IDEA: We sometimes don't realize that in Christ's final judgment, eternal consequences are at stake.
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: That listeners feel the dignity involved in being human.
Recently I read a review of a novel in which the author reflected on a humanist point of view. He insisted that we did not need to have God in order to have morality. We could decide the issues of life simply on the basis of what benefitted human beings. He went on to argue that this gave great dignity to human beings in contrast to his view of Christian doctrine in which men and women are simply the playthings of the gods.
How would you evaluate that perspective?
In Matthew 25, Jesus refers to judgment and reward.
I. What do judgment and reward have in common?
The Greek word translated "eternal" can refer to a quality more than a quantity. That is often stressed by people trying to avoid the idea of everlasting punishment. Does that wash as you read this parable?
We can argue about the nature of the judgment, so that we fail to feel its dangers. Whatever we make of it, it is certainly something to be feared.
II. Does the fact that the Bible teaches that there are eternal consequences for our choices say anything about the dignity of people?
Our choices matter.
Our choices matter eternally.
God doesn't judge dogs and cats or apes; but He does judge us.
Jesus who told the parable, went to a cross to die for our bad choices. The ultimate choice, then, lies in what we do with Him and what He cares about.