Jesus pictures the final judgment as a shepherd dividing his flock. When the Son of Man comes in His glory, all the nations are gathered before Him, and He separates the sheep on His right from the goats on His left. The lesson set this beside the parables of the dragnet and the tares, and beside the great white throne of Revelation, where anyone not found written in the book of life is judged.
The sheep are not saved by their works. They are born again by the Spirit, who opens their eyes and ears, and they are God’s workmanship, created in Christ for good works. Their love for the least of Christ’s brothers is the fruit of that new life, while the goats are shown to have had no such fruit. Faith without works is dead. Those who belong to Christ walk by the Spirit and love one another as He has loved them.