Of Sheep and Goats

Of Sheep and Goats
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  
All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  
He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation 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,  
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit 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?  
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
Matthew 25:32-40 
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire 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, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 
Matthew 25:41-46.
For me I see the first half of this verses 25:31-40 as being a promise to those who truly know God and are doing out of a pure heart without expectation of remuneration God’s work.
The second half verses 41-46 a warning to those who are claiming to be Christians and are doing nothing for Christ or expecting remuneration for their work.
Christianity is all about God’s Love and our taking that Love to the world Paul writes of Love,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 
Love never fails.” 
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
If we are true Christians this is the kind of Love we will show to the world. It means we will, if it’s in our power, feed the hungry and thirst, help the stranger in our midst, clothe the needy help the sick and visit the prisoner along with other things.
True Christianity is a faith of works. James writes,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” 
                                                                                                               James 2:14-20.
Now don’t get me wrong I believe Ephesians 2:8,9 that we are saved through faith. I do however believe that once we let Jesus into our life. Once we allow Jesus to show us what he wants for our life our life will change.
We will want to do the work of the Lord. We will slowly come to have the heart of Jesus. To want to show to the world our faith by our deeds.
As Francis of Assisi said,
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” This is indicative of those who really know Christ.
. The line
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:46. Tells me that those who are doing nothing seem to be those who attend a church and claim to be Christians but are not.
I feel Christianity first and foremost a faith of action. That as we draw nearer to Christ in our day to day walk we will want be more like Him. We will want to do what he would do.
Think about it.