How can Matthew 25:31-46 be reconciled with Sola Fide?

Question

32"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;

33and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

34"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, (inherit the kingdom prepared for you (H)from the foundation of the world.

35'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;

36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; (M)I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?

38'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and cloth

If good works play no part in salvation, then why does Jesus say he will use them as a metric for dividing sheep from goats?

Answer 1

I don't think it can. In the New Testament we are saved by grace. However, your faith is reflected in your works. James 2 has much to say about this. One verse says, "Faith without works is dead". It's not about the works, but the change of heart. Your heart should be pure. When your heart is pure, you will do the will of God - not because you have to, but because you want to. Faith only doctrines aren't totally accurate. Many people believe that if they only believe in God, or confess this faith they are saved - I think they should read John 3:3-5. The story is pretty clear about what needs to be done to be saved.

Answer 2

Well you got it right that no good works will save you because that person in his heart might be angry or bitter. God looks at the heart, He knows where you are coming from. Also Jesus was talking about loving one another-from those verses are acts of loving. Luke 10:25 when the experts of the law asked Jesus what the greatest command is and love is the motivation in everything we do. God will see if you are loving from your heart and the good works will show you truly love Him and others.

Answer 3

The idea that Christians were "saved by grace" was invented by Saul of Tarsus, Paul of the bible. That doctrine was adopted by Constantine's Nicene Council as the foundation for his new religion.

And, is what causes more confusion than anything else in the bible because it is contrary to what Jesus (allegedly) said.

Pauline doctrine is "anti-Christian" doctrine and cannot be reconciled with what Jesus (allegedly) said.

Answer 4

This isn't about "doing good works"; it is about acting out of love ... being shareful instead of self-centered. If one has faith, one grows in love; and if one grows in love, one gives to others. It's not about racking up points for doing good deeds. The plain fact of it is that if you have faith, you will act on that faith--if your faith is alive and thriving. There is no way around it. MOREOVER, this is talking about how "whatsoever you do to the least of My brethren, you do to Me." If you have Christ in your heart, you will not judge in worldly terms but will see all people as equally valuable. Christ came into this world and lived as a beggar. Therefore, in some strange way, if you feed a beggar, you feed Christ. If you clothe a beggar, you clothe Christ. In other words, when you serve others, you serve Christ. And there is no way that you will not be of service if your faith is true and alive. Again--there's just no way around it.

Answer 5

No offense intended, context is king when attempting to interpret the Bible. You must be Catholic to miss this. Your basic theological training may determine how you interpret certain passages.

Answer 6

Good works DO play a work in Salvation, because if one has good works, it goes with one's faith.

Answer 7

It is not the works, it is the faith that led them to do the works. In other words, the works are a sign that they had the faith.

Answer 8

beats me./..