Second to Last Sunday of the Church Year, 2024

Rev. Thomas Van Hemert

St. Matthew 25:31-46

Trinity 26

November 17,2024

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.

What Jesus foretells in Matthew 25 concerning the end of the age and His own second coming in glory on the last day, the Prophet Daniel sees in a vision. Daniel sees thrones placed, and the Ancient of Days, that is, God the Father taking His seat. His clothes were white as snow and the hair of His head was like pure wool. From His throne, issued fiery flames, and its wheels were a burning fire. A thousand thousands ministered to Him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The entire throne room of heaven was seated, and the books were opened.

Then the Prophet Daniel saw one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. Worldly kingdoms come and go. Empires and rulers rise and fall. But the Prophet Daniel prophesies that the Christ’s dominion is everlasting, one which shall not pass away, and His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed.

This truth is certain: Jesus Christ will come again on the last day in glory for all to see. He will open the books. He will judge. This truth is so clearly taught in both the Old and New Testaments. It is taught by prophets, apostles, and evangelists, and even by our Lord Himself. He will come and He will judge. He will judge based upon what each has done. He will judge based on works.

Now this may seem strange to us as Lutherans. Especially since we believe, teach, and confess that we are saved by grace through faith. Jesus came to earth as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. We receive what He has done in faith and are therefore declared to be righteous and sinless by the Father on account of what the Son has done.

In thinking and meditating on this truth, we’ll consider three points. The first is how the Son of Man’s judgment of our works fits into our teaching concerning Justification by grace through faith. The second is whether or not good works are necessary. And the third point will consider what good works are and how we are to live as redeemed Christians now in this fallen world.

I.                How Good works fit in to Justification by grace through faith.

First and foremost, we are saved by God’s grace when He sent His only-begotten Son to be born of the Virgin Mary and to redeem all of humanity by dying on the cross and by rising again on the third day from the dead. Jesus was delivered to death for our sins and was raised for our justification. We receive this as a gift when we believe it. That’s all that is require to be saved: faith in Jesus Christ, trusting in Him Who has paid for our sins. This is what “by grace through faith” means. The forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation are given to us for free as a gift. No one does anything or performs any work to receive a gift. What you receive for doing work is called “wages.” Thus, St. Paul, “The wages for sin is death.” We deserve to die, dying in this life and being sent to hell because of what we have done. The wages for sin is death. “But also,” says St. Paul, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

St. Paul also proclaims that it is by grace that we are saved through faith. This is not our own doing, but rather, it is the gift of God. It is not a result of works, so that no one may boast. This is pretty clear: we are saved by God’s grace. We are saved because of His love for us, because of how He loved us—by taking our place in death and becoming our ransom and a sacrifice for our sins and so that He would rise again from the dead so that we would join Him in eternal life.

As a result of this, we have been given a new life and a new purpose. Just as how the Israelites were given a new life and a new purpose to worship God in the Old Testament, after they were saved by God in their passage through the Red Sea, so it is for us. The Israelites were saved. They passed from slavery to freedom through the Red Sea and then were given the Law at Mount Sinai. God’s Law showed them how to live as God’s redeemed, holy, and chosen people. This is what God’s Law now does to us. To be sure, it shows us what not to do—it curbs our behavior. It also shows us how we have sinned and that we need to continue returning in repentance to our Savior. But for us, for redeemed Christians who are saved by grace through faith—who believe in Jesus—the Law shows us what is good. It shows us how to live. It shows us what the good life is, in this fallen world. Thus, St. Paul, immediately after he writes that we are saved by grace through faith and that this is not our own doing, but rather, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast,” he says, concerning the Christian, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Being redeemed and saved by God in Christ Jesus and receiving this as a gift ought to stir us up to holy living. We don’t just say, “thank you,” and go on our way, still continuing to live in sin. What Jesus does for us, what Jesus accomplished for us changes us. We are given a new life and a new obedience. We were drowned with Him in Holy Baptism and a new man rises from that water to live a new life and that, a life of holiness and sanctification according to God’s will, which He reveals to us in His Law. We have been saved. We have been set apart, declared to be holy and righteous in God’s sight and therefore, are set apart from the world. Therefore, we live and act differently than those who are unbelievers—those who are part of the world.

II.              Are good works necessary?

God’s Law is good. God’s Law is good even if it shows us our sin. Even if we do not keep the Ten Commandments perfectly, God’s Law is still good and the problem is not the Law, but rather, the problem is with us, with our sinful flesh.

The new Adam in us loves God’s Law. We are now learning from the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us how we are to live. We hear God’s Law and we learn from it what good works are. Following the Reformation, a problem had arisen in the Church. The question was “are good works necessary?” The answer to that question is “yes.” Good works are necessary. But to what end? To be sure, our good works do not merit salvation. Salvation is a gift given by God. Our good works are still stained with sin but at the same time, they are still loved by God. Good works serve our neighbor and supply the proof that faith is living. Faith without works is dead. This is why Jesus curses the fig tree. He came to a fig tree expecting to see fruit, but it on it were nothing but leaves. So Jesus said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And it withered and died. The same is true for our gardens or for an apple tree. If you plant an apple tree and a few years go by and it never yields any fruit, presumably, you’d cut down the tree because it’s a bad tree. This is how faith and works exist together. Our works are fruits of faith. Our works show that we have faith. Thus, St. James, “Faith without works is dead.” This is why the sheep and the goats in the parable are judged by their works. The sheep didn’t even know they did good works. They weren’t expecting to be judged by their works because they had faith. They believed. But lo and behold, they did good works. What they did to the least of these, they did to Jesus and they didn’t even know it. They didn’t trust in their works. They trusted in Jesus, knowing that He did everything for them and redeemed them, not with gold or silver but with His holy and precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. The opposite is true for the goats. They put their trust in their works. “Who cares about faith? Look at all the good I’m doing.” Faith without works is dead. Works without faith are but filthy rags. So the sheep, who had faith shown by their good works are told, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” But the goats, who did not have faith, though they put their trust in works will be told, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Good works are necessary. Though we are judged by our works, our works are not what earn us eternal life. They simply show and are proof that we have faith. Just as how we know that an apple tree is good and healthy because it naturally produces apples.

III.            What are good works? How are we to live?

Good works are nothing more than what we do in our vocations and callings in life according to the Ten Commandments. Consider your place in life according to the Ten Commandments: Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker? What are some of the God-given duties and callings you have in life? All of us are children. Therefore, according to the Fourth Commandment we are to honor, serve and obey them, love and cherish our parents and other authorities. The inverse is also true. Parents are given the divine calling to take care and raise children.

Consider whether or not you are or have ever been a worker. Our employers are also set above us by God for the sake of good order. So we should strive to do the work that has been given to us because this is what the “good life” is. The “good life” is living as redeemed children of God according to the Ten Commandments. Christians have no other Gods but the Triune God. We thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. If someone is a Christian, presumably, he should want to come to church and worship God by receiving what God gives in His Word and Sacrament, and thereby, have his faith strengthened. Christians, by nature of being a Christian and loving God, also loves their neighbors. We honor are parents and other authorities. We help and befriend our neighbor in every bodily need. We live a chaste and sexually pure life in what we say and do. We help our neighbor to improve and protect his property and income. We speak of everything in the kindest way, putting the best construction on everything we say. And finally, we out to encourage our neighbors by helping our neighbors and being of service to them, urging them to stay and do their duties, just as we do, according to our callings and vocations in life.

All of this we do, or course, because we have faith. But these good works, which we engage in, all flow from our God given faith, which God gives to us as a gift. God does not force us to do anything. He does not force us to believe in Him. He gives us His grace for free. Because if it is not free, it is not grace. It can be resisted and rejected. But God has redeemed us and gives us everything in this life only out of His divine fatherly goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in us. And so it is, that even eternal life is a gift. We receive it in faith. We may not know or even realize at times that what we do in service to God or our neighbor is beneficial. But what we do in service to God and for our neighbor is good. Often, we fail. But God loves us anyway, despite ourselves. Even as Jesus is the true vine and we are the branches, we abide in Him and He in us. If we are in Him and believe in Him and have faith that He loves us and has died for us, we, whether we realize it or not, we will bear much fruit.

Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. But we abide in Him and as we abide in Him, we produce much fruit. And He will say to us on the last day because we abide in Him, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. He will say this about us, whether we realize we did it or not, because we have faith.

Faith is what matters. Good works are necessary because they flow from faith.

In +Jesus’ name.