Sheep and Goats, Wheat and Tares. How Do I Know the Difference (Part 1)

Am I really a Christian? I wonder how many “Christians” ask themselves this question. I ponder this thought just about every single day. I have been criticized by many well-meaning brothers and sisters for stating that I am not always sure I am even saved. I understand their thoughts when we discuss this. I want to be clear; I believe that salvation is by grace and grace alone. I also believe in the doctrine of divine election. I have a difficult time imagining anyone else believes any stronger than I, that God does the work of salvation. But the truth of it all is that there are false professions and there are many who have been deluded into thinking they are heaven bound, when in truth, they are in eternal despair. The main basis of the work of Satan is to deceive people and what more effective deception might there be than that of someone thinking they are Christ’s, when in truth they are not.

The scriptures are clear that there are tares and wheat, there are sheep and goats. Jesus told the parable of the tares among wheat. Read it again. It isn’t hard to understand. But there is a key verse to consider. Matthew chapter 13, verse 30 Jesus said that the tares should be allowed to grow amongst the wheat. Why? Not because the tares might be influenced by the wheat and change what they are. No, it was because telling the difference is hard for us to tell, so Jesus said that “while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.”

The only conclusion to make in this is that tares and wheat are hard to separate. In other words, until the harvest they will grow together. But at the harvest, Jesus will have the reapers “gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up.”

Consider that in terms of this scripture reading.

2 Corinthians 13:5
“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”

I don’t want to fail the test. The test is the difference between heaven and hell. Jesus explains the coming judgment in Matthew 25:31-46. We must understand the truth He speaks of here. It’s the sheep and the goats and it is important. You see the goats don’t seem to understand that they are not sheep, they do not grasp that Jesus is the Great Shepherd that herds sheep, not goats. Listen to the what happens to those who have allowed themselves to be deceived.

Matthew 25:45-46
"Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

The truth of the Gospel is not just that you get a free trip to Heaven. What Jesus is saying is that when He saves us, He puts His Holy Spirit in us and He gifts and empowers us to live an obedient life. This is why it’s called being Born Again. The truly saved are transformed into obedient bond-servants of Christ. They are changed from a people who rebel and deny His word, into people that love Jesus and that are proven to be the real thing, through obedience. No, most of us are not instantly turned into perfect Christians, it is certainly a change that continues until we are reunited with Christ and taken into His presence. But if our lives do not reflect a repentant heart, meaning we agree with God and His Word that what He says is right and it is our desire to follow Him, then we are in danger.

I am not trying to pass judgement on anyone. I am just asking us as Christians to encourage and keep an eye on each other by sharing the truth of the scriptures. Listen to Paul as He states this in 1 Corinthians 11:31, “But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.”

We must judge ourselves and the judgment is to look at how we line up with scripture.

Ponder this over. Read the Bible and search out the scriptures I share, comparing them with the entire counsel of scripture. Then consider judging yourself.

I will write more on this next time. I want to see what are the behaviors that should tell me I am truly Christ’s? Then I can be sure I have not deceived myself.

How To Be a Good Steward For God

Success in the world is based on numbers. In my nearly forty-year career at AT&T we were always rated on how the numbers came up. How fast did I complete my repairs, how often did the customer call back within thirty days, and at what level were they satisfied with the experience? Most of you who work in the business world can relate. But those numbers didn’t always tell the whole story. I was in customer service and I was on the front line. I went into the homes of our customers and was face to face with them. Sometimes, in order to give them the right service, I had to take more time than I was allotted. Sometimes, the things I did not only fixed that customer’s trouble, I prevented others from losing their service as well. That never showed up on a report.

Jeremiah was one of God’s chosen prophets. Look at Jeremiah’s numbers and you will find a failure. He preached to the same people for over forty years and very few believed him and obeyed. How many friends did Jeremiah have that encouraged him? Imagine his Facebook feed. Though he spoke as God’s prophet, the nation he was sent to, continued to ignore God’s message and ended up in a disastrous mess. Would any church today even consider hiring a man whose preaching was like his?

Jeremiah, to the world, is a failure. But he didn’t work for them; he worked for God. Listen to the Word of God as it instructs us as to how we are to serve.

1 Corinthians 4:2
Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

Faithfulness is more important to God then numbers on a spread sheet. The church is not a corporation and the church is not a factory. Quotas and numbers are not our work; they are God’s. Our work in all ministry is to simply be faithful to what God has called us to do. If we gain nothing else from studying the life of Jeremiah and the prophets, we ought to see this fact.

Paul explains how ministry works in 1 Corinthians 3:5-7

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Only God gives the growth. God assigns a task to each of us and we are called to be faithful to that task. If one plants a seed and that is his only task, then he goes on to the next field to do his work, he may never see the growth, much less the final plant at harvest.

Jeremiah was faithful to God’s calling. His ministry wasn’t about making him feel good. His ministry was so hard that he is even known as the “weeping prophet.” Who wants a ministry that brings so much sorrow? A faithful servant of God.

The end desire of each and every Christian in this life ought to be to become like Jesus. That is the reward. Jesus suffered greatly on this earth. Jeremiah was like Jesus for he was willing to suffer for his calling. Jeremiah was faithful just as Paul was. Hear the truth of what the Christian is about.

Philippians 3:7-11
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Jeremiah shared in the sufferings of Christ. Paul shared in the sufferings of Christ. Why? So that they could know Him, so that they could know the power of His resurrection, and so that they could become like Him.

Our call is to be faithful. For some, their ministry might be filled with joy every day. For others, not so much.

Church, we must stop trying to do God’s work and simply be faithful to what God calls us to do. We must simply be faithful. Faithful to serve God, not the world and its methods.

Do you want to be a good steward of God?

1 Corinthians 4:1-2
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

God's Word Cannot Be Imprisoned

2 Timothy 2:8-9
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.

The Word of God is not imprisoned. Our work as disciples of Jesus is to go where He sends us. Here in America, we aren't yet often imprisoned for speaking God's Word, though that day is probably coming. But we are often shut down by co-workers, neighbors, and many other sources of scoffers. They try to silence those who speak God's Word.

Take note this morning; God's Word is not imprisoned. Our job is to endure whatever comes in response to us speaking out His Word. God's Word is the truth. The world needs to hear the truth, even when they don't like the message.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

People do not want to hear God's Word, for it cuts and it pierces our very soul and our spirit. It judges the thoughts and it judges the intent of our hearts. People do not want to hear that. So, why must we share it?

Hebrews 4:13
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Because even though they deny His very existence, or they twist His Word to allow them to continue in wanton debauchery, God sees them, and He will pass judgment on them. Go has told us to go into the world with His Word and share the truth so that they shall not perish but might have eternal life.

They will try and lock up God's Word. They can lock us up for speaking it; But they can never imprison His Word.

Paul went on to say this and to be our example.

2 Timothy 2:10-13
For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

We must endure all things and continue to stand for God's Word.

God's Word cannot be imprisoned.