Matthew 25 - limit our love to obedient Christians?

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Bootstrap
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Matthew 25 - limit our love to obedient Christians?

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Wayne in Maine wrote:In both cases it is the obedient one who has a particular relationship with another (the member of the community and Jesus Himself).

It’s worth noting whom Jesus is referring to in Matthew 25. When the sheep and the goats are separated He says to the righteous: ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ In the same way that everyone who is hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison is not Jesus’s brother, not everyone who even lives in proximity to us is our neighbor – but only those who are obedient.
Here's the entire passage.

Are you implying that Jesus is talking about showing love only to obedient Christians, and that we are off the hook if we do not show love to others?
Matthew 25 wrote:The Final Judgment

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 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. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 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. 35 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, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 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.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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Is it biblical? Is it Christlike? Is it loving? Is it true? How can I find out?
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Wayne in Maine
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Re: Matthew 25 - limit our love to obedient Christians?

Post by Wayne in Maine »

Bootstrap wrote: Are you implying that Jesus is talking about showing love only to obedient Christians, and that we are off the hook if we do not show love to others
I did not say that.
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Bootstrap
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Re: Matthew 25 - limit our love to obedient Christians?

Post by Bootstrap »

Wayne in Maine wrote:
Bootstrap wrote: Are you implying that Jesus is talking about showing love only to obedient Christians, and that we are off the hook if we do not show love to others
I did not say that.
I could well have misunderstood you. Can you help me better understand what you meant to say? Or just say how you understand this passage?

What did you mean by this?
Wayne in Maine wrote:It’s worth noting whom Jesus is referring to in Matthew 25. When the sheep and the goats are separated He says to the righteous: ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ In the same way that everyone who is hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison is not Jesus’s brother, not everyone who even lives in proximity to us is our neighbor – but only those who are obedient.
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Heirbyadoption
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Re: Matthew 25 - limit our love to obedient Christians?

Post by Heirbyadoption »

In the same way that everyone who is hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison is not Jesus’s brother, not everyone who even lives in proximity to us is our neighbor – but only those who are obedient.
Wayne, I confess I'm missing the corollary as well. I can understand where you point out Jesus' particular reference to his "brothers" and doing good to them, but the Scriptural concept of neighbor is usually grounded in the Good Sam parable, and I'm not sure how you limit our "neighbor" to the "obedient". Could you clarify a little?
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