Matthew 25:31-46

[Nooj]

It's a fairly long passage, please read thoroughly:

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” 37Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” 40And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,* you did it to me.” 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” 44Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” 45Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

Okay, I don't see anything here about going to heaven because you believe in Jesus. Instead, I see a lot of stuff about works. You don't do good works, you get eternally punished. You do good works, you get rewarded. So what gives?

 

[ephraimanesti]

It's a fairly long passage, please read thoroughly:

Okay, I don't see anything here about going to heaven because you believe in Jesus. Instead, I see a lot of stuff about works. You don't do good works, you get eternally punished. You do good works, you get rewarded. So what gives?

The "good works" are done BECAUSE of a belief in Jesus Christ--and His Father and Spirit--and are done for their glory alone.

"Heaven", incidentially, is the state of Oneness with God which is induced through doing those things which are pleasing to Him--eternally. The service to God, in essence, IS the reward.

"Hell" is missing that blessing--eternally.

ephraim

 

[Nooj]

The "good works" are done BECAUSE of a belief in Jesus Christ--and His Father and Spirit--and are done for their glory alone.

I don't see anything about those good works being done because of a belief in Jesus. It's nowhere in the text.

If a person believed in Jesus Christ and so was a Christian but did not do good works, according to that passage, would that person enter heaven? Conversely, if a nonbeliever did good works such as feeding the poor, according to that passage, would that person enter heaven?

 

[MikeMcKinney]

I don't see anything about those good works being done because of a belief in Jesus. It's nowhere in the text.

A good way to understand this passage better would be to compare it to other verses about salvation and works, like Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. "

Verse 8-9 tells us that it isn't our good works that saves us and verse 10 tells us that once we are born again, that we're to walk in good works.

In other words, we're not saved by our good works, our good works are a response to our salvation.

 

[Nooj]

ephraimanesti + MikeMcKinney, thanks for your response.

In other words, we're not saved by our good works, our good works are a response to our salvation.

You say that good works are a response to salvation, so how do you explain those who are not saved but still carry out those good works?

 

[MikeMcKinney]

ephraimanesti + MikeMcKinney, thanks for your response.

You say that good works are a response to salvation, so how do you explain those who are not saved but still carry out those good works?

I didn't say that unsaved people can't do good works. I said that good works aren't a requirement for salvation.

 

[ephraimanesti]

I don't see anything about those good works being done because of a belief in Jesus. It's nowhere in the text.

You have missed the whole point of the text!--by serving the needs of the poor and needy we are providing direct service to our Lord Himself. Scripture is taken as a whole--not as a series of isolated texts. Read ALL the Parables of the Kingdom in Matthew 25--they all say the same thing in different ways.

"Good Works" are only "GOOD" if they are performed under God's direction and for His glory.

If a person believed in Jesus Christ and so was a Christian but did not do good works, according to that passage, would that person enter heaven? Conversely, if a nonbeliever did good works such as feeding the poor, according to that passage, would that person enter heaven?

James states that "Faith without works is dead."(James 2:14-26) The converse, of course, is likewise true.

A BOND-SLAVE/FRIEND/BROTHER OF OUR LORD/GOD/SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST,
ephraim

 

[Apodictic]

so how do you explain those who are not saved but still carry out those good works?

Hello Nooj!

I think ephraimanesti said it in the most concise manner.

"Good Works" are only "GOOD" if they are performed under God's direction and for His glory.

To state this another way, you are asking a question regarding a reward/punishment system designed by God. If a disbeliever does something social deemed as "Good" they do so for personal reasons which might include but are not limited to.

1. To help someone they care about
2. To gain favor with society/someone (Do "Good" to be seen)
3. Recompense for another's kindness towards them
4. Randomly
5. Etc.

The disbelievers are not gaining favor with their Lord, they are gaining favor among men. So they should expect their reward to come from men, not God.

If you want reward from God, you must perform actions with the intent of glorifying God. It boils down to the intent of the deed, not the deed itself.

Hopefully I explained it clearly. God Bless!

 

[Nooj]

I didn't say that unsaved people can't do good works. I said that good works aren't a requirement for salvation.

Ah, understood. Thank you.

Hopefully I explained it clearly. God Bless!

So when a Christian does something good for me, he's not actually doing good for me, he's doing it for God's favour. I don't know whether to be offended or not.

 

[Apodictic]

So when a Christian does something good for me, he's not actually doing good for me, he's doing it for God's favour. I don't know whether to be offended or not.

A Christian does something to glorify God, but in accepting God into your heart you want to do good. I would not say that the Christian does not care about you, if that is what you would find offending. It is not impossible for them to care and glorify God at the same time. The two intents are not mutually exclusive. True believers exhibit both intents.

Disbelievers would only exhibit the worldly care intent, because it makes no sense for them to do an action to gain favor with something they do not believe in.

 

[Nooj]

A Christian does something to glorify God, but in accepting God into your heart you want to do good. I would not say that the Christian does not care about you, if that is what you would find offending. It is not impossible for them to care and glorify God at the same time. The two intents are not mutually exclusive. True believers exhibit both intents.

Disbelievers would only exhibit the worldly care intent, because it makes no sense for them to do an action to gain favor with something they do not believe in.

I've found in my experience that people who help people solely or mainly because they want rewards in the afterlife aren't people who I would consider 'good' in the normal sense of the word.

It is not impossible for them to care and glorify God at the same time. The two intents are not mutually exclusive. True believers exhibit both intents.

When I read Matthew 25:31-46, it seemed to tell me first and foremost that doing good/caring is glorifying God. Whereas your post portrays the two actions as seperate, although mixable things. Could you explain?

 

[Hentenza]

Ho Nooj,

You have gotten some good information so far. The key to understanding this passage is indeed an understanding of the relationship between works and faith. It is also interesting to note that even the works that we do are not of our own but given by God. The following 2 passages should illustrate this.

John 6:26-29
26Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
28Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (highligh mine)



These verses illustrate that the works needed for salvation generate from belief in Jesus Christ.


Ephesians 2:8-9
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Highlight mine)


These verses tells us that the works that we are to do for salvation are prepared in advance for us. Basically, if we don't have faith then the works are meaningless and if we have faith but do not do the works that God has prepared for us then our faith is dead. We do God's works as a result of our faith in Christ.




Something else that I would like to add is to touch on the eschatalogical meaning of Matthew 25. The whole chapter deals with what will happen when Jesus returns to set up His earthly kingdom and to judge. It is interesting that this chapter includes two parables prior to the portion that you cited. These are the parable of the ten virgins and the parable of the talents. The first parable teaches what will happen to those that are found "asleep" on the Lord. We have to be ready for when the lord comes which means that we will not get a second chance if our faith is not in Christ and if our works are not done. The second parable illustrates what happens to those that are entrusted by our Lord with faith but do not do anything with it. In other words, faith without works is dead.


I hope this helps.

 

[Apodictic]

I've found in my experience that people who help people solely or mainly because they want rewards in the afterlife aren't people who I would consider 'good' in the normal sense of the word.

Our desire to do good stems from our love for God and our neighbor, the two commandments given by Jesus that sums up the Law given to Moses. Which is why a true believer exhibits both intents, for if you love God, but not your neighbor you are still not upholding the commandments. Likewise if you love your neighbor, but not God, same problem.

If someone is acting good with the intent of reward (Heaven) or fear of punishment (Hell), they are not acting upon the two commandments. Even if God said nothing about either, we should still act according to the commandments.

When I read Matthew 25:31-46, it seemed to tell me first and foremost that doing good/caring is glorifying God. Whereas your post portrays the two actions as seperate, although mixable things. Could you explain?

Let me clarify something that I only implied in my prior posts. You are correct in that doing good deeds glorify God whether you believe in God or not. However, God has the choice of accepting this deed or not. The acceptance of a deed is based on inner intent.

 

[ephraimanesti]

So when a Christian does something good for me, he's not actually doing good for me, he's doing it for God's favour. I don't know whether to be offended or not.

NO!!!! It is done BECAUSE of God's favor!

God's "favor" is a product of His Grace and is freely bestowed to all and can never be "earned". The result of this graciousness is, as our Lord enjoins us, "Freely you have received; freely give."(Matthew 10:8)

And why in the world would you be "offended"? When a Christian does something good for you it is because he sees Christ's image in you and behaves towards you as he would towards his Lord. Personally, i can't think of a greater compliment.

A BOND-SLAVE/FRIEND/BROTHER OF OUR LORD/GOD/SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST,
ephraim

 

[Emmy]

Dear Nooj. You had some good replies, and here is another one. Jesus gave us 2 Commandments, ( they contain all 10, which God gave us) Love God with all your being, and love your neighbour, each other, all others, as you love yourselves. The sheep did follow the Commandment which Jesus gave us, LOVE others as you love yourselves. The goats did not, they had no love for others. God is Love, and Love is the Key to God`s Kingdom. I say this humbly and with love, Nooj. Greetings from Emmy, sister in Christ.