search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
THE FUTURE OF THE


REFORMATION Matthew 25:31-46


By Dr. W. Duncan Rankin


forgiveness and reconciliation to God in Him was the only victory the Reform- ers trumpeted! The harmony of the Reformation among Martin Luther, John Calvin, John


T


Knox, and their friends was seen in sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solo Christo, and soli Deo gloria. Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and glory to God alone was the bedrock on which they all stood together. The heart of the Reformation shared among them was Christ the Mediator,


union and communion with Him, and through Him fellowship with the Triune God. Our Christian lives flow from our union with Him. When we turn from the past to the future of the Reformation, we see Jesus


return! The Reformation finds its fulfillment only in and through His glorious return! In Scripture this vision is most clear in Matthew 25:31-46. While commonly called the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, this text is no


parable at all! It lacks the formulaic opening and closing required for a parable. Rather, it again presents the end times in the Olivet Discourse. This is history— history yet to come. Here we see and feel the ultimate end of the Reformation. And you will be there! From the top of Mill Mountain, where the Roanoke Star lights up the Virginia


sky, the whole valley rolls out before you. The vast space looks like it could hold the whole human race! And one day, in a place just like that, Jesus will come, and we will all be gathered before Him.


4


he triumph of the Reformation was the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world, defeating Satan on a cross of suffering and death. Real


“But when the Son of Man comes


in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glori- ous throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left” (Matthew 25:31-33). Jesus will be seated on high, sur-


rounded and served by His angelic guard. Everyone in all of history will be present and accounted for, raised fresh from the grave—one giant mass of humanity! Then a division will occur, perhaps by angelic command. You will find yourself on one side or the other, standing before the Glori- ous King. He will then speak to those on His


right: “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom pre- pared for you from the foundation


The Associate Reformed Presbyterian


Synod Emphasis


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32