The Righteous Will be Separated

Yes, you read that right. When the time comes, the righteous will be separated out from the evil and the evil will be tossed to the fire.

“⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – Matthew 13:49-50 (ESV)

We will ALL be gathered up when the time comes. We will be separated into the righteous and the evil. And then the evil will be cast into fires of hell. It seems so definitive, and it is. It seems so cold and callous, well, what did you expect based on the cold and callous actions taken by the evil. It seems so divisive and unfair, well, the world is not fair and there is a stark difference in the righteous and the evil. It seems not compassionate and without love, well, the LORD loves and gives every opportunity to the evil to accept Him into their heart and turn to Him and they still turn away.

I know there are those who look at the followers of Christ and their actions and claim there is no love there. To them I say, WRONG. Love takes many forms and one of those forms is truth. Truth is hard. When we are confronted with truth, it tends to sting, even for those following Christ. The truth of the matter is there is a difference in the righteous and the evil. The evil do not get to inherit the Kingdom of God where the righteous are heirs with Jesus. The evil will be separated from the righteous and be cast out where the righteous will find rest in the LORD.

The righteous have accepted Christ as their savior and thanks to the love of the LORD, they do the work assigned. The righteous do not do the work to get something and be rewarded, they do it out of love for the LORD and know that it is just a small payment for the sacrifice of Jesus taking on their sin. The work is not repayment, only a small payment toward repayment. The righteous know that there is not enough payment to repay the LORD, yet the payment is made anyway and the righteous will continue with the payments until the time is come.

By contrast, the evil pay and expect to receive. They do a little work to get something out of it, not to repay, but to buy. They feel as though they are owed and when it does not come, they are return to the evil. As they return, they lash out and call out the LORD for somehow being less than loving and against them when in reality it is they who are less than loving and against the LORD.

This is the reason for the separation of the evil from the righteous. The righteous are seeking to repay the debt owed (even as it cannot be repaid) and the evil are looking to pay for acceptance. The evil cannot buy the LORD (even as they try) and the righteous continue to receive from the LORD in the form of love, grace, and the Kingdom of God.

What is your view of the righteous and the evil? Are you somehow expectant that all are equal and will receive the same regardless of which they are? What if you understood that there is a significant difference and accept the love of the LORD and seek to repay Him as opposed to paying Him?

Righteous from the LORD

“⁷For the LORD is righteous;

he loves righteous deeds;

the upright shall behold his face.”

— Psalm 11:7 (ESV)

Yes, you see that right. Being righteous comes directly from the LORD. He is where we learn of being righteous as we follow His example. Jesus was righteous and as my example I have the proper way to be righteous myself.

When I am doing the will of God as He spells out for me to do, I will find myself righteous in those moments. I want to be careful with what I say here in that I do not want to declare myself righteous, as only God can declare someone righteous. What I can and will say is that my deeds will be righteous as I conduct them in the will of the LORD.

Recently I was fortunate to listen to the Dean of Dallas Theological Seminary-Houston, Dr. Pierre Cannings speak on the history of God and how His history shows us the future of God through His consistency throughout history which will be consistent through the now and throughout the future. Where the entire message was fantastic, one thing that stood out to me was that I do nothing and that God is the author and director of all that happens in my life. This hits me this morning as I study in that I get all from the LORD and including the example of righteous behaviors.

I certainly do not consider myself righteous. I struggle daily with sin and staying focused on Him. There are a lot of distractions in this world, including those that lead me to believe I had something to do with it. It is not me, it is God working in and through me. Yes, I pick up the hammer to hit the nail, but it is God who gave me the nail and hammer and the physical ability to use them.

Being positive, empowered, or good are attributes that are certainly important to have. But, being righteous trumps all of those. Being righteous is will lead to those attributes, they will not lead to being righteous. I have to continue studying God’s Word to find righteousness. I know where it lies and comes from and that is with the LORD. My job is to do the will of God and allow Him to see me always doing so. This will please Him and maybe, just maybe He will consider me righteous.

Where do you find yourself looking for righteousness? Are you looking/finding it in your own actions and through being positive, empowered, or good? What if you looked to the LORD as the source of righteousness and strive to be like His example and allow Him to declare your righteousness?

Forgiveness for All

This morning I continue in the book of Acts in my study of “forgiveness”. I am in chapter 10 at the passage titled in my bible, “Gentiles Hear the Good News”. I am drawn to this passage and title as I feel as though Peter is speaking directly to me as a Gentile.

“³⁴So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.’” — Acts 10:34-35 (ESV)

What a great opening to the passage. God is for all who acceptably do what is right and within His will. Peter makes it known right away that the gospel, grace, and salvation are for everyone and not just a select few. It is only required to repent, be forgiven, be baptized to be accepted into the family of God.

It seems like a simple thing, and it is. There are other parts that may make it more difficult, yet once one has been accepted into the family of God through forgiveness of sin, those more difficult things would become much less daunting. The prospects of contentment are solidified through the knowing that God will care for all of our needs and the rest just gets in the way or can be used for His glory. Take the instance of the young rich man who rejected Jesus as he could not part with all of his riches to follow Jesus (Matthew 19:16-22). As he was looking at only the physical, he missed out on the opportunity to enjoy and be a part of the family of God. He was not excluded based on God, but based on his own. He was not willing to do what was acceptably right in the eyes of God. It was his actions, or lack of actions.

I have to remember that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And that is not just those who are “bad” but every one of us. Knowing that I have a better view of the words of Peter here at the end of the passage in Acts.

“⁴³To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” — Acts 10:43 (ESV)

“Everyone” is afforded the opportunity for the forgiveness of sins. The pathway is clear and is noted continually throughout God’s Word. Grace and salvation is for ALL who, repent, are forgiven, are baptized to demonstrate the new, clean self, and then going to do the work of God wherever He asks you to go.

What do you know of those who are or have the opportunity for salvation? Are you of the opinion that only certain people are afforded the opportunity? What if you instead took the approach that ALL have the opportunity for grace and salvation through repentance, forgiveness, and baptism?

Bring the Gospel, as Long as it Takes

How long does it take to bring the gospel to others? Well that is a bit of a loaded question and the only answer that I can think of to get it right would be, as long as it takes.

“²⁸And Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?’ ²⁹And Paul said, ‘Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.’” — Acts 26:28-29 (ESV)

Paul was doing the work of Christ and time was on his side. Whether he would work for a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, etc… he was putting in the work for the LORD. I have to be willing to do the same. I have to put in the work and not give up at the first sign of challenge or resistance. I have to take the time that is needed to get the job done.

Now, there are times when my work is not to get to the end. My role may only be to set the stage or plant the seed and someone else will be there to cultivate and complete the work. I think of those that lead at camps. Their role is to get things started and then someone else continues the work. When kids attend sports camp, they are introduced to drills to build their skills. The same is said for those who attend band camps, or adult who go on a Walk to Emmaus. The purpose is to begin the process and then take it further when you go away or back to where you come from. The work is completed later and the result is realized.

There are also times when the work is not completed due to the person receiving was not receptive at all. Even Jesus did the work and the receiver was not willing to accept and simply walked away, as seen below:

“²¹Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ ²²When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ²³And Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.’” — Matthew 19:21-23 (ESV)

Jesus did not pursue the man for it was clear that he was not willing to do that which was necessary to belong to Christ. The man was not receptive and walked away. I have to remember that there are times when it is the right thing to do to simply move on and not through good work after a situation that will not reach the end. I have to go back to the idea that maybe my role is to simply plant the seed and allow the work to be completed later when the receiver is ready and willing to accept.

And all of this brings me back to the idea of taking as long as it takes when bringing the gospel. I have to not give up, but understand when I am speaking to the wall and not being received. As the questions keep coming, I continue providing answers. When the other is not questioning and they are arguing, then the time has come to allow for others to complete the work. Questions are asked by those seeking answers and knowledge. Arguing comes from those who have already decided and are simply wanting you to capitulate to their way of thinking and anything said contrary to their thought is rejected or not heard. I have to remember to stick to the gospel and take the lead of Paul and continue as long as it takes when those receiving are receptive.

What is your timeline for bringing the gospel? Are you saying the words and moving on? What if you were to stay with those who are receptive for as long as it takes to complete the work?