All right. Everybody buckled up? Good. We may get jostled about a bit this morning, but our destination will be worth the drive.
Let’s start with a question. It’s an important question, one of the most important questions that we are confronted with. The good news is that the gospel of Jesus Christ provides an answer. The bad news is that although you may think you understand that answer, you probably don’t. At least not fully. What I’m going to do this morning is ask you to think more broadly and deeply about this fundamental question, so that the choices you make will be consistent with what it truly means to follow Christ.
So here’s the question: What do you have to do to get to heaven? Most of us would agree that’s an important question. What do you have to do so that, once your life on earth is concluded, you will be admitted to the good place, instead of the bad place. Have you seen the TV show, “The Good Place”? It’s on NBC. Here’s a photo [Good Place photo]. A woman named Eleanor Shellstrop, played by Kristen Bell, wakes up after a freak accident that has caused her demise, and she finds herself in an office with Ted Danson, who informs her that she is in the “good place”. I won’t give away too much of the plot, but after a series of mishaps Eleanor comes to the conclusion that she doesn’t really belong in the good place. But she doesn’t think she belongs in the bad place either. Making her case to Chidi, the moral philosopher who is trying to instruct her, she says, “I was a medium person! I should get to spend eternity in a medium place, like Cincinnati!”
Now let me hasten to say that I don’t suggest you construct your theology of the afterlife by watching a television show. Especially in this case, because if you did, you would have some seriously messed-up views on personal eschatology that would involve giant flying shrimp. But even though it’s just a silly show — one which is NOT, I repeat, NOT to be confused with actual Christian teaching — it does bring up some interesting questions. Such as, is there a medium place? And the Bible says no. The Bible talks about a very good place; heaven, and a very bad place, which is referred to as hell, or hades, or gehenna. And so, although a lot of people would think, with Kristen Bell’s character, that they should end up in a medium place, maybe not paradise, but not all that bad either, in the Bible there’s no such thing. There’s only a good place and a bad place.
Another obvious question which the show brings up is, if there really is a good place, not the pretend good place in the TV show, one with a TCBY yogurt store on every corner, but a real good place, a place the Bible calls heaven, a place of inexpressible joy, and beauty, and love, and gladness, and peace — if there really is a place like that, how do I get there? In the TV show, you get there by being a really, really good person. And that’s what most people assume. You get to heaven, the good place, by being a good person. Seems reasonable.
But this is where the alert evangelical, or anyone who has been paying attention on Sundays here at Providence, will say to themselves, but that’s not true. You can’t earn your way to heaven. None of us is good enough, none of us meets God’s standard, because he is a pure and a holy God and his requirement is holiness; that is, moral perfection. And none of us meets that standard. As Paul writes in his letter to the church at Rome,
“There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10)
And further on,
“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” (Rom. 3:20)
And a few verses later,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23)
As the Psalmist wrote, considering his own spiritual condition,
“If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm. 130:3)
What’s the answer to that question? No one. No one, in light of our universal sinfulness, can stand before a holy God. And therefore, unless some other provision is made, no one can enter into the place where God dwells, which is heaven. We are all doomed.
That’s the bad news. And it is very bad news. You are not an exception to the rule. I am not an exception to the rule. No one in this room is an exception to the rule. According to God’s holy standard, “There is no one righteous, not even one”. We all fall short.
But there is good news. And that good news is that, although you cannot merit heaven, you don’t have to. Jesus Christ has done it on our behalf. Through faith, his merit and holiness are imputed to us, that is, credited to our account. His perfect obedience to God is viewed as if it were ours. And our sin, likewise, is transferred to him. That’s why Christ had to die. To pay the penalty, not for his own sin, but for ours. This is what Martin Luther called,
“A Wonderful Exchange”: Christ’s righteousness for our sin. Luther wrote:
“That is the mystery which is rich in divine grace to sinners: wherein by a wonderful exchange our sins are no longer ours but Christ’s and the righteousness of Christ not Christ’s but ours.”
John Calvin wrote this in his Institutes, referring to Christ:
“Hence it follows . . . that eternal life, of which he himself is the heir, is ours, and that the kingdom of heaven, into which he has entered, can no more be taken from us than from him; on the other hand, that we cannot be condemned for our sins, from the guilt of which he absolves us, seeing he has been pleased that these should be imputed to himself as if they were his own. This is the wondrous exchange made by his boundless goodness.”
The apostle Paul writes of it in this way:
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21)
And the means by which we appropriate, by which we claim, this righteousness of Christ, this holiness, this merit, is not our works, not anything we have done, but only our faith:
“We . . . know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.” (Gal. 2:15-16)
And again Paul writes, in his letter to the Romans, chapter three, verses 21-25:
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” (Rom. 3:21-25)
That’s a wonderful promise. That’s the essence of the gospel. And so let me pause for a moment. If you are here this morning, and you have never placed your trust in Christ,
so that you might be forgiven of your sins and be assured of heaven, then I urge you to do that, even today. Because that’s the core message of the Christian faith. You can be forgiven, you can be reconciled to God, you can go to the “good place”. Not by trying harder to be a good person, not by giving money to the church, not by praying more; not by doing, or not doing, anything. But simply by trusting in Christ for salvation. That’s all.
In the Reformation, these key gospel truths were called the “solas”; “sola” meaning “only”: Sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus.
• Sola gratia, “only grace”: We are saved by grace alone, that is, solely as a gift from God, rather than because of any merit on our part.
• Sola fide, “only faith”: We are saved solely through faith, and not as a result of anything we have done or not done.
• Solus Christus, “only Christ”: We are saved solely on the basis of the work of Christ; that is, by his holy life, his substitutionary death, and his victorious resurrection.
This church affirms and teach these doctrines. I gladly affirm and teach these doctrines, without the slightest hesitation or reservation. Please keep that in mind as we consider some additional passages, because in order to be mature in our thinking, we need to build a theology that encompasses all of the Bible. And Jesus had much more to say on the topic of what we must do in order to enter heaven. As we read in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, verses 31-46, we find him teaching this:
“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.”
This is a problem. Why? Why is this a problem? Because we just stated that salvation is “sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus”. By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Those aren’t just some fancy Latin phrases dreamed up by sixteenth-century theologians, those are the teachings of Scripture. We just read those verses. And there are more. They are clear and undeniable. This is what the Bible teaches, that we are saved by faith, and not by works. I’ll give you another one, just to drive home the point:
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” (Titus 3:4-5)
But what does Jesus say in this passage? Why does he say to the one group of people, the sheep, “take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world,” while to the goats he utters the dreadful words, words I hope none of us ever hear, “‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” What distinguishes the members of those two groups? What determines if they, or if you or I, will be among the sheep on his right hand, or among the goats on his left, whether we will receive his blessing or his curse?
And the answer, from this passage of Scripture, is that what clearly distinguishes them is what they have done, or not done. To those on his right, Jesus will say (vv. 35-36),
“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 looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’”
While to those on his left, he will say this (vv. 42-43),
“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.’”
Let me ask you: Does Jesus say anything about faith in this passage? In his teaching here, on heaven and hell, does Jesus have anything to say about faith? [pause] Yes, he does.
It’s a trick question. And the answer will help us to untangle this theological conundrum, will help us to reconcile these two seemingly opposed sets of Scriptures. Yes, Jesus is speaking about faith in this passage. No, he doesn’t use the word, “faith”. He doesn’t have to. Because the actions he does refer to are all the evidences of faith, or of the lack of it.
Let me explain. The “sheep” don’t get into heaven because of what they did. They don’t earn their place in heaven. They get into heaven because of who they are. They are sheep. They are people who have trusted in Christ, who have been forgiven, who have experienced the new birth. And the way they live their lives, the things they characteristically do — that is, feeding the hungry, refreshing the thirsty, clothing the needy, caring for the stranger, remembering those who are ill or in prison — those things are the outward expression of that inner reality, their inner “sheep-ness”.
Conversely, to ignore the needs of those who are hungry, or thirsty, or in need; to close one’s eyes to the needs of those who are far from home, or ill, or in prison — ignoring those needs is evidence of another kind of inner spiritual reality, and that is one’s identity as a “goat”; as someone who has never experienced the spiritual transformation that comes through faith in Christ.
Let me put it another way. You don’t get into heaven because of what you do. You don’t. Salvation is by grace, through faith. You get into heaven because of what the things that you do reveal about who you are. It’s a subtle distinction, but a critical one. Here’s how James expresses it:
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” (James 2:17-18)
In other words, a genuine faith, a living faith, produces deeds. Such as caring for those who are ill, or hungry, or thirsty, or alone. That’s how our faith is demonstrated; that’s how it reveals itself. Sheep will do sheepy things and goats will do goaty things. The critical point; the same point being made by Jesus and by James, is that faith produces deeds. If there are no deeds, it doesn’t mean that you have a lazy faith, or an underachieving faith, or an intellectual, rather than an active, faith. It means that you have a “dead” faith, which is to say, no saving faith at all.
And that’s how we reconcile Jesus’ teaching concerning the sheep and the goats with
the glorious truth that salvation is by faith alone. It isn’t the deeds that save us; we don’t earn our salvation. We aren’t saved by feeding the hungry, or befriending the lonely, or caring for the sick. Those things are the evidence of what does save us, which is our faith in Christ. And so when Jesus refers to these people’s deeds or the lack of them, he’s referring to those things as the evidence of who they are; that is, sheep or goats. If you’re a sheep, you do these things; if you’re a goat, you don’t. Are you with me so far?
Now, this may be a bit unsettling to those of us who have embraced the gospel of salvation through faith alone. The idea that our deeds have any place in the equation at all, even as evidence of faith after the fact, may be new to you, may even be offensive to you. But you can’t escape it as you read through the gospels. What we do reveals what we are. As Jesus teaches in another place, the type of fruit we produce reveals the kind of tree we are:
“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 6:16-20)
At this point, you may be objecting that some people look good on the surface, but when no one is looking, they behave very differently. And my response is that the “fruit” Jesus is talking about here, the fruit which is the evidence of what kind of tree you are, includes both what is observable to us, and also what is hidden from other people, but seen by God. As the author of Hebrews tells us:
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)
So now let’s go back to Matthew chapter 25. I’ve emphasized this point because I want us to understand that the actions Jesus mentions here are not optional. These are not just good ideas. These are not just some suggested ways in which Christians can go about doing good, if we happen to have the time and the inclination. These things are how the genuineness of our faith will be assessed by God. And so, these things are likewise how we should assess the genuineness of our own faith. Let me be blunt: if you are ignoring those around you who are hungry, those who are thirsty, those who have need of clothing, those who are lonely or who are far from friends and family, those who are ill or who are in prison and who are in need of care, even when you witness those needs with your own eyes — if you are routinely ignoring the needs of those around you, focusing only on your own little concerns in your own little world — then you have good reason to be worried about the state of your soul. Because ignoring the needs of those around you isn’t what sheep do. That’s what goats do.
Now, you might ask, why are these things so important anyway? Because they represent a transformation that takes place within us when we trust in Christ, when we experience the new birth. We are changed from people who are fundamentally self-centered, focused on what we want and on how we feel, people who habitually put our needs and our desires front and center. And we are changed into people who are like Christ. Jesus Christ, our Savior, who out of love gave up everything, even his own life, in order that he might give us eternal life. We become like the one who said, and did, this:
“Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28)
The apostle Paul describes Jesus in this way:
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9)
And Paul writes elsewhere (Phil. 2:3-8)
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!”
When Jesus talks about the “sheep” and the “goats”, and the things the sheep do which the goats don’t do, he’s talking about the changes which take place within those who know him, so that over time they become more and more like him. And this is what Jesus is like. He doesn’t ignore our loneliness, our sorrow, our hunger or our thirst. He doesn’t pass by when he sees that we lack food, or clothing. He doesn’t try to find excuses why he can’t help those who are ill, or separated from friends and family. He cares for us. And if we belong to him, we will do what he does. We won’t turn a blind eye to one another’s needs. We will care for one another.
Let me give you another reason why these things matter. Let’s read over part of this passage again (Matthew 25:35-40):
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.’
What does he say? Not, “those people were hungry”, but “I was hungry”. I, Jesus, was hungry. I, Jesus was thirsty. I was a stranger. I needed clothes. I was sick. I was in prison. And you cared for me. What does he mean by that?
Here’s what he means. When someone trusts in Christ, not only are they spiritually transformed, but another change takes place as well. They are united with Christ; they are brought into a spiritual union with Christ. As Paul writes,
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? . . . But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit”. (1 Cor. 6:15, 17)
And also,
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” (Phil. 2:1-2)
Those who have trusted in Christ are a part of him, and he is a part of them. And so, when you reach out to serve others in the body, you are actually serving Christ. Not metaphorically, but actually. When you feed a hungry brother or sister, you are feeding Christ. When you comfort a brother or sister who is ill, or lonely, or in need of a friend, you are serving Christ. What a fantastic opportunity! Have you every wished you could somehow repay Christ for all that he has done for you? Somehow give back to him in some way? The opportunities to do that are sitting all around you. As you serve these people, you are serving Christ.
I can guarantee you that there are those here this morning who are in need. There are those sitting just a few feet from you who are in need of comfort. In need of companionship. In need of friendship. In need of just someone to talk to. There are those here who have financial needs. Yes, even in affluent Avon, there are people in this room who aren’t sure how they are going to pay for the food, and clothing, and medical care that they need. There are others who are a part of this body but who are not able to be with us this morning, due to illness, or incapacity, or some other reason. There are those who are in nursing homes, and prisons, and hospitals. And you have an opportunity to serve Christ through serving them. Moreover, the Scripture says that’s what you will do — if you’re a sheep. If you’re a goat, all of this will probably go in one ear and out the other.
But if you’re a sheep, and this sermon has awakened you to the need to express your “sheep-ness”, you are faced with a challenge. No one is wearing a sign, stating “I’m lonely”, or “I don’t have any friends in this town”, or “I’m having a lot of difficulty dealing with my chronic illness”. They’re not wearing signs. They’re probably wearing smiles. They seem fine. And so we tell ourselves that they are fine. The only way you’re going to be exposed to their need is to get to know them. Talk to them. Invite them to lunch. Join a small group. Attend an adult Sunday School. Participate in a men’s or women’s fellowship event. Look up. Look around. Get engaged with people.
I’ll acknowledge, it’s much easier not to do that. Not to get involved with people. People can be a pain, let’s be honest. It’s much easier to focus inward, on your own little concerns in your own little world. No one has ever helped you, why should you put yourself out to help them? And my answer is: that’s goat talk. That’s how goats think. What sheep do is say, “Jesus, you’ve given me everything. Everything I have, everything I am, I owe to you. Show me how I can serve you by reaching out to those around me who are in need. Help me to get close enough to people so that I know what their needs are, so that they trust me enough to let me serve them. Jesus, help me to be less concerned with protecting my privacy, my peace of mind, my comfort, my resources. And help me to be like you, giving generously and joyfully of my time, my concern, my money, my abilities, my intellect and even my emotions. Help me to be less self-centered and selfish, and help me take the risk of being more like you”. Amen? Amen.
