“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt. 25:31-36, 41).
Ah, yes, life in the church in the good ol’ USA where everything goes, nobody is excluded, everybody is in the kingdom even if they make some feeble, anemic, confession that God exists.
The reason that does not work is that only a fool does not believe in God (Ps. 14:1) and even the devil believes (James 2:19).
Surely, we are going to have to do better than the devil to be in the kingdom of God.
Jesus makes it plain in His words quoted above that there are only two groups in the world. Jesus draws a line through the worlds’ population and makes two different kinds of people.
There is a “sheep group” and a “goat group” and what predicates whether they are a sheep or a goat is what they are attached to; what is important to them. One group involves their lives with lifting humanity with benevolence and visiting the hurting and sick.
The other group would have nothing to do with hurting, sick, stinky, poor, people. The point is identification. God distinguishes which group you are with by the heart you have in giving to the Kingdom of God. Proof of kingdom living, however, is not just good works. It is works that are birthed out of a passion for Jesus.
Notice that the people who did the gracious deeds were doing them to Jesus.
This was something that came springing out of them without forethought or fanfare. These actions were such normal activities for the “sheep group” that they were unaware of their good works and Jesus had to point them out. Jesus made it clear that it was a work done unto him and for him.
So, what makes up the sheep group? They are a bunch of people whose whole life revolves around Jesus, His Word, commands, and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
They are a people whose everyday activity revolves around who Jesus is in their lives and His will for their daily activity.
They are a people that are so identified with the church Jesus has formed that Jesus calls them blessed and an inheritor of the Kingdom.
Let us now bring this down to everyday living in the good ol’ USA. Most churches teach that if you only believe then you are okay.
However, on the day of judgment there is a group that says to Jesus, “did we not prophesy, cast out devils, and do many wonderful works” and He will still say “depart from me you that work iniquity” (Mt. 7:22, 23). There are some who seem to be in the religious crowd and do things for Jesus who will still be counted out. This is a frightening and sobering thought.
So, what does believing mean in the Bible? It is the throwing of your entire being into the life, love and power of Jesus.
It is not about a confession...it is about giving up your whole life. It is not about having a good theology...it is about passionately embracing the ramifications of the cross and realizing you are outside of God no matter what you do until an entire commitment of your time, heart, mind, energy, job, money, circumstances, ideas and life pursuits are in Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
You must identify yourself with a group of like minded people who are pursuing this kind of Jesus and this kind of commitment; without it, you may be in the “‘goats’ starting line up.”
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“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt. 25:31-36, 41).
Ah, yes, life in the church in the good ol’ USA where everything goes, nobody is excluded, everybody is in the kingdom even if they make some feeble, anemic, confession that God exists.
The reason that does not work is that only a fool does not believe in God (Ps. 14:1) and even the devil believes (James 2:19).
Surely, we are going to have to do better than the devil to be in the kingdom of God.
Jesus makes it plain in His words quoted above that there are only two groups in the world. Jesus draws a line through the worlds’ population and makes two different kinds of people.
There is a “sheep group” and a “goat group” and what predicates whether they are a sheep or a goat is what they are attached to; what is important to them. One group involves their lives with lifting humanity with benevolence and visiting the hurting and sick.
The other group would have nothing to do with hurting, sick, stinky, poor, people. The point is identification. God distinguishes which group you are with by the heart you have in giving to the Kingdom of God. Proof of kingdom living, however, is not just good works. It is works that are birthed out of a passion for Jesus.
Notice that the people who did the gracious deeds were doing them to Jesus.
This was something that came springing out of them without forethought or fanfare. These actions were such normal activities for the “sheep group” that they were unaware of their good works and Jesus had to point them out. Jesus made it clear that it was a work done unto him and for him.
So, what makes up the sheep group? They are a bunch of people whose whole life revolves around Jesus, His Word, commands, and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
They are a people whose everyday activity revolves around who Jesus is in their lives and His will for their daily activity.
They are a people that are so identified with the church Jesus has formed that Jesus calls them blessed and an inheritor of the Kingdom.
Let us now bring this down to everyday living in the good ol’ USA. Most churches teach that if you only believe then you are okay.
However, on the day of judgment there is a group that says to Jesus, “did we not prophesy, cast out devils, and do many wonderful works” and He will still say “depart from me you that work iniquity” (Mt. 7:22, 23). There are some who seem to be in the religious crowd and do things for Jesus who will still be counted out. This is a frightening and sobering thought.
So, what does believing mean in the Bible? It is the throwing of your entire being into the life, love and power of Jesus.
It is not about a confession...it is about giving up your whole life. It is not about having a good theology...it is about passionately embracing the ramifications of the cross and realizing you are outside of God no matter what you do until an entire commitment of your time, heart, mind, energy, job, money, circumstances, ideas and life pursuits are in Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
You must identify yourself with a group of like minded people who are pursuing this kind of Jesus and this kind of commitment; without it, you may be in the “‘goats’ starting line up.”
