Sheep & Goats

"He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.  From there he will come to judge the living and the dead."

This statement, in reference to Jesus, comes from the Apostles' Creed; one of the most well known and widely used of all of the Christian creeds and affirmations of faith.  Despite Jesus' role as judge over all of mankind being foundational to orthodox Christian belief (and rooted in scripture), it is one that is not often enough contemplated by most of us.  We love the gentle, "bring the little children to me" Jesus.  We celebrate merciful savior Jesus.  We worship powerful king Jesus.  But do we adequately appreciate, or even fully understand and accept, Jesus as the righteous judge?  In many cases, this version of Jesus may be incompatible with what we think or believe, or perhaps even what we have been taught, about who Jesus is.

When we neglect various aspects of who Jesus is then, like a diamond being viewed from only one angle, we miss the beauty that can only be seen and appreciated by looking carefully at the many faceted whole as it exists.  To say that Jesus, as both fully man and fully God, is a complex individual is a vast understatement.  We may struggle to simply understand all of who Jesus is, let alone love, appreciate, and ultimately worship him for it.  However to struggle with the things of God is a natural part of being human.  We don't have the capability or capacity of mind to even begin to grasp the depths of his nature.

On the surface, it may seem to be contradictory that Jesus is both savior and judge, and yet, he is most definitely both.  This truth of scripture is paradoxical (seemingly contradictory) indeed, but in no way a contradiction.  In fact, it is the contrary nature of both mercy and wrath that serve to fully illuminate both in ways that, apart from one another, they would otherwise fail to come to light.

In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus puts these two polar opposites side by side in his teaching to reveal the truth about each.  Volume upon volume has been written over these doctrinal truths, and yet there are still many who disagree with some portion of it.  There is nothing more that could be added here that would suddenly bring about unanimous agreement.  So, rather than spending time arguing for one side or the other, let me simply summarize a few of the important takeaways.

1.  God does make a distinction between the sheep (believers...also often referred to as the "elect") and the goats (non-believers) (vs. 32-33).

2.  Those who are set among the sheep are chosen according to God's sovereign and mysterious will, and not because of anything they have done...since they were established "before the foundation of the world." (vs. 34).

3.  The sheep and the goats will be identifiable not necessarily by their actions, but rather by the motivation that drives their actions (vs. 35-45).

4.  The consequences of being counted as a sheep or as a goat are greatly different in nature, but both identically eternal in duration (vs. 46).

There is much more that we could say here, but time and space preclude it.  The important thing for us to focus on as we contemplate this passage over the coming week is that our place among the sheep or the goats is of the utmost importance when we think beyond the days of this life and into eternity.  On judgement day, there will be sheep and there will be goats...and Jesus will know which are which.  When we live in light of that reality, our desire should move beyond wanting to be counted among the sheep (although any rational thinking person should desire that), and should instead become, what can we do to change goats to sheep?

The answer to that question is simultaneously nothing...and everything!  You see, only the life-changing power of the Gospel can change goats to sheep.  All of us sheep WERE formerly goats.  Somewhere along the way, we had a transformational experience with the Gospel...a come to Jesus moment, so to speak.  The Gospel has unbelievable power...but only when it is shared.  That's where we come in.  The Gospel is a message, and like any message, it must be conveyed from one to another.  It is spoken.  It is proclaimed.  It is lived out for all the world to see.  It is the distinct honor and responsibility of Christians (all Christians) to share the Gospel with the world.  It's how the world will know we are sheep...among the flock of the Good Shepherd.

In Grace,
Chris Morris

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Matthew (Part 86) - Sheep & Goats

Questions discussed in this sermon:
1.  What do Christians claim to be saved from?
2.  How are Christians saved?
3.  Why are Christians saved?