Why must we believe *before* we die?

31: When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37: Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38: When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39: Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40: And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44: Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45: Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46: And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

iano writes:Verse 19 talks about the person who breaks the law being least in heaven and the person who upholds the law being greatest. Both are saved people however. The question is how does a law breaker and a law upholder get to heaven. It is patently not by following the law.

Jars Bible writes:32: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

jar writes:Please point out where Jesus refers to belief in the quoted scripture.

iano writes:As with any part of the bible you have to read the verse in the context it is set in. Read the story a little bit further on. Jesus has listed a number of commandments and " The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?". Jesus said unto him "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Covetness.....No one can keep all the law. Jesus just illustrates it here.

iano writes:Religion tells you to keep the law and you will be saved.

iano writes:But you cannot keep the law. You will always fail somewhere.

legend writes:I don't think there's anything here to indicate that both a law breaker and a law upholder get to heaven.

Like many other Jesus verses, Mat 5:19 shows that Jesus taught that it's what you do (or try to, as Jar says) that makes the difference.

We are told by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” -Ephesians 2:8,9 (all quotations will be taken from the KJV)But we are also told by James:
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” -James 2:14Here, as with many apparent contradictions in the Bible, the difficulty disappears when we critically examine the possible meanings of the terms (words) used. Once we know the different possible meanings of those terms, we can examine their usage, in Scriptural context, to determine which of the possible definitions was originally intended."

Jars bible writes:36: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37: Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

Good people don't go to heaven. Righteous people do.

Where is faith described as a law?

James 2:10 "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Revelation 21:27 "And there shall in no wise enter into it (Heaven) anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the lambs book of life.

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Titus 3:5 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us..."

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

John 6:47 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life."

Romans 4:5 "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

John 3:18 "He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Romans 8:1 "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ"

Romans 1:17 "But in the Gospel, a righteousness FROM GOD is revealed, which by faith from first to last."

For He (God) hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (II Corinthians 5:21)

"And by Him (Christ) all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." (Acts 13:39)

"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (John 1:12)

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." (John 10:28)

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life..." (I John 5:13)

iano writes:Where is faith described as a law?

robin writes:Same thing. "Good"="righteous."

Jar writes:and what is the criteria for the separation?