There is an immediate wrong conclusion that can be drawn from the parable:  that we are judged solely by what we do for others.   This would be a salvation of works and the Gospel and Church condemn that error repeatedly.  Another error among Protestant ‘Calvinists’ is that we are born and sheep or a goat and can’t do anything about it.

sheepgoat

Whether we become a sheep or a goat depends on how we seek or ignore God.  If man could have received salvation through his own efforts then Christ would not have had to come and suffer and die.  All we have to do to be a goat is to ignore God.

The truth is that we ‘become’ a sheep or a goat through our spiritual journey.   Helping others  (the corporal works of mercy) can only result if we seek and receive God’s grace and do it the right way.   Elder St. Paisios points out that good works done for the sake of personal praise are not really good works at all but self-serving efforts.  These are goats in sheep’s clothing mimicking the outward ‘good works’ of sheep.

To become a sheep we have to seek the truth, and the revealed Truth is found in the Orthodox Church and its teachings.  To the degree that we ‘work on ourselves’ through prayer, repentance, spiritual reading (especially the Bible), attentively attending services and putting what we learn into practice, we become a sheep.  The ‘good works’ referenced in this parable are only the visible tip of a spiritual iceberg.  They are the result of a life dedicated to seeking and loving God.  It is on this that true judgement is made.

-An Infant in Christ