The Sheep and the Goats

Introduction

I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to 1 John 5. The text for this morning is verses 10-12. I have titled this sermon “The Sheep and the Goats.” 1 John 5, starting in verse 10… As we come to the end of verses 1-12, John gives us a final push concerning belief and unbelief.

I do not want to assume, but I would think that for most of us we could spot an unbelieving person quite easily. We see it in the way they live and act. But what about those who are more clever and cunning. I am not talking about the high profile “former Christian” who is no longer a believer. I am down more the alley of the clever deceiver. The one whom you might truly believe is a born-again Christian. The one who seems to have a dynamic way about him/her. Someone that you might be very surprised to not see in heaven.

John wants you and I to absolutely certain about our salvation and the salvation of others. Now we do not know for certain of heart condition, but we do know how Christians are to live and act. This morning, I want us to break down what it means to be a sheep and a goat. I offer three ways to see this. First, Belief and Unbelief in verse 10, second, The Determinative Testimony in verse 11, and third, Life and Death as we see it in verse 12. You will notice as we go through this text this morning that we progress from belief and unbelief to the fulfillment found in life and death. John never wants us to settle and always brings our minds into focus the eternal ramifications of the life we live.

1. Belief and Unbelief (v.10)

The first way that we distinguish the sheep, and the goats is by seeing belief against unbelief. We begin in order with the subject of belief. Here we see another way to view belief. As we have seen with other topics throughout this epistle, there is not one set way in which belief is applied. Belief is a part of what it means to overcome (1 John 5:5), belief has been seen to be foundational (1 John 5:1), belief is the means in which God abides in us (1 John 4:16), belief is a commandment to be adhered to (1 John 3:23-24), and in our text belief is a possession, specifically found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look with me in verse 10. Notice that the text says that by believing you and I possess the testimony of Jesus Christ within ourselves. Now this is not to mean that we literally have a physical possession of this belief. You and I do not go around carrying our belief in our back pockets, if you will. In other words, it is not something tangible. There are blessings for you and me as we think on this, this morning.

You could say that this verse also leans into the idea that belief is something that cannot be lost or forgotten. And you would be correct in saying this. It is not that you and I have such a strong grip on our belief that we do not lose it. No! It is the permanent implant of belief that is given to you and me by God Himself. If the grip needed depended upon you and me, we surely would have lost our grip a long time ago. The very first moment that we would have expressed any doubt at all, our faith would have been shaken and our belief may have very well been in question. How often do you and I waver in our belief from time to time. Even those who are regarded in high esteem had doubts. Turn with me to Luke 7. I want to read of one such occasion as found in verses 18-22. Luke 7, starting in verse 18… Do you remember what was said about John the Baptist by the mouth of our Lord? He is regarded in high esteem when Jesus said, “among those born of women there is no one greater than John” (Luke 7:28). And yet, even John had his doubts.

Since this is the case in John the Baptist, we need Someone greater than him to bring forth this possession of belief. We are helped by the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:16 where he says, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” Remember, since belief in Christ is what causes us to be born again, we possess this belief that is given by Christ, and it is the Spirit who testifies that all of this is true. This is what life is like as one who is in the sheepfold of Christ.

All of this being said, let us see what John has to say about the goats as we look at the second half of verse 10. There are two things that John says about the unbeliever. First, he says that he makes God a liar, and second, he says that he has not believed the testimony of God, which we saw last week to be abundantly clear. One of John’s most often used descriptions of the unbelieving person, especially in this epistle, is that unbelievers are deceitful, or they are liars. Interestingly, we see in this text that the unbeliever himself is not classified as a liar or deceiver, but his denying God, makes God out to be a liar. So, you can clearly see that the unbeliever intentionally bestows upon God Almighty the title of liar. Whether it is the committal of or the calling out of, the unbeliever is associated with deceit. For this is what fills his mouth (1 John 1:5,8, 2:4, 22, 3:7-8, 4:1, 20, 5:10).

I want us to see the severity of the unbeliever calling God a liar. We cannot look past this verse lightly. This accusation is severe. Why? It is severe because the unbeliever is calling God a liar that which He cannot be (Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, 2 Timothy 2:13, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18). For the exact opposite is true. Romans 3:4 tells us, “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.” Yet there is another level that this goes to. Remember the condemnation of the Pharisees from our Lord in John 8:44. As He tells them that they are of their father the devil, Jesus describes the devil as one who “does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him…for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Do you see why calling God a liar is so severe? Who is the liar? Clearly, it is not God as much as the unbeliever would want to say, but it is the very devil who has blinded there eyes so that they cannot see (2 Corinthians 4:4).

I hope that this causes your eyes to see the just penalty that unbelievers are due. I don’t think it can be any clearer as to why eternal torment is just. The goat, or unbeliever, has called the God of the universe a liar. Quite a severe accusation, and quite the just punishment for such a severe accusation.

Why is this the case? What has the unbeliever done in calling God a liar? Look once more toward the end of verse 10. What does John say about such a one? He says that he has not believed the testimony of God regarding Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And this is what clearly defines the goats. They do not and will not believe.

Regardless, the testimony is clear, and the goats are not excused because of their unbelief.

2. The Determinative Testimony (v.11)

Let us take a look further into the clarity of the testimony. Look with me in verse 11 as we look at “The Determinative Testimony.”

Before we get to that, I want to make a comment about this testimony. You might be asking, wait a minute, we looked at the testimony of God last week in verse 9. Why would John bring this up again? In consecutive verses at that. John has already told us the testimony. Isn’t this hypocritical? The short answer would be ‘no.’ In no way is it our objective because we Christians want to make the Bible fit and work just right so that we can defend it and so that we can strengthen our belief as to why we say it is not hypocritical. Verse 11 is given to us as a means of building upon what we have already looked at with the testimony prior in verse 9. And what is the testimony of verse 11? Something familiar, right? The testimony is eternal life. We have seen this throughout the entire epistle. Remember 1 John 1:1? How is Jesus described? John describes Jesus as the “Word of Life.” And again, in chapter 2. “The promise which He Himself, that is Jesus, made to us: eternal life” (1 John 2:25). Therefore, it is fitting for John, toward the conclusion of his first epistle to, not come back to eternal life, but emphasize that reality toward the end by means of consistency. In other words, this epistle is consistent in its speaking about Jesus Christ and the eternal life that ONLY He possesses. Not only is this for consistencies sake, but it is to remind us of God’s promises. Who is it that has given us eternal life? It is through Christ and He embodies it, but it is God the Father who gives eternal life to His people.

Why is this text determinative? I will tell you. Look at the absolute terms used here. “The testimony is this” and “God has” and “this life is” are all absolute and final. They are concrete, never moving. In other words, because these are absolute, one can only stand on one side. He cannot have it both ways. You either abide in the testimony, or you deny it and speak against it. The reality of the testimony does not change based on our perception of the testimony. The testimony that God has given is the truth.

There is another reason why this is determinative. Look with me at the middle of verse 11. To whom is John writing to? Now, if you have followed with me through this epistle, you know that he has written to believers in Christ. But if this were to be your time listening to this sermon, or maybe you missed some that highlighted to whom he was writing to, we are told once more who his audience is. He says that “God has given us eternal life.” Who are those who inherit eternal life? You and me who have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, John is speaking to believers. Verse 11 is determinative because verse 11 onlyapplies to believers. The goats, those who are unbelievers are excluded. Hence Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:34 which say, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” What follows in the verses after is the dynamic of believing people and unbelieving in the same household. Further, Christ demands our complete allegiance to Him and therefore if it causes division in our families or close relationships so be it. Is our text in 1 John 5:11 divisive? Yes, because it is determinative. One is either a sheep or a goat and it all falls on the testimony of God in Jesus Christ, His Son who has given believers only, eternal life.

There is no mistake that this verse is placed here. It may seem out of place initially when reading it, but as we have examined it, we see that believing in the testimony of God through Jesus Christ is truly a divisive and determinative thing. Praise be to God, for in this we are guaranteed eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord!

3. Life and Death (v.12)

I want us to look at one more way that John distinguishes the sheep and the goats. And that is by seeing eternal life in Jesus Christ, and eternal death being separated from Christ. Look with me at verse 12. I would like to ask you a question. Maybe it is one you have heard before. Do all people go to heaven? I think that is a fair question to ask. And I believe that verse 12 begs this question to be answered as we see it in our modern day. Upon reading verse 12, you see quite the distinction that is made, and one that is unmistakable. There are two groups of people here. One that has life and one that does not. So, do all people go to heaven? This verse would tell us emphatically, no! Who goes there? Verse 12 says those who have the Son. John 3:36 says this, in case there was any confusion, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” I truly do not understand the argument for those who believe that everyone gets to heaven. The Bible is clear on who goes to heaven and who does not.

Do you see why we looked first at the need for us to possess Jesus Christ? Let me answer this way. If you do not possess the Lord Jesus Christ, you possess eternal death. This is not optional. This either you do, or you do not. The testimony of God is a promise given to believers. The same is true in verse 12. The believer is promised life in Christ. The unbeliever is promised death. When you and I think of promises, most of the time we think of them as having benefit to one party or another. We do not tend to look at promises in the context of death. But we must come to this point because verse 12 demands that we do. Listen, this is not easy to say, nor is it a joyful thing to come off my lips. But it must be said! This is the reality for people that you and I know. This is a warning to people who do not believe today, right at this very moment. It is a warning to those whom we know that say they believe, and they are in the sheepfold, but they live a life that is contrary to possessing belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christian, for you this morning there is no greater promise than being guaranteed that if you possess the Son, you have eternal life. This is what God wants for every person. It is said that there are two gods in the Bible, One in the Old and One in the New. This could not be further from the truth. It would be cynical of God if He desired that people whom He made, would spend eternity away from Him. We see this to not be the case with the gospel promise found in Genesis 3. As soon as man sins, God has the remedy. God did not wait, nor did He have to think about a remedy for this newfound problem called sin. Looking at our text, we see the parallel application. God has given a remedy so that human beings do not have to live in eternal death. He has given His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that you and I can enjoy eternity, full of life, in the sheepfold of God.

And this is how we see the sheep separated from the goats. The sheep see their belief come to completion. As Philippians 1:5 and 6 tell us, “in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident in this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Listen, our belief throughout our lives is kept and perfected in Jesus Christ. He is going to see our faith and belief to the very end. How do you and I participate in the gospel? How about showing love and show support toward those who are grieving or investing in the next generation of Christians. Listen, the belief in the Son of God that you have and the work that you do to honor the Son are not the means by which you and I have life, but they do show that you and I are of the sheepfold, those who have life in Christ. May you and I not grow complacent in just believing, awaiting eternal life, but utilize each moment God has given to us to continue His work until He calls us home where life is truly lived.

Conclusion

This is John’s last push for us to have a clear understanding of who the sheep and the goats are. I must ask one more time as we get closer to the conclusion of this epistle. On what side of the aisle to you stand? The text is clear, you either possess the Lord Jesus Christ, or you do not. There is not a maybe, or a little or a little there. There is no belief in Jesus at your “convenience.”

Listen, the free gift is out there. The Father has freely given eternal life, what a gift!

May we consider these things in a few ways.

1. Understand that in the negative, unbeliever, your unbelief is a blasphemous spit in the face to Almighty God. Not only is unbelief a sense of pride for some people, but it will ultimately be the means by which all unbelieving people are doomed forever. The will of God is that unbeliever, you would not perish this morning, but come to Christ and believe in Him that you too, may have eternal life. May you do so as Christ has given you breath today!

2. The testimony of God is indeed greater than man, for God has given us believers eternal life in Him. My plea for you this morning is that you never forget the free gift of eternal life that you do not deserve! It may seem easier the older we get to look more and more to eternal things. But may I encourage those of us who are younger to set our eyes on our dwelling place that will be far greater than here. This is the free gift given to us in Christ.

3. Might the reality of folks bearing eternal torment be a means in which believers have a greater fear for the Lord. The Lord is powerful and mighty, He has the power to save and to cast people away from Him. Might we be labeled as Job who “feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1).

Let’s pray.

Benediction

Jude 1-2, “To you who are called by God and beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus our Lord, May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.” Amen.