Salvation

[MoreCoffee]

Why are we simply absolved in the sacrament of Confession and Absolution, rather than given a penance to do first?

You may be labouring under a misconception about penance. Penance has nothing to do with absolution. One is absolved before performing any penance and very likely before being given a penance to perform. Penance has nothing to do with forgiveness either. One is forgiven as soon as one is contrite for sins and ready to confess them to God.

 

[Confessional Lutheran]

You've repeated Lutheran theology which others have posted before. I do not blame you for that. It is reasonable if your intent is to explain your position but what I am interested to know is how do you interact with what is written in Matthew 25 on the last judgement.

Matthew 25: 31- 46 is a compelling read indeed and I will explain as best I can my own understanding of these verses. To put it in a simpler form, this is the Lord separating His children from the children of the world ( the sheep and the goats, as it were). The Lord praises His people for their acts of charity and they don't know what He's talking about, but He explains that when they've helped the humblest and neediest among them, they have helped Him. Likewise, the damned are expelled from His presence and ( again) they don't know why. The Son of Man explains that when they hadn't done that for the " least of these," they hadn't done that for him.

Now for my own interpretation. Our salvation has been won for us by Jesus already, but it's the Holy Spirit that enlivens our faith, thereby producing love and then good works as fruits of that love. Good works include acts of love toward everybody, no matter how low on the social hierarchy they happen to be. It does not matter what church they belong to, what religion they happen to be, people are all made in the Image of God and that Image deserves respect, love and service. That is when we ( in the Spirit) recognize all men and women as our brothers and sisters and seek their welfare, even over and above our own. When we act out of selfishness or greed, we disrespect that Image of God in which our neighbor was made and not only that, we reflect disrespect against God, Himself. That is how I understand this particular parable.

 

[Josiah]

Then Lutherans believe in universal Salvation...

Nope.

Lutherans affirm Sola Gratia - Solus Christus - Sola Fide as one, united, inseparable truth (you know, John 3:16). Yes - Sola Gratia is universal since God loves the world. Yes - Solus Christus is universal since Jesus died for all. But no, Sola Fide is not universal since not all have faith in CHRIST as THE Savior (some believe self needs no savior since self is good enough, some hold that Jesus is just a possibility maker or helper but it ultimately depends on self). Justification is in place when Sola Gratia - Solus Christus - Sola Fide is, and in many cases, it's not. Thus, universal justification is rejected in Lutheranism.

What Lutherans reject is 1) Self don't need no God, no Savior, no mercy, no grace cuz self has self and self is good enough. 2) Self ain't perfect but with a little help from God, he can be good enough. 3) Jesus saves no one but He opened the gate to heaven so that - with a little help from the RC denomination - he can get through that door because of his goodness. Lutherans teach that Jesus is the Savior. JESUS (not self, not any denomination).... IS (fully, actually)... THE (one and only, all sufficient).... SAVIOR (not helper or possibility maker or mere example). We were excommunicated over that. Of course, Lutherans and Catholics were (and are) in full agreement that once Justified - once given faith, the Holy Spirit, justification - we are called to MANY great things, and we will be judged and rewarded according to such - but that's Sanctification (another subject for another day and thread - one rarely brought up since there's no real disagreement on that in Christianity).



- Josiah

 

[Arsenios]

Wonderful. Not only was I not addressing you, but I also said nothing about your church.:noway: If you feel squeaminsh about its pretentions, that is a problem that has nothing to do with my post.

I know - Forgive me - I just had to chime in...

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

One such Scripture is Ephesians 2:8. Also see 1 Corinthians 2:14 Ephesians 2:8-9 1 Corinthians 12:3, 1 Corinthians 6:11

Please cite the Scriptural words which you think make your point...


Arsenios

 

[Andrew]

I find it fascinating how any thread dealing with Justification, Salvation, Works or Faith always ends up with the same rehashed outcome
I am getting so big off of popcorn it's not even funny.

 

[Arsenios]

For Justification, it depends on whether you are trusting yourself, directing God's attention to YOU.... or trusting in Christ, directing God's attention to Jesus. In other words, in your heart, is there faith in YOU and what is revealed in the mirror or is there faith in Christ and what is revealed on the Cross? IF you desire God to consider YOU the savior of YOU - then yup, it depends on you. IF you desire God to consider JESUS the SAVIOR of you, then yup, it depends on Christ.

Will we be judged by God according to what we do?

OR...

Will we be judged by God according to what God does?

Which is why I keep asking you: WHO is the Savior? You or Jesus?

And you keep getting the same answer, Jesus, over and over,
and it doesn't matter,
you keep asking the same question ad nauseum...

And then you accuse those who disagree with you of being under the spell of Satan...
As you now proceed to do:

Yes, we all know, Satan will work HARD, Satan will work OVERTIME, Satan will be as persuasive as he can be to convince you this is amazingly complicated and complex.... to make Christ as small as possible and self as big as possible.... to get you to look away from the Cross and to look more in the mirror... because if Justification is based on YOU (even 0.0000000000000001%) then he has you.

And then you threaten with hell and accuse lies:

Yes. Those who claim self will be sent to hell because "NO ONE IS RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE" "If ANYONE claims to be without sin, he is a LIAR."

There will also be a judgement of CHRISTIANS but none will be transferred to Hell because they have missed the mark of absolute perfection 100% of the time (if that were the case, we'd all be transfered to hell immediately upon going to heaven.... and Jesus would be worthless).

An underwhelming repetition...

Arsenios

 

[Arsenios]

Nope.



- Josiah

Our final Salvation will be at the Dread Last Judgement...

God will judge the living and the dead...

Will God judge us based on our actions?

Or...

Will God judge us based on God's actions?

Try this, in your understanding of your so-called "narrow justification": Is it a judgement?

Is Salvation by God a Judgement?


Arsenios

 

[MoreCoffee]

Matthew 25: 31- 46 is a compelling read indeed and I will explain as best I can my own understanding of these verses. To put it in a simpler form, this is the Lord separating His children from the children of the world ( the sheep and the goats, as it were). The Lord praises His people for their acts of charity and they don't know what He's talking about, but He explains that when they've helped the humblest and neediest among them, they have helped Him. Likewise, the damned are expelled from His presence and ( again) they don't know why. The Son of Man explains that when they hadn't done that for the " least of these," they hadn't done that for him.

Now for my own interpretation. Our salvation has been won for us by Jesus already

Those are very comforting words - "Our salvation has been won for us by Jesus already" - and no one contests them. As long as "Our" means "For those who are in Christ" and "us" means "those who are in Christ" (or for the sake of succinct English, "them") and "already" means "at the cross when Jesus died for the sake of his people and for their salvation from their sins". But for all that is comforting in those words they are no part of the last Judgement story as told by Jesus in Matthew 25.

, but it's the Holy Spirit that enlivens our faith, thereby producing love and then good works as fruits of that love. Good works include acts of love toward everybody, no matter how low on the social hierarchy they happen to be. It does not matter what church they belong to, what religion they happen to be, people are all made in the Image of God and that Image deserves respect, love and service. That is when we ( in the Spirit) recognize all men and women as our brothers and sisters and seek their welfare, even over and above our own. When we act out of selfishness or greed, we disrespect that Image of God in which our neighbor was made and not only that, we reflect disrespect against God, Himself. That is how I understand this particular parable.

The above is lovely sentiment but none of it related very directly to what Jesus said about the last judgement in Matthew 25. It reads a lot like a summary of a homily or a lesson for adult Sunday school. Take a second look at what Jesus said.

Matthew 25:31-46 31 But when the Son of man will have arrived in his majesty, and all the Angels with him, then he will sit upon the seat of his majesty. 32 And all the nations shall be gathered together before him. And he shall separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he shall station the sheep, indeed, on his right, but the goats on his left. 34 Then the King shall say to those who will be on his right: ‘Come, you blessed of my Father. Possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; 36 naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’ 37 Then the just will answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when have we see you hungry, and fed you; thirsty, and given you drink? 38 And when have we seen you a stranger, and taken you in? Or naked, and covered you? 39 Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit to you?’ 40 And in response, the King shall say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did this for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.’

41 Then he shall also say, to those who will be on his left: ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and you did not give me to drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not cover me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they will also answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he shall respond to them by saying: ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did not do it to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.’ 46 And these shall go into eternal punishment, but the just shall go into eternal life.” ​

 

[Lamb]

Will we be judged by God according to what we do?

OR...

Will we be judged by God according to what God does?



And you keep getting the same answer, Jesus, over and over,
and it doesn't matter,
you keep asking the same question ad nauseum...

And then you accuse those who disagree with you of being under the spell of Satan...
As you now proceed to do:



And then you threaten with hell and accuse lies:



An underwhelming repetition...

Arsenios

We are judged by what we do being covered under Christ's righteousness.

 

[Josiah]

Please cite the Scriptural words which you think make your point.

One such Scripture is Ephesians 2:8


Also see 1 Corinthians 2:14 Ephesians 2:8-9 1 Corinthians 12:3, 1 Corinthians 6:11


Read the words.

 

[Josiah]

Will we be judged by God according to what we do?

OR...

Will we be judged by God according to what God does?

Already answered (several times). See post 538 for example.

And you keep getting the same answer, Jesus, over and over

Thank you!

There is ONE NAME under heaven by which we may be saved.... there is ONE SAVIOR (hint: it can't the one any see in the mirror.... you might consider the first 6 letters of the name of our religion for a clue)




.

 

[MoreCoffee]

People are judged on what they say and what they do, that is what holy scripture teaches.

Matthew 7:1-2 1 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with whatever judgement you judge, so shall you be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, so shall it be measured back to you.

Matthew 12:36-37 36 But I say to you, that for every idle word which men will have spoken, they shall render an account in the day of judgement. 37 For by your words shall you be justified, and by your words shall you be condemned.”

Romans 2:3-9 3 But, O man, when you judge those who do such things as you yourself also do, do you think that you will escape the judgement of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his goodness and patience and forbearance? Do you not know that the kindness of God is calling you to repentance? 5 But in accord with your hard and impenitent heart, you store up wrath for yourself, unto the day of wrath and of revelation by the just judgement of God. 6 For he will render to each one according to his works: 7 To those who, in accord with patient good works, seek glory and honour and incorruption, certainly, he will render eternal life. 8 But to those who are contentious and who do not acquiesce to the truth, but instead trust in iniquity, he will render wrath and indignation. 9 Tribulation and anguish are upon every soul of man that works evil: the Jew first, and also the Greek.​

 

[Lamb]

People are judged on what they say and what they do, that is what holy scripture teaches.

Matthew 7:1-2 1 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with whatever judgement you judge, so shall you be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, so shall it be measured back to you.

Matthew 12:36-37 36 But I say to you, that for every idle word which men will have spoken, they shall render an account in the day of judgement. 37 For by your words shall you be justified, and by your words shall you be condemned.”

Romans 2:3-9 3 But, O man, when you judge those who do such things as you yourself also do, do you think that you will escape the judgement of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his goodness and patience and forbearance? Do you not know that the kindness of God is calling you to repentance? 5 But in accord with your hard and impenitent heart, you store up wrath for yourself, unto the day of wrath and of revelation by the just judgement of God. 6 For he will render to each one according to his works: 7 To those who, in accord with patient good works, seek glory and honour and incorruption, certainly, he will render eternal life. 8 But to those who are contentious and who do not acquiesce to the truth, but instead trust in iniquity, he will render wrath and indignation. 9 Tribulation and anguish are upon every soul of man that works evil: the Jew first, and also the Greek.​

You forgot the part where believers are covered by Christ's righteousness.

 

[Confessional Lutheran]

Those are very comforting words - "Our salvation has been won for us by Jesus already" - and no one contests them. As long as "Our" means "For those who are in Christ" and "us" means "those who are in Christ" (or for the sake of succinct English, "them") and "already" means "at the cross when Jesus died for the sake of his people and for their salvation from their sins". But for all that is comforting in those words they are no part of the last Judgement story as told by Jesus in Matthew 25.



The above is lovely sentiment but none of it related very directly to what Jesus said about the last judgement in Matthew 25. It reads a lot like a summary of a homily or a lesson for adult Sunday school. Take a second look at what Jesus said.

Matthew 25:31-46 31 But when the Son of man will have arrived in his majesty, and all the Angels with him, then he will sit upon the seat of his majesty. 32 And all the nations shall be gathered together before him. And he shall separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he shall station the sheep, indeed, on his right, but the goats on his left. 34 Then the King shall say to those who will be on his right: ‘Come, you blessed of my Father. Possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; 36 naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’ 37 Then the just will answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when have we see you hungry, and fed you; thirsty, and given you drink? 38 And when have we seen you a stranger, and taken you in? Or naked, and covered you? 39 Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit to you?’ 40 And in response, the King shall say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did this for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.’

41 Then he shall also say, to those who will be on his left: ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and you did not give me to drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not cover me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they will also answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he shall respond to them by saying: ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did not do it to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.’ 46 And these shall go into eternal punishment, but the just shall go into eternal life.” ​

When I say " we" and ' us" in the context given above, of course I mean all baptized and regenerated Christians. I gave you my understanding of the meaning of those verses above. We are to live lives of service because in the Lord, service to man is also service to God.

 

[Josiah]

People are judged on what they say and what they do, that is what holy scripture teaches.

Matthew 7:1-2 1 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with whatever judgement you judge, so shall you be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, so shall it be measured back to you.

Matthew 12:36-37 36 But I say to you, that for every idle word which men will have spoken, they shall render an account in the day of judgement. 37 For by your words shall you be justified, and by your words shall you be condemned.”

Romans 2:3-9 3 But, O man, when you judge those who do such things as you yourself also do, do you think that you will escape the judgement of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his goodness and patience and forbearance? Do you not know that the kindness of God is calling you to repentance? 5 But in accord with your hard and impenitent heart, you store up wrath for yourself, unto the day of wrath and of revelation by the just judgement of God. 6 For he will render to each one according to his works: 7 To those who, in accord with patient good works, seek glory and honour and incorruption, certainly, he will render eternal life. 8 But to those who are c
ontentious and who do not acquiesce to the truth, but instead trust in iniquity, he will render wrath and indignation. 9 Tribulation and anguish are upon every soul of man that works evil: the Jew first, and also the Greek.​

Yup, that's the Law. And if you choose to rely on YOU KEEPING THE LAW for justification (and thus repudiating Christianity) then good luck - all you need do is be absolutely God-like from conception to the microsecond of your death, as holy as God is holy, as righteous as God is righteous, as loving as God is loving, never once "missing the mark" (the literal definition of being a sinner) in thought, word or deed... in what is done and not done.... in other words, to be equal to Jesus who of course needed no Savior. Good luck with all that.

Frankly, I rely on Christ (it's what makes me a Christian)..... I agree with Scripture that ALL of us mere mortals have sinned and missed the mark, that if ANY claim to be sinless (always hitting the mark) they are LIARS and are calling God a liar.... I agree with SAINT Paul that I am the chief of sinners and in need of God's mercy, forgiveness, salvation.... that I'm saved by grace in Christ through faith (as the Bible says, as is the central point of Christianity) and not by keeping the Law. Indeed, I agree with Scripture, if I could keep the law then Jesus was in vain (indeed, Christianity).


Now, if you want to affirm all the above (agreeing with Protestantism), then we could change topics to Sanctification (living the life we've been GIVEN, following the direction and employing the power of the Holy Spirit that we've been GIVEN, acting according to the faith we've been GIVEN)... but of course, Protestants and Catholics agree on all that. All you are doing in your persistent evasion of the Gospel, your insistence in not only making Christ as small as possible but not even so much as mentioning Him is simply to try to defend popular Catholicism's errant theology of justification and distance yourself from any view of Jesus as the Savior (not just helper or possibility maker or door opener or any of the other things our Catholic teachers taught us).



.

 

[MoreCoffee]

You forgot the part where believers are covered by Christ's righteousness.

That would be because it isn't in the passages I posted. Check them again if you like.

People are judged on what they say and what they do, that is what holy scripture teaches.

Matthew 7:1-2 1 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with whatever judgement you judge, so shall you be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, so shall it be measured back to you.

Matthew 12:36-37 36 But I say to you, that for every idle word which men will have spoken, they shall render an account in the day of judgement. 37 For by your words shall you be justified, and by your words shall you be condemned.”

Romans 2:3-9 3 But, O man, when you judge those who do such things as you yourself also do, do you think that you will escape the judgement of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his goodness and patience and forbearance? Do you not know that the kindness of God is calling you to repentance? 5 But in accord with your hard and impenitent heart, you store up wrath for yourself, unto the day of wrath and of revelation by the just judgement of God. 6 For he will render to each one according to his works: 7 To those who, in accord with patient good works, seek glory and honour and incorruption, certainly, he will render eternal life. 8 But to those who are contentious and who do not acquiesce to the truth, but instead trust in iniquity, he will render wrath and indignation. 9 Tribulation and anguish are upon every soul of man that works evil: the Jew first, and also the Greek.​

 

[MoreCoffee]

When I say " we" and ' us" in the context given above, of course I mean all baptized and regenerated Christians. I gave you my understanding of the meaning of those verses above. We are to live lives of service because in the Lord, service to man is also service to God.

I know that you gave your understanding of the passage from Matthew 25 about the last judgement. What matters, as far as I can tell, is what Jesus meant by the words he spoke.

Matthew 25:31-46 31 But when the Son of man will have arrived in his majesty, and all the Angels with him, then he will sit upon the seat of his majesty. 32 And all the nations shall be gathered together before him. And he shall separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he shall station the sheep, indeed, on his right, but the goats on his left. 34 Then the King shall say to those who will be on his right: ‘Come, you blessed of my Father. Possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; 36 naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’ 37 Then the just will answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when have we see you hungry, and fed you; thirsty, and given you drink? 38 And when have we seen you a stranger, and taken you in? Or naked, and covered you? 39 Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit to you?’ 40 And in response, the King shall say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did this for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.’

41 Then he shall also say, to those who will be on his left: ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and you did not give me to drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not cover me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they will also answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he shall respond to them by saying: ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did not do it to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.’ 46 And these shall go into eternal punishment, but the just shall go into eternal life.”​

Salient points in Jesus' teaching in this passage are

• Jesus will judge the nations
• He will separate the nations into those on his right and those on his left as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats
• those [nations? people? individuals?] on the Lord's right are called "the just" and they inherit eternal life
• those [nations? people? individuals?] on the Lord's left are called "accursed ones" and they go off into eternal punishment.
• Those on the right are commended for the good things they did to "these least of my brethren" because by doing good to them they did good to Jesus himself
• Those on the left are condemned for not doing good for "these least" because by not going good to them they also failed to do good to Jesus himself.

There are some things to examine and decide; for example,

• is it the nations that go to the right and the left or is it people or is it individuals. This may be significant if the passage is intended to teach what happens to whole nations, groups, or to individuals.
• is the simile of the shepherd, his sheep, and his goats a core element here that ought to be used as the determining factor for interpreting what Jesus says or is the simile intended to make vivid the scene at the last judgement without being the normative factor in interpretation
• is the intent of Jesus' remarks about "these least" and what is done (and not done) for them as being done (or not done) to him significant
• Is the emphasis on what the people being judged did - both the just and the accursed - significant or not and if it is what exactly is its significance and how does it apply to Christians

There's also some considerations about the setting in which Jesus spoke; is he speaking to some specific group and thus limiting the applicability of his words to that group alone or is he teaching all people in all times from that day until the end of the ages?

 

[MennoSota]

I know that you gave your understanding of the passage from Matthew 25 about the last judgement. What matters, as far as I can tell, is what Jesus meant by the words he spoke.

Matthew 25:31-46 31 But when the Son of man will have arrived in his majesty, and all the Angels with him, then he will sit upon the seat of his majesty. 32 And all the nations shall be gathered together before him. And he shall separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he shall station the sheep, indeed, on his right, but the goats on his left. 34 Then the King shall say to those who will be on his right: ‘Come, you blessed of my Father. Possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; 36 naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’ 37 Then the just will answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when have we see you hungry, and fed you; thirsty, and given you drink? 38 And when have we seen you a stranger, and taken you in? Or naked, and covered you? 39 Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit to you?’ 40 And in response, the King shall say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did this for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.’

41 Then he shall also say, to those who will be on his left: ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and you did not give me to drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not cover me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they will also answer him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he shall respond to them by saying: ‘Amen I say to you, whenever you did not do it to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.’ 46 And these shall go into eternal punishment, but the just shall go into eternal life.”​

Salient points in Jesus' teaching in this passage are

• Jesus will judge the nations
• He will separate the nations into those on his right and those on his left as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats
• those [nations? people? individuals?] on the Lord's right are called "the just" and they inherit eternal life
• those [nations? people? individuals?] on the Lord's left are called "accursed ones" and they go off into eternal punishment.
• Those on the right are commended for the good things they did to "these least of my brethren" because by doing good to them they did good to Jesus himself
• Those on the left are condemned for not doing good for "these least" because by not going good to them they also failed to do good to Jesus himself.

There are some things to examine and decide; for example,

• is it the nations that go to the right and the left or is it people or is it individuals. This may be significant if the passage is intended to teach what happens to whole nations, groups, or to individuals.
• is the simile of the shepherd, his sheep, and his goats a core element here that ought to be used as the determining factor for interpreting what Jesus says or is the simile intended to make vivid the scene at the last judgement without being the normative factor in interpretation
• is the intent of Jesus' remarks about "these least" and what is done (and not done) for them as being done (or not done) to him significant
• Is the emphasis on what the people being judged did - both the just and the accursed - significant or not and if it is what exactly is its significance and how does it apply to Christians

There's also some considerations about the setting in which Jesus spoke; is he speaking to some specific group and thus limiting the applicability of his words to that group alone or is he teaching all people in all times from that day until the end of the ages?

Is that passage referring to salvation or referring to the day of the Lord and his judgment upon the nations before Jesus begins His reign?

 

[MoreCoffee]

Is that passage referring to salvation or referring to the day of the Lord and his judgment upon the nations before Jesus begins His reign?

Seems that those on the Lord's right inherit eternal life; that's about salvation isn't it?