11/9/08 - Last Judgment - Matthew 25:31-43

YOU ARE BEING RECORDED
- To show what you've done
- To who who you are

Right now, as we speak, you are being secretly recorded. I have a camera on you. And so every time you move this morning, every time you aren’t paying attention, every time you look at something else and get distracted - all of it is being recorded. And I want to play that tape next week in Bible class so that you can see yourself. We will all see your face. We will all see your expressions. We will all see how long your attention span is... What are you thinking? Are you a little bit nervous now? Are you curious about where the camera is hidden? Are you a little angry that I’m doing it without your permission?
There is no camera. I was just kidding. You aren’t being recorded. Your actions will not be used next week as an object lesson. You can relax. But I did say that to make a point: knowing that our actions have been recorded makes us feel a little uneasy and a little uncomfortable, doesn’t it? Suddenly we are a little bit tighter, a little paranoid, and we are double checking what we do and how we do it long before we ever do it. And we definitely don’t want to see a recording of the things we’ve done, nor do we want other people to see it. It’d be a little embarrassing to watch a recording of what we acted like during a worship service because our actions and our facial expressions and our mannerisms would be open to scrutiny and criticism from those around us.
But the truth is: you are being recorded. Not by me. Not by a video camera hidden somewhere in this room. But by the King himself. The Lord is recording your every action, your every word, and your every thought. He is keeping track of you at all times. And he will show that record of your life, whether good or bad, whether favorable or unfavorable, when he comes again on Judgment Day. That’s what Matthew 25 says. When Jesus returns on the Last Day, “He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 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. 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.’” And, of course, the King points out that those things are done for him when they are done for others: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” And to those who didn’t feed him or invite him in or clothe him or take care of him or visit him by doing those things for others, the Lord will say to those goats on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels... For whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” The King is recording you. He will remember everything you have ever done and everything you haven’t. Everyone is being recorded. And that recording will make clear exactly what everyone has ever done.
I don’t think I want to see a recording of my life. And I know I don’t want you to see what I’ve done! Because I have done things I never should have done. I have said things that I never should have said. And I have thought things that I never should have thought. But all of them are recorded. None of them has slipped the Lord’s notice. And I would hate for you to see them. I would be completely ashamed. I wouldn’t want to be in the room or even look you in the face after you saw my actions and words and thoughts that are absolutely appalling compared to our perfect God. And I don’t think you would want me to see a recording of your entire life either.
You don’t want every one of your inner thoughts to be revealed. You don’t want many of your words heard. You don’t want your past actions brought up again. And for good reason. Because those things would show me and everyone else how sinful you really are and how many times you have messed up and how many ways you have rebelled against God’s commands and how many things you should have done but never did. A recording of our actions would be very revealing. A recording of our words would be a little unnerving. A recording of our thoughts would be completely shocking and disgusting and disturbing. And the Lord has recorded them all.
I think it’s pretty clear that if our eternal outcome depended on how well we lived this life, we would end up on the Lord’s left side at Judgment Day. We would be among the goats not the sheep. We would be the ones to whom the Lord would say, “Away from me, you who are cursed… For whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” And we wouldn’t be able to argue, would we? We would have to agree. Because we have not cared for others by our actions and with our words and in our thoughts as we ought. And therefore we have also not done these things for Christ himself. And the record of our actions on Judgment Day will make that all too clear.
But I want you to look at this story again. I want you to pay close attention to who Jesus says will go to heaven and why. Because the record of your life that will be brought up on Judgment Day will not be the deciding factor whether you will go to heaven or hell. Christ has already decided that for you. “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.’” Take your inheritance. Not your prize. Not your reward. Not what you’ve worked so hard to gain. Not what you deserve because of the way you’ve lived your life. But take your inheritance. Those sheep on the King’s right hand side will receive an inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. But one receives an inheritance only if someone dies to give it to him. That death, of course, belongs to Christ. And the kingdom is only Christ’s to give.
And in the recording of Christ’s life that is found in Scripture, we see that Christ has won that kingdom and does give it to us. Just two days after Jesus spoke these words to his disciples that we are reading in Matthew 25, he was sitting in the upper room on Maundy Thursday evening, celebrating the Passover with his chosen few. And there he predicted, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me… but after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee” (Matthew 26:31,32). The kingdom was his, and he was about to claim it. Later that evening, out in the Garden of Gethsemane surrounded by his traitor and his enemies, he proclaimed to them, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way” (Matthew 26:53-54)? The kingdom was his, and he was about to suffer for it. Early the next morning he was standing in front of the chief priests of the Jewish people, and he boldly told them, “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64). The kingdom was his, and he was about to show it. Hours later he was in front of the Roman ruler, Pontius Pilate. And to him he said, “My kingdom is not of this world… my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36). The kingdom was definitely his, and he was about to prove it that very afternoon. Because hat afternoon he was hanging on that infamous cross. And while he was bleeding to death there on that hill, a criminal on his right hand side pleaded with him, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” The lord lovingly promised that man, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42,43). The kingdom was his, and he was about to die for it.
And he did die for it. And he was buried. And he did rise. And now he gives that kingdom that he worked so hard to win, to us. As our inheritance. He gives it to his forgiven children. Those who believe in him as their Savior. Those who don’t deserve it, but those whom he loves nevertheless. We receive the inheritance of Christ’s kingdom because of Christ’s death.
When a person receives an inheritance, he doesn’t have to do anything for it, does he? He simply receives it because of who he is. He might have to present the proper identification to the appropriate authorities to prove who he is, but the act of showing them a driver’s license or coming up with a birth certificate doesn’t earn him the inheritance. Those outward things indicate why he is the one to receive it.
The outward things that you do in this life indicate why you are the one who will receive the inheritance. They indicate who you are. You are a Christian. You are God’s child. And so your actions that have been recorded all these years will show that. Even if that record is filled with sin - and it will be. Even if that record is overrun with mistakes and errors and embarrassments - and it will be. Because the Lord will see that you helped and fed and took care of and provided for and visited others out of love for the Lord in this life. Unbelievers cannot do that. Unbelievers may help those in need at times, they may be outwardly nice at times, but never for the right reason. Because the right reason is always and only out of love for what Christ has done for you. After all, Scripture itself says that without faith it is impossible to please God. And so whenever you perform a God-pleasing action or say a God-pleasing word or think a God-pleasing thought in this life - motivated by the love of Christ - that is the proof of faith in your heart. That is the outward indication of who you really are within. That is a clear demonstration that you are a believer, God’s child, and you will receive the inheritance. Because of who you are - not because of what you have done - will you receive the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven.
That’s why the record of your life that will be revealed on Judgment Day will not determine whether you receive that kingdom or not. Christ has determined that already. You will receive the kingdom because of what Christ has done for you and what Christ has given to you. And that record of your life will highlight the fruits of faith, the acts of love, and the outpouring of your heart in response to the love of Christ. That record will be your picture I.D. - the outward proof of faith within.
And so although you are being recorded every minute of your life, it’s nothing to worry about. Because it will not only demonstrate what you’ve done, it will more importantly show who you are. And you are God’s child. You are a forgiven sinner. You are a redeemed servant. You are an heir. And as an heir, you can look forward to your inheritance: “the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”
Amen.

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.” - Rev. 11:15