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Our righteousness comes from God and is the result of our faith in Christ’s work on the Cross.
True saving faith will spur the believer onto good works as this sanctifying work of the Cross begins to express itself practically through the life of the person of faith.
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Many believe this judgment will occur at the beginning of the earthly millennial kingdom. It’s purpose will be to determine who will be allowed to enter the kingdom.
Ultimately, how one treats the brethren of Jesus reveals whether or not one is saved.
It’s mind boggling in light of this section of scripture how some can teach that there is no eternal judgment.
We have to be careful that we don’t believe what we want to believe. We must allow the scriptures to speak for themselves.
Outline:
- Jesus is coming back in glory to rule.
- All nations will be judged and people will be separated based on righteousness.
- The righteous do things for Jesus; the evil do not.
Jesus is coming back in Glory to rule
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
Daniel 2:44,45
44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
John 14:28
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
The Blessed Hope of the Church
Titus 2:11-13
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Revelation 19:11-16
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
All nations will be judged and people will be separated based on righteousness.
How to be a Sheep, not a goat!
Romans 1:17
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 3:21-26
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Now in the message of the Cross, where a person puts true faith into the work of Christ there, there comes a flow of power from heaven that starts by faith and comes in the form of grace. This grace gives us life changing power to live differently, having different priorities, different dreams, different vision and a different focus.
Grace gives power to overcome all forms of ungodliness.
The righteous do things for Jesus; The evil do not
How do we do things for Jesus?
Mt. 25:40
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
The work of the Righteous
- Feeding the Hungry
- Relieving the Thirsty
- Comforting a stranger
- Clothing the needy
- Looking after the sick
- Visiting those in prison
I believe one of the ultimate purposes of our work is to lead people to Christ through soul winning and then discipleship. Service is a proven strategy that softens the heart of the one being served; making a way for the good news about Jesus. Our motive is love; our goal is soul winning.
Conclusion
Our righteousness comes from God and is the result of our faith in Christ’s work on the Cross. However, true saving faith will spur the believer onto good works as this sanctifying work of the Cross begins to express itself practically through the life of the person of faith.
If you live in Batesville please tune into KBAP 88.1 FM to listen to contemporary worship music.
Jubilee Family Church
45 Thunderbird Dr.
Batesville, AR 72501
(870) 793-9124
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