Judgment Day

Matthew 25:31-46

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy[a] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 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. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 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: 35 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; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 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.’41 “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: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 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.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him,[b] 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?’ 45 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.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

You've probably heard it said in times past by others, and you might have said it yourself, 'God is my judge...' I know that people use that term as a cop out; they would prefer to be to themselves without an authoritative figure over them...however, I also know that it's absolutely true!  God will judge you!  As believers we must understand this...God will judge His people.

In this passage, it's very interesting to note that the sheep and the goats are NOT saints and sinners!  All belonged in the house of God, but only one group of God's people were obedient...the disobedient children of God were judged and sent to hell!!

What is also interesting is what Jesus judged them on...feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, tending to strangers, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the prisoner.  Now, understand there are literal and figurative examples of these dynamics...make no mistake, we will be called into account for doing or not doing these things!

With the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can feed, provide 'water', comfort the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner...we must be the people of God who will seek opportunities to do so.  Now, you must ask yourself, 'Are you going to be judged by your lack?'  Can God use you to minister to people in these areas of life?

As you have done these things to the least of these, His brothers, you've done it to Him

- Pastor Melrose