“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.  Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who 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 brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’  Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who 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.’  And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”   –Matthew 25,31-46  NRSVUE

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Ah, the pesky Parable of the Sheep and the Goats!  Looking back at my youth in the rural southern American fundamentalist church I don’t recall a single sermon drawn from this passage.  It’s not hard to see why.  The parable seems to be saying that our eternal fate depends on how we treat other people.  But how can this be?  Aren’t we saved by grace through faith, not through works, lest anyone boast? Doesn’t this passage contradict the entire idea of Sola Fide, “faith alone”?   

Apologists and commentators have certainly seen the problem and have offered solutions that attempt to reconcile what otherwise seem to be divergent views.  This is part of the larger discussion which includes such passages as 

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it?  If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.  Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is worthless? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that faith was active along with his works, and by works faith was brought to completion. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.  –James 2, 14-26 NRSVUE

So how do we reconcile these passages which seem to contradict the clear message of Paul?  Don Carson, in his sermon, gives what seems to be the standard evangelistic explanation.  The “brothers and sisters” addressed in the text are referring to the members of the Christian community, not to the general population of poor and oppressed in society as a whole.   (Other commentators have narrowed it further by claiming that the “brothers” are Jesus’ immediate disciples.)  

Look, I don’t claim any special insight into deep spiritual mysteries but this answer, superficially satisfying perhaps, raises all kinds of questions that simply don’t get addressed by the folks who proffer this interpretation. 

1. Is this the best reading of the passage? 

Matthew, or his source, presents us with an image of the Final Judgement.  The Son of Man (who, interestingly enough, Jesus describes as a divine person other than himself) separates the blessed from the damned.  (Not God!  Think about that for a minute or two.)    The criteria the Son of Man seems to use is one of personal ethics.   Matthew says “all the nations” (which would of course include gentiles by the by), not merely members of the community or Jesus’ immediate disciples.    To accept Carson’s interpretation you have to make a distinction not readily apparent in the text itself. 

2. Does Carson’s explanation even work?

Ok even if we accept Carson’s explanation that Jesus refers only to members of the Christian community, so what? These folks are still being judged by the actions they took (or didn’t).  Not because of their theological beliefs.  Not faith.  And there is a another problem.  If Jesus is only addressing members of the community then where did the “goats” come from?   Is Carson saying that members of the Christian community that do not treat each other well can lose their salvation and be cast out?  

Doesn’t the passage in Matthew 25 taken in toto seem to be saying that treating others well is exactly what makes us righteous and therefore makes us a brother or a sister in the first place?    Read the passage as a whole.  I deliberately took the verse numbers out just for that purpose.   

The passage in James seems to be arguing with Paul but in fact critiques views derived from what are overwhelmingly likely to have been forgeries.   The actual views of the historical Paul as revealed in his seven authentic letters are much more nuanced.

One reason to be hopeful of an afterlife is the opportunity to be present when Paul first confronts all his interpreters!