Through the Bible: Matthew 25
Keith Green was a pioneer of Christian music—brilliant at the piano and fearless in his lyrics. He pulled no punches. Tragically, he was killed in a plane crash in 1982, but I was blessed to see him in concert shortly before that.
I will never forget his performance of The Sheep and The Goats based on Matthew 25. He acted out the final judgment scene—Jesus dividing the nations as a shepherd separates sheep from goats—and then slammed home the final line with a thunderous chord progression that shook the room:
“And the only difference between the sheep and the goats, according to the Scriptures, is what they DID (power chord)… and DIDN’T (another power chord)… DO!!!”
From there, Keith launched into his best known song– Asleep in the Light:
“How can you be so dead / when you’ve been so well fed? Jesus rose from the grave, and you can’t even get out of bed?”
I left that concert as a fourteen year old kid convinced that I wanted to devote the rest of my life to doing all the things Matthew 25 says to do– and with the fear that if I didn’t, I would hear those dreaded words from Jesus:
Depart from Me…
To this day, I can quote every word of this parable. And I’ve done my best to be attentive to the needs of the hungry, the sick, the homeless, and the prisoner. I’ve asked the question, Am I doing enough?
But alongside that practical question is a theological one: Is Jesus teaching salvation by what we do?
At first glance, the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats sounds like Jesus is teaching salvation by works. The King separates the righteous from the unrighteous, and the dividing line seems to be what they did: feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the imprisoned. The message seems simple—do these things and you’ll be saved.
But look closer. The King doesn’t say, “Earn the kingdom.” He says, “Inherit the kingdom.” You don’t earn an inheritance; you receive it because you belong to the family. That’s grace. Salvation is never a wage we work for—it’s a gift we’re given.
So what’s Jesus teaching here? The difference between the sheep and the goats isn’t the presence or absence of deeds. It’s the presence or absence of relationship. The sheep know the Shepherd. They’ve been changed by His grace, and their lives naturally reflect His compassion. The goats may speak the same religious language, but their hearts remain untouched.
Notice something subtle but profound: both groups are surprised. The righteous say, “Lord, when did we see You hungry?” The unrighteous say, “When did we not?” Neither group kept a scorecard. The righteous weren’t performing for credit; they were simply living out the mercy that had become second nature to them. Grace had changed their reflexes.
This parable isn’t about earning heaven—it’s about revealing heaven’s work in us. It’s not works righteousness; it’s righteous works. Faith that saves always shows itself in love that serves.
Maybe the question for us isn’t “Am I doing enough to get in?” but “Has grace changed me enough that I see Jesus in others?”
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You that Your kingdom is inherited, not earned. Let my faith take action today. Teach me to see You in the hungry, the stranger, and the brokenhearted. May the evidence of Your grace be visible in everything I do. Amen.
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