“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
When Jesus returns and takes all believers to heaven there will still be a judgment. Not a judgment based upon our sin but a judgment for what we did with our gift of salvation. True salvation is a gift from God and we can’t earn it. But true salvation is a gift from God that we must show it. True salvation has a natural response of producing fruit. Fake salvation does nothing. When Jesus judges us He will be doing so based upon not what we say we believe but what our belief produces in our works toward others. It is not a faith that is achieved by works, it is a faith that is demonstrated by works. In the above passage we read that the demonstration is not that we stand up and proclaim our faith to the world, although that is not a wrong thing. The above passage informs us that our faith is genuine when we demonstrate it in our care for the world around us. You can’t say you have faith and have no works. That is not faith.
James 2:14-17 (ESV)
Faith Without Works Is Dead
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
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