Separating Sheep from Goats, #1 (Mat. 25:31-46)

In this part of the sermon: Martin expresses gratitude for support during his wife's illness and reads a poem by H.A. Ironside on Christ's sudden return. He then situates Matthew 25:31-46 as the culmination…

A poem read to capture the essence of Christ's sudden return, setting the theme for the sermon series on the return of Christ.

My wife and I are deeply grateful for the steady stream of cards, of notes, of letters, of flowers, and of tastefully prepared meals which continue to come to us as an affirmation of your love and your concern for us, particularly in the ongoing trials with my wife's physical condition. In one such letter that arrived in the mail two weeks ago contained the following poem entitled Quite Suddenly, written by H.A. Ironside,

4:55 - 5:37 Read in full sermon

The point: May God help us then, even as we anticipate gathering tonight to the table, as we seek by God's grace to enter into something of the spirit of the passage before us, that none of us will have the spirit of Eutychus.

Used as a negative example to warn against mental and emotional disengagement from the sobering truths of eternal punishment and eternal life.

in the sobering terms eternal punishment, eternal life. Strip away those realities and you turn His ordeal into mockery. May God help us then, even as we anticipate gathering tonight to the table, as we seek by God's grace to enter into something of the spirit of the passage before us, that none of us will have the spirit of Eutychus. He couldn't have slept physically until first of all he was turned to God.

14:54 - 15:33 Read in full sermon

Driving home: As surely as you sit here this morning, in your eyes see me behind this pulpit. Your eyes are going to see Jesus seated on the throne of His glory. Your eyes, your eyes, yours, are going to see Jesus seated on the throne…

Martin uses the immediate experience of the congregation seeing him behind the pulpit to illustrate the certainty and directness with which every eye will see Jesus on His throne.

When I look out and try to engage you with my eyes, I see you're looking at me. You see me standing behind this pulpit. You see me, a latter middle-aged man, two hands, receding hairline, wrinkles on his brow. Your eyes see me.

27:19 - 27:39 Read in full sermon

Driving home: As surely as you sit here this morning, in your eyes see me behind this pulpit. Your eyes are going to see Jesus seated on the throne of His glory. Your eyes, your eyes, yours, are going to see Jesus seated on the throne…

This biblical imagery is used to convey the overwhelming, shattering glory of Christ as Judge, which will cause even the physical creation to flee.

The one who stood before the high priest and listened to the trumped up charges who was shunted down to the Sanhedrin, pushed over to Pilate, up to Herod, back to Pilate, hung upon a cross, placed in a borrowed tomb. That Jesus your eyes will see in the context of His glory. A glory that will overwhelm and utterly astound and stun and shatter so much so that the Bible uses this language. And I saw a great white throne and Him that sat upon it

28:50 - 29:34 Read in full sermon

Driving home: As surely as you sit here this morning, in your eyes see me behind this pulpit. Your eyes are going to see Jesus seated on the throne of His glory. Your eyes, your eyes, yours, are going to see Jesus seated on the throne…

Used to help listeners imagine the intense, overwhelming brightness and glory that will emanate from the face of the Lord Jesus on His throne.

Have you been in a situation where there are five or ten people around with cameras and they all began to pop their flashes all at once and you see spots before your eyes? I want you to think of ten thousand flash cameras all going off at once just ten feet from your eyeballs. That will be but a small token of the glory that shall issue from the face of the Lord Jesus. That's the identity of the Judge and you're going to see Him and I'm going to see Him on the throne of His glory.

30:13 - 30:52 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin begins outlining the Judge's activities, starting with the universal convocation. He explains that Christ will gather 'all the nations' before Him, ensuring every person…

The story of Jesus raising Lazarus is used to illustrate Christ's irresistible power to call forth the dead, foreshadowing the universal convocation at the final judgment.

resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment. As surely as Jesus stood in that sad scene amidst those he loved very dearly, wept with them under the shadow of death that had come into that home at Bethany. Lazarus is dead. He's been in his tomb four days.

35:36 - 36:04 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second activity is an infallible separation, where Christ, like a shepherd, separates sheep from goats, placing the sheep on His right and goats on His left. Martin stresses…

This cultural practice is used as a simile to explain how Christ will infallibly separate individuals at the judgment, based on their true identity.

The first act of the judge upon the throne, having ensured this universal convocation, is to effect this infallible separation. And he sets before us a simile. Notice, he shall separate them one from another as or like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. There is a reference to this in Ezekiel 34 in verse 17.

42:31 - 43:03 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second activity is an infallible separation, where Christ, like a shepherd, separates sheep from goats, placing the sheep on His right and goats on His left. Martin stresses…

Martin asks listeners to imagine a vast sea of faces stretching to the horizon, with God's omniscient eye zooming in on each individual, emphasizing the personal and infallible nature of the judgment.

Heads, faces as far as the eye can see. Off to the horizon on the left and the right, the north and the south. Just as you stand on the Jersey shore and you watch the sea drop off to the horizon ahead of you. Think of nothing but a sea of faces.

46:16 - 46:34 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that Christ will provide a factual vindication for His declarations, not as the cause of salvation or condemnation, but as evidence. The sheep's acts of mercy to…

Used to distinguish between cause and effect, explaining that the good deeds of the sheep are not the cause of their blessedness but the evidence of their relationship with Christ.

Let me try to illustrate it this way. One of the commentators had a footnote that set forth this analogy and I found it helpful. When it was raining some last week, I might say to you. It is raining because or for the atmospheric conditions were conducive to the production of rain.

57:57 - 58:18 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And in this crass, individualistic age, it takes tremendous effort to think biblically. Though our relationship to Christ is the most precious, it is an intensely personal relationship imaginable. It is never atomistic.

This account illustrates the profound solidarity between Christ and His saints, showing that persecuting believers is persecuting Christ Himself, reinforcing the idea of union with Christ.

When God got through to Paul in the complex of his conversion, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?

62:47 - 62:53 Read in full sermon