The parable of the sheep and the goats, which is actually an analogy, indicates two distinctive species easily discerned. The goats appeared religious enough and as far as their religious peers were concerned, ministers even. Jesus said by this all men will know you are disciples if you have love one for another, the goats had no such love, again an obvious distinction. The goats were hard working enough, they just failed the sheep because they were never sheep themselves. They were children of perdition, false teachers and fruitless ministers...in short hypocrites. They didn't lose salvation, they never had it.
Amen! After a casual reading of the sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46), these verses "on the surface" seem to suggest that salvation is the result of works, yet Scripture proves itself right and non-contradictory when compared with the totality of Scripture. This passage has to be taken alongside the whole of Scripture. Jesus was not advocating salvation by works, which would be contrary to Romans 4:4-6; Ephesians 2:8,9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5 etc.. One's works are an effect of (and therefore indication of) one's salvation status, rather than being a cause of one's salvation. The good deeds mentioned in Matthew 25:35-36 are the fruit that will be manifest in the lives of the redeemed. Those who are placed at Christ's right hand are not there based on the merits of their good deeds, but because their faith has been accounted to them for righteousness (Romans 4:2-6; Philippians 3:9). When works are mentioned in connection with salvation, the works are always the result of, not the condition of, receiving salvation.
*Notice also how love for other Christians is an indication of one's salvation status: 1 John 3:10 - In this the
children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God,
nor is he who does not love his brother. 1 John 4:7 - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and
everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
He who practices righteousness and loves his brother does so BECAUSE he is "of God" not to become of God. 1 John 3:14 - We know that
we have (past tense) passed from death to life, because we love our brothers (present tense). Loving our brothers is the result of, not the condition of passing from death to life. It's important not to confuse descriptor passages of scriptures with prescriptive passages of scriptures.
Ok, so the guy who buries the talents, he did nothing with the gospel. You can't believe the gospel, receive the Holy Spirit of promise, new birth and never do anything with it. That's not salvation, that's the mindset of a whitewashed tomb.
Amen! The talents represent monetary value and are distributed according to ability (verse 15). The requirement is to invest in Christ. The first two servants
deposited their money with the bankers (Matthew 25:27) but the third servant
buried his money in the ground (verse 25). The third servant had been given abilities and the opportunity to believe and bear fruit in accordance,
but had chosen to reject it.
The fact that the latter man in this parable is called wicked and slothful and an unprofitable servant (Matthew 25:30) who is cast out into outer darkness, certainly indicates that he was not a true disciple of the master. The idea of this illustrative parable is that all true believers will produce fruit in varying degress. A
ll believers are fruitful, but not all are equally fruitful (Matthew 13:23).
Those who produce no results are not truly converted.
This man's characterization of the master maligns him as reaping and gathering what he had no right to claim as his own. This lazy, wicked so-called servant does not represent a genuine believer, for it is obvious that this man had no true knowledge of the master. Two of these servants were children of God, but not the third. Children of God are not cast out into outer darkness. The fact that this man is called a servant does not necessarily mean that he was saved. *The Jews were called the Lord’s servants, but they were not all saved. Leviticus 25:55 - For the
children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Isaiah 43:10 - You are My witnesses, says the Lord, "And
My servant whom I have chosen..