I have a question for everyone here today; especially those who have been Christians for many years. What happens after faith? We finally accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, start reading our Bibles, try to learn to pray and then what do we do? Isn’t their another step in this journey of faith? Maybe you struggle with this very problem. You have accepted Christ and just don’t know where to go next. Maybe you are still searching for something before you will accept Christ. You want to see genuine Christians living the life they profess and maybe you have other needs which should be addressed. Questions may plague your mind such as who is Jesus really? What does he have to do with me? How do I “believe” in him? Maybe you are searching for love and family or maybe just some answers.
I know that when I found Christ, it was not what I was looking for at all. I started attending church at the bequest of my friend Janice. She couldn’t answer the questions I was asking but assured me that someone there had the answers. I was pretty cocky and assumed the truth was that no one had the answers. I went and went as my family at home degenerated deeper and deeper into despair and hate. I remember it very clearly. I had been going to the church for several months trying to find the answers that I needed. I didn’t understand why my family was so messed up. School had already let out and I kept coming all the way into mid-august when my mother called the state-police and threatened to kill herself so that she would be taken to a mental institution. I sat in my room at our house for the rest of the day wondering what to do. Later that night I found myself crying my heart out and cursing the God I didn’t believe in. It was the strangest thing because as I was yelling at him but he was loving me. It was if he came down from heaven and gave me a hug and promised me he would take care of it all. He didn’t speak verbally but that is how I felt. He took care of everything for me. I’ll never forget how much he loves me, and how much he did for me through the people of the church.
Today we will lay the sixth track for our train to ride on into the future. Today we will talk about need-oriented evangelism. We will answer the question what happens after faith? At any given time you will find at least three types of people in the church. You will find the good and faithful, the bad, and the searching. You will find those who set the example of faith and help those who are searching to find answers. You will find those who come and go and never grow as Christians and you will find those who are seeking the answer to life’s hard questions and need someone to step up and answer them. Flip with me to Matthew 25:31ff. Jesus begins finishing his eschatological discourse or in laymen’s terms, his speech about the end of time. Here he focuses specifically on the judgment aspect, and in it you will find three types of people. (Read 31-33). At the end we will be in either one of two groups, those on God’s right hand and those put over by his left. Jesus now explains what God will say to each group of people. Faith without works is dead. (SBI)
The Good – “to those on his right hand…”
“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. 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, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you look after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “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.”
At the Day of Judgment men and women who have faithfully served God and their fellow man will be heralded into the kingdom of heaven. Think of the words of James which say “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, “ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” There will be men and women who will be led by God’s right hand to stand among the faithful because their faith produced works. This group finds their hope and salvation in their faith in their Lord Jesus Christ. They help others in the ways listed and in many more because they love their Lord so much. Their salvation is not based on works but on the grace of God and that motivates them to help others.
I just recently read an article about a couple who had survived the Hurricane Katrina disaster. They had everything they needed and even though they thought about leaving town, they decided to weather the storm and stay at their home. Little did they know that the hurricane was much more dangerous than they had thought. They had only enough time to collect some pictures into a box with some financial statements and get to the air-evacuation unit. Another couple located in Pasadena, Texas had heard about the astrodome being packed with people and decided they would do something about it. They had only been married for nine days, had a spare room, and really wished to help others. They soon found the couple along with their adorable child; only 16 months old. When asked to comment on their kindness they said, "We were obedient. That’s all he required of us," Shelly said. "God will put the puzzle together. We were the link because God works through people. He wants willing vessels."
To those of us who wish to find themselves among the people at God’s right hand we must get our acts in gear and begin living our lives through our actions. Our actions must make people ask the question why? Why would they do that for me? Why do they love me even when I feel unlovable? Our motivation will truly be the determining factor in our efficiency in reaching out to others. If we are motivated by the love of Christ, both his love for us and for others, we will desire to reach out to others and help change their worlds so that they will know the radical love of Christ that we have in us. The faith you have come with here today is dead without works. You must have a heart wholly devoted to the cause of Christ. When judgment day comes and God gets ready to judge all of mankind, only those who have lived by faith will be on his right side.
The Bad – “to those on His left hand…” (41-46)
"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. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 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.’ "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?’ "He will reply, ’I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Honestly to me this part is a bit scary as God’ turns his attention to those who called themselves Christians but refused to allow their faith to push them to do works. These people could be defined as the mediocre Christians, those who attended church for years and always did the minimum to keep up appearances. They took communion just as every other member and no one in this congregation or anywhere else would look at them on Sunday morning and see a difference. However, God saw the difference and it was found in their hearts. They had no motivation to help others due to their lack of faith. When they saw others in need, nothing pricked their heart to open up and share the love they so calmly professed on Sunday morning.
Listen to the way the people reacted in Acts 2:36-37. “"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"” The story continues by saying in verse 44 “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” The reaction of the people who received Jesus Christ due to Peter’s sermon and the conviction they felt seems very familiar even today. A big burst of faith comes from the beginning and then slowly but surely they burn out. Maybe it was too much church activity or no one came behind them to answer their hard questions. Either way the men and women who will be placed at the left side of God at the judgment will find that their unwillingness to allow God to use them to affect the lives of others will end very unpleasantly.
God tells us that only those who willingly help others have any chance in going to heaven for eternity. Yes, eternity is real; whether it is in heaven or hell. Hell is real. It is not a state of mind, not a way of scaring people into doing good deeds, and it is not a figment of your imagination. Eternity in hell means complete separation from the love of Jesus Christ. The life you live here on earth is not hell and is not a punishment no matter how much you feel like it. In this world, good still exists and love still remains. Here you can still find the love of Jesus Christ just as written in scripture but soon enough there will be no more time left and there will be no more love for you if you do not accept Jesus Christ as you Lord and Savior. Yet, just as the story shows, your faith has to do more than just exist. Believing in Jesus isn’t enough! Even the demons believe and shudder! The faith you have must be active. Faith without works is dead. Dead faith equals no faith at all and you can’t enter heaven with no faith!
The Searching
A third group exists among the people being talked about in this passage. You may very well find yourself in this third category this morning because all three exist in the church today. These people can be referred to as the “searching.” I call them the searching instead of those in need because many times when a person comes to church, even if they have a need, they are searching for something much more. They are looking for someone who lives the life they profess and can help them find answers to the hard questions in life such as why do bad things happen to good people? They look for leadership that has integrity and most importantly they look for those who will show them the love of Christ. The people described in the passage needed basic necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, and relationships. Yet, many times they come to the church and find the cupboards empty with only a few scraps of the bread of the past to go around. They leave hungry, cold, and saddened because the one place that promises to have something for them did not!
How will we deal with this? Hopefully not like the story of the farmer who lost his best mule, Bessie. A few weeks earlier the man had been in a terrible accident and finally decided to take the trucking company to court for his injuries. In court he gets called to the stand and the defense attorney for the company begins questioning him, “Didn’t you tell the patrolman on the scene that you were fine?” The farmer begins telling the story of how he loaded up Bessie into the truck and is interrupted by the lawyer. “Just answer the question.” The farmer continues and finally the lawyer asks the judge to force the man to answer his question but the judge decides to hear the farmer out. He loaded up Bessie and took off down the road when he had been t-boned by a semi and he had been thrown in one ditch while Bessie had been thrown in another. He was hurt but he could hear Bessie in much more pain and so he went over to check on her. The patrolman seeing that the mule was in so much pain, shot her to end her suffering and then turned to the farmer. He said, “Your mule was in so much pain I had to shoot her. How are you feeling?” The farmer quickly replied, “I’m fine.”
The church should be no place where we have to hide the hurt and needs we have because we are afraid of what people will think and do. The church seems to be the only place that kills their wounded. Some of you in the pews right now have problems eating away at your heart and could really use some answers. Some of you are seeking the truth about life. Some of you may be trying to find you place in life. In any case, a third group exists and that group is seeking the truth. If we can’t take care of their basic needs then how will we take care of their most important need, Jesus Christ?
Which group do you fit in? Take an honest deep down look at yourself. Do you live your life for Christ doing everything you can to help others? Do you come and go never really dedicating yourself to Christ? Or are you seeking out something you need, maybe if you can’t even identify it? Let me tell each one of you. Faith without works is dead. W must start right here with those in this congregation. Once we have attended to them then we must move out into this community and show them the true love of Jesus Christ! We can no longer hold onto the bread-crumbs of the past generations and past revivals. We must get a new and fresh loaf! So that those hungry for the gospel of Jesus Christ have a place to find the food they need. I will ask you simply, “Where will you stand on judgment day; on the right or on the left.
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