A wonderful post by a sister in Christ named Eva Saved by Grace:
The reason why I believe there are so many horrible interpretations of Matthew chapter 25 is because most people do not see the gospel clearly.. I’ve seen horrible interpretations that say that you are made righteous on the basis of works of handing out water and food and clothing to naked people, visiting people in prison, inviting them in as a stranger and this is how you get eternal life are saved and are made righteous… Another horrible interpretation I’ve seen is where people pass the buck to some futuristic group to say that there will be these sinless perfectionist Jews that will be keeping the law perfectly and they’ll be believing a different gospel and their righteousness will be based on their works and deeds as mentioned in Matthew chapter 25… Matthew 25:31-46 ( 31“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left. 34“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. 35For 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; 36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’ 41“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43I 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.’ 44Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not [i]take care of You?’ 45Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either.’ 46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”) Most people do not discern what these verses are saying because they are discerned through the light of the gospel and you have to see the light of the gospel and clearly understand and know what the gospel entails and provides… On the contrary what false gospels do not provide but actually rob people of the spiritual necessities of being clothed by the righteousness of Jesus Christ who is the bread of life by which Jesus says when you come and believe you shall never hunger and thirst again … The true gospel invites strangers into the family of God and sets the captive free from their mental prison of condemnation fear guilt and conceptualizations to sin law and Judgement.. Through the knowledge of the cross the sinful sick are healed by His stripes… So let me breakdown what these verses mean starting from top to bottom… 35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, ) As ambassadors of Jesus Christ when we bring the real gospel we bring Jesus Christ who is the bread of life that satisfies… John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.) Only the real gospel brings the true Jesus Christ who is the spiritual food and drink that is referenced in Matthew chapter 25 that if you have done it for the least of these you have done it for me… In other words giving the gospel to someone who is spiritually hungry and thirsty that God loves, died for and wants to save.. Revelation 22:17 (The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires, take the water of life without cost. ) Jesus is that eternal fountain of life that we can drink freely without cost according to the true gospel that you give to the spiritual hungry and thirsty… ( I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ) Only with the real gospel are you inviting people into somthing..False gospels dont invite people into anything..They’re just inviting them into condemnation and damnation ..With a false gospel it’s like inviting a person into a house that’s burning down..Only with the true gospel are you inviting people into the family and the household of God… 36i was naked, and you clothed Me; ) Only with the true gospel of imputed righteousness are people clothed from their nakedness before God a spiritual necessity for salvation.. Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.) So according to scripture the gospel of salvation clothes us with the robes of righteousness from our nakedness… Which On the contrary false gospels do not clothed anybody nor does it give them spiritual bread and drink ( which is Christ ) nor does it invite them in as a stranger… ( I was sick, and you visited ) Only with the real gospel are we helping people with their spiritual sickness which is their sin before God and giving them the remedy by which they are healed… Isaiah 53:5 ( 5But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. ) Only the gospel has the true remedy by which people are healed from their sin before God…People with false gospels do not help people that are sick they just bring the law that produces the power of sin and makes things worse… in prison and you visited me.’ ) Only with the true gospel can we visit and help people out of their mental prison of condemnation and set at liberty the captive and make them free through the truth of the gospel … John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ) Psalm 146:7 Who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;) Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,) So the Lord through the truth of the gospel sets the prisoner free and they that are held captive and He the true Christ gives food for the hungry.. Understanding this through the light of the gospel we then understand that confused reaction of the people who say but ( ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not [i]take care of You? ) They like so many people today look to their works and performance, physical actions and deeds and pass up the spiritual necessity of the true gospel and what its supplies and provides and they believe that they have done the good deeds that they believe are necessary to enter into heaven… However even with all their works performance in the outward physical realm of trying to do works they rob people of the spiritual necessity of the spiritual food and drink of Jesus Christ the clothing of righteousness that He gives us by faith according to the gospel inviting us in as a stranger to the family of God and visiting and setting the prisoner free and helping the the spiritually sick to be healed from their sin according to the glorious light of the gospel of Jesus Christ… So as a thought exercise knowing what the gospel entails and what it provides read through those verses in Matthew chapter 25 again in light of the gospel and you should see things clearly that it’s referencing the gospel… ’ 46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”) 2 Corinthians 5:21 ( For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. ) Romans 3:22 ( Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: ) Romans 4:5 ( But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,) You don’t have to work to be justified or made righteous in other words you don’t have to invite strangers into your house, hand out food and bottled water, visit people in hospitals or in prisons .. We believe on the son of God according to the gospel who gives us all things and gives to people all things through the proclamation of His gospel….