Shepherd of the Springs
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

Then the King will say to those on His right, "Come you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world". . . .And the King will say to them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me." (vss. 34, 40)

Today we come to the second to the last Sunday of the Church year. It is called Judgment Day Sunday. When the topic turns to that climactic return of Christ and what he will do when he returns, we recall the words we have already spoken in the Nicene Creed: He shall come again with glory, to judge both the living and the dead. Judgment Day is often painted with rather frightful images depicting the execution of a terrible justice of the Lord. Many great artists and composers through history have cemented this kind impression about that day with vivid strains of awful splendor, and fear. Rather than being a time when Christians, celebrate the return of their King, the thought of Judgment Day from these images can raise questions of doubt: I wonder how I will be judged? What will the Lord be thinking about me?

From the standpoint of Christ and his Church, it might be better to call Judgment Day, recognition day - for that is exactly what it will be for all who gather on either side of the exalted Lord. In this life, the people of God live a rather ambiguous existence. The question of just who are the real believers in Christ and how can you know who they are has always been a rather problematic issue. Since most just intuitively understand that faith is a rather subjective hidden affair . . . people have turned to the book of James and since faith without works is dead . . . it has been popular to understand that real Christian faith can, on the whole, be spotted by works. Sometimes this understanding can be put in a rather uncomfortable way. For instance: If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Hmmm? Questions like make you wonder about how alive your faith is don’t they? Is it good enough? Is it strong enough? Will Jesus count me among his own when He returns? Let’s get at the issue by a question: If your faith be true, does it have to have good works that others can readily see? Perhaps we can ask the question in a more personal way: Do you have to have good works that you yourself can readily see?

The answer is YES and NO. On the one hand your works generated by a genuine faith are certainly visible here on earth. But on the other hand, what kind of faith is generating the works is not. The works may be seen, but they do not reveal a faith in Christ from those who may well be unbelievers or hypocrites. Jesus indicated in the parable of the weeds and the wheat, that even laborers in the Church are not in a position to make accurate judgments that would be able to separate the weeds from the wheat - the sons of the Devil from the sons of God. Jesus told his disciples, I know my own and my own know me, and no one shall be able to snatch them out of my hand. He did not say that we all know one another.

It is certainly true that Christ is made manifest now in the world in his Gospel as it is preached and taught. And, the members of His body express their faith in prayer, praise, and works of love that certainly others may see. But, about you own live and works, that is not all they see, is it? You come here each Sunday and the first thing that you do is confess that your life is shot through with sins and transgressions that make you poor miserable sinners. People see that about you also don’t they? And if that be so: what about the proverbial question: where’s the love!?

Faith without works may be dead, but works contribute nothing to a faith being alive. Moreover, when it comes to works, we are folks with a lot of duplicity, yes? The old song should go: They will know we are Christians because we are in the needs-improvement category - yes? The truth of the matter is this: we can search our own hearts for faith and it is known by God, but a clear judgment about faith by works in this life is just not possible - not by others . . . and not even by us. The Law may show you what a good work IS, but it does not show you yours. The Law always accuses sinners of sin, not good works. In this life the good works of believers are articles of faith. Here in the world, the Church is hidden under a cloud of sinners. Others can readily see that you are a sinner and you have agreed with them already this morning in our confessional, have you not? But, what they cannot see in your heart is the righteousness of Christ that wrapped you up the words of His holy absolution. They cannot see your adoption into His family in your baptism.

But now, someday . . . someday its going to be different. Someday, the light will shine on all believers in such a way that all will know that they belong to Christ. Someday it will be revealed that you are indeed a true believer. And that someday is what is Jesus is speaking of in our text. It is Judgment Day. Judgment Day is not when believers can finally know if are truly children of God, its when everyone else gets to know. On Judgment Day, Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, and all will be able to see, why each is on the side that Jesus has drawn.

Notice how Jesus paints the scene. The believers are made manifest by the works that are done in service to Him. Christians do good works of love, but so do nonbelievers. But only believers do works in faith in Christ out of fear, love, and trust in God and it is this connection to Christ that makes them good and acceptable. This is what cannot be seen in this life, but what Jesus will make manifest to all on Judgment Day. Here He will enable everyone to finally make the judgment. The judgment of God about you and your fitness for the Kingdom was made on the cross of Christ. It was there that God rendered his judgment about you and the checkered character of your works. You have been acquitted, pardoned, forgiven. And your works have been wrapped up in the righteousness of Christ. There is no doubt in God’s mind about you belonging to him. He made his claim on you as his son or daughter in your baptism. Remember, in this life, the Law shows two things: It shows you what good works are, but about you - it only shows you your sins. That is what it is supposed to do . . . to make you repentant and keep your faith hungry and feeding on the grace of Christ. But on Judgment Day, it will be just the opposite. The Lord will reveal and glorify your good works, but your sinful works will all gone - swallowed up in His righteousness. Then, all will know you are a Christian by your love.

And what’s more, Jesus shows us that Judgment Day is the day that Jesus pulls a reverse. In this life, as a new creation in Christ, you honor Him in all that you do. He gets all the glory . . . in your prayers, your praise, your thanksgiving, and your works of faith that serve your neighbor, day in and day out. But on Judgment Day, Jesus is going to honor you. He will parade your fruit of faith for all creation to behold. They will shine like jewels in your crown of life. Just you wait and see . . .and so will everybody else!

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. A-men.