I preached this sermon around 2000 and again in 2004.
Introduction: Probably the one of the most common, if not the most common characteristics that true Christians are known by is love. This past week in my own study of the Bible, this theme has been dominant. Interestingly enough, in the New Testament Scriptures, love is usually used with reference to other believers rather than to God. Especially in the writing of John is the word love used, 28 times in his epistles and 19 in his gospel. In the book of 1 John, John sets forth love for the brethren as a distinguishing characteristic of the true child of God. The whole Law of God is said to be summed up in loving God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. Listen to the following verses from the Apostle John:
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
1 John 4:7–8 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1 John 4:12 If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:20–21 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
John makes it clear that there is no Christian who does not love his brother, and there is no one who loves his brother who is not a Christian. Only a true child of God can love in this way, but every true child of God will love in this way.
My text for this morning is not in 1 John, but I wanted to lay a theological groundwork for the text we will look at for fear of misunderstanding it. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 25:31–46.
Read Text:
Matthew 25:31–46 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Pray
All men are divided into two groups. You are either a sheep or a goat, a child of God or a child of the devil, a believer or an unbeliever. And at the end of the age, Christ will judge the world and divide all men into these two groups.
I. The Sheep (vv 34–40)
This first group of people is called sheep, those whom the Good Shepherd loved and for whom He gave His own life, those whom He gave eternal life that will never cease. John 10 is an extensive chapter that discusses Christ as the Good Shepherd of His sheep.
A. Destiny: They are guaranteed eternal life. (v 34, 46)
These are said to be blessed of God, and are invited to come and inherit the Kingdom which was prepared especially for them. This shows us something of the certainty of which these people can expect to enter Heaven. And in v 46 we are told that this is eternal life.
B. Deeds: They have a love for the brethren. (vv 35–40)
Then notice how these individuals are characterized. Christ said that they did many things to Him. They gave him food, drink, a place to stay, clothes, visited Him when he was sick, and visited Him in prison. But notice how they respond to Jesus. They say, “When did we do these things to you?” And his answer is, “In doing this to the least of my brethren, you have done it unto me.”
So we see that the true child of God is distinguished by a genuine love for his brethren.
This is to me one of the most powerful truths in this text, that, inasmuch as we show love and kindness to others, it is as if we are doing it to Christ Himself. How many of us would not go out of our way to serve and minister to Christ if He were here physically with us today? Yet we can minister to Christ by ministering to others.
II. The Goats (vv 41–46)
A. Destiny: They are guaranteed eternal hell. (vv 41, 46)
This second group of people are called cursed ones, and are commanded to depart from God into everlasting fire where they will be forever with the devil and his angels.
B. Deeds: Have no love for the brethren. (vv 42–45)
They are characterized as the exact opposite of the child of God. Christ condemns they because they did not feed, nor give drink, nor give a place to stay, nor clothe, nor visit Him. They too responded in surprise, not knowing when they failed to do these things for Christ. But He responds to them, “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”
The wicked are characterized by having no love for their brother who is in need.
A Word of Clarification:
It may appear from the surface that Christ is teaching here some sort of a works salvation—those who do good works will have eternal life and those who don’t will perish in hell. This is true that those who go to heaven will be those who in love do good things, and those who go to hell will be those who do not love nor do good things. But what Jesus is not teaching here is that men gain eternal life by good these good things. Love and good works are not the cause or means of salvation but the result and fruit. These things are the demonstration that God has truly changed the life.
Conclusion:
Let me conclude with one more passage from 1 John 3:17–18 “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” True love will always work itself out in a caring for and meeting the needs of others, both spiritual and physical. Often we emphasize the importance of meeting peoples spiritual needs, and this is very important; but this is an emphasis in Scripture, as seen from our text, on the physical needs of man. This truly is the second greatest commandment, something that distinguishes the true child of God. “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God.”