Let’s examine a scary part of the Bible. This passage from Matthew 25 about the final judgment of Christ can be misinterpreted as salvation being works based. But, it goes much deeper than this.
Learn how God will separate His people from those He does not know.
Final Judgment from Matthew 25 – Jesus Tells What Will Happen
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’
Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’
Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” – Matthew 25:31-46 NASB
Final Judgment – A Call to Christians
This passage presents a wake up call for Christians who proclaim to live “the life” Jesus commanded.
One intriguing point starts at verse 37. It states; “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? …”. Then, they go on to repeat the circumstances Christ has pointed out.
Truth is, we do not always recognize Him either.
She Saw Jesus – A Story of Finding Christ
This brings to mind a story I once heard in a sermon by Dr. Byrns Coleman. He told about Mother Teresa and a missionary who visited her in Calcutta.
Mother Teresa met this young missionary and escorted him to the mission. Along the way, they discovered a young man lying beside the road with a dreadful disease (maybe leprosy). He was covered in sores which were oozing fluid (sorry to be graphic). And, he was filthy from his life in the streets.
Mercy
This did not hinder Mother Teresa. She stopped and knelt down beside the young man. She swept him up in her arms to give him comfort and a prayer.
When they reached their destination, the missionary was still in awe of what he had seen.
Have You Seen Jesus?
Mother Teresa asked him, “Have you ever seen Jesus’ face?”, The young man said no, not in person. She replied, “That young man lying beside the road was Jesus.” Then, the missionary finally understood.
Jesus is All Around Us
How many times per day do we see Jesus? Do we feed, clothe and give Him a place to stay when He’s homeless?
Will We be the Sheep or the Goat?
On the day of judgment God will separate those who did these things from those who didn’t. I want to be on the right side although I have plenty of adjustments to make in caring for others.
Will Doing these Good Deeds Save Us from the Final Judgment?
[easyazon_image align=”left” height=”160″ identifier=”0718079906″ locale=”US” src=”https://makingchristknown.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/51AUd5xRu9L.SL160.jpg” tag=”bobpardphot-20″ width=”107″]No, doing good does not save us. Salvation is a FREE gift from God. Jesus paid the price for all our sins on the cross. Those who believe are forgiven. But, the good works we do is a reflection of what Christ did for us. When we have the Spirit within we want to do what’s right for others.
Let’s try to make a point to imagine Jesus each time we see someone who needs physical help. Minister to those needs first. Then, tell them the story of Christ and His salvation.
Love in Christ
– Bob
If you would like to learn more about the love and life-changing experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to read John 3:16.