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Matthew 7:21-23

Member
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:21‭-‬23

I was talking about these verses with someone and we got to talking about when Jesus says "those who do the will of my Father". The will of His Father is being saved, right? Not by works according to Ephesians 2:8-9
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."

If not what is "the will of His Father"???
 
Loyal
Matt 7:23; "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

It is the Father's will that ALL be saved. Yet all aren't saved.

1 Tim 2:3; This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
1 Tim 2:4; who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Pet 3:9; The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Matt 18:14; "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

There is more to salvation than just what God "wills", there is also what He does and doesn't allow.

Matt 6:14; "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Matt 6:15; "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Matt 21:28; "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.'
Matt 21:29; "And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went.
Matt 21:30; "The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go.
Matt 21:31; "Which of the two did the will of his father?" They *said, "The first." Jesus *said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.

It's easy to build a doctrine on a single verse, but it's hard to build a complete one.

Col 3:20; Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

Reading the verse above would you say it's the Father's will that you obey your parents?

1 Jn 3:22; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

John 14:21; "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."

John 15:10; "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.

1 Cor 7:19; Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.

Would you say keeping the commandments is the will of God? Now maybe you will say that isn't required to get to heaven.
Maybe you're even right about that that. But that isn't what you asked. You asked what is the will of the Father.

There is also what is "acceptable" to God.

Rom 12:1; Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Rom 12:2; And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

These are just a few examples. There are dozens more verses about what is pleasing, acceptable, desirable, even what is required.

Matt 19:17; And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments

So taking one verse and just asking "what is the will of the Father"? Doesn't have a single one line answer.
 
Member
“Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Matthew 19:18‭-‬19

So by Jesus' own words those who follow these commandments will enter eternal life...
I'm absolutely terrified now. I've always been told that you are saved by "admitting you are a sinner, asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins, believing Jesus is the Son of God, died on the cross for your sins and He resurrected on the 3rd day and is alive".
So what if since you've been saved and broken a commandment, asked for forgiveness and truly felt awful but then broke it again or another one? Does this mean you are not going to heaven?
 
Loyal
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So what if since you've been saved and broken a commandment, asked for forgiveness and truly felt awful but then broke it again or another one? Does this mean you are not going to heaven?

This is where grace comes in. God knows you can't keep them 100% perfectly. If we could, we wouldn't need Jesus.
But on the other hand, grace doesn't cover everything.
You have to repent. (keep repenting if necessary) Luke 13:5; Luke 13:5' 2 Pet 3:9;
It is possible to go too far and come up short of grace. Heb 12:15; but this isn't something you do accidentally.
This is purposely deciding to live a sinful life.
The Bible talks about those who turn grace into a license to sin. ( Jude 1:4; )
Even Paul says we shouldn't keep on sinning just so there can be more grace. Rom 6:1; Rom 6:15; etc...

Back to your original scripture. The next verse ( Matt 7:23; ) says those who "practice" lawlessness.
Rom 1:32; talks about "practicing" certain things.
Rom 2:2-3; 1 Jn 3:4; 1 Jn 3:7; etc... all talk about "practicing" sin and unrighteousness.
There is a difference between making a mistake, falling down sometimes... ( Prov 24:16; )
and practicing sin. Willful sin... ( Heb 10:26; )

1 Jn 1:9; If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 Jn 1:10; If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
 
Member
“Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Matthew 19:18‭-‬19

So by Jesus' own words those who follow these commandments will enter eternal life...
I'm absolutely terrified now. I've always been told that you are saved by "admitting you are a sinner, asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins, believing Jesus is the Son of God, died on the cross for your sins and He resurrected on the 3rd day and is alive".
So what if since you've been saved and broken a commandment, asked for forgiveness and truly felt awful but then broke it again or another one? Does this mean you are not going to heaven?


That passage used to give me great concern as well. It is definitely a stern warning to those who believe they are on the right path. However, I have settled it in my heart. As B-A-C touched upon, we live under God's grace...and God understands that we are frail humans that cannot possibly keep a perfect sinless life. It is my understanding that his passage deals with those who are "Christians", yet continue to live in sin, a habitual sinful life. John Hagee once referred to it as "Greasy Grace".

The Corinthian church lived in this manner; Paul gave them stern warnings in regards to their "loose" living.

Also, some have Mis-interpeted this scripture to mean that we are not to prophesy in His name and in His name drive out demons and perform many miracles, healings, etc. That is simply not true. Jesus gave us the commandment to do exactly that. I'm glad you brought up this topic - it does remind us to work on our own faith, not to fall into living a sinful life. We must keep ourselves guarded, especially if we come fro ma background of sinful habits.
 
Loyal
Every Word in the Book is the will of God...What does He want us to do? How does He want us to live? Its in the Word...

Get to know Him...
Philippians 3:10-11 (KJV)
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Learn His names....Every name of God is a marker of His personality...Jehovah Jireh...My Provider; Jehovah Nissi...means The Lord our Banner; Jehovah Rapha...The Lord our healer..etc....

Get to know Gods strength....Look for example at the book of Judges...the story of Gideon and his three hundred soldiers against more than 135000 enemy troops...Judges 6:12,14-16

and Get to know His faithfulness.....Dig into this one on your own.....Use the Word and also look at your life with Him and see how He has been faithful so far.....



Believe what He said!
John 6:29 KJV
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Hebrews 3:10-12 (KJV)
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.

11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
 
Active
[for me anyway] being saved is another subject, and doing the will of God is as plain as Christ said it: and he made that instructive warning as clear as He can to us-ward. If we suppose that nothing is required of us, then it is another Jesus and another spirit and another gospel we are believing in, and not the true one. Why do we think Christ tells us plainly "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" What do you think, that He is speaking to someone else other than you (or me)? The (Ephesians 2:8-9) misunderstanding has deceived many into believing in a cheap no cost faith, even though the Lord even tells us to count the cost; even though He tells us we must repent and deny our own will and submit to the Word of God. But if some believe that they must do nothing, then let them do nothing.
 
Active
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:21‭-‬23

I was talking about these verses with someone and we got to talking about when Jesus says "those who do the will of my Father". The will of His Father is being saved, right? Not by works according to Ephesians 2:8-9
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."

If not what is "the will of His Father"???

I always contrast Matt 7:21-23 with James 1:27 ''Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world''. Note the potential vanity in Matt 7:21-23 vs the potential selflessness in James 1:27. ''Cast out demons'' VS ''Changing a light bulb for granny''.

The will of God 'for us' is for us to be His sons and daughters Eph 1:5 He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. This is only possible if we are after His heart / love Him. Rom 12:9 Love is genuine when we hate what is evil and cling to what is good. This leads to repentance. This leads to salvation. Works are like fruits. They merely reflect the heart condition.
 
Moderator
Staff Member
Greetings,

“Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Matthew 19:18‭-‬19

So by Jesus' own words those who follow these commandments will enter eternal life...
I'm absolutely terrified now. I've always been told that you are saved by "admitting you are a sinner, asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins, believing Jesus is the Son of God, died on the cross for your sins and He resurrected on the 3rd day and is alive".
So what if since you've been saved and broken a commandment, asked for forgiveness and truly felt awful but then broke it again or another one? Does this mean you are not going to heaven?

may I encourage you to read the whole passage of Scripture that you quoted from, asking the LORD to open your understanding?

If I may help a little ?

Who was Jesus talking to ? Given that the one who came to Him was familiar with and practiced keeping the commandments that Jesus referred to in answering him, it is very possible that he was a Jew (from the tribe of Judah - not from the tribe of Israel who had all but forsaken the Law) and Jesus spoke to him accordingly as at the time the Law and commandments therein were still observed and remained the duty of those under Judaism to honour.
Has anyone ever wondered why only the last few commandments given on stone were mentioned by Jesus?

We need to read on. First we see that in effect Jesus told him what the summary of those commandments was when He said, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: , which we will see more clearly in a minute.
He also said , and come and follow me. Was/is that merely a good idea? Perhaps some sound personal life coaching? Maybe a plea for some moral support? NO! Would it be too far fetched to suggest that it was a commandment? Jesus did say the same thing several times and most agree that when something is repeated in Scripture that we need to take note. Sadly, most don't put as much importance to what Jesus said as they should. You will find that "Follow Me" is perhaps a foundational command that Jesus meant in the many mishandled Scriptural quotes that so many use for building completely unsound doctrine.
You will notice that Jesus said also, (so we should not overlook and ignore it), speaking to His disciples, ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. Forsaking these things can also be called 'denying yourself ' and taking up your cross : Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross, and let him follow Me.

It is here that you should be seeking and here also you might see and understand the will of the Father.
If not what is "the will of His Father"???

Please be careful and prayerful about much that is spread that is unsound and basically trashes the propitious love of the LORD in Jesus Christ .

Bless you ....><>
 
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