There are a number of things that Christ said.
There has been a lot of discussion about some of them and if Christ really meant what he said.
Which leads me to a scripture that came to mind in the middle of the discussion.
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. 35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, 36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me…’
That is part of the description of what happens after Christ returns (Matthew 25:31) and what comes next.
The longer text is as follows:
The Judgment
25:31 “When 32 the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his gloriousthrone. 25:32 All 33 the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another likea shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 25:33 He 34 will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 25:34 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. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, 35 ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When 36 did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When 37 did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, 38 ‘I tell you the truth, 39 just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters 40 of mine, you did it for me.’
25:41 “Then he will say 41 to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 25:42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. 25:43 I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 25:44 Then they too will answer, 42 ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’ 25:45 Then he will answer them, 43 ‘I tell you the truth, 44 just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ 25:46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Which leads to questions:
- Did Christ really mean that?
- What did he mean by it?
- What other things did he say that we don’t necessarily believe or think about?
- Why is that teaching ignored by others?
- Should it be more strongly taught as doctrine?
- Why?
What do you think?
Images from Amazon or from Wikimedia Commons.
Wheat & Tares 
Most don’t believe Christ. Take the story of the rich young ruler. It is explained as a test just for him. It strains credulity that this is required of him and not us. If you keep reading after the story of the rich young ruler you will find a story about the apostles wherein they they have forsaken all and then followed Jesus. That is exactly what Jesus said to the rich young ruler. It was not isolated advice. But, it is explained as isolated advice because we love our riches.
Yes, He meant it.
It is sad when people weaponize scriptures to use against others, especially within the body.
This opens up an interesting philosophical discussion. When Christ says that those who provide for the “least among us” will inherit the kingdom, does that mean that baptism into a particular faith is not required? Personally, I believe it does. People of all religions like to make Christ’s message more complicated than it is. We (speaking broadly) like to set up requirements because we want to think that we are the ones doing some special to merit Christ’s favor. Typically, those requirements are the things that we are good at. Christ also said several times while he was in his earthly ministry that he didn’t come to judge. Many religions ignore this statement because we love to judge. We love to decide who gets in and who is left out. Christ also said that he is the gate keeper and he employs no servants there. Religions are filled with people who claim the role of gate keeper, deciding who is worthy enough to have earned particular blessings, determining whether others’ repentance is sufficient. That’s all poppy cock. A relationship with Christ is deeply personal and no mortal man or woman holds the keys to that relationship.
Yes, a beautiful counterpart to the SR grace post.
Let’s not let the truth of Pauline Grace be an excuse to ignore Jesus’ invitations to act in the Gospels.
Yes, christ did mean what he said. To truly be a disciple of Christ, you must strive to follow his example and be like him. Christ hardly spent any time worrying about himself and his needs, the only time I can think of is gethsemane: “let this cup pass from me”. Being charitable is the essence of being Christian. Seeking to help others before yourself is practically the definition of overcoming the “natural man”.
I don’t believe that you will burn in hell for not selling all you have, and I don’t believe there is anything inherently wrong with bettering your situation. However, charity is a habit, and as you continue to put yourself first, you will drive away your desire to help others. Ultimately, refusing to help those who need you will be counted as a sin.
As to whether you must be baptised into a particular denomination, there are too many people doing their best with what they have been given that I can’t believe only one church will be saved. Either the particular church doesn’t matter that much, or it will be sorted out in the next life.
Thank You for your thoughts.
All of the works here involve our extending grace to others who don’t deserve it just as God extends it to us.
Stephen,
Thought of your post and how when one principle of the gospel is separated out, there is a tendency to start sounding like a tinkling cymbal. This may have been one of the reasons Alma sorrowed so greatly over the worship of the Zoramites. “But they had fallen into great errors, for they would not observe to keep the commandments of God…Alma 31:9. Sure they built synagogues, went to church and even prayed and confessed God. It appears they forgot the other things he said and taught. When you asked “What other things did he say that we don’t necessarily believe or think about?” I think we can answer the question if we hear ourselves playing the same set of notes over and over again with out consideration of the other notes found in the gospel.
MAM, That’s totally part of the problem, isn’t it? “Keep the commandments, Keep your covenants. Follow your priesthood leaders” is repeated endlessly. I can’t think of a single Sunday where the topic of grace was covered in our sacrament meeting. I love that it is creeping back in though. Makes me wonder how many other deeply meaningful concepts we’ve let get buried in our zeal for our top 10.
I don’t see a conflict between grace and keeping commandments. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” It’s all one package deal.
” I can’t think of a single Sunday where the topic of grace was covered in our sacrament meeting. ‘
ReTx- That’s a great idea because I’m pouring through my scriptures and I can’t piece together a real great definition of what it is. I thought I knew but in re-reading, I only understand pits and pieces… that’s a problem considering that it’s the thing that in the end is supposed to save us!!!