He Will Separate

“Then they [unrighteous] will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46, NIV 1984).

My Musings – Most people would likely agree that there should be some kind of reckoning where the unrighteous are punished and the righteous are rewarded. Although many would likely take issue with “eternal punishment,” while having no qualms whatsoever with “eternal life.” Another area of difficulty would be in determining where to draw the line between those who are righteous and those who are unrighteous.

If we believe that Jesus is who He said He was (God incarnate), then we must also believe that He means what He says. In other words, there will be eternal punishment for the unrighteous and eternal life for the righteous. Then the question becomes, who determines the unrighteous?

“When the Son of Man [Jesus] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 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. He will put the sheep [righteous] on his right and the goats [unrighteous] on his left.” (Matthew 25:31–33, NIV 1984).

This same Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of Man, will do the separating (to cause two things to stop being together or connected). No third thing, no middle ground, either righteous or unrighteous.

The sheep – “[He] will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance [eternal life], the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.'” (Matthew 25:34, NIV 1984).

The goats – “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.'” (Matthew 25:41, NIV 1984).

The problem is that the Bible teaches that “there is no one who does good [is righteous], not even one.” (Psalm 14:1, NIV 1984). If there is “not one” who is righteous, then it is impossible to “separate the sheep from the goats.” Which begs the question, “Who then can be saved [from eternal punishment]?” (Luke 18:26, NIV 1984). A very good question. To which Jesus replies, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27, NIV 1984).

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation [eternal punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do [make us righteous] in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so, he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us.” (Romans 8:1–4, NIV 1984).

My Advice – “The law of sin and death” is that the sinful (“unrighteous”) are condemned to death (“eternal fire“). We must therefore, in order to escape the flames, make the “right” decision by accepting His “sin offering,” in order that we are not “left” with the goats.