On the basis of Matthew 25:31-46, is Salvation by works i.e. by doing good deeds?

Without any doubt or ambiguity, salvation is by grace and grace alone. It can in no way be ‘earned’ by any good deeds, but is a gift given by God, freely made available to mankind through the accomplished work of Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary, and no human works of any kind have any role whatsoever in the salvation of any person (Ephesians 2:1-9, Romans 3:27-28).

Once saved by God’s grace, we are saved for eternity (John 10:28-29), and the saved ones will be with the Lord God for ever (John 14:3). God has prepared plans, of works to be done by every one of His saved children (Ephesians 2:10), and God expects His children to accomplish them well; and to live in a manner that exhibits and witnesses for the salvation they have received from God, and glorifies Him (Romans 6:11-14; 12:1-2; 14:7-8; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15).

These God appointed works entrusted to the Believers, are to be done on the basis of God's Word, and God’s instructions. Every Christian Believer's works will eventually be minutely scrutinized for the enduring quality of his works (1 Corinthians 3:11-15); and based on the enduring quality of their works the Believer will receive their rewards for eternity. Some will find that none of their works could pass the scrutiny, all their works were rejected and thrown away, leaving them empty-handed; but their salvation was not rejected; they are still 'saved', are still in heaven with the Lord, but have nothing for their eternity (v.15). At the time of judgment of the Believers (1 Peter 4:17), their judgement will not be for determining or conferring salvation – that has already been decided and settled once and for all at the very moment of their repenting from their sins and accepting Lord Jesus as Saviour, while they lived on earth. Their judgment according to their works i.e. according to the quality of their commitment and obedience to God and to His Word will be to determine the rewards the Believers will receive for their eternity. From the parable of the Owner of the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) we see that even those who, though worked for lesser time than the others, but did it as per the master’s instructions, still received the same rewards as everybody else. Our making the most of the opportunities sent our way by God and the manner in which we have utilized those opportunities, the enduring quality of our commitment to God and His Word is what counts for our eternal rewards.

Matthew 25:31-46 is referring to this judgment of the Believers – whether or not they have been obedient to God and His Word, and done the things expected of them as children of God. We see in this parable that in v.33 segregation is done – between the sheep and the goats – here notice that they neither qualified nor failed to become one or the other; but they already were “sheep” and “goats.”In vs.34 and 37 the Lord calls the sheep “blessed of my father” and “righteous” – all of these titles are in the past tense i.e. denote a status already accomplished and granted, before their being presented to the King (v.31-32). Nowhere in the parable is the Lord saying or indicating to the sheep that “in recognition of your good deeds done in my name, I am now conferring upon you the status of being my sheep, of obtaining salvation, of being considered righteous, and of being called the blessed of God.” It were the sheep, the righteous, the blessed of God, who by virtue of the heavenly nature imbued in them because of their salvation and being Born Again into the family of God, that did works that demonstrated their heavenly nature and set them apart from the “goats” who despite having similar opportunities had no inclination or desire to exhibit anything heavenly. The “sheep” acted in accordance with their inherent nature due to being saved by faith and regenerated, while the “goats” acted in accordance with their inherent nature due to their unsaved and unregenerate state. Their deeds did not make them “sheep” or “goats”, rather their already being “sheep” and “goats” caused them to live out what already was within them.

Their works did not grant them salvation, but their being saved and Born Again, being regenerated, caused them to behave in heavenly manner. The same applies to all other references and situations in the Bible pertaining to the relationship between works and salvation.