I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
At the last judgment Christ as supreme Judge tells those on His left that in failing to shelter the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned they failed to minister to Himself, and bids them depart from Him into everlasting punishment.
He speaks so because He identifies Himself with His suffering people and stands in person as the very sufferer, so that what is refused to them in shelter, clothing, care or visit is refused to Christ.
Their condemnation is not for great crimes committed but for good assigned by Heaven that was left undone, revealing a self-centered life that knows nothing of Him and could not enjoy His kingdom.
Mere profession, church membership, or claim to faith does not secure entrance, for all are judged according to works, and genuine faith is shown by love in action even in the smallest self-denying act for suffering humanity.
Entrusted wealth, abilities, time and influence are given to relieve God's suffering children, and to spend them on self-gratification, display and needless ornament while the hungry are unfed and the naked unclothed is robbery of Christ that will be confronted when practical benevolence decides destiny.
Judgment Scene And Context
Matthew 25:43 belongs to the discourse in Matthew 24 and 25, given shortly before entering Gethsemane after a day of work while pressed with questions, delivering predictions and warnings until exhausted. It belongs to the chapter of the talents and stands with systematic benevolence and faithful stewardship of means. It is instruction to be studied and compared with the life record. It calls for self-examination rather than boasting and self-sufficiency, for self-sufficiency makes the words of Christ of no effect and is fearfully dangerous.
Keeping this instruction means walking in the footsteps of Christ in the humility of true faith, putting away self-trust and pride and self-exaltation, committing to the Saviour day by day and hour by hour, and constantly receiving and imparting His grace, in obedience to Christ. It describes Christ's second coming when the abused and accused Jesus comes in power and glory with all the holy angels, sits as supreme Judge on the throne of His glory with no appeal from His decisions, and pronounces sentence on His enemies. Then all nations are gathered before Him and separated as sheep from goats, sheep on the right and goats on the left, the whole world represented and divided into two classes, the just and the unjust, the righteous and the unrighteous.
That final separation comes after signs and wonders in the heavens that precede the great sign of the coming of the Son of man. Everyone may be saved by believing in Christ as a personal Saviour, but not all are saved, though Christ draws every person to Himself. The righteous are saved in the kingdom of God while the worldly guilty find themselves outside the gates of the city in shame. The awakening comes too late because choice and destiny are already decided, when those condemned had dishonored their Redeemer, scorned mercy, refused to acknowledge the love of God, and chose the service of Satan because they wanted to stand on his side of the controversy, a sad spectacle to angels and to men who with lamentation and woe finally acknowledge they are too late, their constant devotion to Satan and persistent scorning of God's mercies and His love portrayed day and night.
People must prepare to meet the Lord's expectations. Christ came to earth amid human sin and suffering, laying aside His royal glory and taking humanity as a poor, humble child. He was tempted in every way, yet did not sin, so no sinner can claim He does not know the temptations people face. Those connected with God's service who are sharp, keen, and designing in order to make the best possible showing of success for their line of work will be bitterly disappointed to find they have no place in the kingdom of God. False principles will never prevail in heaven, and not one thread of selfishness is to be brought into any part of God's service in His work upon the earth.
Christ Present In Sufferers
Jesus identifies Himself with His suffering people and makes their case His own, standing in person as the very sufferer, so that the stranger, the naked, the sick and the prisoner not helped was Christ Himself. Refusing shelter, clothing, care or a visit to them is refusing it to Christ, and benevolence toward them is done to Him, for there is a oneness between Him and His suffering disciples. Failing to welcome a stranger or care for the naked, sick or imprisoned counts in the final judgment as failing to minister to Christ Himself, and these acts and omissions distinguish the two classes and decide their destiny. In that judgment the use of abilities is examined according to works because He identifies Himself with His suffering and neglected followers, and those who fail to care for them hear the sentence to depart, separated from Him as lives centered on earthly needs and treasures rather than hidden with Him. Every neglect of the needy poor, the orphan and the fatherless is a neglect of Jesus in their person, calling for sacrifice of worldly possessions to relieve suffering humanity, especially those who believe and hold present truth.
The stranger is Christ famishing in the hovel or street not far from the bountiful table, left with nowhere to lay His head when doors are closed though well-furnished rooms stand unoccupied and while others are at ease in luxurious homes. The naked is Christ destitute of comfortable apparel while wardrobes are crowded with rich apparel and an abundant supply of changeable suits bought with needlessly squandered means that might have been given to the needy. The sick is Christ sick and languishing while others enjoy health and pursue pleasures, and the prisoner is Christ cast by misfortune into prison and bound with fetters, with spirit bowed down and deprived of freedom and hope while others roam free. Wealth given to relieve and comfort His suffering children is robbed from Him when people shut themselves away in costly dwellings and splendid churches and spend means on pride and selfish indulgence, leaving the poor without necessities and without education in tender mercies. Even a pittance of bread or flimsy garments given without remembering Him in the starving and freezing shows failure to seek Him and enter into fellowship with Him through a lifetime of nearness in the afflicted.
Those with whom He identifies are His brethren in a special sense as those born into the heavenly family and bound together by His love, wherever that love is made manifest. They include disciples hated, persecuted and afflicted, driven from homes into poverty, distressed by disease and privation, and cast into prison for His sake after forsaking friends and home, and in all who suffer for His name He is to be recognized, so ministering to them as to Him is the evidence of discipleship. He identifies Himself with every child of humanity as Son of man and brother to every son and daughter of Adam, His followers being regarded as brothers to sinners as well as to saints, and His love embraces the fallen, erring and sinful, so every deed of kindness to uplift a fallen soul and every act of mercy is accepted as done to Him. The needy are placed among people as His representatives, and He identifies with people of every nationality and race purchased at infinite cost, with no distinction between white and black, and with His saints so that leaving those who gave to support His work but are too poor for life's necessities to suffer is neglecting the Saviour in them. Even among the heathen those who cherish kindness, befriend missionaries at peril of life, worship ignorantly without human teaching, hear His voice in nature and do the law's requirements show the Spirit has touched their hearts and are recognized as His children who will not perish, having cherished His principles and been a blessing though knowing little theology.
Jesus is insulted in the person of His afflicted ones when those claiming to be His children pass by one needing sympathy and kindly acts while bestowing favors on others simply because they are more pleasing or have no need. Giving special favors, preferring one above another, and honoring the rich and those in high trust while disregarding the poor, ignorant and afflicted brings condemnation rather than reward, for what is not done for the least of the afflicted is not done for Him, and the bruised and wounded and lame of the flock test character. Such partiality and neglect is recorded in heaven and registered by witnessing angels who look with astonishment and horror, to face account at the final settlement, as when a stranger's poverty and status were used to place him in humiliating positions and pressure him to accept others' terms contrary to His way. God requires exact and impartial justice with compassion for the suffering and pity and love for the erring, without favor to the wealthy or oppression of the weak, approving or condemning every action according to its good or evil nature and sending aid to raise up the fallen and oppressed. As the door is opened to His needy and suffering ones, unseen angels are welcomed bringing joy and peace, and the Father numbers the unselfish workers among His most precious treasures.
Verdict On The Negligent
On the last day at the final division and investigation of all people into two classes, the King speaks this sentence to the party on His left hand when the Son of man comes in glory with all the holy angels, sits on the throne of His glory, and has all nations gathered and separated as sheep from goats. To give no food to the hungry and no drink to the thirsty, to take in no stranger, to clothe not the naked, and to visit not the sick and those in prison is to fail to minister to Christ Himself, because He identifies His interests with fallen humanity, not the greatest but the least. Those who sought their own advantage and neglected strangers and other needy ones are therefore charged with neglecting Him and are told to depart from Him.
Their specified reward is departure under curse into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and going away into everlasting punishment, in contrast to eternal life for the righteous. This is the sentence of the King upon those on His left in the division of sheep from goats, because they withheld food, drink, shelter, clothing, and visitation in sickness and prison from Christ in the person of the least of His brethren. God will call such stewards who used for self-gratification the means that should have fed the hungry and clothed the naked to strict account for what they did with the money given them to use for Him, answer them with departure from Him, and send them away into everlasting punishment, while their cries of want and distress enter the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Even a pittance given without remembering the Lord of glory in the starving and freezing shows failure to seek Him and enter into fellowship with Him through a lifetime of nearness in the afflicted, and it ends in His rejection with I know you not.
Their condemnation is not for great crimes committed or revolting outbreaking sins but for good assigned by Heaven that was left undone, revealing a self-centered life that took special care in loving and looking out for self. The judgment concerns not only wrong acts but also good that could have been done and ought to have been done, including refusing to care for orphans and erring children because it would bring more work, leave little time to please self, and require the hard task of unteaching evil and teaching self-control, pity and reform to the ignorant. Such neglect was left undone for lack of the moral qualifications Christ made every provision to place within reach of every sinner, for He clothed divinity with humanity so that humanity might touch humanity and bring moral power to combine with human effort, that man should become a laborer together with God and be transformed in character and fitted for the kingdom. The whole twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew develops the principles of eternal justice to be revealed when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened and the dead are judged out of the things written in the books according to their works, with the question turning on the character of their works.
The condemned are unconscious of their guilt and surprised because they did not think they had done anything particularly wrong. Satan had blinded them to their duty to others, and their self-absorption kept them careless of others' needs, for they trained themselves in the school of self-indulgence instead of having Christ interwoven into character. That neglect proves they know nothing about Him and could not enjoy life in His kingdom, so they have no part with Him and lose heaven and the eternity of bliss they would have had by devoting their powers to God. The verse therefore calls for bringing Christ into everyday life through practical care for the needy.
Faith Shown By Works
Membership in the church alone does not secure entrance into heaven, nor does mere profession or claim of faith, nor keeping of the commandments while the heart remains hard toward the suffering. In the judgment the use of abilities, time, resources and influence is examined, and men and women are judged according to their works. Reward is measured by actions and omissions in daily life rather than by profession, for what is done and left undone reveals love for Christ, discloses character, and helps determine eternal destiny. Neglect to welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned is counted as neglect of Christ Himself, recorded in heaven and to be answered for before the Judge.
Genuine faith is shown by love in action, and good works are its fruit, springing from justification by faith. Even the simplest kindness done from love is remembered, accepted and rewarded by God. Those whose life is self-centered are condemned for leaving undone what love required, for without sacrifice for others and doing good to suffering humanity none can expect to share in Christ. Such faith proves genuine when it cares in deed for the poor and afflicted, including orphans and widows.
The present is the time to use God-given abilities in self-denying, self-sacrificing work for the salvation of souls, with those who believe and live the truth beginning missionary work for those perishing in sin. Disciples are called to give generously from entrusted gifts as though giving directly to the Redeemer, since practical benevolence is a matter of accountability at the last judgment. Suffering ones are placed directly in the path to prove faith, test willingness and zeal, give valuable experience, bring into close sympathy with Jesus, and show whether one faithful in the least is qualified for higher trusts. Failure here exposes selfishness that cannot dwell in a Christian heart, for Christ identifies His interest with the poor and distressed and calls suffering humanity His brethren.
Heaven is for workers who have denied themselves for Christ's sake, and no provision is made for do-nothing, illiberal, selfish souls who accept no responsibility, live to please themselves, and take special care in loving and looking out for themselves. Those who pleased themselves will take their portion with self-pleasers, placed with those who did evil under the same condemnation. Their condemnation is not for great crimes committed but for good assigned by Heaven that was left undone, as when care of orphans and erring children is refused because it would bring more work, leave little time to please self, and require the hard task of unteaching evil and teaching self-control, pity and reform to the ignorant. Such needy ones are placed in the way as blessings in disguise to test and prove character, while those welcomed into the kingdom served Christ by helping suffering people, often without realizing it, simply doing their duty to humanity.
Stewardship And Wealth Tested
Wealth with all its entrusted talents of tact, skill, property and worldly treasure is given to relieve and comfort suffering children and to advance the work, and the final judgment turns on practical benevolence in its use. To shut away from the poor in costly dwellings and splendid churches and to spend what is entrusted on pride, self-gratification and selfish indulgence while withholding help from the hungry and naked is to rob Christ Himself, to fail faithful stewardship and compassion, and to leave the poor without the necessities of life and without education in tender mercies. Such neglect is accountable wrongdoing, for the cries of children in want and distress enter the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth and every act is registered for strict account of what was done with money given to be used for Him. Those on the left hand are unconscious of guilt because blindness, self-absorption and carelessness of others' needs have hidden duty, yet Christ was hungry and thirsty while they feasted at bountiful tables, a stranger with nowhere to lay His head while they were at ease in luxurious homes, destitute while they crowded wardrobes with rich apparel, and languishing in prison while they pursued pleasures and health. Even a pittance of bread or flimsy garments given without remembering the Lord of Glory in the starving and freezing shows failure through a lifetime to seek Him and enter fellowship with Him by nearness to the afflicted, and it ends in rejection and in the sentence to depart under curse into everlasting punishment, with no acceptance from earthly wealth when lives are judged for failure to act justly and mercifully.
Spending on display and indulgence instead of helping the needy leaves the hungry unfed and the naked unclothed and will be confronted at the judgment. This is especially spending on needless ornaments and superfluous clothing expressly forbidden in the word of God — elegant gold chains, necklaces, rings, jewelry, feathers, ribbons and expensive trimmings — and on jewels and needlessly expensive dress for fashion and show, with time and money spent on indulgences God has forbidden while having no ears for the cries of the needy and withdrawing from suffering humanity. The means so wasted could have supplied all the wants of the hungry and clothed the naked in towns and cities, could have comforted the poor and suffering and the widow and fatherless in pinching want, and could have supported missions and preaching the gospel to the poor and given help and Christian teaching to the sick, the suffering, the untaught and the unsaved. To withhold food, drink, shelter, clothing and visitation from the worthy poor, the afflicted, the widows and fatherless, the sick and imprisoned is to withhold it from Christ Himself, whose interest is identified with suffering humanity, leaving no excuse when brought face to face with Him who gave His life for the needy. Those who spend extravagantly to satisfy pride while the poor suffer will be held guilty at the last judgment, confronted by those sufferers, condemned by the poor for selfish neglect, and visited with the vengeance of Heaven.
Position, clever schemes, sharp dealing and accumulated riches give no acceptance or justification, for such stewards are receivers but not producers, uncooperative in the work, corrupted by the tempter, loving to be thought rich while becoming poorest through withholding from the poor. By withholding entrusted property instead of using it to relieve suffering humanity, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, help the widow and fatherless in destitution, draw near in love to members of the family, and advance the gospel of the kingdom, unfaithful rich stewards rob what is held in trust. Every act of oppression, double dealing and fraud is registered, and the cries of the neglected enter His ears in God's dealing with unfaithful subjects. Such acts bring no peace, happiness or magnification of the Redeemer's name but loss of heavenly treasure and of the soul itself, and earthly wealth cannot protect the rich who failed to act justly and mercifully when judged.
Concrete Duties To People
Matthew 25:43 calls for sacrifice of worldly possessions to relieve suffering humanity, especially those who believe in Jesus and hold present truth, because refusing welcome and care to the needy is refusing it to Christ himself and will stand as evidence at the final judgment. Wealth and other entrusted gifts are to be used for the suffering poor as direct service to Christ, who identifies himself with them as his representatives on earth, so that pity and practical kindness shown to them is accepted as shown to him, while coldness, cruelty, abuse, or withholding help brings his judgment. This includes helping worthy poor people who cannot afford treatment, and seeking out those who gave to support God's work but are now too poor to meet life's necessities, to give back what they gave with additional help, for leaving them to suffer is neglecting the Saviour in them.
The same principle applies to taking responsibility for children who need care even when not related, showing them love and sympathy as service to Christ who identifies himself with the stranger, the unclothed, the sick, and the imprisoned. Caring for the homeless, orphans, widows, and other afflicted people needing love, sympathy, and encouragement is a duty laid on those able to help, and how they are treated bears on interest in Christ's kingdom because their salvation is involved. The day of God will reveal such neglected duties, and selfishness that keeps people from taking personal interest in others may result in souls being lost.
Accountability extends to those responsible for workers in Christ's service, who must attend to their individual needs as carefully as their own family through self-denial, kindness, and mercy, since failure in these daily duties brings God's displeasure and must be answered for at judgment. It requires supporting destitute missionaries and foreign missions rather than withholding or misusing entrusted funds, and not directing resources toward a narrower project while workers elsewhere lack support, for failing to clothe the naked and visit the sick and imprisoned is failing Christ. Ministers will be asked at the judgment what they did for Christ in seeking the salvation of those needing light and truth, and neglecting a neighbor's spiritual need, when no one opened the Scriptures, prayed, or showed concern for salvation, is failure of Christian duty before the time to work ends. Those who drive the weak into temptation and ruin will likewise answer for the harm done to souls in that final investigation.
Refusing shelter to a known stranger is failure to welcome Christ, as when Sister More sought welcome from those who knew her by reputation and was not taken in, a rebuke for that neglect. Using a stranger's poverty and status to place him in humiliating positions and pressure him to accept others' terms, as with Bro. Bell, is contrary to Christ's way of compassion, is recorded in heaven, and will face account at the final settlement. Leaving the Southern field in wickedness, misery, hunger, nakedness, and destitution of the knowledge of God is leaving Christ unentertained, unclothed, and unvisited, and each has appointed work with mind, body, and means to sustain what God directed there, so that fearing a call for means and seeking to stop the work leaves no excuse in the day of judgment. Refusing to support one's own wife and children by withholding money, casting support on the wife beyond what she should bear, and keeping earnings is neglect of Christ in the sick and needy that condemns in the judgment, held as unpaid debt to be proclaimed before the assembled universe, with no hope of entering the kingdom without thorough conversion, restitution as far as possible, and sharing present earnings to repair past injury. Even help too little to meet need still tests fellowship, for Christ is present in the poor throughout life, and those ignoring them refuse fellowship with him and are disowned.
At the last judgment Christ as supreme Judge tells those on His left that in failing to shelter the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned they failed to minister to Himself, and bids them depart from Him into everlasting punishment.
He speaks so because He identifies Himself with His suffering people and stands in person as the very sufferer, so that what is refused to them in shelter, clothing, care or visit is refused to Christ.
Their condemnation is not for great crimes committed but for good assigned by Heaven that was left undone, revealing a self-centered life that knows nothing of Him and could not enjoy His kingdom.
Mere profession, church membership, or claim to faith does not secure entrance, for all are judged according to works, and genuine faith is shown by love in action even in the smallest self-denying act for suffering humanity.
Entrusted wealth, abilities, time and influence are given to relieve God's suffering children, and to spend them on self-gratification, display and needless ornament while the hungry are unfed and the naked unclothed is robbery of Christ that will be confronted when practical benevolence decides destiny.
Judgment Scene And Context
Matthew 25:43 belongs to the discourse in Matthew 24 and 25, given shortly before entering Gethsemane after a day of work while pressed with questions, delivering predictions and warnings until exhausted. It belongs to the chapter of the talents and stands with systematic benevolence and faithful stewardship of means. It is instruction to be studied and compared with the life record. It calls for self-examination rather than boasting and self-sufficiency, for self-sufficiency makes the words of Christ of no effect and is fearfully dangerous.
Keeping this instruction means walking in the footsteps of Christ in the humility of true faith, putting away self-trust and pride and self-exaltation, committing to the Saviour day by day and hour by hour, and constantly receiving and imparting His grace, in obedience to Christ. It describes Christ's second coming when the abused and accused Jesus comes in power and glory with all the holy angels, sits as supreme Judge on the throne of His glory with no appeal from His decisions, and pronounces sentence on His enemies. Then all nations are gathered before Him and separated as sheep from goats, sheep on the right and goats on the left, the whole world represented and divided into two classes, the just and the unjust, the righteous and the unrighteous.
That final separation comes after signs and wonders in the heavens that precede the great sign of the coming of the Son of man. Everyone may be saved by believing in Christ as a personal Saviour, but not all are saved, though Christ draws every person to Himself. The righteous are saved in the kingdom of God while the worldly guilty find themselves outside the gates of the city in shame. The awakening comes too late because choice and destiny are already decided, when those condemned had dishonored their Redeemer, scorned mercy, refused to acknowledge the love of God, and chose the service of Satan because they wanted to stand on his side of the controversy, a sad spectacle to angels and to men who with lamentation and woe finally acknowledge they are too late, their constant devotion to Satan and persistent scorning of God's mercies and His love portrayed day and night.
People must prepare to meet the Lord's expectations. Christ came to earth amid human sin and suffering, laying aside His royal glory and taking humanity as a poor, humble child. He was tempted in every way, yet did not sin, so no sinner can claim He does not know the temptations people face. Those connected with God's service who are sharp, keen, and designing in order to make the best possible showing of success for their line of work will be bitterly disappointed to find they have no place in the kingdom of God. False principles will never prevail in heaven, and not one thread of selfishness is to be brought into any part of God's service in His work upon the earth.
Christ Present In Sufferers
Jesus identifies Himself with His suffering people and makes their case His own, standing in person as the very sufferer, so that the stranger, the naked, the sick and the prisoner not helped was Christ Himself. Refusing shelter, clothing, care or a visit to them is refusing it to Christ, and benevolence toward them is done to Him, for there is a oneness between Him and His suffering disciples. Failing to welcome a stranger or care for the naked, sick or imprisoned counts in the final judgment as failing to minister to Christ Himself, and these acts and omissions distinguish the two classes and decide their destiny. In that judgment the use of abilities is examined according to works because He identifies Himself with His suffering and neglected followers, and those who fail to care for them hear the sentence to depart, separated from Him as lives centered on earthly needs and treasures rather than hidden with Him. Every neglect of the needy poor, the orphan and the fatherless is a neglect of Jesus in their person, calling for sacrifice of worldly possessions to relieve suffering humanity, especially those who believe and hold present truth.
The stranger is Christ famishing in the hovel or street not far from the bountiful table, left with nowhere to lay His head when doors are closed though well-furnished rooms stand unoccupied and while others are at ease in luxurious homes. The naked is Christ destitute of comfortable apparel while wardrobes are crowded with rich apparel and an abundant supply of changeable suits bought with needlessly squandered means that might have been given to the needy. The sick is Christ sick and languishing while others enjoy health and pursue pleasures, and the prisoner is Christ cast by misfortune into prison and bound with fetters, with spirit bowed down and deprived of freedom and hope while others roam free. Wealth given to relieve and comfort His suffering children is robbed from Him when people shut themselves away in costly dwellings and splendid churches and spend means on pride and selfish indulgence, leaving the poor without necessities and without education in tender mercies. Even a pittance of bread or flimsy garments given without remembering Him in the starving and freezing shows failure to seek Him and enter into fellowship with Him through a lifetime of nearness in the afflicted.
Those with whom He identifies are His brethren in a special sense as those born into the heavenly family and bound together by His love, wherever that love is made manifest. They include disciples hated, persecuted and afflicted, driven from homes into poverty, distressed by disease and privation, and cast into prison for His sake after forsaking friends and home, and in all who suffer for His name He is to be recognized, so ministering to them as to Him is the evidence of discipleship. He identifies Himself with every child of humanity as Son of man and brother to every son and daughter of Adam, His followers being regarded as brothers to sinners as well as to saints, and His love embraces the fallen, erring and sinful, so every deed of kindness to uplift a fallen soul and every act of mercy is accepted as done to Him. The needy are placed among people as His representatives, and He identifies with people of every nationality and race purchased at infinite cost, with no distinction between white and black, and with His saints so that leaving those who gave to support His work but are too poor for life's necessities to suffer is neglecting the Saviour in them. Even among the heathen those who cherish kindness, befriend missionaries at peril of life, worship ignorantly without human teaching, hear His voice in nature and do the law's requirements show the Spirit has touched their hearts and are recognized as His children who will not perish, having cherished His principles and been a blessing though knowing little theology.
Jesus is insulted in the person of His afflicted ones when those claiming to be His children pass by one needing sympathy and kindly acts while bestowing favors on others simply because they are more pleasing or have no need. Giving special favors, preferring one above another, and honoring the rich and those in high trust while disregarding the poor, ignorant and afflicted brings condemnation rather than reward, for what is not done for the least of the afflicted is not done for Him, and the bruised and wounded and lame of the flock test character. Such partiality and neglect is recorded in heaven and registered by witnessing angels who look with astonishment and horror, to face account at the final settlement, as when a stranger's poverty and status were used to place him in humiliating positions and pressure him to accept others' terms contrary to His way. God requires exact and impartial justice with compassion for the suffering and pity and love for the erring, without favor to the wealthy or oppression of the weak, approving or condemning every action according to its good or evil nature and sending aid to raise up the fallen and oppressed. As the door is opened to His needy and suffering ones, unseen angels are welcomed bringing joy and peace, and the Father numbers the unselfish workers among His most precious treasures.
Verdict On The Negligent
On the last day at the final division and investigation of all people into two classes, the King speaks this sentence to the party on His left hand when the Son of man comes in glory with all the holy angels, sits on the throne of His glory, and has all nations gathered and separated as sheep from goats. To give no food to the hungry and no drink to the thirsty, to take in no stranger, to clothe not the naked, and to visit not the sick and those in prison is to fail to minister to Christ Himself, because He identifies His interests with fallen humanity, not the greatest but the least. Those who sought their own advantage and neglected strangers and other needy ones are therefore charged with neglecting Him and are told to depart from Him.
Their specified reward is departure under curse into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, and going away into everlasting punishment, in contrast to eternal life for the righteous. This is the sentence of the King upon those on His left in the division of sheep from goats, because they withheld food, drink, shelter, clothing, and visitation in sickness and prison from Christ in the person of the least of His brethren. God will call such stewards who used for self-gratification the means that should have fed the hungry and clothed the naked to strict account for what they did with the money given them to use for Him, answer them with departure from Him, and send them away into everlasting punishment, while their cries of want and distress enter the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Even a pittance given without remembering the Lord of glory in the starving and freezing shows failure to seek Him and enter into fellowship with Him through a lifetime of nearness in the afflicted, and it ends in His rejection with I know you not.
Their condemnation is not for great crimes committed or revolting outbreaking sins but for good assigned by Heaven that was left undone, revealing a self-centered life that took special care in loving and looking out for self. The judgment concerns not only wrong acts but also good that could have been done and ought to have been done, including refusing to care for orphans and erring children because it would bring more work, leave little time to please self, and require the hard task of unteaching evil and teaching self-control, pity and reform to the ignorant. Such neglect was left undone for lack of the moral qualifications Christ made every provision to place within reach of every sinner, for He clothed divinity with humanity so that humanity might touch humanity and bring moral power to combine with human effort, that man should become a laborer together with God and be transformed in character and fitted for the kingdom. The whole twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew develops the principles of eternal justice to be revealed when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened and the dead are judged out of the things written in the books according to their works, with the question turning on the character of their works.
The condemned are unconscious of their guilt and surprised because they did not think they had done anything particularly wrong. Satan had blinded them to their duty to others, and their self-absorption kept them careless of others' needs, for they trained themselves in the school of self-indulgence instead of having Christ interwoven into character. That neglect proves they know nothing about Him and could not enjoy life in His kingdom, so they have no part with Him and lose heaven and the eternity of bliss they would have had by devoting their powers to God. The verse therefore calls for bringing Christ into everyday life through practical care for the needy.
Faith Shown By Works
Membership in the church alone does not secure entrance into heaven, nor does mere profession or claim of faith, nor keeping of the commandments while the heart remains hard toward the suffering. In the judgment the use of abilities, time, resources and influence is examined, and men and women are judged according to their works. Reward is measured by actions and omissions in daily life rather than by profession, for what is done and left undone reveals love for Christ, discloses character, and helps determine eternal destiny. Neglect to welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned is counted as neglect of Christ Himself, recorded in heaven and to be answered for before the Judge.
Genuine faith is shown by love in action, and good works are its fruit, springing from justification by faith. Even the simplest kindness done from love is remembered, accepted and rewarded by God. Those whose life is self-centered are condemned for leaving undone what love required, for without sacrifice for others and doing good to suffering humanity none can expect to share in Christ. Such faith proves genuine when it cares in deed for the poor and afflicted, including orphans and widows.
The present is the time to use God-given abilities in self-denying, self-sacrificing work for the salvation of souls, with those who believe and live the truth beginning missionary work for those perishing in sin. Disciples are called to give generously from entrusted gifts as though giving directly to the Redeemer, since practical benevolence is a matter of accountability at the last judgment. Suffering ones are placed directly in the path to prove faith, test willingness and zeal, give valuable experience, bring into close sympathy with Jesus, and show whether one faithful in the least is qualified for higher trusts. Failure here exposes selfishness that cannot dwell in a Christian heart, for Christ identifies His interest with the poor and distressed and calls suffering humanity His brethren.
Heaven is for workers who have denied themselves for Christ's sake, and no provision is made for do-nothing, illiberal, selfish souls who accept no responsibility, live to please themselves, and take special care in loving and looking out for themselves. Those who pleased themselves will take their portion with self-pleasers, placed with those who did evil under the same condemnation. Their condemnation is not for great crimes committed but for good assigned by Heaven that was left undone, as when care of orphans and erring children is refused because it would bring more work, leave little time to please self, and require the hard task of unteaching evil and teaching self-control, pity and reform to the ignorant. Such needy ones are placed in the way as blessings in disguise to test and prove character, while those welcomed into the kingdom served Christ by helping suffering people, often without realizing it, simply doing their duty to humanity.
Stewardship And Wealth Tested
Wealth with all its entrusted talents of tact, skill, property and worldly treasure is given to relieve and comfort suffering children and to advance the work, and the final judgment turns on practical benevolence in its use. To shut away from the poor in costly dwellings and splendid churches and to spend what is entrusted on pride, self-gratification and selfish indulgence while withholding help from the hungry and naked is to rob Christ Himself, to fail faithful stewardship and compassion, and to leave the poor without the necessities of life and without education in tender mercies. Such neglect is accountable wrongdoing, for the cries of children in want and distress enter the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth and every act is registered for strict account of what was done with money given to be used for Him. Those on the left hand are unconscious of guilt because blindness, self-absorption and carelessness of others' needs have hidden duty, yet Christ was hungry and thirsty while they feasted at bountiful tables, a stranger with nowhere to lay His head while they were at ease in luxurious homes, destitute while they crowded wardrobes with rich apparel, and languishing in prison while they pursued pleasures and health. Even a pittance of bread or flimsy garments given without remembering the Lord of Glory in the starving and freezing shows failure through a lifetime to seek Him and enter fellowship with Him by nearness to the afflicted, and it ends in rejection and in the sentence to depart under curse into everlasting punishment, with no acceptance from earthly wealth when lives are judged for failure to act justly and mercifully.
Spending on display and indulgence instead of helping the needy leaves the hungry unfed and the naked unclothed and will be confronted at the judgment. This is especially spending on needless ornaments and superfluous clothing expressly forbidden in the word of God — elegant gold chains, necklaces, rings, jewelry, feathers, ribbons and expensive trimmings — and on jewels and needlessly expensive dress for fashion and show, with time and money spent on indulgences God has forbidden while having no ears for the cries of the needy and withdrawing from suffering humanity. The means so wasted could have supplied all the wants of the hungry and clothed the naked in towns and cities, could have comforted the poor and suffering and the widow and fatherless in pinching want, and could have supported missions and preaching the gospel to the poor and given help and Christian teaching to the sick, the suffering, the untaught and the unsaved. To withhold food, drink, shelter, clothing and visitation from the worthy poor, the afflicted, the widows and fatherless, the sick and imprisoned is to withhold it from Christ Himself, whose interest is identified with suffering humanity, leaving no excuse when brought face to face with Him who gave His life for the needy. Those who spend extravagantly to satisfy pride while the poor suffer will be held guilty at the last judgment, confronted by those sufferers, condemned by the poor for selfish neglect, and visited with the vengeance of Heaven.
Position, clever schemes, sharp dealing and accumulated riches give no acceptance or justification, for such stewards are receivers but not producers, uncooperative in the work, corrupted by the tempter, loving to be thought rich while becoming poorest through withholding from the poor. By withholding entrusted property instead of using it to relieve suffering humanity, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, help the widow and fatherless in destitution, draw near in love to members of the family, and advance the gospel of the kingdom, unfaithful rich stewards rob what is held in trust. Every act of oppression, double dealing and fraud is registered, and the cries of the neglected enter His ears in God's dealing with unfaithful subjects. Such acts bring no peace, happiness or magnification of the Redeemer's name but loss of heavenly treasure and of the soul itself, and earthly wealth cannot protect the rich who failed to act justly and mercifully when judged.
Concrete Duties To People
Matthew 25:43 calls for sacrifice of worldly possessions to relieve suffering humanity, especially those who believe in Jesus and hold present truth, because refusing welcome and care to the needy is refusing it to Christ himself and will stand as evidence at the final judgment. Wealth and other entrusted gifts are to be used for the suffering poor as direct service to Christ, who identifies himself with them as his representatives on earth, so that pity and practical kindness shown to them is accepted as shown to him, while coldness, cruelty, abuse, or withholding help brings his judgment. This includes helping worthy poor people who cannot afford treatment, and seeking out those who gave to support God's work but are now too poor to meet life's necessities, to give back what they gave with additional help, for leaving them to suffer is neglecting the Saviour in them.
The same principle applies to taking responsibility for children who need care even when not related, showing them love and sympathy as service to Christ who identifies himself with the stranger, the unclothed, the sick, and the imprisoned. Caring for the homeless, orphans, widows, and other afflicted people needing love, sympathy, and encouragement is a duty laid on those able to help, and how they are treated bears on interest in Christ's kingdom because their salvation is involved. The day of God will reveal such neglected duties, and selfishness that keeps people from taking personal interest in others may result in souls being lost.
Accountability extends to those responsible for workers in Christ's service, who must attend to their individual needs as carefully as their own family through self-denial, kindness, and mercy, since failure in these daily duties brings God's displeasure and must be answered for at judgment. It requires supporting destitute missionaries and foreign missions rather than withholding or misusing entrusted funds, and not directing resources toward a narrower project while workers elsewhere lack support, for failing to clothe the naked and visit the sick and imprisoned is failing Christ. Ministers will be asked at the judgment what they did for Christ in seeking the salvation of those needing light and truth, and neglecting a neighbor's spiritual need, when no one opened the Scriptures, prayed, or showed concern for salvation, is failure of Christian duty before the time to work ends. Those who drive the weak into temptation and ruin will likewise answer for the harm done to souls in that final investigation.
Refusing shelter to a known stranger is failure to welcome Christ, as when Sister More sought welcome from those who knew her by reputation and was not taken in, a rebuke for that neglect. Using a stranger's poverty and status to place him in humiliating positions and pressure him to accept others' terms, as with Bro. Bell, is contrary to Christ's way of compassion, is recorded in heaven, and will face account at the final settlement. Leaving the Southern field in wickedness, misery, hunger, nakedness, and destitution of the knowledge of God is leaving Christ unentertained, unclothed, and unvisited, and each has appointed work with mind, body, and means to sustain what God directed there, so that fearing a call for means and seeking to stop the work leaves no excuse in the day of judgment. Refusing to support one's own wife and children by withholding money, casting support on the wife beyond what she should bear, and keeping earnings is neglect of Christ in the sick and needy that condemns in the judgment, held as unpaid debt to be proclaimed before the assembled universe, with no hope of entering the kingdom without thorough conversion, restitution as far as possible, and sharing present earnings to repair past injury. Even help too little to meet need still tests fellowship, for Christ is present in the poor throughout life, and those ignoring them refuse fellowship with him and are disowned.