I know that I can’t do any better than to share Karen’s meditation on the ending of Matthew 25. This is her post from the Ebenezer page this morning.
Good morning!
Good questions are coming out of my Sunday morning Bible study at Ebenezer. One such question was, essentially, “What do you have to do after you are saved?” Meaning, isn’t there something more required of me after I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior?
The question that was implied and not spoken aloud was, “Can I lose my salvation?”
Theologians don’t all agree on the answer to this question—nor do denominations and churches—but I will offer my thoughts. It is an important question as it relates to our Christian lives here on earth. How then shall we live if we believe that we can lose our salvation? And how then shall we live if we believe our salvation is assured?
My answer is this: we should live how Christ calls us to live, regardless of what we believe about the hereafter and our own personal salvation.
We don’t become Christians because we worry we will go to hell if we don’t. This isn’t faith; this is only fear. We accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior because we hear the truth in His words. We believe the Bible and that we need a Savior. We believe that He is the Son of God and God Himself, who took on our frail form to experience all temptation and suffering, without sinning, and bring us back to God because our sin separated us from Him.
We are Christians when we feel Him beckoning to us, “Come, take up your cross and follow Me.”
This is my introduction to today’s gospel reading in Matthew when Jesus is telling his disciples about Judgment Day. The king will place the goats on his left, Jesus says, and the sheep to his right, and:
“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”
“Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”
“And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.”
“Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”
“Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”
In this story, both the sheep and the goats ask the same question—when were you hungry and thirsty and so on…? Neither the righteous nor the unrighteous understand what God required of them to do for the poor and needy. But the Christians, the sheep, were led by the Spirit to care for those in need, anyway.
The Christians are the “righteous”—but not because of their own character and good deeds. That’s not what makes us righteous. Our righteousness is the righteousness of Christ—imputed to us when He died on the cross for our sins. But we are only righteous when we accept His work on the cross as sufficient for our salvation. We must believe on Him to be saved.
But if we DO believe on Him, then we will do what He asks us to do. It isn’t what we do that saves us. But we will do loving deeds when we are saved because our faith will lead us to do them. God will bring us opportunities to serve; He will reveal needs and show us what we can do to ease the suffering of others, give from our abundance, and love as Christ loves us.
It is up to us to respond to these opportunities for service that the Lord places before us.
And when you think about it, isn’t it enough to move us to deeds of lovingkindness knowing that when we do these things for people in need, when we love others, we are loving and serving Him?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for always providing for our needs—physical, emotional, and spiritual. Please open our eyes to needs around us and show us how we may meet those needs. Gives us hearts of compassion and other spiritual gifts that will strengthen us to do Your Will. Teach us to care about everyone—not just our friends and our families and our immediate neighbors. Give us courage to go into the dark places and be Your loving presence to someone in need. In Christ we pray. Amen.
Today’s readings are Joshua 3:1-13; Romans 11:25-36; Matthew 25:31-46; and Psalm 38.
Blessings in Christ!
Pastor Karen
Good questions are coming out of my Sunday morning Bible study at Ebenezer. One such question was, essentially, “What do you have to do after you are saved?” Meaning, isn’t there something more required of me after I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior?
The question that was implied and not spoken aloud was, “Can I lose my salvation?”
Theologians don’t all agree on the answer to this question—nor do denominations and churches—but I will offer my thoughts. It is an important question as it relates to our Christian lives here on earth. How then shall we live if we believe that we can lose our salvation? And how then shall we live if we believe our salvation is assured?
My answer is this: we should live how Christ calls us to live, regardless of what we believe about the hereafter and our own personal salvation.
We don’t become Christians because we worry we will go to hell if we don’t. This isn’t faith; this is only fear. We accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior because we hear the truth in His words. We believe the Bible and that we need a Savior. We believe that He is the Son of God and God Himself, who took on our frail form to experience all temptation and suffering, without sinning, and bring us back to God because our sin separated us from Him.
We are Christians when we feel Him beckoning to us, “Come, take up your cross and follow Me.”
This is my introduction to today’s gospel reading in Matthew when Jesus is telling his disciples about Judgment Day. The king will place the goats on his left, Jesus says, and the sheep to his right, and:
“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”
“Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”
“And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.”
“Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”
“Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”
In this story, both the sheep and the goats ask the same question—when were you hungry and thirsty and so on…? Neither the righteous nor the unrighteous understand what God required of them to do for the poor and needy. But the Christians, the sheep, were led by the Spirit to care for those in need, anyway.
The Christians are the “righteous”—but not because of their own character and good deeds. That’s not what makes us righteous. Our righteousness is the righteousness of Christ—imputed to us when He died on the cross for our sins. But we are only righteous when we accept His work on the cross as sufficient for our salvation. We must believe on Him to be saved.
But if we DO believe on Him, then we will do what He asks us to do. It isn’t what we do that saves us. But we will do loving deeds when we are saved because our faith will lead us to do them. God will bring us opportunities to serve; He will reveal needs and show us what we can do to ease the suffering of others, give from our abundance, and love as Christ loves us.
It is up to us to respond to these opportunities for service that the Lord places before us.
And when you think about it, isn’t it enough to move us to deeds of lovingkindness knowing that when we do these things for people in need, when we love others, we are loving and serving Him?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for always providing for our needs—physical, emotional, and spiritual. Please open our eyes to needs around us and show us how we may meet those needs. Gives us hearts of compassion and other spiritual gifts that will strengthen us to do Your Will. Teach us to care about everyone—not just our friends and our families and our immediate neighbors. Give us courage to go into the dark places and be Your loving presence to someone in need. In Christ we pray. Amen.
Today’s readings are Joshua 3:1-13; Romans 11:25-36; Matthew 25:31-46; and Psalm 38.
Blessings in Christ!
Pastor Karen
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