I know many of you may know the scripture below by heart or have read it many times nevertheless I would like to expound on it as the Holy Spirit has revealed to my heart.
Matthew 7:21-23 KJV
“21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
The above verses look very confusing when we compare it to other scriptural verses that says “anyone who can call Jesus Christ his/her Lord and Savior will be saved.”
Secondly, Jesus Christ in the scripture said, those who believe in him, will do the same things he did or even greater. He also said these signs will follow them; in his name (Jesus Christ), they will cast out demons, death will raise, blind will see, and many more.
So how possible for someone to the same things Jesus Christ did but at the end, the Lord himself will tell them, depart from me? Our salvation comes by acknowledging the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. Jesus Christ again said many will call me Lord, Lord but will tell them, I don’t know you.
To be baptized, confirmed, and ordained in the church is not enough. To be in the ministry of Jesus Christ: priest, father, pastor, evangelist is also not enough for us to make it to Heaven. Yes, it is very possible for someone to start with Jesus Christ in truth, but later depart from the same truth.
What Jesus Christ means in the above verses is this:
1. In verse 21 “Not every one that SAITH unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that DOETH the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
From the above verse, SAITH is a word and DOETH is an action. What Jesus Christ really means here; our confessions about him must be followed by our actions in the will of God. Next question is ‘what is the will of God?’ Is saying no to your own will and allow God will to rule you.
2. It is not about how you begin your Christian Journey, but how you end up. In verse 22, it talks about those people who started with the Lord faithfully but ended up being unfaithful. Such people will remember their beginnings; how faithful they were, or even the miracles they performed in the name of Jesus Christ. The scriptures tell us that he who stands to the faith up to the end shall be saved.
I pray that God will give us the grace so that our words will have action in His will and I pray that we will be faithful to God to the very end, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
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