The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 25:46,
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Jesus provided teaching to help us understand the things of his kingdom. In the account of the sheep and goats he taught the following:
At the end of the age, Jesus, as the Son of God, will return "in his glory", verse 31, together with his angels. All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate all people into two groups (the sheep and the goats). There will be two groups - not one and not three - two groups. One group will be cast into "eternal punishment" and the other group, the "righteous" will be escorted into "eternal life." Each and every last soul that has ever lived will be in either one or the other group.
This, of course, raises the importance of how to become a part of the group of the righteous, "the sheep". Today we have all kinds of people running around saying we need to do this or that, we need to behave, we need to follow certain religious practices, etc. That is not what we are taught in the Scriptures.
The Scriptures are very clear on how we join the company of the righteous. We read in Romans 1:16-17, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 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.'" We gain righteousness by responding to the gospel message, embracing Jesus Christ in faith.
It isn't by "doing" anything, but by believing something. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. Also, "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.
Becoming righteous in God's sight is a matter of placing our faith and trust in him, "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." Romans 3:21.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Jesus provided teaching to help us understand the things of his kingdom. In the account of the sheep and goats he taught the following:
At the end of the age, Jesus, as the Son of God, will return "in his glory", verse 31, together with his angels. All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate all people into two groups (the sheep and the goats). There will be two groups - not one and not three - two groups. One group will be cast into "eternal punishment" and the other group, the "righteous" will be escorted into "eternal life." Each and every last soul that has ever lived will be in either one or the other group.
This, of course, raises the importance of how to become a part of the group of the righteous, "the sheep". Today we have all kinds of people running around saying we need to do this or that, we need to behave, we need to follow certain religious practices, etc. That is not what we are taught in the Scriptures.
The Scriptures are very clear on how we join the company of the righteous. We read in Romans 1:16-17, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 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.'" We gain righteousness by responding to the gospel message, embracing Jesus Christ in faith.
It isn't by "doing" anything, but by believing something. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. Also, "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.
Becoming righteous in God's sight is a matter of placing our faith and trust in him, "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." Romans 3:21.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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