“Justification, Pt. 2” Sermon

“Justification, Pt. 2” is a sermon preached from Selected Scriptures, by Michael Beatty, pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin – a confessional Reformed Baptist church subscribing to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.

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Opening Prayer and Purpose

I want to look at a couple of uses of the way the New Testament uses the term “justification,” forming the basis of the way that we think about our Christian life as we move forward to practical matters in the weeks ahead. But let’s begin with a word of prayer.

Father, we thank You for Your kindness towards us in the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You especially for the many blessings You’ve bestowed upon us that we get to enjoy together when we gather as Your people. We would ask, especially as we gather to worship You here in a short while, that You would cause us by Your Spirit to all the more look to Christ. And we ask that You would cause us to hear His voice this day—for our good and Your glory. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

Introduction to Matthew 25 and the Final Judgment

Let’s look at Matthew chapter 25 as we begin this morning. Last week, we broke down justification into three categories, if you remember. One of them was: justification is a salvific act. In other words, we looked at a number of verses showing how it’s the righteousness of Christ imputed to us.

The second one, which is kind of where we stopped for some questions, was: it’s a forensic act—a judicial sense. There’s a judgment that’s made. And finally, the third point that we’re going to look at today, along with the second part of “it’s a forensic act,” is that it’s definitive.

I want to look in Matthew chapter 25 to highlight this, starting in verse 31. I want to pull out one of the questions that was asked last week, kind of talking about our Roman Catholic neighbors and how they see justification—how they often ask about purgatory, or what about sins we haven’t fully confessed, etc.

Relevance for a Catholic Context

I want to highlight here in Matthew 25 a couple of things to start us off, and then we’ll look at a number of other verses as we move along. I simply want to do that because Milwaukee is very Catholic, as you all know better than I do. And because of that, that’s probably who we’re going to be interacting with the most. So I want to spend some more time on those details rather than dealing with things that aren’t really relevant for our neighbors here.

The Son of Man on the Last Day (Matthew 25:31–33)

Matthew chapter 25, speaking about the last day:

Verse 31: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.”

Pausing there for a moment: we’re talking about the last day—His coming in judgment. Notice that He’s coming in His glory and will be seated on His glorious throne. His ruling and reigning will be in their fullest visible extent upon the earth at that time. We’re not talking about any other day except the last day.

That’s important because, as we’ll see moving forward, the judgment that we want to hear ultimately is echoed on the last day. That’s the important one. When we think about closing our eyes in death, what we’re really concerned about is: have I already received that judgment now? In other words, can I close my eyes in death and know where I’m going—with any reasonable level of certainty?

Verse 32: “Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”

Pausing again: all the nations—that’s everybody. Everyone who has drawn breath is present there on the last day. There isn’t a section already in a place we might call purgatory. There’s no one anywhere else. Everyone is gathered here. Christ will separate people into two categories: sheep or goats. And that’s important. There aren’t people who will eventually become sheep or goats. You’re either a sheep or a goat on the last day.

Verse 33: “He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.”

Pausing again: it’s already apparent—just as a shepherd moves the sheep and goats to one side or the other—that people already know what judgment they’re going to receive. If you’re a goat, you’re on the left; you’ll receive one judgment. If you’re a sheep, you’re on the right; you’ll receive another judgment.

It’s being pictured in a very rural setting, but they’ve already received their judgment. Christ is simply going to echo what’s already true. In other words, the judgment’s already been rendered.

We talked about this a couple of weeks ago. For everyone born of woman—that’s everyone—we’ve already received the judgment, which is death. We know that because we see its effects in our lives: corruption and death.

The Two Judgments: Sheep and Goats

The only other option we can have—if we want a different judgment—is to look to another. And that’s Christ. So the goats are simply receiving what we all have already received from Adam if we’re apart from Christ. But if we’re in Christ, we are sheep. It’s just a separating out of people.

Verse 34: “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by 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 welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.'”

The sheep—when Christ says, “You are the righteous; all these things are true of you”—they respond:

“Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?”

And the King will answer them:

“Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”

The Righteous Do Not Plead Their Merits

Just pausing there. Notice—the righteous aren’t pleading their merits. They don’t say, “I did enough good that You should let me in.” Instead, they say they have no standing based on their own merits. But the Lord credits it to them because, in verse 34, they are “blessed by My Father.”

It’s ultimately going back again to what’s already been said concerning them. The only way someone has that standing before the Lord as a sheep is because of the action of God Himself—ultimately through justification.

The Basis of Judgment: Not Confession or Deeds, but Christ

That’s really important—going back to the question last week about, “What if I don’t confess a sin before I die that I knowingly committed? What if I didn’t do certain things that I should have done?”

Ultimately, we see here—they’re not entering into the kingdom because they did these things. Because they themselves said, “When did we do any of these things?” They’re entering into rest because they are blessed by the Father, because they have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ, because of what Christ did.

The Condemnation of the Goats

Verse 41: “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'”

Here’s their response:

“Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’”

Then He will answer them:

“Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Two Very Different Responses

So on the last day, when those being sent into eternal judgment are questioned—“Why didn’t you do these things?”—they say, “When did we not do it?” They are pleading their own merits: “We’ve done all these things.” But ultimately, they still receive that judgment of condemnation because they are seeking to justify themselves by the works of the law, not by looking to Christ.

That’s important.

And we’ll look at a variety of other verses this morning, but here—and in a variety of other passages—we see that the judgment is already rendered on the last day at the resurrection.

The Comfort of Already Rendered Judgment

That’s really comforting if you think about it, because we’ll all be there. You’ve already received the judgment. You’re not standing there hoping: “I really hope He says I’m a sheep.” You’re already a sheep or a goat.

And while that’s not a good judgment in itself (to be a goat), the way each group approaches works is very different:

• Those in Christ say, “When did we do any of these things?” Because our sin is ever before our eyes, as David says in Psalm 51. We’re not pleading our own merits—we’re looking to Christ.
• The non-Christian says, “When did we not do any of these things?” They think they have done enough, or that their works count for something.

And that really is the difference between those who look to justification as a standing before the Lord based on what Christ has done and those who say, “There’s something I did to add to, make up for, or complete what Christ has already done.”

The Danger of Adding Good Works to Justification

That is a very important distinction.

If good works form any part of the basis for justification, it changes everything. Then it’s no longer something Christ has already secured for you—it becomes something you have to earn or claim for yourself.

Even if it’s just one good work you need to do in your life—what if you miss the opportunity? Because we all sin.

What if we don’t confess a sin, as in the question from last week? When can we ever say that we’ve fully confessed every sin? Our hearts are deceitful—who can know them? Not even ourselves.

How could we ever say, “I fully confessed every sin”?

There Is No Gradation of Sin

We’re kidding ourselves if we think we can. And there isn’t even a gradation of sin. Even one sin is worthy of death. There aren’t some sins that God will “let slide” while others send you straight to hell. There’s no gradation there either.

That’s what’s being laid out here in Matthew 25.

Isaiah 50: Christ, Our Vindication

I want to look at some New Testament verses to corroborate this as we go along, before looking at how justification is definitive. But I do want to pause here because I know these verses—or this series of verses—are not typically appealed to when discussing justification. They were new for me the first time I heard them as well.

I want to pause because these verses often come up in conversations about the last days, rather than salvation.

Another thing I might mention is that with younger folks today, the term “goat” can stand for “greatest of all time.” That’s something that, as time goes on, we’ll have to clarify. Goats are not good in Matthew 25.

Okay, let’s keep moving along then. I want to look at Isaiah 50:8 again.

Vindication in Isaiah 50

As we’re turning there and hearing about how there’s already this separation, we’re reminded that we have already received our judgment.

Now in Isaiah 50:8:

“He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.”

So ultimately, when we have our conscience accusing us—or others do, or the accuser of the brethren does—or even when someone questions whether the judgment we have already received is true, we need to remember: there is One who ever stands to plead for us, and it is Christ.

So again, our judgment is secure because Christ vindicates us.

If someone asks, “Have you done this, this, and this?”—we say, “Look to Christ.” Christ is the one who vindicates me. That’s who we’re looking to on the last day.

Justification Declared in Luke 7

Turning back to the New Testament, in Luke chapter 7, I want to look at a couple of other uses of the term justification in the New Testament.

The reason I want to do that is because often, when we’re talking to our neighbors who are trying to justify themselves by the works of the law—and there’s probably a more charitable way to say that (because that’s their hope; I’m not trying to be critical)—they wouldn’t say they’re doing that. They’re just trying to establish: “How can I have any hope of heaven?”

So I’m just trying to describe what they’re doing.

They’ll often appeal to verses like these. The New Testament uses the word “justify” in a variety of ways. And it’s important, when we get to these verses, to understand how the word is being used so we don’t get our wires crossed and come to the wrong conclusion.

Luke 7:29–30: “When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.”

So here again, we see something similar to what we saw throughout the Old Testament: justification is simply declaring something to be true. It’s a judgment—it reflects reality.

Our justification is a declaration about our standing before God—whether we are condemned or declared righteous because of Christ.

Romans 3: Not Justified by the Law

Romans chapter 3—let’s look again at verse 19.

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

If you think back to Matthew 25, when the Lord says to the sheep, “You did all these things”—that’s really just a summary of the law:

• You fed the hungry,
• You clothed the naked,
• You were kind to the stranger.

It’s a broad way of saying, “You upheld the law.” And the sheep say, “We didn’t do that,” because they’re looking to Christ.

But the goats say, “When did we not do that?”—as if to say they did uphold the law.

That’s why this verse is important.

Original Condemnation in Adam

We’ve already received our judgment as those born of Eve (not blaming Eve, of course—but we’re born under the curse). So we cannot be justified by the law because we’re already unrighteous at the moment of birth.

We need to look to another.

So ultimately, anytime we think, “My justification is based on doing A, B, C, and D,” we’re saying, “I believe I can be justified by the law.”

And that’s problematic.

Paul is very clear: we can’t do that.

So the forensic judgment we’re seeking is simply this: crying out to Christ.

Romans 5: Condemnation in Adam, Justification in Christ

I want to turn over to Romans 5 to see that the judgment that comes to those who seek justification by the law is ultimately condemnation, while those who receive Christ are given justification as a free gift.

Let’s pick up in verse 15 and read through verse 17:

“But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many.

And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation…”

Pausing there: notice it says, “the judgment following one trespass.” That’s speaking of Adam. He took from the tree that he was not supposed to take from. He ate, and in that day, he what? He died.

So the judgment came, and everyone that descends from Adam receives that same judgment.

“But the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.”

So after all of our sin and guilt, there’s a new judgment—justification, the declaration of righteousness. That’s the new word over us because of Christ.

Two Possible Judgments

So you can either say:

• “I want to be judged by my works,”
  —in which case the judgment is condemnation, already received in Adam.

OR

• “I want to stand in Christ,”
  —in which case the judgment is justification, and you receive life in His name.

Verse 18: “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.”

So the question is: Are you going to stand in Adam and receive the judgment that everyone in Adam receives?

Or are you going to stand in Christ, crying out to Him and looking to Him?

Justification Frees the Christian Life

Wrapping this point up: the forensic act of justification is simply a judgment about what someone has done. You either look to the law—and are condemned—or you look to Christ—and receive life.

The upshot of all this is that we cannot look to anything we do (or haven’t done) to establish our standing before the Lord or to cause us to doubt that standing. We are looking to Christ and what He has done.

And that frees us in the Christian life to do all manner of good works joyfully, because we’re not worried about what our judgment will be on the last day.

Serving Out of Joy, Not Fear

We can serve with joy. Think about the difference between someone working under a taskmaster—hoping their performance is enough to be accepted—and someone who has already been welcomed and is now free to serve from a place of love and rest.

The first leads to anxiety and fear: “Why won’t they accept my best effort?” The second leads to peace: “Christ has done it all.”

So if I’ve already been declared righteous, I can now live freely under Him. I can love the Lord and love my neighbor without self-interest.

Let’s think about this practically:

• If I see someone hungry—and I’m trying to establish myself by works of the law—then I feed them out of fear: “If I don’t, I’ll be like the goats and go into hellfire.”
• But if I’m freed up because I’m looking to Christ, then I feed them because I love them, because they’re made in the image of God, and I love my neighbor as myself.

That’s very different.

Seeing with Gospel Clarity

It’s like when you were a kid and had those glasses with the red lenses, and you looked through them and everything turned red. The Bible sometimes does that when it speaks about the last things. It looks at the final analysis, and that becomes the lens.

When we talk to our neighbors, they often don’t realize what they’re doing. We’re the same way—we’re not always aware of why we’re doing what we’re doing. Sometimes it takes us a while to understand our intentions or motives.

So don’t go out and hammer people by saying, “This is what you’re doing!” They may not be aware. You can say, gently and in love, “This is what Scripture teaches.”

Many people who are seeking to justify themselves by works of the law really do love people. But there is still that ulterior motive of serving self, of securing a standing on the last day.

The Ground of Our Freedom

The reason I’ve spent so much time on this point is because it really does form the ground and basis for our Christian life: we’re freed up to do all these things because of what Christ has done for us.

So we can love freely, without any self-motivated fear or insecurity. We can turn the other cheek, we can forgive, we can care for the needy—things only made possible by the Spirit—because we already have rest in Christ.

That’s something the world does not have. We’re not working for our judgment; we’ve already received it in Christ.

Looking Ahead to the Definitive Nature of Justification

So ultimately, this is a forensic matter—it’s a legal judgment. Next week, we’ll look at how justification is definitive. We’ve already laid the groundwork for that today. I think it should be fairly clear where we’re going.

But I still want to highlight some verses to show that this isn’t just a logical conclusion, but something Scripture explicitly teaches.

 

Q&A on Matthew 25 and Good Works

Let’s pause here for any final questions.

Paul: In verse 35, where Christ says, “For I was hungry…”—that seems to be explaining something. How should we think of that? Is this the evidence that we’ve been blessed by the Father, or is it more that Christ has done it, and we are in Him, and therefore we’ve done it?

That’s a good question. I take it more as the second option—that they’ve done all these things as they are in Christ.

There is, in a lesser sense, a call for Christians to do these things—as James says, “true religion is visiting widows and orphans.” So there is a sense in which that lays out what we should be doing.

But ultimately, I think the emphasis in Matthew 25 is on what Christ has done, and that judgment is based on His work, not ours.

Paul: So you’re thinking it’s pointing to the active obedience of Christ, not to our works as evidence?

Yes, exactly. Even in verses 37–39, their response is, “When did we do that?” They aren’t appealing to their own efforts or merits.

So if you imagine an earthly courtroom, and a judge says, “Here’s the law—you did all these things,” and you say, “I didn’t do any of that!”—well, then either someone did it for you, or the judge is ignoring the law (a legal fiction), or the judge is perverting justice altogether.

But in the Gospel, the judge declares us righteous because someone has done it for us—Christ. That’s why we spent time last week establishing that justification is salvific and real, not a fiction or a distortion.

Ben: So you’re saying that verses 37–39, they’re not declaring their own works, but Christ’s?

Yes. If they were appealing to their own works, they’d be trying to justify themselves by the law, which Romans 3 forbids. So I take it that they are looking to Christ, not to themselves.

Now, of course, we do need to do those things—they’re part of our calling. But they don’t form the basis of our standing before God.

If we said that the sheep are accepted because they did all these good works—even though they say they didn’t—that introduces a contradiction with the Gospel itself.

That’s why I’ve been highlighting this point: I want to talk about the basis or ground of our standing before God—what undergirds everything.

We’ll come back to verses like this in the coming weeks to talk about how, because we’ve already received our judgment, we’re freed to do good works—not to earn anything, but because we love the Lord and love our neighbor.

Ben: And then in verse 40, when Jesus says, “As you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me”—that’s more about loving your neighbor out of love for Christ, not trying to earn salvation?

Yes. That’s how I would take it.

They’re doing those things because they love Christ. So when they feed the hungry or clothe the poor, they are doing it for Christ’s sake, even if the immediate recipient is a person.

That reinforces the idea that this judgment is after they’ve already been declared righteous. Because we love only after we’ve been loved. As Scripture says: “We love because He first loved us.”

So the works mentioned in judgment come after justification, and they flow from it. And again, that makes all the difference. On paper, many Roman Catholics—or others—might agree with a lot of this. But when you really press on the question, “Is there anything I must do to be sure I’ll be saved?”—that’s where the differences emerge.

Carrie: Do you know how the Catholic Church would phrase their belief in works-oriented salvation?

I’d have to look up the exact wording. It’s in the Catechism. Generally, they talk about grace and cooperation with grace.

Pope Benedict, for instance, shifted a lot in their language. Compared to Pope John Paul II, and now Francis, there’s a lot of variation.

Benedict’s catechism sounded pretty good at times, but when you dig into the details, it still affirms that you need to do certain things to be saved or avoid purgatory. So the structure remains: grace is needed, but you must cooperate with it.

There was a saying in Martin Luther’s day that sums it up: “God does not deny favor to those who do what lies within them.” In other words: “Do your best, and God will accept you.”

And that still persists in much of Roman Catholicism today. So you’ll meet very kind, generous, well-meaning people who sincerely want to do what’s right. But at the end of the day, their hope is still partly grounded in what they do.

Carrie: That makes sense, thank you.

Final Thoughts and Next Week

Okay, well, we are at time again. Which is fine—I really want this Sunday school class to allow space for questions. I’d much rather have good, thoughtful discussion than rush through a rigid plan.

I do have an outline of where I’d like to go each week, but I’m happy to adjust that based on our conversation.

So please, keep asking questions. As we move forward, we’ll look next week at justification as a definitive act. We’ve already laid a lot of the groundwork today, but I want to make sure we see that this is not just a logical conclusion—it’s something Scripture teaches explicitly.

Thanks, everyone.