Matthew 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”

 

            With these couple verses Jesus exposes those folks try to be good and say all the right things, thinking that is good enough and will actually matter in the end. On ‘Judgment Day’ it will only be our relationship with Christ; as in, our acceptance of Him as our Savior and Lord, and living in obedience to His standards that will matter. 

            Jesus didn’t suffer a gruesome death on a criminals cross so we could play some sort of game with salvation. This is very serious business. Our eternal destination hangs in the balance and is based on decisions we’ve made in this life.

            It’s interesting that the “believer” told Jesus that they prophesied in His name, drove out demons, and performed many miracles, yet Jesus stated in reply that He did not know them. Perhaps He knew something about them that made them unworthy. Something Matthew didn’t reveal. Perhaps the things they did in Jesus name was for personal notoriety. The crux of Christianity though is not JUST believing in Jesus, because scripture tells us in Matthew 2:19 NLT, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” 

            What is true faith? “True faith, which leads to salvation, is not merely an intellectual assent but a transformative trust that results in a changed life and actions that reflect God's character.” ^[1] A person’s salvation should exhibit evidence of a life that has been changed in a significant way. 

            By the way, when someone ‘tries to be good’, what criteria do they follow? Jesus said NO ONE IS GOOD, except the Father ^{(Mark 10:18)}. Are they following biblical principles or personally interpreted thoughts. Trying to get to heaven on your own is a fools errand. There is no profit in that at all. It’s like travelling a bridge to nowhere. If we could achieve eternal life on our own, then why on earth would Jesus have had to die? We need Christ. Without Him, we are very lost with no way to find redemption. 

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

^[1] www.gotquestions.org