In Matthew 25:31 Jesus is clearly speaking about his second coming. When he refers to himself as the Son of Man, he is taking us back to Daniel 7:13-14.
He divides people into two categories: the sheep and the goats. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who dies in place of his sheep (John 10:11), and his sheep include not only his current disciples, but also people who had not yet been born (John 10:16). Not everyone is one of Christ's sheep (John 10:26-30).
The rest of humankind are the goats (Matthew 25:41-46). Hell was not prepared for humans, but for Satan and his angels, and the goats send themselves there (Matthew 25:41-46).
Unlike the goats who get what they deserve, the Lord's sheep do not get what they deserve. The salvation of the sheep is due solely to God's grace in Christ, and God's kingdom was prepared for them before the world began (Matthew 25:34).
We receive salvation by means of faith alone, but by a faith that is never alone, and the deeds described in the last part of the Olivet Discourse are the evidence of the New Birth. The sheep are doing what comes naturally -- supernaturally. They are not attempting to earn salvation and are surprised by our Lord's words (Matthew 25:37-39).
The standard of Christian living involves much more than the Ten Commandments; the standard is the life of Christ himself, who lived out the Ten Commandments in a life of risk, submission, and self-sacrifice (Philippians 2:5-8).
We are called to serve Christ's sheep, his sisters and brothers, and we must be guided by Galatians 6:9-10.
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After serving Grace Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bob was honorably retired on Sunday, September 27, 2015, and given the title "Pastor Emeritus." This was forty years to the day after he became their pastor.
He now works for the Presbytery of the Gulf South as...
