The sheep and the goats is one of the most striking and the most controversial statements made by Jesus regarding the final judgment. It is a time when the genuine believers (the sheep) will be separated from the non-believers (the goats).
Now over the years, this has caused a lot of fear and confusion, as I have heard people express to me their fear that they might be a goat and not know it. After all, what exactly is a goat, and how do we tell a goat from a sheep in the spiritual sense? There are some who say that a genuine sheep will be the hardest worker for God, while a goat will slack-off on their spiritual duties and responsibilities.
Is that true?
If so, how do we know when we’ve worked hard enough to merit sheep-hood? And afterwards, can we fall back to being a goat?
In order to have any real assurance and security, these questions must be answered – and thankfully, God hasn’t left us wondering about the answers; Jesus spoke plainly about them.
This is what we will be examining today in this study, and by seeing this, you will not need to be confused or afraid about the sheep and the goats any longer.
We recently did a study on how God is Light, and the Father of it, and it is absolutely true. The plain and simple analogy here is that without Him you can’t see anything clearly (or at all!). It is certainly true that He is Light – but that is not all that He is!
You may think that this is an obvious statement, but let me tell you that back in the days when I was entrenched in legalism and the religious performance mindset, I never really saw God as anything other than light. Oh sure – I knew of the scriptures which stated that He was more, but for myself personally on a daily-basis, I never factored-in anything other than God merely being a source of spiritual light. And there are a great number of people today who are still in that exact same place.
The implications of this are widespread and quite damaging to our relationship and union with Christ. For example, seeing God as only a light to point you in the right-direction, which you then must strive for through your effort and work, can actually totally negate the finished work of Jesus Christ.
So what I want to share with you today in this study, is the fact that God is so much more than light. He’s not just a pointer to salvation; but rather He is salvation.
One of the most damaging deceptions that I have seen in my time, is the false idea that God just doesn’t care about us. I’ve seen it from many different angles, and this idea may take many different forms, but it’s all the same in the end. It leads people into hopelessness and despair, because it cuts off the source of help – almost like chopping a life-line, tipping over a rescue ladder, or sinking an emergency raft.
Think about it… if a person truly believes that the very author of life doesn’t really care about them, what hope do they have for any kind of help or solution to their problems? It takes the hill and turns it into a full-fledged mountain.
Many people feel this way today – as if God just plain doesn’t care about them, and has no interest in helping with their problems, and this very attitude has caused many to sever the one true life-line and source of help that exists, and it’s all based on nothing more than a deception.
Well, in this study today, I would like to squash that deception with the truth, that not only does God care, but He cares for your entire life – every aspect of it – even more than you could possibly imagine. And as you see this truth today, you will gain confidence and know that you are not alone, and you have a source of help, that you never knew you had.
Redemption. This word has taken on a variety of meanings in our modern culture. However it has a very specific meaning in scripture: “To buy back, and return possession to a previous owner”.
We’ve studied before the famous line in Psalms 107:2, which says to let the redeemed of the LORD say so… and there have even been songs sung about this very thing, yet people often don’t stop to think about what making the statement that “I am redeemed!” actually means.
So in this study today, I would like to share with you, the amazing truth of your redemption in Christ, and what it actually means to be redeemed; and redeemed eternally by Jesus Christ Himself.
I invite you to look at the title of today’s study, and ponder it deeply for a few moments. What if God wasn’t recording your sins? How would that change your life? How would that change the way you think, or the concerns of your heart? How would that affect your conscience, or the guilt and shame that so easily burdens us? How would this change your relationship with God and how you view Him?
In this study today, we will be looking at these questions, and the truth of scripture that surrounds them. We will be examining all of this through the lens of the grace of God, and in the light of the finished work of Christ – His sacrifice for you, and who you are today in Him.
As you see this truth today, your eyes will be opened to the amazing Grace of God, that we sometimes sing about, but never stop to consider the reality of what it means for us. And many chains of guilt, shame and condemnation will be broken as a result of seeing this today.
Galatians 3 is a chapter of the Bible that has always made me laugh and cry at the same time. Every time that I begin reading it, it makes me laugh – and then it makes me cry because the same thing that the Galatians were being confused and seduced by, is still confusing and seducing people today.
There are many people who are seeking after God, seeking after His power, seeking after miracles, and many of them are good and honest people who truly desire these things and they want to be close with God with a pure heart. The problem is, that they are being deceived… they are trying to approach God from the wrong angle and with the wrong perspective.
The same thing was happening in Galatia, and as we look at what Paul wrote to them in order to correct their view and remove the deception, it will become clear for us today as well. As we look at this truth today, and see the marvelous Grace and mercy of God for all that it is, we will be free from the same pit that the Galatians were falling in to.
You may have heard the phrase before, You are what you eat. It’s a common phrase that is often used to promote a healthy diet and healthy eating. If you consume unhealthy foods, you will become unhealthy – likewise if you consume healthy foods, you will become healthy. That is the general idea behind this popular phrase.
Spiritual leaders have sometimes latched onto this phrase as well, saying “You feed your body healthy food, why not your spirit?” (or something similar to this). And it’s true, that many people pay more attention to what they are feeding on physically, than what they are feeding on spiritually; even though the spiritual is far more important.
Today, I would like to share with you about eating healthy, from a spiritual perspective. How to eat healthy… spiritually – and how by seeing this, we can also see how Christ is the best possible spiritual nutrition that you could ever feed on.
I have encountered many anti-Grace beliefs and positions over the years. One of the most common push-backs against the Gospel of Grace in Christ, is that “Grace gives people a license to sin”. This is the one that I have encountered more than any other. It is a sentiment that is expressed in a variety of different ways, such as “So you’re saying people can live however they want?”, to the more subtle “well, there needs to a balance to prevent hyper-grace”.
Regardless of what form this sentiment takes, it is all rooted in the same thing: a fear of Grace. Many people have been trained to be fearful of the very Grace that can save… the very Grace that Jesus came to bring; and the sad reality is that this fear (which is based on man-made doctrines) actually prevents people from receiving the Grace that can save them.
So today in this study, we will be examining the most common anti-Grace beliefs, and see how they hold up to the truth of scripture.
In the ancient temple, there was a veil (the פרכת) – which was actually a very large and thick cloth, that separated people from God… Only one person (the High Priest) could enter in to the most holy place of the temple, which was sealed-off by the veil; and he could only go in once per year (Hebrews 9:7).
The high priest would enter only after a very thorough cleansing ritual, and offerings of blood sacrifice to cover his own sins, and the sins of the people for which he was a representative.
This continued for years, until one major event, until Jesus Christ, the final eternal High Priest offered the final eternal sacrifice for all-time; not just covering sins for one year – but completely removing sins for all-time.
And right after Jesus declared “It is Finished!”, and surrendered His Spirit, that veil which separated the people from God was torn – and this is what I want to share with you today… the tearing of the veil, and what it means for us today in Christ.