QT 4/19/2022 Matt 25:31-34, Are we sheep or goats?

Matthew 25:31–34 (ESV) — 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 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. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King 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.

 

NOTE: I believe these next passages are essentially literal. They are not parables but they do have obvious metaphors (i.e., the sheep and the goats). This is the judgment that occurs with Christ' return and is mentioned at the start of Rev 20:4. Apparently, others will judge the world too.

 

Revelation 20:4 (ESV) — 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

 

Apparently from a distance, it is hard to separate sheep from goats. So, it will also be during judgment. God knows our hearts. He will separate the religious from those who truly know him as the next 12 verses make very clear. For the sheep, this is the time of reward for faithful service. Our works do not and cannot save us, but our works are rewarded. For those placed on Jesus' left -- the religious, the atheist, the agnostics, all those who did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ -- "these will go away into eternal punishment (vs 46)."

 

PONDER:

1. Do I truly know Jesus? When the word is rich and you cannot get enough of it, you know that Jesus is in your heart.

 

PRAYER: Father, I pray we would be serious about our walk with you. If it doesn't impact us every day of our life, then something is wrong.