Confused about order of judgements and barriers

[JamesATyler]

Trying to sort out my understanding of the road ahead. (Order of events) Its just my habit.

So there is this judgement.

Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats

This is about what we have done for Jesus rather than personal righteousness related to personal sins or so it seems.

Then there is also the barrier to entrance to heaven. Personal sins or disobedience to God’s will.
Also a barrier to entry to purgatory at the time of death. Mortal sins. If I understand it right.

Now if death occurs and one is in mortal sin, one goes to hell. Correct? For personal sins.
If death occurs and one is not in mortal sin, one goes to purgatory.
Then at the final judgement, people go to heaven or hell based on what they did for Jesus?

I had been trying to put it together but was coming up with a couple another order of events but it might be wrong.

In the sermon about sheep and goats it says Jesus does this when he comes into his glory. Has this already happened? Does he separate the followers from those that don’t follow during our earthly life? It says the nations will be gathered before him but does that mean as it appears to him on his throne in the present tense or does that mean in a future tense at the final judgement?

I don’t want to be so confused about this that I end up with an incorrect understanding. It would hurt my ability to be of any good assistance to others.

 

[jcrichton]

Hi, James!

I loved how you ended this query!

This is how we all must Stand for Christ… it is a necessity for every person who claims Fellowship with Christ to abide in Christ (St. John 15:1-10).

I may scare you a little… but I feel for you… and I want to give you as much as I can right from the get go…

Consider St. Matthew’s parable one the Sheep and the Goats with St. Matthew’s Revelation on chapter 7:
21"Not everyone who says to me, ‘LORD, LORD,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘LORD, LORD, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

You are on the right path… but it is not about ‘doing something for Jesus’ vs. person sins and disobedience… it is about Abiding in Jesus (St. John 15:1-10) so that He may Abide in us.

Notice that in both of the passages found in St. Matthew Jesus rejects those who purported to have Known Him… in both passages He rejects them for being wicked… they fall short of God’s Grace because they operate outside of God’s Commandments… they allow “self” to be the guiding light… and thus remain in darkness…

We must stop looking for shortcuts… noticed how both the wicked and the righteous did not realize their personal state (status)? The goats, as the sheep, are ignorant of encountering Jesus in their life’s experiences… and in St. Matthew 7 they are even more confused by Jesus Judgment as they begrudge ‘but, but, but, in your name we did…’ (yeah, the emphasis is mine); Jesus is concerned with their hearts, with all of our hearts. Are we serving God or are we exalting ourselves? Are we Obedient to God or are we sinning and teaching others the art of ‘saved no matter what?’

As St. James admonishes: ‘Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up!’ (St. James 4:10)

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[JamesATyler]

Hi. Thanks for the response. I have two sins that are in my immediate fov. Smoking and lust. Both are nearly life long sins. Neither are very serious in a worldly view but neither are God’s will so if the door to heaven were before me I could not enter it. In the Catholic view, these are death and hell. Trying to figure out if being charitable to Jesus would help me. I don’t mind helping for the sake others either though. But this is only my personal salvation too. I am also in love with a woman who is not baptised. So I also worry about the eternal loss of her even if I do manage to overcome my own sins. So I am deeply worried. Out of the blue she opened the bible and read some of Genesis the other day, but she is younger than me and because of that and the prevailing worldly view, she has that barrier before her that has presented religion as utter stupidity. She did buy me a miniature bible to put on my keychain as an act of love and acceptance of my religious beliefs. Maybe that will help her some with Jesus. She is agnostic but fears ghosts though.

 

[jcrichton]

James, we cannot bargain our ways out of hell or into Heaven.

I understand what you are saying… but my advice is that you stop thinking in terms of payment/repayment. There’s nothing we can do to merit Salvation.

Here’s the beauty of this… Jesus has already purchased our Salvation!

Our struggle is choosing between the world and God; between our will (pleasing ourselves) and God’s Will.

Your smoke. That’s awful. But you are in search of the Truth so that search will yield benefits as you continue the trek… pray to God, as I will for you, that He assist you in delivering you from this and any other vice that may hold you prisoner.

Lust is more serious… because it is a sin that works its way into the soul/spirit, not just the physical. I will also pray for you on this… but it is up to you to actually want to give this vice up… here’s the thing… you’ve already confessed that there’s a woman that you love… this could be the means to not only control your lustful desires but to quench them altogether…

I’m not going to lie… agnostics can be a rough crowd… but there might be a way to reason with her… even a way to bring her to the Fold… both due to your age and the fact that you are seeking God, you may well be an important influence in her life… the person that might bring her to the Fullness of the Truth… yet, this means that you must consolidate your personal spiritual life… this means that you must take God’s challenge head on and Become Holy as God, our Father in Heaven, wants us to Be!

Maran atha!

Atha!

 

[Kei]

That’s a way to think about it.
But after death we get the personal judgement, and a taste of Heaven, Hell, or purgatory (purgatory is not a permanent location but temporary for those bound to Heaven).
At the end of time is the general judgement, the end.