Confused about something in the Bible

[Tigerchu]

I'm confused about something from the Bible:

I know that if I belive that Jesus died for me, and that he was ressurected, which he was and did, or I should type did and was, then I am saved. But there's something in the Bible that's confusing me, I'll copy paste the verses

START of copy paste
Matthew 31-33"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.
34-36"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

37-40"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

41-43"Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

44"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'

45"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'

46"Then those 'goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the 'sheep' to their eternal reward."

END of copy paste

So, is this telling us we had to feed the hungry, give drink to the thristy, give a bed to the homeless, give clothes to the shivering, and visit the sick in bed in order to go to Heaven?

[Syreth]

Well, there are a number of different perspectives on this passage, so it might be more appropriate to take this to Tweb. However, the short answer to your question is no, you don't have to do all of those things to become saved. Only Jesus can save you. However, I personally believe that those works will naturally happen if you have a relationship with Jesus.

Philippians 2:13
...for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

[Mithrandir]

This seems like a legitamate thread. Let's not degrade into nasty bickering debates, OK?

Syreth is correct. It is generally accepted that this passage is saying that, when you become a Christian, a process begins that changes you. You will want to have compassion on other people. Deeds such as this will happen.

[Kamakazi]

This seems like a legitamate thread. Let's not degrade into nasty bickering debates, OK?

Syreth is correct. It is generally accepted that this passage is saying that, when you become a Christian, a process begins that changes you. You will want to have compassion on other people. Deeds such as this will happen.

I don't know. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I was talking about something with my friend. he asked "what about all those guys in the old testimant?" hmm.... yes... would they still go to heaven?

another thing poped in. jesus died to forgive us of our sins. but he also died so that we could have a relationship with god (god will not go anywhere near sin).

so,imediately I realized(and shouted it out too...) "OH!!!!!! I got it! to get into heaven, you've got to have a relationship with god!!!!!"
and... yeah. and by having a relationship with jesus, you also strengthen your relationship with god.

mith? correct me if I'm wrong.

[Nate]

"what about all those guys in the old testimant?" hmm.... yes... would they still go to heaven?

There are a couple of schools of thought on this, but I think the most prominent is that the people who were devoted to God during the Old Testament were sent to a "holding place" for lack of a better term, until Christ's death, after which they were admitted into Heaven.

There are also those who believe that by following Old Testament Law, they were admitted into Heaven directly. I have my problems with this theory, but this isn't the place to debate the merits or follies of one theory or another, I'm just putting it out there.

so,imediately I realized(and shouted it out too...) "OH!!!!!! I got it! to get into heaven, you've got to have a relationship with god!!!!!"

It's more than a relationship]jesus died to forgive us of our sins. but he also died so that we could have a relationship with god (god will not go anywhere near sin).[/QUOTE]
I hear so many people say things like this, and ultimately it all boils down to what I heard at Passion, I believe.

Why did Christ die on the cross? The ultimate answer.

To forgive us of sin? Well, yes, that's true, and that's a big part of it, and that's awesome. But that isn't the ultimate reason.

To give us a relationship with God? Well, that's true too. But it's still not the ultimate reason.

The ultimate reason Christ died on the cross is to glorify God. Now, us getting into Heaven is a big part of it, that's true. But the main purpose, the number one reason Christ died, was to bring glory to God.

[Ryupower]

what it means, basicly, is "what you've done to other Christians, you've done to Jesus". And if you treated other brothers and sisters unlovingly, you treated Jesus unlovingly. ( we are all part of His body, for one. )
The requirement to go to heaven is to accept Jesus as savior and LOVE Him!
And by loving Him you love God aswell! ( as the scriptures say )

So now you know.

( sorry if someone already said this, I skimmed through and just wanted to answer. )

The crazy part now is that just yesterday I gave that scripture to someone. O.O;
( sadly, as the first scripture I gave him in a while )

[rocklobster]

It just means you shouldn't miss opportunities to help people. If the opportunity never arises, it's not your fault.

[K. Ayato]

If look back to those verses you've posted, you'll see that Jesus is referring to the last judgment where He separates the Believers from the lost, as a shepherd sets the sheep apart from the goats (I'm paraphrasing here.), so the negative message is directed towards the goats, aka those who are not saved.

[Cap'n Nick]

When interpreting passages like this, there are two main difficulties to avoid. The first is the belief that faith is insufficient and that we must complete a penance in order to supplement the works of Jesus. The second is that this is all metaphorical and that we can do whatever we want, as long as we attest intellectually to the suffering and death of Jesus. The dynamics of this are complicated, but I truly believe that no correct answer will exempt a person from relying on Jesus completely for their salvation, or for striving with all their might to do what he commands.

[battletech]

Your safed by faith and not by works.
Works are what show that we have faith.
Read Galatians it talks alot sbout works and faith.
Those verses are just giving an example of the differance between the saved and the unsaved.

[K. Ayato]

Hooah! Couldn't have said it better myself.