Salvation by Works or Grace?
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see 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 say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46)
Introduction
In this essay we will look at a set of evaluation criteria the King uses for entrance into His eternal kingdom and for those who will enter into eternal punishment. We will also look at other Biblical criteria for the same. We will define eternal life and eternal punishment.
Key Words and Phrases
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. – Jesus acknowledges that not only do we enter into His kingdom, we also co-reign with Him. This has been established for us before the beginning of time. (Ephesians 1:4, 2:6-7, 2:4-10, Hebrews 12:28)
You did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me. & You did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. – Jesus and the Apostles taught that one could not love God without loving people. (Matthew 22:37-40; 1 John 4:20-21; John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:7-8)
Eternal punishment – Hell is a very real place for very real people. If you believe in Jesus, you must believe what He said (and He said a lot about Hell). (Matthew 5:22, 29-30; 7:19; 8:12; 10:28; 13:40-42, 49-50; 18:8-9; 22:13; 23:33; 24:51; 25:30, 41, 46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 12:5; Luke 16:23-26)
Eternal life – Jesus clearly defines eternal life; “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3) This is not intellectual assent. It is experiential by following His example and living out our image of God. Eternal life is being in and with Him for all eternity starting the moment one repents and believes. (Romans 6:23)
Messianic Model – Focus on Jesus’ example
Jesus did not just come to earth as God although He was and is 100% God from eternity past to eternity future. (John 1:1-2, Revelation 22:13) But Jesus also came as a man and took on flesh and lived as we do. (John 1:14, Hebrews 2:17) He modeled what it looks like to be a kingdom citizen and lived out the values of loving as He is directing us to live by in this passage. (John 3:16; 13:34-35; 15:13) Jesus showed us what eternal life looks like on this side of heaven.
Key Theological Implications
We have been given a kingdom – We were created and commanded to have dominion, to rule. (Genesis 1:26–28) Many of the parables Jesus taught were about God’s expectations of our rulership. (Matthew 21:33-46; 25:14-30, Luke 16:1-13, 19:11-27) And we will co-reign with Him. (Matthew 19:28; 25:34, 1 Peter 2:9)
Salvation by Works? – As stated earlier in our study of the kingdom we have seen Jesus intimate that salvation or entering the kingdom comes through the merit of good deeds. This can be confusing when compared to His other statements of entrance through grace and the rest of the New Testament’s focus. That is why context is so important. Context meaning the whole of what is intended for understanding and not just snippets or sound bites that could lead to false interpretations. We have three levels of Biblical context;
- Immediate Context – within the chapter in which the verse is found
- Book Context – the entire book written by a particular author
- Biblical Context – the whole of Scripture inspired by God
When Matthew 25:31-46 is tested with these three elements, we will see that salvation is by grace and not merit.
Immediate Context –
Verse 34 says, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” These are people who are blessed by God indicating His grace upon them. The kingdom is inherited, it is a gift, not earned, pointing to God’s prior work and grace. The kingdom is described as prepared…before the foundation of the world. This pre-existence of the kingdom emphasizes God’s initiative, purpose, and grace apart from human achievement.
The “righteous” are surprised by the evaluation of their actions (vv. 37-39), suggesting they weren’t acting to earn salvation, but out of identity and relationship. Their righteousness appears as fruit rather than the basis of their standing before God.
Context in the book of Matthew –
Matthew 20:1–16 – Parable of the Vineyard Workers – We have already studied this parable where the workers in the vineyard are paid the same wages, no matter how long or hard they worked. The parable points to the grace and generosity of God.
Matthew 19:25–26 – “Who Then Can Be Saved?” – When Jesus is explaining the tragic dilemma of wealthy people trying to make it into heaven He says “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples respond with this question, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus’ answer clearly points to the grace of God, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Biblical Context –
In the Gospel of John, when Jesus is asked about the “work of God” that leads to eternal life, He says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” In Ephesians the Apostle Paul clearly states that salvation is an act of grace by God based on our faith and is a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). And in Titus he writes; “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5) We could go to many other such passages to make this case.
Works are a result of the grace of God in people by their faith. Even our faith is a gift from God (Romans 12:3). Therefore, when sizing up Jesus’ apparent “salvation by merit” in this passage we can safely assume that it was by grace that they were able to do such good works.
Contemporary Spiritual Significance
As one reads this passage of the judgement the result should lead to introspection. “Am I doing the kind of things Jesus is talking about?” If the answer is yes, then we must thank God that He has blessed us with the energy and where with all to perform such acts of love. If the answer is no, we should follow the Apostle Paul’s advice to the Corinthians;
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)
The Transformative Power of Loving People
Jesus commands His disciples;
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Loving people the way Jesus loves us transforms us into people who are becoming like Him. We are following His example. We are also learning who He is by obeying His command and His disclosure of Himself to us. We have assurance that the grace of God is working in us and that our inheritance of the kingdom is secure. This makes for loving, secure, and confident people living out their identity and purpose as image bearers of God.
Conclusion
Jesus’ list of loving people which is translated into actually loving Him is not a prerequisite for entrance into His kingdom as much as these are the fruits of faith in the King. They are the natural by-product of one’s faith in an all loving, gracious God who has chosen them before the foundation of the world. As disciples of Jesus we are simply walking in the good works by the grace of God set before us. (Ephesians 2:10)
Disciple-Maker’s Short Story
Above the Clouds
The Boeing 737 MAX climbed through twenty-three thousand feet, Atlanta still two hours away. Captain Don Mercer watched the autopilot hold the climb rate steady while his hands rested loosely on his thighs—present but uninvolved, the way a parent watches a teenager parallel park.
“Dallas Departure, Skyward 447, leveling two-four-zero,” Ben Castellano said into his headset, his voice carrying that fresh precision of a pilot still in love with every transmission.
“Skyward 447, roger. Contact Atlanta Center on one-two-four-point-eight-five.”
Ben acknowledged and made the frequency change. Through the windscreen, cumulus clouds drifted past like thoughts that couldn’t quite form themselves into rain. Don stretched, felt his spine crack, and pressed the call button for the flight attendant.
“Coffee?” he asked Ben.
“Always.”
They’d been flying together for eight months now—long enough for Don to recognize the weight behind Ben’s silences, the way questions brewed in him like those clouds outside, building density before they finally broke open.
Sarah appeared in the doorway with the coffee pot already in hand. “Thought you might be ready,” she said, pouring into Don’s cup first, then Ben’s. The aroma filled the cockpit—rich, slightly burned, perfect.
“You’re a mind reader,” Don said.
“Twenty-two years doing this, I better be.” She disappeared back into the cabin.
Ben wrapped both hands around his cup, staring at the steam. The engines hummed their constant song, that white noise that made the cockpit feel like a confessional booth at thirty-eight thousand feet.
“So I’ve been reading,” Ben finally said.
Don waited. He’d learned that with Ben, you didn’t rush. The kid—though at thirty-two he wasn’t really a kid—processed things deeply, turned them over like stones looking for what lived underneath.
“Matthew 25. The sheep and goats thing.”
“Ah.” Don took a sip, let the heat spread through his chest. “That’s a heavy one for a Tuesday morning.”
“It’s Wednesday.”
“Is it?” Don smiled. “See, this is why I need a co-pilot.”
Ben didn’t smile back. His jaw worked like he was chewing on something bitter. “It’s messing with my head, Don. Jesus is literally saying—feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting prisoners—that’s how you get into heaven. Or don’t. It’s right there. ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire.’ Because they didn’t do those things.”
The TCAS display showed clear air ahead. Atlanta Center came through with a heading change for traffic. Ben acknowledged mechanically, adjusted course two degrees, then looked back at Don.
“That’s works-based salvation,” Ben continued. “That’s everything I thought Christianity wasn’t. I thought we were saved by grace, through faith. Not by checking boxes on some cosmic to-do list.”
Don set his cup in the holder and reached for his tablet, pulling up his Bible app. The screen glowed in the dim cockpit lighting. He’d had this conversation before—with himself, with other pilots, with his own son who was now flying C-130s for the Air Force.
“Can I show you something?” Don asked.
Ben nodded, leaning over.
Don found Matthew 25 and zoomed in on verse 34. “Look at this. ‘Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'”
“Okay?”
“‘Prepared for you from the foundation of the world,'” Don repeated. “Before creation. Before you did anything good or bad, before you existed—the kingdom was already prepared. You inherit it. You don’t earn an inheritance, Ben. You receive it.”
Ben’s forehead creased. Outside, they punched through a thin layer of cirrus, and for a moment the sun flared directly into the cockpit before the auto-dimming windscreen compensated.
“And look at their reaction,” Don continued, scrolling down. “Verses 37 through 39. The righteous are completely surprised. ‘When did we see you hungry? When did we visit you in prison?’ They’re genuinely confused. These aren’t people who kept a spreadsheet of good deeds hoping to score points. They didn’t even realize they were doing anything special.”
“But Jesus still judges them based on what they did.”
“Or what they did reveals what they were.” Don paused, searching for the right words. “Think about flying. When did you know you wanted to be a pilot?”
The question caught Ben off-guard. “I don’t know. Seven? Eight? My dad took me to an air show.”
“And from then on, everything you did pointed that direction. Flight simulator games, aviation books, model planes, getting your private license at seventeen. You weren’t trying to become someone who loved flying. You were someone who loved flying, and everything flowed from that.”
Ben’s eyes narrowed, following the logic.
“The sheep in this passage—they’re people who’ve been transformed by grace. They’ve encountered the living God, and it’s changed them at the root level. So when they see someone hungry, they don’t calculate whether feeding them will improve their salvation score. They just… feed them. It’s who they’ve become.”
Don scrolled back up. “Look at verse 34 again. ‘Blessed of my Father.’ They’re already blessed. The blessing came first. Everything else is fruit.”
“But the goats—”
“Same thing, opposite direction. They call Him ‘Lord,’ notice that? Verse 44. They use the right religious language. But their hearts are unchanged. Grace hasn’t penetrated. So when they see suffering, they step over it because they’ve never been broken by their own need for mercy.”
Ben sat back, processing. Don watched him the way he’d watch a student pilot processing a complex approach—letting the information settle, waiting for the connection to form.
“So it’s not that doing good works saves you,” Ben said slowly. “It’s that being saved produces good works.”
“As inevitably as thrust produces forward motion.” Don tapped the throttles. “We don’t sit here wondering if these engines will work. They work because they’re functioning engines. When they stop working, we know something’s broken internally.”
“James chapter 2,” Ben murmured. “Faith without works is dead.”
“Not because works make faith alive. Because living faith can’t help but produce works. Dead faith produces nothing, which reveals it was never actually faith at all—just intellectual agreement.”
The radio crackled with another handoff. Ben took it, his voice steady, professional. When he clicked off, he said, “But Paul says in Ephesians—what is it, 2:8?—that salvation is by grace through faith, not by works.”
“Verse 9, yeah. ‘Not by works, so that no one can boast.'” Don pulled up Ephesians on the tablet. “But look at verse 10. Nobody ever quotes verse 10.”
Ben leaned in.
“‘For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.’ The works were prepared. Past tense. Before you got there. You’re walking into works that God already laid out. You’re not earning anything—you’re living out your identity.”
Ben was quiet for a long moment. Below them, the landscape unfolded—tiny towns, roads like veins, a river catching sunlight. From up here, you could see patterns invisible from the ground.
“It’s like…” Ben struggled for words. “It’s like the judgment in Matthew 25 isn’t really about the works themselves. It’s about what the works reveal about whether grace has actually done its work inside you.”
“Exactly.” Don felt the satisfaction of watching someone break through. “The sheep don’t even recognize themselves as righteous. They’re surprised by the King’s assessment. They were just being who they’d become. The goats don’t recognize themselves as unrighteous either—they thought their religious vocabulary was enough.”
“So when Jesus says, ‘Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me’—that’s not a threat. That’s an invitation to see Him everywhere.”
“In every face twisted by hunger or loneliness or suffering. Yeah.” Don’s voice softened. “That’s what stops me cold, Ben. When I drive past a homeless guy, am I seeing Jesus and choosing to ignore Him? When I’m too busy for my wife, too distracted for my kids—am I too busy for Christ?”
The weight of it settled between them. The engines hummed. Somewhere in the cabin behind them, 147 passengers were reading, sleeping, arguing, dreaming—each one carrying their own complexity, their own dignities and wounds.
“The thing that gets me,” Don said after a while, “is how Jesus lived it. He wasn’t running around trying to qualify for heaven. He was heaven, walking on dirt roads, and everywhere He went—the hungry got fed, the sick got healed, the outcasts got invited in. Not as a program. As the natural overflow of who He was.”
“He showed us what eternal life looks like before we die,” Ben said quietly.
“That’s good. That’s really good.” Don nodded. “Eternal life isn’t just duration—living forever. It’s quality. It’s knowing God. Jesus says that explicitly in John 17: ‘This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.’ Not know about. Know. Intimately. Experientially.”
“And if you know Him—really know Him—you become like Him.”
“You can’t help but become like Him. Love stops being an obligation and becomes an instinct.” Don paused. “Most days I fail at it spectacularly. But the grace is, even my failures don’t disqualify me. They drive me back to the cross, where the whole thing started anyway.”
Ben stared out at the clouds. “I think I’ve been scared,” he admitted. “Scared that I’m not doing enough. That when I stand before Him, He’s going to tally it all up and I’ll fall short.”
“You will fall short. So will I. That’s why we needed Jesus in the first place.” Don’s voice was gentle. “But falling short doesn’t mean falling away. The sheep in Matthew 25—they’re not perfect. They’re His. There’s a difference.”
“His,” Ben repeated, tasting the word.
“Listen,” Don said, pulling up one more passage. “Second Corinthians 13:5. Paul tells people, ‘Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.’ Notice he doesn’t say, ‘Count your good works.’ He says, ‘Is Christ in you?'”
“And if Christ is in you—”
“His life flows through you. Sometimes in ways you don’t even notice until He points them out on the last day, and you’re standing there surprised, saying, ‘When did we see you hungry?'”
The sun had climbed higher now, and the quality of light changed—harder, clearer. Don checked the fuel, the weather ahead, all the small rituals that kept them safe at this speed and altitude.
“You know what scares me more than the judgment?” Don said. “The idea that I could go through my whole life with Jesus-vocabulary and church-attendance and theological correctness, but never be transformed. Never have my heart broken for what breaks His. Never learn to see Him in ‘the least of these.'”
“The goats,” Ben said.
“Yeah. They’re not atheists. They call Him Lord. But they never learned to love.” Don turned to look at Ben fully. “That’s what this passage should do to us. Not terrify us into performing, but wreck us with the realization that we’re called to something so much deeper than religion. We’re called to be like Him.”
Ben’s throat worked. “I want that. God help me, I want to be like Him.”
“Then you’re already on the path, brother. Because that desire? That’s not self-generated. That’s the Spirit at work. And what He starts, He finishes.”
The radio called for another frequency change. They were beginning their descent now, the long gradual slope toward Atlanta. Ben took the call, then reached forward to begin the pre-descent checklist. But his movements were different now—less mechanical, more thoughtful.
“Don?” he said after a moment.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“Anytime. That’s what the kingdom looks like—people helping each other see Jesus more clearly.”
As they descended through layers of atmosphere, Ben found himself praying silently—a wordless offering that took in Don, the passengers behind them, the broken world spinning below, and his own stumbling attempts to love well. He thought about Matthew 25, about sheep and goats, about mercy and judgment.
But mostly he thought about the King who came not to be served but to serve, who touched lepers and washed feet and died for his enemies. The one who said, “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me,” not as a test to pass but as an invitation to a life so saturated with grace that love became inevitable.
The kingdom prepared before the foundation of the world.
The inheritance already secured.
The works already laid out, waiting to be walked into.
Outside the cockpit windows, Atlanta rose up to meet them—a sprawl of humanity, millions of stories intersecting in the Georgia clay. And somewhere down there, people were hungry, lonely, imprisoned by a thousand different chains.
Ben prayed he would have eyes to see them.
And hands willing to serve.
“Atlanta Center, Skyward 447, descending to one-zero-thousand,” Ben said.
They flew on into the light.
ToBeLikeJesus 