Sheep and Goats

2010-05-28

One of the most perplexing, convicting, and scary portions of all the Bible is in Matthew 25, where Jesus talks about his judgment of the Gentiles. He refers to the nations as the sheep and others as the goats. The sheep had served people with their lives while the goats had not. The sheep were brought into eternal life... the goats, the lake of fire. This portion of narrative appears to question what we often think salvation is; namely, that salvation is about trusting Christ, which is true, but that our actions are immaterial.

We cannot underestimate that our master Jesus requires returns on his investment in us, as seen in the previous parable. The third servant was entrusted with something, one talent, but he buried it, and as a result he was cast into the outer darkness. Though I believe it is unclear whether the lake of fire and the outer darkness are one in the same (flames are bright), in either case, those disobedient do not abide in the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore reap consequences.

The Christian Life is at odds with the life we once knew. A saved person will live by faith in service to the Lord. Faith is the root of salvation and our actions are the fruit of it.