we don't necessarily like to talk about or emphasize. I mean, I'll be perfectly honest with you. I mean, coming home today, I thought, Oh, oh, yeah, there that's where we are in scripture.

Well, um maybe I could say something else. But you can't water this down. This this is as important. Th- This is as true as as there is heaven, there is hell, there is eternal separation, there is judgment that will one day come upon a Christ-rejecting world. And unless you accept Christ, this will be your end. It's a serious thing. But I want to tell you something. In the midst of the truth that is found in scripture of a coming judgment, there is a way to be saved. There is a way that has been provided where we can escape the judgment of God.

For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only begotten son and whosoever would be believing him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, we've been granted at this time the undeserved gracious opportunity to be forgiven of our sins instead of being judged for them. And the reason is Jesus had the judgment and punishment for all of our sin placed upon him. He died as our substitute. He took your place and mine. And by God's grace working through obedient trust in the finished work of Christ, believers can have their guilt and the penalty of their sins nailed to the cross with Christ, justified as if we had never sinned, forgiven, washed clean, atonement sufficient for the sins of the whole world.

We can be forgiven, we can be free. Or we can get what we actually deserve and say, I reject that. I don't believe that. And we can resist Christ, and we can harden our heart, and we can be filled with pride and say, I I'm a good person. Who are you to judge I'm not judging you. Jesus will be your judge. But he really wants to be your savior. Those who do not receive Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, listen carefully, will bear the penalty of their own sins, which is spiritual death and eternal damnation with the devil and his angels forever.

In a place where the fire is never quenched and where the worm never dies. A place of weeping and gnashing of teeth and eternal darkness. The warning to believers or unbelievers rather is stated over and over again in scripture. You can't get away from it. The scripture by word and demonstrated by direct acts of divine judgment. It's all there. It's here for a reason. And those are sometimes the passages we'd like to just skip over. But they're here. The apostle Paul in writing to the Romans was interesting this last couple of weeks we were in Corinth from where Paul wrote the letter to the Romans.

And in the second chapter and in the fourth verse, he begins by this. And listen to these words that correlate to what we're reading today. He asks the question, Do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, long suffering? Not knowing that it's the goodness of God that leads you to repentance. I mean, just think about that. He's talking to people who are resisting. He's saying, Are you really Are you really resisting God's love? Are you really hardening your heart to the grace and the mercy of God? Do you really think that you are somehow going to stand before God and he's just going to welcome you in because you're such a great I mean, really, it's the kindness of God seeking to draw you to repentance.

Are you Are you resisting that? And then he says this, If that is you, here's what he says. In accordance with the hardness and your impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God who will render to each one according to his deeds. Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality. But to those who are self-seeking, do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation, anguish on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek.

But glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good to the Jew first and also to the Greek. And there's no partiality with God. You'll notice that as much as there is a distinction between sheep and goats, Paul makes a distinction here between those who have responded to God and received salvation and those who have rejected God and can expect his wrath and judgment. Those who have received atonement for their sins and those who will be judged for their sins. How could I mean, it's just it's unfathomable to me to think that that Jesus came and paid a debt that I could never pay and he did it not because I was deserving of it, but because he loved me.

And I could say in the hardness and impenitence of my heart, that is the word pride, the pride of my own heart, uh I reject it. What else could he do? Nothing. He's done it all. And all he's asking is for me to believe it that I'm a sinner. That's not hard to believe if you know me and you know you. It's not hard to believe that. To believe that he came and he died in your place and that he rose again, it's a historical fact. It's real. If you can embrace that that you're a sinner and you need salvation and God has provided it, then you can be saved.

But if you reject that and say, I don't I don't know, that's just a a book, I don't believe that, then listen, this is what you can expect to find, the righteous judgment of God. There's a better way. Folks, it's at the cross that that mercy triumphs over judgment. Listen, God could not be a loving God if he were not a God of justice and righteousness and holiness. He you can't say he's loving if if he's not just. He is completely just and he's completely loving. But mercy triumphed over judgment at the cross, made a way so that we could be saved.

This is the contrast that is given. So here's the question this morning. Currently, right now, in the moment, are you a sheep or are you a goat? Don't answer out loud, but just allow the spirit to search your heart. Are you a sheep or are you a goat? You say, Well, how do I know the difference? Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. That's how you know. If you follow the good shepherd, that's how you know you're a sheep. Friends, listen. If if you haven't yet responded to the love of Christ, if you have not yet responded to his grace and his mercy and salvation, you you you don't you don't want to experience this.

You you want to know Christ now. And he's made the way for you. Can you hear his voice? If you can, the Bible says, If you can hear his voice, do not harden your heart, but respond.

Guest (Male): So how about it, friend? Are you a sheep or a goat? Today Pastor John Randall gave us the truth of a coming judgment and the wonderful way of salvation we can experience through faith in Christ. This is a daily walk we're hearing the end of a study in Matthew's gospel. To hear this message again, either go to a dailywalk.org or call 877-242-0828. And by the way, all our recent programs are accessible through the website at a dailywalk.org or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can hear Pastor John's messages shortly after they're delivered by getting our church app.

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