What is the significance of the sheep and the goats

What is the meaning of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector? What is the meaning of the Parable of the Two Sons? What is the meaning of the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price?

What is the meaning of the parable of the friend in need persistent neighbor? What can we learn from the parable of the persistent widow and unjust judge? What is the meaning of the parables of fasting at the wedding feast, the old cloth, and the wineskins? What is the meaning of the Parable of the Unjust Steward Luke ?

What is the meaning of the Parable of the Growing Seed Mark ? What is the meaning of the Parable of the Dragnet? But that's not really the point Jesus is driving at. The Gospel's message is clear throughout Scripture that "all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" John It is by faith, through grace, that we are reconciled to God.

We just can't miss out on the important message that salvation should transform us into the kinds of people who serve their King by doing good for others. So, what can we take away from this parable? Here are four quick lessons we could learn from the story of the sheep and the goats:. It's impressive to realize that the sheep are surprised by this turn of events. They weren't serving others to be noticed or to curry favor with the King. They were doing good because it was in their nature to care for others.

The King commends the sheep for everything from feeding the hungry to clothing the naked. But in there, He recognizes something as simple as a drink given to the thirsty.

The point is that there is no service too small for Jesus to remember. The King's interaction with the goats is the most sobering aspect of this parable.

It's one thing to celebrate the positive and kind things someone does. It's another thing entirely to realize that the King is paying attention to opportunities to help others that we neglect to capitalize on.

It's a mistake to assume that becoming more Christlike is merely a case of stopping bad behaviors. The more like Jesus we become , the more our lives are poured out in service to others.

So many of the kindnesses the King mentions are ones the sheep would have had to go out of their way to perform. No one just happens upon someone in prison and stops for a visit.

You have to make a plan to spend time with someone in that position. It's by God's grace that we are reconciled to God. There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn the privilege of becoming God's children. But that doesn't mean that what we do doesn't matter. Jesus explained it to the Pharisees this way:. In the story of the sheep and goats, Jesus wants us to understand that our choices reveal the kingdom to whom we belong.

To learn more about serving the Lord, check out New Growth. Christians believe that all humans have a soul which lives on after the death of the physical body. They believe that how they live during this life on Earth will impact what happens when they die.

If they have followed God's will they will have eternal life with God. However, if not, their soul may go then their soul may go to a place known as Hell where they are separated from God and experience torment. Some Christians believe it is just the soul that is resurrected and goes on to the afterlife.