Today’s podcast deals with Matthew 25.
Matthew 25 appears to sort people into sheep and goats based on their works. But aren’t we saved by grace alone?
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Jeremy Affeldt 
I love reading the bible and it’s amazing… I know not everyone belives in God and to each his own… The world is scary… And hard But with God all things are possible…
Yer right, Jeremy: it’s not about works, its about heart. That part that we cannot see. The parable of the tares affirms that there are and will be those who are false followers. BUT the tares look the same as wheat. Its Gods call at Judgement Day and no one else. We have to seek hard after Christ and His Father’s will through the power of the Holy Spirit!
If it’s true that we’re saved by grace ALONE, then everyone will go to Heaven and there would be no mention of Hell in the Bible. The truth is, we cannot be saved without God’s grace. Our affirmative response to God’s grace is also necessary for our salvation. The “grace alone” assertion was Martin Luther’s idea, not God’s.
Steve,
Pretty sure based on Ephesians 2:8-9 it was Gods idea.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast
Jeremy, thanks for the reply! I saw it while in line at AT&T Park. I hope your injury heals quickly. By the way, I still have your youth soccer team’s player’s passes. Your dad had one, too, as a coach. Still saving them for you!
Jeremy, I’d be interested to read your thoughts on James, Chapter 2; especially James 2:24.
Steve
I will be touching on that shortly. It’s one of my favorite verses. Taken out of context more often than not. Often used to show that the bible supposedly contradicts itself but actually written to allow one to be empowered in grace to show others what the love of a father looks like. Brings hope to those who live out Galatians 2:16-20 in understanding to live like Christ we walk like Him and Matthew 25:31-46 are his footprints. No man shall live for himself! – But for God and others
Jeremy, I hope you haven’t taken my comments to mean that I believe we can work our way into Heaven. I certainly do not believe that. But I do believe that we owe it to God to do our best to obey Him. They’re “commandments,” after all, not “suggestions.” As Jesus said toward the end of the Gospel of John, if we love Him, we’ll obey Him. I believe the level of our obedience reflects the degree of our love – which brings to mind the greatest commandment.
You are a phenomenal example of someone focused on Christ. God has given you a great gift, which you’re using to give back to Him. If everyone would use God’s gifts for good as you do, imagine how glorious this world could be!
That doesn’t say “grace alone.” It says “grace through faith.” And James said faith without works is dead, right? I’m not saying we work our way to Heaven. But we’re not going to Heaven if we don’t love God, and our obedience to God is a reflection of our love for Him. If we love Him, we obey Him. If we don’t obey Him, we don’t love Him.
Steve
Agreed. I do believe in obedience. We obey because of the saving grace that allows the Holy Spirit to influence and change our hearts and minds. The power of the cross means nothing to those who don’t believe (1 Cor 1:18).
Loving Jesus is what it takes, but we also need to look at how that is evident~ the evidence of our love would be shown in how we ACT, behave, move…..Being a follower means showing that to others and, unfortunately, in our society that means by what we do and how we do it. Thanks again Jeremy for clarifying cloudy issues!