the Sheep and the Goats and the Social Justice Crowd

By Eric Barger

The writer (Julie) had heard a sermon on this passage in a local church and was disturbed in the way the passage in Matthew 25 was used so as only to further the concept of social justice. She wrote: “I felt that the whole message was to make the point that those who do good deeds would be welcomed into God’s Kingdom. I know that Christians are suppose to love thy neighbor and faith without works is dead. But I thought the reason behind the separating the sheep from the goats was about salvation – those that are saved and those that are not. People can reason that you don’t have to be religious to help those in need. Some might argue that they see more non-religious people do more good things than some Christians they know. Anyone can put out food and clothes . . . . but what about the saving of the soul? Please explain this scripture to me. Is it being used for the cause of ‘social justice?’ Thank you.”