Hello;

I have struggled for a long time with Matthew 25. It appears to present a works basis for salvation. Here's the text:



31When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.




My questions and hypotheses:

(1) Usually this verse is used to justify "social" ministries. This does not seem the case to me,

(2) Instead, those on the right are the Sheep.

(3) The judgment is not based on how well we feed the hungry in general (though helping others is a good thing), but in how we receive and care for Christians, the Lord's servants.

(4) Whenever we receive and practice hospitality to the Lord's servants, this shows our hearts reception of the Gospel itself.

(5) Thus, the salvation and damnation is not so much tied towards generosity to the poor (though this, again, is a good thing, see the Proverbs), but to care of the body of Christ, the Sheep, the least of "these."

(6) The context of all this is as follows: This occurs near eschatological passages and passages that deal with the Gospel going to all nations.

Therefore, instead of generic social welfare to the poor, these verses more directly deal with the fate of those who are recipients of God's messengers as they proclaim the message to the ends of the earth.

Those who are unreached and then receive the Lord's messengers with a glass of cold water and hospitality will be favored because of their regard for the Lord's servants and the message that they carry.


The practical implications would be the same as III John, which bids us not even to give a hello to a false teacher but to invite in and care for the travelling preachers that operated in that day.

Also, for groups of people, the implication is that God will treat them harshly or kindly depending upon how they treat the Lord's servants. Those who bless Abraham's descendants God will bless, those who curse Abraham's seed, God will curse.



Questions: WhaddyathinK?

Also, how are we to look at nations in this passage?

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Pergamum


"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"
-- David Livingstone

Check out G.E. Ladd's take in . . .
A Theology of the New Testament - Google Book Search

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Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

I think the Lord is describing things that accompany real faith. Good works are an evidence of it. Fits in well with James 2 imo. Another thing that stands out in the passage is that the people doing the works don't even realize that they're doing them. A mark of true humility.

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1689 Baptist Confession

Psa 55:16 As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
Psa 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
James Farley, Wilderness Road Baptist Assembly.
Husband of Melissa and father of Ann.
www.wildernessroadbaptist.org

I didn't know this was available online! Now I have 3 books by Ladd I want to read.

Now if I could just find the time... I know it is around here somewhere.

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I agree, I see James 2 and Matt 25 tied together. Not as the call for a 'works based' salvation, but as the side effects, if you will, of a valid saving faith.

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Steve Butts - Former SBC-er
Three Forms of Unity - Bradenton CRC - Bradenton, Florida
(A conservative member in a conservative congregation)

"It is a good thing God chose me before I was born, because he surely would not have afterwards." — C.H. Spurgeon

This is not about work's based salvation at all within the context of Scripture. We know that the first are necessarily made righteous by God's election of them and the merit of Christ's blood. By merit of this, they are able to do good works, i.e. be trees bearing good fruit.

The latter are remniscient of the other trees, bearing bad fruit.

If this verse is speaking of a works-based salvation, then so is the parable of the trees, which we know is not speaking of works-based salvation, but rather sanctification in the life of a believer.

In this illustration, we're merely seeing the effects of sanctification in the believer's life and how being justified results in being sanctified, and how being sanctified results in being glorified. You can't skip sanctification and go from justification to glorification, and this verse expounds on that I think.

edit: I realize that may not have made sense.... I'll try to remember to write more when i'm not in class.

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Andrew DeShazo, Deacon, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
"All of us stumble in many ways, but if anyone is never at fault in what he says, then he is mature, able to control his whole body."(James 3:2)

Sheep and goats don't get to decide which animal they would rather be born. Neither group knew that they had or hadn't done these things. They were just characteristics of their natures. He didn't say to the goats, "Ya really shoulda tried harder to be a sheep".

Yep, Ladd on page 206 agrees with my identificationof who the "brethren" are.