| THE GOATS Matt. 25:31-46 |
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| The context of this passage is the judgement of the living nation at the end of the Tribulation Period. the basis of this judgement will be the treatment of the jew by the nations. The sheep nations will constitute those saved people who have harbored and helped the jew in his time of trouble. These saved people are not saved because of their works but rather do the works because they are saved. No doubt these gentile converts are saved primarily as the result of the preaching of the 144,000 jewish evangelists of Revelation 7. Contrariwise, the goat of nations are lost people who either ignored the plight of the jew during the Tribulation or actually helped to persecute him. Again these will not be lost because they persecute the jew but will persecute the jew because they are lost. The goat is clearly a type of the sinner. I. Goats are Independent or Self-Centered This is the very opposite of the nature of a sheep which is a dependent creature. The goat is a self-centered, half wild creature. You can pen a goat up but that does not domesticate him. given the first liberty, the goat will revert to his independent ways, to his wild nature. So also is the lost man. Jude II describes the lost man in his most depraved state, that is in a state of apostasy. It is a state of rebellion against God and a desire to indulge self. A. The Way of Self Works ro Self-Righteousness "....for they have gone in the way of Cain." Gen. 4:1-8 describes the sin of Cain and 1 John 3:12 declares his attitude. Cain's way was works - God's way is grace. This is why organized religion (works religion - social gospel - moral gospel) in our day would cut the throat of every fundamentalist blodd washed saint today. They are goats parading as sheep. B. The way of Self-Gain or Self-Riches "....and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward." - Balaam sold out for wealth and position. (Num. 22-24) Judas sold out our Lord for thirty pieces of silver. Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. That goat nature is selfish. So is this money-hungry world. Note 2 Pet. 2:1-3. C. The Way of Self-Will or Self-Rights "....and perished in the gainsaying of Core." this is Korah of Num. 16. He rebelled against the authority of Moses, the man of God. See 2 Tim. 3:1-4 for a description of seditous God haters. This is the reason for the rebellion and the "rights" movements in our day. They are Goats. II. Goats are Insensitive or Not Sensible A goat has no dietary limitations. He will eat almost anything, even the paper off tin cans. So is the lost man. This explains his appetite for vice and vulgarity of every sort. Thus the terrible description of Rom. 1:21-32, listing the worst of human sins against God. A study of that passage indicates that the wicked commit these sins without remorse. III. Goats are Implacable or Stubborn The goat will not yield, neither will the sinner. If he ever yielded he would cease to be a sinner. Most people who are lost are not lost fo rlack of opportunity to be saved. They are lost because they don't want to be saved and refuse to be saved. Stephen well summarized the heart attitude of the goat in Acts 7:51-53. The goat does not need to be conformed to a better behavior; He needs to be transformed into another creature. Namely, the sheep. He needs Christ. No amount of legislation, education, or moralization will ever change him. He needs conversion by the power of the Blood of the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. |
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