christ-our-glory: Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘

christ-our-glory: Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” Salvation is not found in our works. The assurance of our salvation is found in the work of Christ, not our own works.Beware of doing all the “right” things like going to church, getting baptized, tithing, etc., only to end up trusting in you rather than Christ. I’ve used to know people who walked away from Christianity after having been exemplary Christians. Don’t let anyone, or anything, lead you astray from Him.Salvation by works is impossible for sinful creatures such as ourselves. As Charles Spurgeon put it, “Dear friends, the system of salvation by works is impossible to you. You cannot perfectly keep the law of God, for you are sold under sin. I recollect when I resolved never to sin again. I sinned before I had done my breakfast.”Remember, our most righteous deeds are “filthy rags” before a most holy God as the prophet Isaiah said (Isaiah 64:6). That passage from the Sermon on the Mount needs to be read parallel to Matthew 25:31-46. The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats is an elaboration on Matthew 7:22-23. Once more people stand before Jesus to be judged. In one camp are those who knew Jesus and called him Lord, in the other those who did not know him and did not call him Lord.To the first, Jesus says that since they did not care for the poor and needy, “whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me“ and condemns them. To the second, Jesus says that since they did care for the poor and needy, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”The judgment is explicitly according to works, not faith. Interestingly, the parable gives no examples of those who called Jesus Lord and did his will or those who did not call him Lord and did not do his will.There’s a case to be made for salvation by faith to the exclusion of works in the New Testament, but you won’t find any evidence for it in Matthew. -- source link

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