The Sheep and the Goats

Well, in our series on Matthew, over the last few weeks, we've been looking at Matthew 24 and 25, which is what we call the Olivet Discourse. In Matthew's Gospel, it is really the last sermon, the last message of Jesus. And if you have been reading and paying attention, you'll have noticed that in Matthew 24 and 25, when Jesus is dealing with the sign of the end of the age, there are these frequent references to judgment.

Let me remind you of some of them. This is from Matthew 24, verse 39. And they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away.

A reference to the flood at the time of Noah, Noah building the ark, Noah the preaching of righteousness. The people ignore his teaching and the flood came, says Jesus, and swept them all away. So will be the coming of the Son of Man. And then still in Matthew 24, verses 50 and 51, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites.

In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Again, Matthew 25, verse 30 regarding the parable of the 10 virgins, the 10 bridesmaids, five wise and five foolish. Verse 30 of Matthew 25, while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast and the door was shut. Some excluded from the kingdom of heaven. And then we saw last week in Matthew 25, verse 30, and cast the worthless servant, remember the man who had the one talent, instead of using it buried in the ground. And in the parable, that man is cast into the worthless, that man is cast into the outer darkness.

In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now, I don't know what you think when you hear such words. You may find them extreme.

You may think they're old-fashioned. You may think that in the modern church, there is no place for such preaching. But let me remind you, these are the words of our Lord Jesus.

One of the reasons I go consecutively through a book of the Bible, rather than dealing with my favorite verses or my favorite subjects or my theological hobby horses, of which I have quite a number, the reason I do it is that we receive the balance of Scripture. And these are the words of Jesus. Now, you can choose to receive some of the words of Jesus and ignore others.

That's very foolish, isn't it? We believe that all of this book is inspired by God. And we're going to read a very serious passage, but it is the very teaching of Jesus. You know, when we think of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, for those of us who are followers of Jesus, it's a matter of eager anticipation. There's an old hymn that says, O Joy, O Delight, should we go without dying.

That is how wonderful it is. And Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 13, verse 17, there's going to be such people, that when the Lord Jesus comes, he says, those who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them, that is the dead in Christ who have risen first, caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. That is, there's a generation of followers of Jesus Christ who will not die. We say we want to be part of that, don't we?

What a joy it will be. But whether we die or whether we're alive when the Lord comes, in one way makes no difference, because if we're a follower of Jesus Christ, the Scriptures teach that we will be forever. For all of eternity, we will be with the Lord.

But here is the point. For those who do not know Jesus Christ, please listen. For those who do not know Jesus Christ, according to the teaching of the Bible, and according to the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, the return of Jesus is not a matter of joy, is not a matter of delight, it's a matter of judgment.

And we're going to read of that. A time when those who have not obeyed God, a time when those who have not bowed the knee to our Lord Jesus Christ will be forever rejected by God. So let me ask you to open your Bible to Matthew 25, and we're going to read from verses 31 to the end of the chapter. This is the conclusion of the Olivet Discourse. This is the last sermon as it were, spoken by Lord in Matthew's Gospel. It's a very serious passage. It's a passage on judgment. There are those who will enter the kingdom. Matthew repeatedly has been telling us about the kingdom of heaven. And when the Lord Jesus returns with great power and glory, some will enter into the kingdom and others will enter into eternal punishment. Now as we read this, there are those who think it's a parable.

I'm not going to argue about that. They may be right, but they also may be wrong. Reversed to sheep and goats. Whether it's a parable, there's no doubt that the Lord is teaching very, very serious truth. The separation of the sheep from the goats. Have you ever read this? Let's read it. Matthew 25 verse 31.

What's the setting? The setting is our Lord is speaking to His disciples. He's speaking on Mount Olivet, just outside Jerusalem, facing the temple. And they're looking at the wonderful temple, Herod's temple. And the Lord has reminded them that not one stone is going to remain on another one. And they ask, well, what's the sign of the end of the age? And so the Lord is talking about the end of the age. Verse 31, when the Son of Man, a reference to Jesus himself, when the Son of Man comes in glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on the left.

Then the King, notice the reference to the King, not just the King of the Jews, but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but the King, that is our Lord Jesus, will say to those on His right, come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me.

I was in prison and you came to me." Then the righteous will answer Him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.

Then He will say to those on the left, depart from me you cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not welcome me. Naked and you did not clothe me.

Sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they will answer saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you? Then He will answer them saying, truly I say to you, 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 eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." What a passage.

What a sobering, solemn passage. First of all, as we look at this, won't you say the obvious? There are two groups. There are sheep and goats, verses 32 and 33. He separates the people one from another, just as a man, a farmer would separate his sheep from the goats.

I won't go into that. He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. That's not a political statement, by the way.

Please do not use that in your politics, not at all. He will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Clearly, there are two distinct categories, two distinct groups. It's amazing how we divide people, don't we? We divide them on the base of education or on the base of race or income, even on the soccer team or the basketball team that they may support.

We like to divide people, don't we? As far as God is concerned throughout Scripture, there are only two groups. There are the righteous and the wicked. And now when the Son of Man comes, when He returns, when He sits on His glorious throne, He's going to make this judgment. The sheep go into His kingdom.

The goats go into eternal punishment. Now He is the one who makes the determination. Aren't you glad it's not you or me or Calvary Church or anyone else?

It's the King, our Lord Jesus Christ. Does this surprise you? If you know your Bible, it shouldn't really. We saw earlier in our study of Matthew that there are two ways. There are those on the narrow way and there are those on the broad way.

Only two groups. In chapter 13, when Jesus was teaching about the kingdom of heaven, He said there is good seed and there's weeds. Verse 38 of Matthew 13, the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. Notice His reference to the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one. In the same chapter, Matthew chapter 13, you'll recall Jesus tells another parable about the kingdom of God.

He says it's like a net thrown into the sea that gathers all kinds of fish. There are good fish and there's bad fish and the angels separate the evil from the righteous. In chapter 25, as we saw, Jesus says the kingdom of God is like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. We saw last week that there is a wicked and lazy servant and there are, on the other hand, good and faithful servants. Notice the division that is made. Two groups, sheep and goats.

Two groups of people, some are on the broad road and some are on the narrow road. There are weeds and there's good seed. There are bad fish and there's good fish. There are foolish virgins and there are wise virgins. There are wicked servants and there are good servants. There are sheep and there's goats.

Do you get the point? And that separation is not unique to Matthew's gospel. It runs throughout Scripture. Psalm 1 begins with a man who is blessed by God, the righteous, and then there is the wicked.

Worthless. The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, we read there's two groups. There's a group whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life and there's a group whose names are not in the Lamb's book of life, who are cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20. How do you, how are you feeling about this? Are you troubled by it? Is your view of God very sentimental? We love the fact that God is love, I do. God is love. The very character of God is love. But His judgment and His justice and His righteousness is not inconsistent with His love. We must have a true understanding of God, a true understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's righteous. He's a holy God.

He doesn't compromise. And when He comes, when He returns as He will, and when He sits on His glorious throne as the King, He will make the determination between the sheep and the goat, between the good fish and the bad fish, between the weeds and the seeds. So you may hide now.

You may pretend now. Matthew has much to say about the hypocrite. You may procrastinate now, and you may hide behind your wife's faith or your father's faith, or in some other way pretend that you are a follower of Jesus Christ, but that doesn't depend on your family or even your church membership, but whether you know Jesus Christ. And when He returns, He will make this judgment between the two groups. He will separate the saved from the unsaved, the sheep from the goats. Two groups.

Did you notice also there are two prepared destinies? Verse 34, Matthew 25, verse 34. Then the King will say to those on His right sheep, come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Incredible. A kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. The sheep inherit that kingdom. Matthew repeatedly has been teaching us about the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. How can we enter this kingdom? Into time and space, into this dark world comes the King. Where is He who is born King of the Jews, the wise men ask? But Matthew is telling us He's not merely the King of the Jews, He is the King. And this King has a kingdom. Oh, it's not restricted to a physical piece of territory.

No. Where is the kingdom of God? Where people bow and acknowledge the King is Lord and Savior, there is the kingdom of God.

And so when our Lord Jesus Christ comes, and I've said this repeatedly in our study of Matthew, but I'm not sure if all of you get it, when you listen to the words of Jesus as He begins His public ministry as recorded by Matthew, what does Jesus say? First of all, repent. For the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Get ready, get right before God. Repent of your sin. Get right.

Why? The King has come. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. And if there is no repentance, that's not just saying, oh, I'm sorry, Jesus, if ever I messed up. That's not repentance. If there is no genuine repentance of sin and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are not part of the kingdom of God. You may have a tremendous church heritage. You may have a family that goes back for generations and a Christian faith.

That is totally immaterial. Jesus calls on each one of us personally, you and me, to repent and to believe in the Gospel. The Gospel is that those who trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, turn from their sin, receive eternal life, and in a wonderful way, enter the kingdom of God.

Remember Jesus says to Nicodemus, except you're born again, you will not enter, you will not even see the kingdom of God. And here is the wonderful grace of God, that those who bow at the feet of King Jesus inherit a kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. What a gracious God. It's all prepared.

It's all done. Remember when we're talking about sheep, Jesus says, I'm the good shepherd. What does the good shepherd know? He knows his sheep by name. He knows where you are spiritually. Not just what you profess, but he knows everything about you. And the shepherd knows the sheep.

Do you know the Savior? The sheep inherit the kingdom. What about the goats? Verse 46.

Oh, this is serious, isn't it? And these will go away into eternal punishment by the righteous into eternal life. The goats, the unbeliever, those who have rejected the Gospel, those who do not know the King enter eternal punishment.

You say that's severe. Please understand that our Lord Jesus, who is God incarnate, is the chief witness to the existence of hell, which is a place of unending anguish. Isn't it surprising that we have more people who believe in heaven than who believe in hell? And everyone wants to go to heaven if they believe there is such a one, but many people don't have a clue how to get there. Those who have rejected the Gospel enter into eternal punishment. Politically incorrect to say that, yes, but theologically and biblically correct. John 3.36, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever does not believe in the Son, whoever does not obey the Son, the wrath of God abides on him. For those who believe in the Son, they enter into this kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. Those who disobey, those who do not receive Christ, the wrath of God abides on him.

Yes, there is eternal life and there's eternal punishment. Jesus taught there are two gates. There is a narrow gate and there is a broad gate, a wide gate. There are two ways.

One is broad, one is very easy, and the other is narrow. It's nice being on the broad road, isn't it? Many people there, it can be very enjoyable, very pleasurable, very fulfilling, but the difficulty is it leads to destruction. There is a way, it's a narrow way, but that way leads to eternal life. And that is the only way.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life. You say, well, that's narrow-minded. Well, it is a narrow way. It's a narrow way.

Jesus says, few there be who find it. Two gates, two ways, two destinations, two crowds, the many and the few. You like to be popular, students? You like to be thought as the popular person at school? Make sure that in trying to be popular, you're not compromising your beliefs. The opinions of the majority do not determine the truth in the kingdom of heaven. We have in our country over and over again, truth is being determined by being on the right side of history. That's a bad way to determine truth, isn't it? To be on the right side of history.

I wonder those who say it, if they know, if they've read their history and have seen the history of the world, the destruction, the bloodshed, we don't determine truth on the opinions of the majority, of an opinion poll. How foolish. That's the way to be on the broad road. That's to be, as it were, a goat. And the end is destruction. You see, you face a choice. And this choice not only impacts you on earth, it certainly does that. This choice determines your eternal destiny. Today you may be at the crossroads. I realize it's popular to think that everyone eventually will end up in heaven. But could Jesus be any clearer?

Read it yourself. This is not something I've concocted. This is not some aberration that Calvary Church has come up with. This is the eternal truth of Scripture. This is the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not everyone gets into heaven. In fact, there are those who go into eternal destruction. And that, says Jesus, I read it to you.

Did you know this? Verse 41. He will say to those on the left, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Here is a fire, hell itself, prepared for the devil and his angels, yes, but into that eternal punishment enter all those who do not know the King. Each one of us without exception was either a sheep or a goat. We're either on the narrow road or the broad road. We're either heading for the kingdom of God or eternal punishment.

Two groups, two prepared destinies, two responses. The sheep and the goat are separated based on their allegiance to Jesus. Did you notice the reason given for the separation? Verse 35. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Verse 43. I was a stranger and you did not welcome me. Naked and you did not clothe me.

Sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Oh, someone was saying, I understand, this passage is saying that if you're kind and if you're compassionate to the needy and if you're helpful to strangers and you minister to the homeless and the poor and the prisoners, that is the way to get into the kingdom of heaven. So I understand that the sheep are the kind, compassionate people. They're the generous people. They're designated sheep, whereas the goat are the selfish, self-centered, self-absorbed individual who don't take care of the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, and the sick.

They don't visit the prisoners. And I understand that Jesus knows how we've lived and that He makes the separation based on how we have lived, based on our works. Is this passage, is Jesus teaching salvation by works? Of course not.

Of course not. That would be an antithesis of all of His ministry. We know from Scripture that our salvation, please hear me, that our eternal destiny is never based on our works. We're saved. We began by saying of the mercy of God.

We require God's mercy because we are sinful people. Yes, you may do good things. I hope you do. You may be kind.

You may feed the homeless. That doesn't get you into heaven. We're saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The Gospel is never do this and do that and you will be saved. The Gospel is look to Jesus Christ.

He comes and He has done it all. Look to Him alone for salvation. That's the Gospel. You're sinful. You're heading for eternal punishment. You can never save yourself. You're too sinful.

You're too unworthy. But look to Christ, the magnificent Savior who comes to seek and to save the lost, who dies on the cross for our sins to be our substitute, is buried and rising again. Yes, we deserve eternal condemnation, but God's justice has been fully satisfied once and for all by that perfect sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, who shed His blood for our sins. Listen to Paul's summary, as it were, as he gives the exposition of the Gospel in Romans. Says Romans 3, verses 24 and 25, he says, we are justified by His grace as a gift.

What's justification? Being declared righteous by God. He looks on us sinful people and He's able to declare us righteous. Paul is saying something wonderful. This is by His grace as a gift.

You say, but I thought you said that God was just and God was holy. How can He then say to us that we are right before Him because I'm a very sinful person? Listen, being justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation, as an atoning sacrifice by His blood to be received by faith.

That's it. Very theological verses, but as we unpack it, we understand that our Lord Jesus Christ comes to redeem us, to bow us back, to cleanse us. How does He do that? By His blood. And this is to be received as an act of grace, as a gift, a gift.

How do I receive it? By faith. Does my faith save me? Well, faith is the instrument through which God's mercy and grace come to us. Faith is the outstretched hand receiving the gift. It's not that my faith saves me, as it were. It's not faith in faith. It's not just believe, believe, believe. No, it's believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's look to Christ. Look away from yourself and look to Christ and Christ alone.

We sang about it, in Christ alone, my hope is found. It is by grace that we're saved through faith and that not of ourselves, says Paul. Not of works, not of our own doing, lest any one of us should boast. Jesus is not teaching salvation by works.

Look carefully at the text. The group called sheep are not blessed by their works, verse 34, but by my Father. Those who are blessed by my Father and they deserve the kingdom, have worked for the kingdom. No, they inherit the kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Many of you received an inheritance? When my mother died, not that she was a wealthy woman, but when my mother died, almost three years ago, she left myself and my brothers her estate.

I was going to say, unfortunately it wasn't all that big, but I won't say that. But she left us an inheritance. She left a will. In fact, I had prepared her will and it was divided equally among her brothers. I suggested to my mother at the time that it goes solely to me, but she thought that was a bad idea. So, she dies, she has so much money, and we, I inherit some of that money. Did my mother leave that inheritance because we'd worked for it, in a sense, because we deserved it?

Not really. What is it? What are most inheritances based on? Relationship. She was leaving it to her sons.

There is a relationship. We receive an inheritance from God because you deserve it. Of course you don't.

Of course you don't. I really didn't even deserve my mother's inheritance. If she had left it to her favorite son of which I was not, I'd have been quite happy. That's her prerogative. It's her money. It's her estate.

She can leave it to whoever she wants. Think of the inheritance that we as the people of God have. Peter describes it in 1 Peter 1. It's imperishable. It's undefiled. It's reserved in heaven for you. It's an inheritance not because you've worked for it, not because you're a good person, not because every Saturday morning you went down and took care of the homeless, although we certainly should do that.

No. It's based on God's sheer grace, based on a relationship to those who know the Father through the Son. I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father apart from me. And isn't it marvelous, verse 34, that this inheritance is prepared for you, for me, from the foundation of the world. Paul writes in the opening verses of Ephesians 1 that we are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. How old is the world?

I'm not sure, but it's old. Before the world was made, the sheep, those who are belongs to Christ are chosen in Christ. All of God's pure, pure grace.

That's why in heaven, when we enter into the kingdom and we enter into that inheritance of which we can only have a foretaste now, when we get into that heaven, we sing, worthy is the Lamb that was slain. It's nothing about, look at me, how many homeless people I've fed. Look at me at how much money I gave. Look at me at what a wonderful Father I was.

No. It's looked to Christ. It's worthy is the Lamb. The theme of heaven is all about the Lamb on the throne. And our Lord Jesus Christ receives all the glory. In Matthew's Gospel, I think we've learned this.

I hope we've learned it. In Matthew's Gospel, the crucial point is our allegiance to Jesus Christ. What do you think of Jesus Christ? Do you know Him? Oh, you know about Him, but do you know Christ? Have you trusted Him? Have you surrendered to Him? Is He your Lord and Savior?

Do you identify with Jesus Christ? Those called sheep, verse 40, He says, you did it to me. And they are described as the righteous. The group called the gods.

They don't care for the needy. And they did not do it to Christ. It's our relationship with Jesus Christ which is crucial. We have, as our mission statement at Calvary, being and making authentic followers of Jesus Christ. Are you an authentic follower of Jesus Christ? Don't, don't answer too quickly.

Are you? If you say, well, I'm just a Christian. Well, there are Muslims that are Hindus that are Christians and there's all kinds of religions.

That's not a question, is it? Authentic Christianity is all about our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is knowing Jesus Christ. Those who know Him enter into His kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.

Those who don't know Him enter into eternal punishment. So this passage is not teaching salvation by words as a false interpretation. What's the context?

Remember the context. The context is the Son of Man coming in power, sitting on His glorious throne and then rendering judgment of all of the nations. In the context, this passage is referring to the time after the tribulation when Jesus returns with power and great glory.

He judges His enemies and He sets up His messianic kingdom and His sovereign over all. Zechariah 14, if you can find it, turn there. You're in Matthew, turn back a few pages. Malachi, turn back a few pages.

Zechariah. One of the things I want to do is help you to find your way around the Bible. Some of you got these little tabs, that's okay.

These are training wheels, right? Some of you have been using them for years. It's time to be a big boy and be able to find these scriptures, right? Some of you are not even trying because you're embarrassed because the person next to you says he doesn't know his Bible. But listen to this, Zechariah. Zechariah 14, verse 3. It's about the return of the Son of Man. Then the Lord will go out and fight against these nations, that's when He fights on the day of battle.

There's going to be a great battle, the battle of Armageddon. On that day, His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley so that one half of the mount shall move northward and the other half southward. Down to verse 9.

Isn't this interesting? And the Lord will be, do you get it, King over all the earth. On that day, the Lord will be one and His name one. Is the Lord King now?

Yes. That's when His kingdom has come. If you're a believer, you are presently in that kingdom, but here is the anticipation that the Lord is talking about that great day when His kingdom will come in power and great glory. There are millions of people today on this planet who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ is King, who do not believe that Jesus Christ is God. There are also millions of others who pay lip service, who would take the name of Christian in a survey but they do not know Jesus Christ personally. They don't have an understanding of what it means to receive Christ personally to be cleansed of all of your sin.

The guilt and the shame gone and gone forever. And to begin a life surrendered to the kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, He's King over all of the earth. Now, the church has already been raptured at the beginning of the tribulation, I believe, and so here is the Lord. He's talking about His kingdom, those who inherit the kingdom. Who's going to enter the messianic kingdom? The sheep.

What's the characteristic of the sheep? They are righteous. They do righteous deeds such as feeding the poor, such as helping the sick, such as ministering to the needy. And during the tribulation period, as I've said before, there will be great persecution. Particularly at the end of the tribulation, there will be the antichrist. If you don't have his mark 666 on your hand or your forehead, Revelation 13 says you won't be able to buy or sell.

Can you imagine existing for that? You know, I think of this every time I go to the, to the, to get my car gassed up. And I put in that credit card, I thought, you know, during the tribulation, that's not going to work. There's going to be some way where the antichrist is not too far-fetched to think this could happen.

I believe it. Think of all the technology. If you don't have that particular chip or number, you won't be able to gas your car. You go into Harris Teeter, you buy your groceries, and you're not able to pay for them. No, I'm sorry, you can't get these.

You're not able to buy or sell. Here are followers of Jesus Christ who refuse the mark of the beast, and they are in particular need of help, of food, of drink, of compassion, and so on. Verse 40, Jesus refers to my brothers.

Who are my brothers? Well, they're particularly Jewish believers who are saved during the tribulation period, but all authentic followers of Jesus Christ are brothers. Here's the point.

Here's a very, very important point. Those who are truly saved, those who are authentic followers of Jesus Christ, the righteous, the sheep, will demonstrate the reality of their salvation by doing righteous and compassionate things such as feeding the hungry, caring for strangers, visiting the prisoners, even when it's very, very difficult as it will be during the tribulation period, but at all times. Isn't this what Christians do? Isn't this what authentic Christians have done down through the centuries? The Christians have built the hospitals. The Christians have been on the front line of feeding the sick, of opening orphanages, of caring for people. No, works are never the basis of our salvation, but works are the evidence of authentic faith. You say you love Jesus Christ.

Is there anything in your life that would demonstrate that you do love Christ? Yesterday I had the privilege of officiating at the wedding of Chelsea. That's why she's not here singing today.

We give her the day off. But at the wedding of Chelsea, Tim and Vicki's daughter that we know and love, marrying Zach Johns. And they stood there, and I thought of this as Zach, the groom very much in love with the bride, is expressing his deep, deep love for Chelsea. You say that's very moving, that's very wonderful.

Yes, it is. And it's important to hear that and it's important to make a vow of love to your bride. But wouldn't you agree if Zachary Johns really loves Chelsea Hathaway, it's going to be demonstrated not just in making vows and saying I love you, it's going to be demonstrated in the way he treats her. Don't you agree with that? Wives, are you impressed when you're just, your husband says I love you? You say that's nice. But if you're like my wife, you're saying, you know, John's good with words, I want some action.

I want a demonstration. And that love that men have for their wives is going to be demonstrated in different ways depending on the needs of your wife, her personality, your personality and so on. But it will be true in all cases, that if you really love your wife, you'll treat her with sensitivity and care. Isn't that right? You say you love Jesus Christ.

That's wonderful. You stand here and say I love Jesus Christ. My question to you is, has it made any difference in your life? You're the kind of person who sings the song on Sunday, I love you, how marvelous, how wonderful is the love of Jesus, but on Saturday night or Sunday morning, you're living like the devil. Ephesians 2, I quoted verses 8 and 9, but listen to verse 10. Ephesians 2, verse 10, Paul after telling us that we're saved by grace alone, through faith alone, he says in verse 10, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That my Lord Jesus Christ not only has saved me, but He has prepared a plan for my life. He's prepared good works for my life that I should walk in them. That He's my good shepherd, and He's going to lead me. And if He's truly my Lord, if He's truly my King, I'm going to follow Him. Not perfectly, sometimes I take a detour, sometimes I stumble, that's true, but for the general tenor of my life, I'm following Jesus Christ.

And that's evident in how we treat people. Starting in my home, how we interact with my neighbors, how I do business, how I use my money, my decision making, everything is going to be referred to Jesus Christ. He's the center of gravity of my life.

He's the fulcrum. He's prepared these good works. And how wonderful isn't it, even in the hard times, even in the difficult times, to know that I'm walking in these good works which God has prepared beforehand. No acts of kindness, acts of compassion are certainly what we should be doing, but they are the fruit of our salvation, not the root. They are the consequence of my salvation, not the condition of my salvation. No, I'm certainly not saved by works, and I'm not saved by faith plus my works.

That's where many people are. No, I am saved by faith alone, all of God's grace. I contribute nothing to my salvation other than the sin that I bring to Christ for forgiveness. But now that I am forgiven, now that I am saved, now it is my joy, my delight to follow my Christ, to follow my King who has prepared beforehand a path for my life.

Two challenges. Have you repented and received Jesus as your Savior? Have you? Second challenge, if you say you're an authentic follower of Jesus Christ, is there any evidence of your life of this transformation? You see, as we serve others, we're serving Christ. That's what Paul teaches.

You're an usher today. As you usher people to the seat, you're doing it for Christ. Man, we are to love our wives how as Christ loved the church. You love your wife?

Yes, even if I wasn't a believer, I would love my wife, but I need God's help to love her as Christ loved the church. As you do that business, Dale, you do it as Christ would do it. Yes, you treat that homeless person.

Yes, you teach — treat that person who's in the shadows of life, who's marginalized. You treat them as Christ Himself. In as much as you do it to one of the least of these, my brothers, you do it unto me.

This morning, God divides us into these two groups, sheep and goats. Righteous or unrighteous, saved or lost. I prayed this week that every single one of us, our witness would be wonderful, that every single one of us would enter into the kingdom, that God has prepared for us that wonderful inheritance. If you've never received Christ, can I bow and ask you to do that? I'm going to stay at the front and be glad to help you, pray with you, discuss anything with you, but will you bow now and take a moment to ask Christ to come and save you?

Will you do that? If you are a follower of Christ, will you ask His help? Perhaps you're not displaying Christ.

Perhaps you've got off track. Get your eyes on Christ. Follow Him, whatever the cost. Serve others as you serve Christ. Help each one of us, our Father and God, as we make our individual response. May many be crying out to Christ to save them, to transform them. May many of us leave with a renewed desire to live a life of righteousness, impacting our lost world. In Christ's name, Amen.