Thursday, November 16, 2017
Matthew 25:34-36 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."
GOOD WORKS DON'T MAKE THE CHRISTIAN; THE CHRISTIAN MAKES GOOD WORKS
When we read Scripture verses like those above we might wonder: Don't they teach that our entrance into heaven's glory will be based on the good things we do during our time on earth? A casual reading of these and similar verses (Matthew 16:27, Revelation 22:12, for example) do SEEM to teach: We are saved because of our good works. But no! That's not what the verses are saying! What the Lord is describing in passages like these is the PUBLIC judgment that will take place in the sight of others on the world's Final Day, a judgment based on things tangible. Jesus will recount the kind deeds and helpful works we performed-- as a fruit of our faith and as a reflection of our love for Him-- as the outward evidence of the genuineness of the faith which His Spirit planted in our hearts. Our works won't precede us into heaven and serve as the basis for our being received into glory. They'll follow us into heaven and serve to verify that we truly have anchored our heavenly hope on Jesus' redeeming work, on His blood and righteousness.
Faith clings to Jesus’ cross alone And rests in Him unceasing;
And by its fruits true faith is known, With love and hope increasing.
For faith alone can justify,
Works serve our neighbor and supply The proof that faith is living.
(Lutheran Service Book, 555:9)
