by Josh Fennell
The Restoration Herald - Feb 2025
In our text, Jesus separates the sheep from the goats, with the sheep set on the right and goats on the left. The first group (the sheep) will be told, “Come you blessed of my Father.” They are the group that selflessly takes care of those who are in need, who care for those who need help, have a love for God’s people, and a desire to serve them. They serve without grumbling or complaining, utilizing their gifts to help others to know the love of God.
They practice the golden rule, do unto others as you would want done to you. They follow the words of James, which says, “pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
They serve others almost instinctively, without really thinking about it, to the point that when God reveals their deeds, they will be shocked, because they did not realize they were doing anything special. They had fed and watered those who were hungry and thirsty. They gave others shelter and clothing. They cared about those others had written off. The sheep did not do these things to gain notoriety—they did it because it was right. They did it because it was expected of them; they lived by what they believed. They showed their faith by their works (James 2:18). Everyone was their neighbor. Some of the best givers who have ever lived are those who did not have much and who knew what it was like to go without.
The opportunity to love our brothers is not something we should forget about. We should strive to encourage, to exhort, and to help others finish the race. Jesus is watching and taking note.
Now we look at the group on the left (the goats). In sharp contrast to the sheep, they were selfish and self-centered. They were like Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. When someone was hungry or thirsty they passed right by. Their attitude toward those who needed shelter or clothing was why bother. When someone was sick or imprisoned, they had no time for them. The heart of the selfish person is one that only cares for himself.
The selfish person sees no harm in cutting their own path and leaving those who are struggling behind. The religious leaders in Jesus’s day did this to people. Jesus spoke to this in Matthew 23:23, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” Jesus also rebuked the Pharisees sharply in Luke 11:42, “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”
Sadly, when Judgment Day arrives, the Lord will tell them they are condemned, for they refused to do what they were supposed to do. They did not love God’s people, and ultimately will hear some of the harshest words in the entire Bible, namely Matthew 25:41, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” These words should be enough to motivate anyone to live with charity and hospitality in their lives.
It is not enough to love God, if we are leaving everyone else behind. However, if we love God and we love His people, taking care of those who are in need, and protecting those who need protected, and caring for the forgotten, while staying faithful ourselves we will hear the words we long to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant … Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21).
Some of the comments you hear on TV, social media, radio, etc., centers around this thought, “God saved President Trump’s life.” If that is true, why didn’t God save the life of Corey Comperatore — the fireman who was assassinated by the rogue gunman? When I hear the statement, “God saved Trump’s life/turned his head” my mind immediately goes to the wife and children of Comperatore and the other injured victims. What must they think? Was President Trump’s life more important than their injured or lost lives? No, of course not.
Let us look at the subject of interpreting providence, and what do we mean by providence? Providence is that which is directly influenced and affected by the hand of God. There are three reasons why events happen. 1) God causes them. 2) Nature affects them. 3) The freewill choices of people. All events can be categorized under these three causes.
So, after January 20, 2025, we are in anticipation of many things we have been promised by the incoming president. Reducing prices and inflation. Closing our borders. Rolling back DEI, LGBTQ. On transgender rights he would end “boys in girls’ sports,” a practice he insists, is widespread. But his policies go well beyond standard applause lines from his rally speeches. Among other ideas, Trump would roll back the Biden administration’s policy of extending Title IX civil rights protections to transgender students, and he would ask Congress to require that only two genders can be recognized at birth. Reductions in burdensome regulations. Targeting the elimination of the federal involvement in our nation’s education. Eliminating the green new deal. Improving the defense of our country.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, as much as these things sound good and make us feel better about the direction of our country they are not enough. While the new administration may be able to improve our physical life, our society still has a spiritual problem. As described in Romans 1:21-32 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.
Christian apologists have long said that the three greatest miracles of the Christian faith are the creation of the universe, the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and His bodily resurrection from the dead. To these a fourth awesome miracle could be added—fulfilled Bible prophecy.