In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-35), Jesus seems to teach that salvation will depend upon our works. According to the parable, Jesus will come, sit on His throne, gather all the nations before Him, and separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep inherit the kingdom based on their works of mercy to the sick, poor, and imprisoned “brethren,” while the goats will be called “cursed” and sent into “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Whether one inherits the kingdom or faces eternal fire depends on doing works of kindness and charity.
The problem with that interpretation is that dozens of verses say that salvation is by grace, through faith, apart from works (see here). Can the Bible contradict itself? Assuming we agree it cannot, how do Free Grace (and FG-friendly) writers explain this passage?
My review of the grace-friendly literature found five options.
Option 1: Works of mercy demonstrate faith (or lack thereof). The sheep and goats are not separated based on their works but on their prior identity as either sheep or goats. And being a sheep depends on believing in Jesus. The sheep’s acts of mercy show they believe and are regenerated. The goats’ lack of works is due to their lack of faith. (This option does not depend upon a specific interpretation of eschatology.)
Option 2: This is a judgment to determine degrees of reward or torment. This judgment is based on works, not on faith alone. However, salvation itself is not at stake. The sheep are rewarded according to the good they did, while the goats are sent away to torment (and probably to degrees of torment), based on what they did. If this is a rewards passage, you might expect there to be unrewarded sheep. Why are none present? That can be explained in one of three ways. First, a Dispensational answer is that this judgment is only for Tribulation survivors, and only faithful believers will survive it. Second, Jesus may be speaking in general terms, using a figure of speech called synecdoche to refer to a part (i.e., the faithful sheep) to represent the whole. Or third, when Jesus addresses the "righteous," He may be referring to only those sheep who were faithful.
Option 3: This is a judgment based on works to decide which Gentiles can enter the millennial kingdom. The nations are Gentiles who have survived the Tribulation. However, these Gentiles do not know who Jesus is and are not Christians. Instead of judging them based on whether or not they believed the gospel (which they evidently have not heard), Jesus judges them according to the promise made to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt” (Genesis 12:3). Since these unbelieving Gentiles blessed Jesus’ “brethren” during the Tribulation, the Lord blesses them by allowing them to enter the kingdom. This is not eternal salvation but being allowed to enter the millennium in mortal bodies. This view depends upon a Dispensational eschatology. (I am not entirely confident I have understood or summarized this view correctly, so please double-check the literature.)
Option 4: This judgment is for those who never heard the gospel. G. H. Lang points out that Peter once said, “But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:35 NKJV). This points to the possibility of being accepted by God based on works. For example, Cornelius is an example of an unbeliever whose prayers and alms went up to God and who was considered a righteous man (cf. Acts 10:22). Lang explains that does not count as works salvation because the acts of mercy are not the “ground of our being declared righteous.” Instead, they give God a “valid occasion for reckoning to that one the righteous atoning work by which His Son provided a legally valid righteousness for the good of all men.” However, Lang says this courtesy only applies to those who have never heard the gospel. If someone has heard and rejected the gospel, they are condemned. (I hesitated to include this option as “grace-friendly,” but Lang has enough of a following among Free Grace people that I thought I would include it.)
Option 5: This judgment reveals who has depended upon their works for salvation. The sheep are surprised that the Lord Jesus notices their works, but the goats defend themselves by asking for examples of when they failed to help Jesus: “Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?” (Matthew 25:44, emphasis added). The sheep and the goats have different attitudes towards their works. As Price and Sorensen write, “The goats are precisely those who come to Jesus dependent upon their works to get them in. They think they’re good enough, while the sheep don’t even stop to consider their works before the King.” Because they depend upon their works for salvation, they are not saved, but sent to eternal fire.
There you have five possible grace-friendly interpretations of the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. If you know of another possibility, please write to me and I will consider including it in this list.
Which of these five interpretations is correct? Frankly, I am undecided. This is a hard parable with many moving pieces, and I am not fully persuaded of any one view.
What I know for sure is that while this single passage raises more questions than it answers, the dozens of verses teaching that salvation is by grace, through faith, apart from works, are clear and consistent, and I will focus on what I know, and trust my Shepherd to take care of His sheep.
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Send your questions or comments to shawn@freegrace.in.
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