Welcome. Good question. "Faith without works is dead". It is also true that works without faith are dead. When Lord Jesus spoke to the churches in the book of Revelation, He said, "I know your works......"
John says that we know that we have passed from death to life when we love the brethren. Love is practical. If one of the brethren is suffering lack, we must help them. I knew a young couple in the large Pentecostal church I attended. They were struggling financially and faced eviction. One response was to give them a book by a prosperity preacher. It would have been better to give the money. You can't eat a book.
I left that church and I was exhorted to meet a man who led a small group. He was a contractor. I finally went to meet him. Over the next few weeks, I saw him open his wallet to give to single mothers and the unemployed members of the group. I was astonished. There was no offering. There was a plate at the entrance to the meeting place if you wanted to give. One time I wanted to give, he told me to give to one of the members who needed it. If there was a special need, he gave an opportunity for people to give, if they were able. No one went without.
That's "sheep" behaviour. God met his every need, including the gift of a house to live in.
How unlike prosperity preachers who just want the contents of your wallet. I'm not saying that every prosperity preacher is a goat, but there are some who sure look like it.
When will the judgement be? I believe as soon as the individual dies. God is outside of time as we know it.
If a person is born again, it will be proven by a change in behaviour and attitudes. Church surveys indicate that less than 10% of church attenders are born again. The 90% are disqualified from God's kingdom. This is a tragedy. How do we know who is for real and who is not? By their fruit and by their works. I suspect that many of us will be surprised by who is a sheep and who is a goat.
Please note that sheep are sheep and goats are goats by nature. You can't make a goat into a sheep. So preaching to "goats" trying to get them to act like "sheep" is pointless.
