Dear Friends,

You do what you are.

Open series outline

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Another exception?

In 2d, we have talked about how God saves babies and the mentally handicapped. The method I proposed applies equally to ALL of God’s children, whether babies, mentally handicapped, or the apostle Paul (see link to 2d1b in outline above). In contrast, we looked at other proposed methods, which prescribe one way for neurotypical adults and another way for babies and the mentally handicapped. I argued that these other methods are flawed because of this verse:

[Jhn 3:8 KJV] 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is EVERY ONE that is born of the Spirit.

In section 2d3, I want to push back on another exception that has been carved out by a respectable, godly group of Christians that I used to regularly worship with. I take exception to their stance on Matthew 25, and this topic dovetails nicely with our current section 2d. Today, I am just going to give my understanding of the passage, and in the next post, I will offer a critique of their position.

Multiple exceptions no; great expectations yes!!!

We are talking today about the judgment of the sheep and the goats starting in Matthew 25:31. I have already discussed my view on this passage here (see the section titled “Sheep and Goats”), but I will recapitulate it here for convenience. First, here is the actual passage. If you are very pressed for time, just read the passage below and ignore the rest of this post 🙂

[Mat 25:31-46 KJV] 31 When 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: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then 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: 35 For 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: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in? or naked, and clothed [thee]? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And 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. 41 Then 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: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then 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? 45 Then 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. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

This is not works-based salvation, though it may appear that way to some people. A big clue is the word “inherit” in verse 34. Is inheritance based on family relationship or on works? Clearly, it’s based on family relationship.

God’s children will inherit a kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. And even before we die, we can start enjoying the prospect of it! Now THAT’s what I call Great Expectations 🙂

You do what you are

So if this is about inheritance, why does Jesus mention their good works? It’s because he is pointing out the various ways that the sheep gave evidence of the spiritual family they belonged to. It’s almost like a legal proceeding where the judge/executor is verifying the identity of an alleged heir. Look again at the verse: 35 For 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:

The Greek word translated as “for” in verse 35 can have two meanings; you can read more about it on blueletterbible (1), but here is a snippet of the definition: “whence arises the causal or argumentative force of the particle”. The usage in verse 35 is argumentative, not causal. He is not saying they earned their salvation. He is not acting as an accountant here. He is not stacking up their good works to determine if they reach some minimum standard for entrance into heaven! Rather, he is making the logical case that the sheep are part of the family. And his evidence is the good works they did.

Please ponder these verses that, IMO, mesh very well with the foregoing ideas.

[Jhn 5:28-29 KJV] 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; THEY THAT HAVE DONE GOOD, unto the resurrection of life; and THEY THAT HAVE DONE EVIL, unto the resurrection of damnation.

[1Jo 4:7 KJV] 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and EVERY ONE THAT LOVETH IS BORN OF GOD, and knoweth God.

[1Jo 2:29 KJV] 29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that EVERY ONE THAT DOETH RIGHTEOUSNESS IS BORN OF HIM.

In short: you do what you are.

We are family

And, expanding on the concept of family relationship, Jesus explains in verse 40 that the reason good works towards the sheep equate to good works towards Jesus is that the sheep are his brothers. Why do I think that “my brethren” are also “the sheep”? I could respond at length, but I will just say this: He tells the sheep to “inherit” the kingdom. That means the sheep are part of the family.

Said another way: “My brethren” in verse 40 refers to the same group as “the sheep” in verse 33 . The reason he introduces the term “My brethren” is to explain how the sheep indirectly did good things for Jesus.

Slow down, cowboy

After reading this post, please do not start looking at the people in your life and trying to figure out which ones are so lacking in good works that they must be going to hell. Do not say, “I’ve never seen Bob show love to anybody. He’s mean and vulgar. That’s proof that he’s a hell-bound goat.”

Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, and had deep fellowship with God and was obviously a regenerated child of God…but, late in his life, he strayed far from the straight and narrow, and stopped doing what he was. But, by God’s grace, he still went to heaven. Conversely, Paul spent the early part of his life murdering Christians…but later on, God changed him and he spent the rest of his life proclaiming Jesus Christ. Despite the large body count of Christians on his rap sheet, he went to heaven by God’s grace. Lot lived a disgraceful life, and there is precious little Biblical testimony of him doing what he was. But, by God’s grace, he had a righteous soul, so he went to heaven (II Peter 2:7-8).

So, Bob could be a born again child of God who is going through a season of rebellion. He could also be an elect child of God who hasn’t been born again yet. So, although there are definitely goats in this world who will end up in hell, do not attempt to make a final determination of Bob’s eternal standing with God. Oh, one other thing: the “by their fruits ye shall know them” in Matthew 7 is concerned with identifying false teachers…it’s not a technique to determine the eternal state of everyone around us!

Slow down, cowboy.

The first thing to know about God is that he has people everywhere.

And now I beg you, my dear friend, to open your eyes in humility. Life is brighter and more beautiful than you realized.

God has people everywhere!

Links:

1: “For” on blueletterbible.org