INTRODUCTION

Eternal judgment of His responisble creatures by their righteous Creator is a fact as certainly declared in the Bible as any great doctrine of God's Word. Life itself is no more real, and death is no more certain, than the fact that every one of us shall eventually be brought to account before God, "Who, will render to every men according to his deeds" [Romans 2:6].

Uncertainty as to time and order of events in connection with this coming judgment does not affect the certainty of the fact that Judgment day will surely come, any more than uncertainty as to time and circumstances of our individual deaths, affects the certainty of the fact that "it is appointed unto men once to die" [Hebrews 9:27].

Perhaps no one would contend that the "day" of judgment, called an "hour" in John 5:28, is a literal 24-hour day or a literal 60-minute hour. Being of pre-millennial persuasion, I believe that this "day" or "hour" will last about a thousand years, with the resurrection of the wicked at the end of this period [Revelation 20:1-5].

But the truth of the Scripture is not affected by our choice of which passages to take figuratively and which literally. After the events have come to pass, we shall know whose interpretation (if any) was correct, but we can be sure that God's Word is true, whether we have properly understood it or not.

In our present lesson we find a dramatic description of divine judgment designed to demonstrate the perfect righteousness of the Judge. Men now may question His justice, but in that day it will be manifest to all. Lesson outline follows:

1. Division, Matthew 25:31-33. 
a. Glorious throne, 31-32. 
b. Goatish throng, 33. 

2. Dedication, Matthew 25:34-40. 
a. Royal Preparation, 34-35. 
b. Royal Predication, 37-40. 

3. Disapproval, Matthew 25:41-45. 
a. Royal Remonstrance, 41-43. 
b. Royal Revelation, 44-45. 

4. Destiny, Matthew 25:46. 

NOTES ON THE TEXT:

DlVISION, Matthew 25:31-33.

"Nations" are composed of individual people, and they will be judged as individuals. Some would-be literalists have imagined here a "judgment of nations" with no reference to individuals souls. But this theory would require us to suppose that some nations are composed altogether of righteous people, while other nations are composed altogether of the wicked. History, observation, and Scripture alike make such a supposition ridiculous.

Righteous and wicked are more or less intermingled in this world, and will remain so until judgment day, like the wheat and the tares in the parable [Matthew 13:24-30,36-43]. But in His own good time, the righteous Judge will make a proper division.

Glorious Throne, 31-32.

"Son of man" is one of the titles of the Son of God. He is qualified to be the perfect Judge not only by divine omnipotence, omniscience, and infinite wisdom, but also by His human nature and experience. No doubt if He so chose He could accomplish the separation here described in a moment instead of taking a thousand years to do it, and no doubt He could do it without the angels; nevertheless He will have "all the holy angels with him," and the procedure will occupy enough time to let all rational creatures understand what is going on.

Here is a dramatic scene indeed, in which all the nations of the earth pass in review before the glorious throne of the Son of man, Who will separate the individual souls ''as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats."

Goatish Throng, 33.

Contrary to some people's fond expectations, the whole world will not be "Christianized" before Jesus returns in glory. It is useless to speculate on comparitive numbers, but from Jesus' description of the scene, even granting the existence of a large flock of sheep, we get the impression of quite a throng of goats at the same time.

DEDICATION, Matthew 25:34-40.

"Sheep" now are described as people especially blessed of God, Who from the foundation of the world prepared a kingdom for them to inherit. Specifically, Jesus describes them as people who have so dedicated themselves to Him that their faith has been manifested in their works.

Royal Preparation, 34-36.

Just as God prepared a kingdom for His people, He prepared His people for that kingdom. We are saved by faith without works, and our good works are the outward evidence of our faith within. Jesus is concerned here with pointing out that the true people of God conduct themselves as children of God, and this divinely motivated conduct will be openly declared in the judgment.

Royal Predication, 37-40.

Generally speaking, the best people are unaware of how good they are; they are more conscious of their faults than of their virtues. So before their holy Judge, true Christians find it hard to believe that they have done anything worthy of praise. But they have tried to do their duty, and if they have done it for the love of Christ, He graciously accepts it as such.

Who are the brethren of Jesus? Not unbelievers, but "whomsoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven." See Matthew 12:46-50; also Hebrews 2:11-12.

DISAPPROVAL, Matthew 25:41-45.

"Goats" now are described as people still under the curse of God, people fit only to depart "into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels," people whose lives have produced no evidence of the saving grace of God.

Royal Remonstration, 41-43.

They have despised and rejected the King of kings when they had opportunity to render Him some service; it becomes obvious to all that they can have no place or part in the blessings of His kingdom. Their trouble is not so much anything they have done as what they failed or neglected to do. To use the figure of sheep and goats, these goats at the start of their earthly life were no worse than those who became sheep, but these were content to remain goats. The King's judgment points to the record.

Royal Revelation, 44-45.

As the righteous generally know not how right they are, so the wicked generally know not how wrong they are. Sinners do not realize that their attitude toward other people. and especially their attitude toward God's people. is indicative of their attitude toward God. But the King reveals this fact in pronouncing judgment.

Destiny, Matthew 25:46.

Eternal punishment or etemal life -- one of these is our eternal destiny. There is no third possibility for any member of the human race. The punishment will be as everlasting for some as the life is for others: the same Greek word defines the duration of both. It is true that there will be degrees of punishment and degrees of reward; but there is no middle ground between life and death. Those who have eternal life can have it only in Christ; and those who do not receive this life can have naught but death -- the second death -- eternal punishment [Revelation 20:12-151.

CONCLUSION [II Timothy 4:1]

The present Savior is the future Judge. The terms of His salvation and the principles of His judgments are plainly declared in His Word.
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[From Ashland Avenue Baptist paper, April 2, 1976, pp. 2-3. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]

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