Are You Self-Deceived or Has Christ Really Changed You?

© 2015 by Tom Boynton (editing by Kathy Boynton)

“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:  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:  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left” (Matthew 25:31-33).

The occasion described above, presents God the Son on His throne of judgment.  He has divided all of humanity into two distinct groups.  To His right, He places all that have been saved by grace through faith in Himself.  He sacrificed His blood for them at Calvary and they belong to Him.  To His left, He places all who have rejected Him.

Upon those to His right, He pronounces blessing.

“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:” (Matthew 25:34).

He continues by describing many loving deeds which they had heaped upon Him during their lives.  They seem amazed and ask Him when they did all of that.  He responds that when they did even one small loving deed to the least of one of those belonging to Him, they did it to Him (see Matthew 25:40).

Christ, the King, then turns His attention toward those on His left.  In horror they hear His pronouncement.

“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:” (Matthew 25:41).

He then declares that, during their lives, they never showed any love for Him at all.  In shock, they ask Him when they ignored Him so badly.  He tells them that when they failed to show love to one of His own, they failed to show love to Him.

The important key, here, is that those whom Christ saves are given new hearts that truly love Him.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Has Christ truly changed your heart?  In that day, will you find yourself among the saved, or among the self-deceived?

 

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