Jesus said that there will be a judgment of people after the Second Coming in which people will be separated like and as sheep and goats. The sheep enter the kingdom and the goats do not.
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Matthew 25:31-33 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Matthew 25:41-46
I used to hear the argument from Calvinists that goats cannot become sheep. But we are not born saved, so we were goats before sheep. I think we should just look at the distinctions of sheep and goats with reference to the judgment. It's true that goats can't become sheep in the natural realm, but that is not the point of the prophetic picture. No one is born a sheep, if sheep represents a saved person, for all are born unsaved, and would be a goat, but it isn't about what you were when you were born, but what you are at the judgment.
Everyone, including Calvinists, have to deal with the basis of judgment, which appears to be how those judged treated the "brethren"--probably during the "great tribulation." If we are justified by faith alone and not by works, one may try to make the argument that the sheep are those who have been born again and would act accordingly. But what if one was born again and didn't act accordingly?
It could be that how the sheep acted reveals that they responded positively to the gospel message of the brethren, and this is evident in their treatment of them. But the story speaks of visiting in prison and being fed and clothed.
It could be that Jesus identifies believers (the sheep) by that which is characteristic of them and does not address the possibility of a believer who acts in the manner of which the goats are accused. Likewise, Jesus identifies the nonbeliever (the goats) by that which is characteristic of them. You can see this in the writings of Paul when he gives certain vice/ sin lists of the unrighteous: " 9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Believers should not behave as the unbelievers. The sheep have the opposite character. They are saved people, and they have conduct often characteristic of a believer. Jesus does tend to identify believers by their conduct.
If this is about rewards, there is no reference to sheep who acted like goats and got something less than the sheep who acted like a sheep. It seems Jesus is distinguishing saved from unsaved by what is characteristic of them, all other variables are not addressed.
Goats cannot become Sheep in nature, but no one is born a sheep, but in the judgment, one will be one or the other. Whichever one you are, there will be conduct characteristic to whichever one you are which is an identifier in judgment and determining factor in one's destiny.
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