IDEA: There will be many surprises at the judgment. TEXT: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of 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 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.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did 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, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Then He will also say to those on the left hand, '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 and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' Then they also will answer Him, 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, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch 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" (Matthew 25:31-46).
PURPOSE: To create in the listeners a holy uncertainty about the judgment.
Do you believe in eternal security?
There are people who don't believe in eternal security.
Do you think they might be helped if they did?
Do you think that it's possible to feel too secure as a Christian?
In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus describes the last judgment. He has been talking about this throughout the gospel of Matthew. In fact, Matthew is sometimes called the "gospel of judgment." There are many surprises at the judgment, both for those who are worthy and those who are not.
I. Many who think they should be there, won't be (Matthew 7:21-23).
Here are people who talked correctly about religion. They said, "Lord, Lord" (7:21-22).
They acted religious. They were involved in ministry. They prophesied in Jesus' name. They drove out demons in His name. They performed many miracles.
The King says, "I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness" (7:23).
These are people who do not do "the will of My Father in heaven" (7:21). Who do you think Jesus has in mind?
They were people who did not really preach the truth of the Law (7:15-20, 23).
They were people who did not reflect the emphasis of the Law in their lives (Matthew 25).
In Matthew 7 they are boasting about what they did. In Matthew 25 Jesus focuses on what they didn't do.
II. Many who think they shouldn't be there, will be (Matthew 25:37-39).
They are people who are aware of their sin (Matthew 5:3-10).
One mark of those who enter the kingdom is that they are convinced that they ought not be there.
III. The things that we thought mattered most, won't matter much at all. Actions that didn't seem like much at the time will matter greatly.