Bigape, I see your point and just to clarify, a person who does not give their life to Jesus and make him their savior and Lord yet feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, visits the sick, etc., still will not see the Kingdom of Heaven. Simply put, no "Salvation by good works."
But Jesus lists the lack of those activities as to why they were cast into "eternal punishment." That means that those activities - those 'good works - are expected of Christians by Jesus.
So that 'sheep and goats' scripture means either 1.) All people would have been saved if he would have just done the activities he mentioned (and again, just those activities without being saved will not help you), or 2.) Those activities are expected by all people including Christians, and not performing those 'good works' could cost you your salvation.
Simply acknowledging that Jesus is Lord will not save you. Even Satan will one day bend his knee and acknowledge that. Being a Christian requires more than prayer, fasting, and praising. It requires doing those things Jesus is going to damn those people for not doing.
Let me rephrase that, if you have an good committed relationship/prayer life with Jesus, you will know that He requires these things of you as His child. If you sincerely pray and praise Him, He calls you to do this.
Or, to put it another way, if you are a Christian physically able to perform those tasks Jesus listed, He EXPECTS you to do them to the very upmost of your ability, and if you choose not to...
But Jesus lists the lack of those activities as to why they were cast into "eternal punishment." That means that those activities - those 'good works - are expected of Christians by Jesus.
So that 'sheep and goats' scripture means either 1.) All people would have been saved if he would have just done the activities he mentioned (and again, just those activities without being saved will not help you), or 2.) Those activities are expected by all people including Christians, and not performing those 'good works' could cost you your salvation.
Simply acknowledging that Jesus is Lord will not save you. Even Satan will one day bend his knee and acknowledge that. Being a Christian requires more than prayer, fasting, and praising. It requires doing those things Jesus is going to damn those people for not doing.
Let me rephrase that, if you have an good committed relationship/prayer life with Jesus, you will know that He requires these things of you as His child. If you sincerely pray and praise Him, He calls you to do this.
Or, to put it another way, if you are a Christian physically able to perform those tasks Jesus listed, He EXPECTS you to do them to the very upmost of your ability, and if you choose not to...