IDEA: Our failure to show love to those who are hurting puts us in league with the devil.
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).
When you hear of people who worship the devil, what kind of picture do you have in your mind?
Do you think there are many people in our country who consider themselves devil worshipers?
We're often confused about what it means to be in league with the devil.
In Matthew 25, those who are goats are sent into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. It is clear that the goats have a common faith with demonic forces.
I. The word used in Matthew 25:41 is diabolos, which means "slanderer."
What is the nature of a slanderer?
How did Satan/the devil in Matthew 4 show himself to be a slanderer? A slanderer is marked by the fact that he or she misrepresents the truth. In the temptations we see this twisting of truth.
Why or in what way does the behavior of the goats demonstrate something devilish?
Who would be the prime candidates for goats in the gospel of Matthew? The religious leaders.
What was it that the religious leaders did that Jesus condemned?
How, then, does a lack of kindness and compassion turn people into devils? When they see a need, they shut their eyes to it and thus misrepresent the heart of God to those people.