Let Us Do the Will of the Father with Faith (Matthew 7:21-23)
(Matthew 7:21-23)
“Not
everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say
to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,
cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And
then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness!’”
MAYBE I AM THE ONE...
Does everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ enter the kingdom of Heaven?
No. Only those who do the will of God
No. Only those who do the will of God
Jesus
Christ says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter
the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
These words have struck fear in the hearts of many Christians, causing
them to work hard to do the will of God.
Most
Christians think the only thing they need to do is to believe in Jesus
to enter the kingdom of Heaven, but Matthew 7:21 tells us that not every
one who says to Him, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Many
who read this verse are driven to wonder “Maybe I am the one.” They try
to convince themselves, “No, Jesus must have meant the unbelievers.”
But the thought remains in their minds and keeps nagging at them.
So,
they hang on to the latter part of the verse which reads, “but he who
does the will of My Father in heaven.” They hang on to the words, “does
the will of My Father” and think that they can do that by paying the
tithe faithfully, praying at the break of dawn, preaching, doing good
deeds, and not sinning...etc. They try so hard. It makes me feel so
sorry to see them.
Many
people make mistakes because they do not understand this verse.
Therefore I would like to explain this verse clearly so that we may all
know the will of God and live by it.
First, we must know that the will of God is for His Son to take away the sins of all people and thus free us from sin.
In
Ephesians 1:5, it is written, “God has predestined us to adoption as
sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His
will.”
In
other words, His intention is for us to know the true gospel that Jesus
Christ washed away all our sins, thus allowing us to be born again. He
wants us to be born again of water and the Spirit by passing all our
sins on to His Son, Jesus. This is the will of God.
JUST FOR SAYING, “LORD! LORD!”
What must we know when we believe in Jesus?
The will of the Father
The will of the Father
“Not
everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
We
ought to understand the Father’s will in two ways. First, we should
know that it is His will that we obtain forgiveness for our sins and
become born again of water and the Spirit. Second, we should work on the
basis of that faith.
It
is His will to blot out the sins of all people on the earth. Satan
brought about the fall of our ancestor Adam through sin. But the will of
our Father is to wipe out all the sins of man. We should understand
that it is not our Father’s will for us to offer the tithe faithfully
and offer prayers at the break of dawn, but to save us all from sin. It
is His will to save all of us from drowning in a sea of sin.
The
Bible says that not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the
kingdom of Heaven. This means that we should not just believe in Jesus,
but know what our Father wants for us. It is His will to save us from
sin and the judgment of hell, knowing that the legacy of Adam and Eve
means that we cannot help but live in sin.
THE WILL OF GOD
What is the will of God?
To make us His children by freeing us from sin
To make us His children by freeing us from sin
Matthew
3:15 says, “For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all
righteousness.” Thus it was to fulfill God’s plan that Jesus came to
this world to save us all from sin. The will of God was fulfilled when
Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
He
wanted to save us and make us His children. In order to do that, His
Son had to take away all our sins. It was His will to make all people
His children. So He sent His own Son to take away the sins of all people
who had fallen into Satan’s clutches. It was His will to offer the life
of His own Son for all people so that they could become His children.
When
Jesus was baptized and died on the Cross, the will of God was
fulfilled. It is also His will for us to believe that all our sins were
passed on to Jesus when He was baptized and that He took the judgment
for all our transgressions through His death on the Cross.
“For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).
God saved His people from sin. To do so, the first thing Jesus did in
His public ministry was to be baptized by John the Baptist.
“But
Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is
fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him”
(Matthew 3:15). It was the will of God that Jesus came to this world,
took away all the sins of the world through His baptism, died on the
Cross, and was resurrected.
We
should know this clearly. Many people read Matthew 7:21 and think that
it is His will for us to serve the Lord, even to the point of death, by
offering all our worldly possessions to build churches.
Fellow
Christians, we who believe in Jesus should first know the will of God
and then do it. It is wrong for you to dedicate yourself to the church
without knowing His will.
People
ask themselves what else can there be except to live in faith within
their orthodox churches. But I myself studied Calvinism in the
Presbyterian Church and was raised under an adoptive mother who was as
religious as any veteran pastor. I learned in the so-called orthodox
church.
The
apostle Paul said that he could also boast that he was from the tribe
of Benjamin and studied the Law under Gamaliel, who was a great rabbi at
the time. Before Paul was born again, he was on his way to arrest those
who believed in Jesus. But he found faith in Jesus on the road to
Damascus and became righteous through the blessing of being born again
of water and the Spirit.
WE HAVE TO KNOW THE WILL OF GOD BEFORE WE CAN DO IT
What is necessary before we believe in Jesus?
We must first know His will.
We must first know His will.
Our
sanctification is the will of God. “For this is the will of God, your
sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality” (1
Thessalonians 4:3). We know that it is the will of God that we be
completely sanctified through the water and the Spirit and live in faith
all our lives.
If
there is anyone who believes in Jesus but still has sin in his heart,
he is not living in accordance with the will of God. Following His will
requires that we be sanctified through the salvation found in Jesus. To
know this is to do the will of God.
When
I ask you, “Do you still have sin in your heart even though you believe
in Jesus?” and your answer is yes, then clearly you do not yet know the
will of God. It is the will of God that we should be sanctified and
saved from all our sins through faith in the water and the Spirit.
Once
there was a man who had obedient sons. One day he called the eldest,
who was also the most obedient, and said, “Son, go to the village across
the field...”
Before
he finished speaking, the son said, “Yes, father” and was gone. He
didn’t wait to find out what he was supposed to do. He just went.
His
father called after him, “Son, it is all very well and good that you
are so obedient but you should know what I want you to do.”
But the son said, “It is all right, father. I will obey you. Who can obey better than I?”
But
of course he came back empty-handed. He had no way of doing his
father’s will without knowing what it was he wanted. He just blindly
obeyed.
We
could be like him if we do not know Jesus Christ. Many devote
themselves, follow theological doctrines, offer the tithe faithfully,
pray all night and fast, all without knowing the will of God.
When
they die with sin in their hearts, they are turned away at the gate of
Heaven. They were so eager to do the will of God but didn’t know what
God wanted.
What does it mean to practice lawlessness?
To believe in Jesus as a sinner while not knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit
To believe in Jesus as a sinner while not knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit
“Many
will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your
name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your
name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from
Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:22-23)
There
are things God wants us to do, and there is faith He demands of us. He
wants us to believe that Jesus took away all our sins. Many prophesy,
cast out demons, and do wonders in His name without knowing the truth of
the water and the Spirit.
Doing
wonders means building many churches, selling all one’s possessions to
donate to the church, offering one’s own life for the Lord, among their
things.
To
prophesy in His name means to be a leader. Such people are like the
Pharisees who boast of living according to the Law while antagonizing
Jesus. This also applies to would-be orthodox Christians.
To
cast out demons is to exercise power. They are all so enthusiastic in
their faith, but the Lord will tell them in the end that He does not
know them. He will ask them how can they know Him when He does not know
them.
The
Lord says, “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart
from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” On that day, crowds of people
will cry out to Him, “Lord, I believe. I believe that You are my
Savior.” They will say they love Him but they have sin in their hearts.
The Lord calls them the practitioners of lawlessness (the sinners who
are not delivered) and will tell them to depart from Him.
On
that day, those who died without being born again will cry out before
Jesus. “I prophesied, built churches and sent out 50 missionaries in
Your name.”
But Jesus will declare to those sinners, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
“What
do You mean? Don’t You know that I prophesied in Your name? I served in
the church for many years...I taught others to believe in You. How can
You not know me?”
He will answer, “I never knew you. You who claim to know Me yet have sin in your heart, depart from Me!”
It
is lawlessness before God to believe in Him with sin in one’s heart or
not to believe according to His law of salvation. It is lawlessness not
to know His will. It is lawlessness to try to do His will without
knowing it or not to know the blessing of being born again of water and
the Spirit. It is also lawlessness to follow Him without obeying His
will. Lawlessness is a sin.
THE WILL OF GOD IN THE BIBLE
Who are the children of God?
The righteous who have no sin
The righteous who have no sin
It
is His will for us to believe in the gospel of being born again of
water and the Spirit. The true gospel fosters our rebirth. It is also
His will that we live for the gospel as His children. We should know the
will of God, but so many do not know the gospel of being born again of
water and the Spirit.
When I ask people why they believe in Jesus, many say they believe in Jesus in order to be saved from their sins.
I ask, “Then, do you have sin in your heart?”
They say, “Of course, I do.”
“Then, are you saved or not?”
“Of course I am.”
“Can a sinner who has sin in his heart enter into the kingdom of Heaven?”
“No, he can’t.”
“Then, are you going to the kingdom of Heaven or into the fires of hell?”
They say they are going to the kingdom of Heaven, but can they? They will go to hell.
Some
think that because they believe in Jesus, they can enter into the
kingdom of Heaven even if they have sin in their hearts and that it is
the will of God for them to do so. But God does not accept sinners into
the kingdom of Heaven.
What
is the will of God? It says in the Bible that the will of God is for us
to believe in His Son, to believe in the blessing of being redeemed
through the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross.
Those
who believe in the blessing of being born again of water and the Spirit
become His children. It is our glory to become His children. His
children are righteous.
When
God calls us righteous, does He regard a sinner-Christian as righteous?
God can never lie. So before Him, you are either a sinner or a
righteous person. There can never be ‘considered to be without sin.’ He
calls only those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit
to be sanctified.
How can we become children of God?
By accepting the gospel of the water and the blood
By accepting the gospel of the water and the blood
Because
God passed all the sins of the world on to His Son, even His own Son
had to be judged on the Cross. God could never tell a lie. He says, “The
wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). When His Son died, the darkness
fell on the earth for three hours.
“Jesus
cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that
is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Matthew 27:46)
Jesus
took away all the sins of the world through His baptism to save all
people from their sins. He took away the sins of humanity, knowing that
He had to be crucified and forsaken by God, His Father. So God judged
His own Son for the sins He took away at the Jordan and turned His face
from His Son for three hours.
“But
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children
of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
Are
you children of God? We are the born again because we have accepted the
gospel of being born again of water and the Spirit. Those who are born
again of water and the Spirit are righteous. Now we have all become
righteous.
“If
God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). When a righteous
man calls himself righteous before God and the people, those who are not
redeemed tend to judge him. So the apostle Paul says, “Who shall bring a
charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies” (Romans 8:33). God
wiped out all our sins through Jesus and called us sanctified,
righteous, and His children. He gave us the right to become glorious
children of God.
Those
who are born again of water and the Spirit are His children. They live
with Him eternally. They are no longer just creatures in this world but
children of God who belong to Heaven.
Now
that they are righteous children of God, there’s no one who can bring a
charge against them, judge them, or separate them from God.
We
have to know the gospel of the water and the Spirit in order to believe
in Jesus. We have to know the Bible. It is essential that we know and
believe the will of God in order to be able to carry it out according to
His will.
IT IS THE WILL OF GOD THAT SINNERS BE BORN AGAIN OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT
Why did God send His Son in the likeness of sinful man?
To have all sins passed on to Him
To have all sins passed on to Him
It
is the will of God that we become redeemed and born again of water and
the Spirit. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1
Thessalonians 4:3).
It
was the will of God to send His Son so that all sins would be passed on
to Him and we could be saved. This is the law of the Spirit that allows
us to be born again of water and the Spirit. It freed us from all sins.
We
are redeemed. Now can you all recognize the will of God? It is His will
to redeem us all. He doesn’t want us to compromise with the world but
rather to believe only in His words and worship Him alone.
It
is also the will of God that those who have been born again testify the
gospel and live in the church, devoting themselves to the work of
bringing other souls back to God.
We
sin not because we want to, but because we are weak. But Jesus took
away those sins. God passed all the sins of the world on to Jesus
through John the Baptist. He sent His own Son for that purpose and had
Him baptized by John. We are saved by believing in this. This is the
will of God.
IT IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR US TO BELIEVE IN JESUS, WHOM HE SENT
Why did Jesus come in the likeness of sinful man?
To take away all the sins of mankind
To take away all the sins of mankind
The
Bible says doing the will of God is to believe in Him whom He sent.
“Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of
God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that
you believe in Him whom He sent.’ Therefore they said to Him, ‘What sign
will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work
will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written,
‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’” (John 6:28-31).
People
told Jesus that God had given Moses a sign when he was on the way to
Canaan, giving the Israelites the manna from Heaven, and as a result
they believed in God (John 6:32-39). People asked Jesus, “What shall we
do, that we may work the works of God?”
Jesus
answered that they should believe in Him to do the work of God. If we
are to do the work of God, we have to believe in the works of Jesus
Christ. It is the will of God for us not only to believe and preach the
gospel but to live it.
God
commands us, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you”
(Matthew 28:19-20).
Jesus
clearly tells us to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Everything He did for His Father and the Spirit
is contained in His baptism. When we understand that, we can believe in
God and see everything Jesus did in this world and how the Spirit
testified to that.
Jesus
was sent by God to testify to the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Therefore only when we believe in the word of God and His servant can we
be saved.
TO DO THE WORK OF GOD
What is the purpose of our lives?
To do the will of God by spreading the gospel all over the world
To do the will of God by spreading the gospel all over the world
If
we are to do the work of God, we must first believe in the gospel of
the baptism of Jesus and His death on the Cross. It is the work of God
to believe in Him whom God sent. In order to believe in Jesus, we should
first believe that He saved us with the water and the blood.
The
will of God is accomplished in us when we believe in Jesus and preach
the gospel. In this way we do the work of God. He told us that only
those who believe in the blessing of being born again of water and the
Spirit can enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Let
us all take our places in the kingdom of Heaven by recognizing the
following essential truths. Recognizing the true will of God, by knowing
and believing that all our sins were passed on to Jesus with His
baptism. Live for the expansion of His kingdom. Finally, preach the
gospel until the day you die.
Fellow
Christians! Those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit
are the ones who do the work of God. It is the work of God to believe
in Him whom God sent. It is doing His will to believe that all sins were
passed on to Him whom God sent and that Jesus Christ is our Savior.
The
work of delivering man from sin was accomplished when Jesus was
baptized at the Jordan and died for all of us on the Cross. The second
part of the work of God is to believe in Him whom God sent, to believe
in the Savior who took away all the sins of the world, and to preach the
gospel throughout the world.
Now we who are born again should live and preach the gospel to the end of the world.
Where do those people go who believe in Jesus without knowing the will of God?
They go to hell.
They go to hell.
“Many
will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your
name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your
name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from
Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:22-23)
This passage tells us clearly who are the sinners before God and who are the practitioners of lawlessness.
There
are so many who are not born again among those who say ‘Lord, Lord.’
They are in pain because they still have sin in their hearts. So they
cry out to God, calling, ‘Lord, Lord,’ in a half complaining manner,
ill-befitting true prayers of worship.
They
believe their consciences will be cleansed if they cry out in prayer,
but it is impossible because sin remains in their hearts. They pray in
the mountains, crying out in anguish, as if God was far away. When we do
not have complete faith, we tend to call out ‘Lord, Lord’ more often.
In some churches in which the congregation is not born again, they pray with so much enthusiasm that the pulpit breaks down.
But
we can see in the Bible that not all those who call out ‘Lord, Lord,’
enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Only those who believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit have the faith that leads them to do the
work of God.
The
Bible tells us that it is lawlessness to call out His name with sin in
one’s heart. Have you ever been to mountain prayer meetings? Some old
female deacons cry and cry, calling out His name because they have
neither met Jesus in truth, nor accepted the Spirit in their hearts, nor
become born again of water and the Spirit. They call His name so
urgently because they live in permanent fear that they will go to hell.
Suppose
that someone who had devoted his life to serving the church as a
missionary or a pastor was ultimately discarded by the Lord. To be
abandoned by a parent or a spouse would be enough to break anyone’s
heart, but having been abandoned by God, the King of kings, the Judge of
our souls, where would we go?
I
hope this will never happen to any of you. Please listen and believe in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is the will of God for us to
be born again and live within the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
We
Christians have to truly believe in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit and draw strength from the truth of the Bible. Only then can we
be saved from the judgment of God.
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