Thank you for taking time to join Dr. Michael Yusef for this episode of Leading the Way. In today's message, an interesting question. Is God inclusive?
Insight and encouragement into what it means in 2025 to be Christian. The good works that Christian believers perform, they perform not so that they may be saved by their works. No, they do that work as evidence of their salvation.
It is a thanksgiving for their salvation. But there's something else here that is of vital importance. You see, we judge people based on all these accomplishments. But that's how we judge people. God is not going to judge us that way.
The proof of your love for Jesus is not about all the big things or the great things you've accomplished, but on the basis of how faithful you have been with what he placed in your hands. Challenging words ahead in this episode of Leading the Way Audio. Dr. Yusef will guide you into Matthew 25, where Jesus teaches about separating the sheep and the goats. What is that really mean? Well, let's find out as we join Dr. Michael Yusef as he offers a challenge to be faithful. In the last few decades, our culture has made several shifts in the wrong directions.
Most of those are very dangerous shifts. One of the chief among these shifts in culture is that we have shifted from thinking to feeling. We have shifted from absolutes to relativism. We have shifted from exclusivities to inclusivity. Let me give you an example. Now, when children play sports, there's no winning or losing teams.
Everybody gets a trophy. They don't want to hurt the kids' feelings. Most of the teaching and education philosophies in public school, they're trying to remove the A's and the F's, and they want to give all the kids, all kids, passing grade.
Why? They don't want to hurt the kids' feelings. As a matter of fact, it's happening in churches. Many a church now has opted not hurting the non-believers' feelings instead of inviting them to come and know Christ and believe in him and receive eternal life. They don't want to hurt their feelings, so they don't talk about hell and eternity or the blood of Jesus Christ or salvation. In other words, hide the truth if it's going to hurt somebody's feelings. That is why I wrote that book, When the Crosses are Gone, because if the train is not stopped, it's going to take us over a cliff. For when the truth is no longer the most important issue in a culture, that culture is doomed. Read history. Now I want to think the logic of that. Shift from thinking to feelings into the medical field, into the healthcare situation. And a doctor, out of fear that he may hurt my feelings, would not tell me that I have cancer.
He doesn't want to hurt my feelings. Just think about this. Think about the logic of that. That is why inclusivity and inclusiveness is not only just has become a buzzword in our society. Inclusivity now has become a virtue that is to be preached. Inclusivity is very important for being accepted by society. Vast numbers of preachers today have abandoned the truth of the scripture in favor of inclusivity. Many of them have sold a birthright for the pot of soup of inclusivity. And yet the Bible from cover to cover declares that God is an exclusive God.
Let me explain to you what I mean by that. The invitation that God issues is an inclusive invitation. Whomsoever, whosoever comes, it's for everyone, every nation, every tribe, all, everyone. It's wide invitation. It's an inclusive invitation.
Black, white, yellow, green, rich, poor, tall, short has nothing to do. The invitation is wide open for everyone. Ah, but the reward for those who have accepted the invitation, the reward for obeying the word of God is very exclusive. In Matthew 25, beginning of verse 31, Jesus reveals to us, he gives us a picture of what it would be like on the day of judgment, the day of his return. He paints a picture for us and he tells us there is going to be a lot of separation on that day.
Far from it being all inclusive and everybody will make it. He is going to separate people. On that day, the Lord Jesus Christ is not going to be persuaded by fake emotions or by false feelings.
No. He will exercise justice that is persuaded by his righteousness, not feelings. And today, Jesus literally concludes this section in Matthew. And so I conclude with where he concluded and it is a separation between sheep and goats. Here he gives us a picture of judgment day itself. We don't want to think of judgment day in our culture, but it's coming.
It's coming. The distinction is going to be between those who have expressed their love for the Lord Jesus Christ by expressing his and loving Jesus's people. And those who have ignored Jesus express their rejection of him by ignoring Jesus's people. As a matter of fact, the apostle John gives us a magnificent test. He gives us a beautiful illustration of how you can take the test and you can figure out right now whether you are a sheep or a goat. You don't have to wait to be surprised. And it's a three-pronged test or three different tests.
You can take them either way. In first John chapter two, they're all there in chapter two of first John. The first test in chapter two, verses 20 to 23, he said, if you say that you believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, the eternal son of God, there is no other way to heaven except through him. Then you pass test number one.
Test number two, verses three to six of chapter two. Are you being obedient to Christ? Are you living a life of obedience?
I'm not saying that you slip and you fall and stumble every now and again, but I'm talking about a life of obedience. And the test number three, verses nine to 11 of chapter two of first John. Are you loving Christians? Are you loving those who belong to Jesus Christ? The test tells you who's a sheep and who's a goat.
I don't make the rules. It's in the book. Sheep and goats look very similar, especially from a distance. If you're driving in countryside and you see, you know, creatures, they look alike from a distance. But in reality, they are very, very different creatures altogether. The only thing in common they have is that they have four legs.
There's a Middle Eastern picture here that the Lord is really pointing to us. That is, most often a shepherd separate the sheep and the goats. Now, some poorer ones who can't afford to have two under shepherds, one for the goats, one for the sheep, they let them graze together. But one thing they never do and that is let them have their rest in the same place. They don't go to sleep under the same roof.
There's a good reason for that. Because sheep are docile and gentle creatures, while the goats, on the other hand, they are unruly. They are rambunctious. And they love to upset the sheep. They enjoy upsetting the sheep.
They really do. So you know where the goats are. In fact, they really should not even feed together, but definitely do not rest together. And because heaven is a place of rest for the sheep, for the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, goats aren't going to make it in there.
Thank God for that. They might trouble us here, but they aren't going to trouble us there. Now, Jesus is saying that in the last day, he will separate the sheep, that's his believers, and the goats, that is the pretend believers or look-alike believers, the religious believers, but it's not the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the sheep is going to go to the right, by the way, and the goats are going to go to the left. In fact, the reason the Bible talks about the left is because, again, in Old Testament language, the left side is the place of disfavor. It's the place of rejection. It's the place of dishonor.
And far from being inclusive and everybody's going to get in, they're going to be separated. You see, you remember how the Bible talks about God's right hand? Because that's the place of power. With Jesus sitting at the Father's right hand throne of God, that's the place of authority.
It's the place of favor, the right hand. The left on the other hand is going to be a place of dishonor. And like all judgments, the Lord's judgment in that last day is going to be based on demonstrative evidence of the facts. Lawyers, you understand this because in that day, there ain't going to be no hearsay, there ain't going to be no loopholes, there ain't going to be no circumstantial evidence. Jesus is going to judge based on the evidence.
I want you to hear me right, this is important. The good works that Christian believers perform, they perform not so that they may be saved by their works. No, they do that work as evidence of their salvation.
It is a thanksgiving for their salvation. But there's something else here that is of vital importance. I think if you read the passage in a hurry, you could miss it very easily, but it's really important. Being blessed by God on that last day, being counted among his sheep on that last day, being welcomed and accepted by God the Father on that last day is not going to be based on how big things I've done for God, how great things I've accomplished for God. No, no, no, no, no.
You see it here in the passage, I'm going to explain it to you. And people like me, in our case, it's not how many sermons I preach or how many books I've written, how big the budget is, how many buildings and how many millions of people are listening to us. No, no, no, no. This is all God's doing. We're only along for the ride. You see, we judge people based on all these accomplishments. But that's how we judge people. God is not going to judge us that way. You see, people want to judge us by our resume, by the volume and by how big is it, by the size, by all those kinds of things, but not in the last day, not in the day of judgment. The proof of your love for Jesus is not about all the big things or the great things you've accomplished, but on the basis of how faithful you have been with what he placed in your hands.
That's really what this is all about. The simple things that you have done as second nature to you. Simple things are mentioned here, sharing a meal, giving a cup of water to a thirsty person, taking a stranger in forgiveness close to somebody who needs clothes, caring for a sick, visiting those who are in prison for the sake of Christ. How faithful have you been in telling someone about the salvation of the Lord that you have received freely from his hand. There are sometimes people go for years and they're sitting next to somebody who does not know the Lord, never witness to him. I'm not talking about evangelism.
I'm not talking about big Christian. I'm talking about just sharing Christ simply. Just sharing Christ.
Let me tell you what Christ did for me. It comes out of a heart that is flowing for love for Jesus Christ. So much so that believer on the last day cannot even remember what they've done.
You notice that in the text? I want to draw your attention to the text verses 37 to 39. When did we see you hungry and fed you thirsty, gave you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invited you in? When you needed clothes and we gave you clothes? When did we see you sick or in prison and we visited you?
You see, the Christian believer is literally scratching his head and asking these questions. They can't put their finger on it. They can't remember.
Why? Because this has just been a second nature to them. They see the need, they meet the need. They don't have to form a committee and try to examine and study the subject. They just do it. It is just a natural part and not necessarily anybody need to know is between you and Jesus. But he saw it.
You can't even remember it but he does. You know the celebrity balls and the celebrity fundraising and the celebrity raising money for charity and all that stuff. They make a big splash about the little things they have done.
Things that a believer would never do. In the last day, when they are told that they have not done anything for Jesus and Jesus' people, they say, oh, well, when did we see you hungry? When did you see you need a place to stay? When did we see this? Of course they didn't.
Of course they didn't because they did all of their celebrity stuff in order to get the praise of people, in order to get acceptance by culture and society, in order to improve their image. They could not have done it for Jesus, how Jesus is believers. There's something else here that I don't want you to miss either.
It's very important. In this separation of sheep and goats, as I told you, many people today, even public life, claim to be Christians with one breath. In the next breath, they say, yeah, but there's truth in Islam and truth in Buddhism and truth in this religion and all the religions basically have the same truth.
What? I mean, they just literally destroyed what they said if they claim to be Christians because to be a Christian, to mean Jesus is the only way to heaven, period. That's what it means. Look, I can go to the scripture, the claim of Jesus, I am the way, the truth and the life, and go to the scripture and I'll tell you that there is no name under heaven by which men can be saved and I can go to, but I don't have to do any of this. Just look here at verse 31. It is the clearest indication that Jesus and Jesus alone is going to save people from eternal hell to eternal salvation.
It's right here. He sits on the throne. He ain't going to have any of the other religion founders with him. He alone sits on the throne. He alone is the divine king.
He alone is the supreme judge. He alone is the ultimate determiner of people's faith. Jesus is the supreme ruler. Jesus is the only one who will call all of the shots. So if they believe in the wrong Jesus, as they say in Australia, they are up the creek without a pedal. You know, I heard people through the years, church people would say, I don't believe in this Jesus of the Old Testament, the God of the Old Testament, the God of wrath and the God of judgment and the God of wrath and vengeance and I just don't. I like the God of the New Testament, Jesus meek and mild, helpless and weak.
I like that one. Here's the truth, beloved. Listen to me. Either they conveniently forget or they don't want to know that Jesus more than any other person in the Bible speaks most clearly about hell. Did you know that? In every one of the parables we have been seeing in this series of messages about heaven, we are hearing him again and again condemning those lookalike believers. He said they will be thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Listen, something very important that you must understand. If you want to sin against God and if you want to sin against the person, tell them that in the last day, Jesus is just going to feel sorry for everybody and he's going to let them in. For starter, you're contradicting everything that Jesus said. In the separation of the sheep from the goats, the king will say to the goats, I don't say that with any pleasure in my heart, in my mind. Verse 41, depart from me you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
My beloved friend, listen to me. Hell is a place of total separation from God. Hell is a cursed place. Hell is where Satan and his demons will thrive. Hell is for all those who have refused to believe that Jesus and only Jesus can take you to heaven. Hell is a place of eternal suffering. Hell is a place of total darkness. And I know and you know, you've heard him and I heard him in the media and on television, they joke about how hot it is in hell. In reality, hell is not a literal fire.
And before you think I'm a heretic, I'm going to show it to you from the text, okay? Jesus said hell is prepared for Satan and his angels. Satan and his angels are spiritual beings. They're not physical beings, they're spiritual beings.
So fire does not affect them per se. So the term fire, like the term sheep and the term goats are all a figure of speech to illustrate the immeasurable suffering without relief. It speaks of mental torture without break. It speaks of psychological torment without rest.
It speaks of continuous weeping and gnashing of teeth. I understand from our context of our culture that somebody can read this in the scripture and conclude, oh, surely God is not going to allow this. Surely God is not going to do this.
Really? Jesus experienced hell on the cross. Said that whosoever take that as his or her payment will escape from hell. See, we have created a God and a Jesus in the image of a 21st century man.
We really have. Jesus is all feelings and all inclusive and all tolerant and all permissive. Oh, but here's the bottom line. Everyone, every one of us, every human being that's ever born of a woman was born with sin and practiced sin. And the Bible said the wages of sin is punishment. Oh, the believers who escaped from hell is because they accept the payment of hell for them by Jesus. And the goats are too proud to accept that this payment is the only way. Surely there must be some other way.
No, there isn't. If there's one person here who's not sure if he or she have accepted that payment as it's only for them, I want to encourage you to pray with me. Lord Jesus, I receive you into my life. Forgive me my sins. Come into my life.
Transform me from inside out. You and you alone, a Lord and Savior. In your name, Jesus, I pray.
Amen. Thank you for making time in your day for Leading the Way with pastor and author, Dr. Michael Youssef. And if you'd like to speak with a Leading the Way pastor or counselor about spiritual things, then just fill out a short contact form at ltw.org slash Jesus. Learn more about the worldwide impact of Leading the Way and order products when you speak with a ministry representative at the call center. That number 866-626-4356 and online ltw.org.
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