The difference between the sheep and the goats!

(Matthew 25:33) “And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.”

If we continue to practice in any area of our lives, we will improve; we will become more skilled in that area. And so is it when we handle the “Word of Life”; the more we practice the better we become in application. If not we are doing something wrong. It is very hard to breakdown the bad habits in our lives. It is only when we handle the Holy Scriptures with sincerity and we lose any preconceived ideas about a certain subject that hinders our grow in Christ, we must let the Word of God speak and give God the Holy Spirit preeminence if we are to come out victors, as nothing else will suffice! This is a fundamental truth we must adopt if we are to grow in our great Saviour’s likeness.

What then is the true understanding on reconciling faith and works? Here are two portions of scripture that addresses my question with crystal clear instructions; the one speaks plainly about God’s unmerited favour, while the other basis its emphasis on works. And yet they both say the same thing, how? Let’s unpack it! I am somewhat embarrassed that in times past I seem to miss its clear instruction, but God who is rich in mercy is patient with His children, thank you Father! It is the Apostle James who brings the two together with crystal clear instruction.  

To give this deliberation any chance of clarity we will need a few posts…

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was 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, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."” (Matthew 25:31-46)

The common denominated, the glue, is “good works”. Everything hinges on “good works”! Good works prove unmerited favour! What then are these good works?

Look at the portion of scripture that Paul reminds us about in Ephesians; “not a result of works, so that no one may boast”, but then he goes onto say; “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” – In other words all of God’s children have been summoned because of what Christ achieved on Calvary to walk in “good works”.

When was this determined by God? “Beforehand”, long ago! in fact before we were ever born. Think on it like this as an author would sit down with a pen and write a script and then a casting agent would introduce possible candidates to fill the various roles. God did this in time past and yet it plays out in the now. The brilliance of God on show, praise His name! Those who now have the Spirit of God are the candidates that have been summoned by Him to learn the script (the Bible) as we prepare to act out our roles that God Himself has called us too. There will and must be “proof in the pudding”.

We will learn to lay down our lives for our brethren with a sincere heart; we will go without so that they will not. This will be the difference between the sheep and the goats; “'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Will we resolve and look for those brethren in need of water or will we turn a blind eye to them, it is as simple as that!

Lord willing we will look at this in a lot more depth in the next few posts.

Signing off

Tyrone