Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he 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 perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:21-23
Holiness must be our standard for all that we do. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the distinction He will make on that day. Those rejected will be those practice lawlessness, who work iniquity.
If there is one thing that is for clear from Western Christianity, it is that greater resources and greater audience do not guarantee a greater Kingdom impact.
We must be clear–not all that is done in the name of Christ is the will of the Father who is heaven. Paul writes, in 1 Corinthians 3:12-13, that each person must build with either gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and stubble. Each man’s work will be tested by fire on that day, and only that which remains will be rewarded. We should take care how we build, lest we run, or have run in vain.
Despite the cost, despite the hardships, despite the pain. Despite anything.
When we look at the life of absolute surrender, the life of absolute submission, and absolute loss of this life, it is only a most extraordinary gospel that can still be good news in the wake of this.
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
John 14:23-24
What are the teachings of Jesus? What are the lessons that He gave us?
Have you ever stopped to consider the parables? Do you know what they mean?
Christianity today has done a good job with the main parts. Jesus is the Way, there is no other. No one comes to the Father, but by Him… But, what of the rest?
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16
This verse is Paul’s advice on how to avoid sin. This is the simple solution to the issue plaguing the church today.
I call it the Million Dollar Question, that is, why are new testament believers not living according to their new creation nature? We know why the world does, because it’s in ’em. But, why does a Christian?
Many in the church would like to go deeper, they honestly would. Despite modern church culture being filled with the seeds of the devil with false wisdom such as “Don’t be so heavenly minded you’re no earthly good”, or “God doesn’t want us to be perfect”, or, even the more scripturally documented lies such as “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and He is pleased with them.” and “God isn’t going to judge.” (Malachi 2:17), despite these, many people would actually like to get free from the sin in their lives. Some people are actually still grieved by the sin that they cannot seem to get free from.
Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple
Luke 14:26
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Heaven and Earth will pass away before any one of His words passes away. Many people would like to interpret this passage into obscurity, equating it with similar, albeit, related scriptures, such as this one.
There is only one way to walk consistently in the power of God, and that is focus. What a man beholds, he sees that thing, and it is magnified in his imagination.
If a man set gaze upon it, he can possess it, though it is costly.
Consider the following:
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
You don’t have to live a life of anger. You don’t have to just accept it. Receive Jesus. Heed His warnings in Matthew 5:21-22. You’re in danger. Only Jesus saves. Live the life of Faith and, by obeying the truth, have your soul purified so you can actually love each other with a real, genuine, and love you can feel the warmth of. That’s what the goal of the gospel is… Faith expressing itself through Real love proceeding from a clean conscience… You can be free.
“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Jeremiah 31:33
We are under the New Covenant. We are not under the old, and we are not looking for another. Jesus died for us, not only for our actual sins committed, but to remove our sinful nature. As the prophet writes, to remove the heart of stone, and replace it with a heart of flesh.
He who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought.
1 Corinthians 8:2 (paraphrase)
The most interesting thing about the gospel is that, you could have all the words right, you could say all the right things, have all the right demeanor and mannerism, you could know when to shout and how to dance, but you could be just as much of a devil as Judas was. That’s right. It’s what’s on the inside that counts.
You don’t have what it takes. You never have, and you never will. If you can do it, it isn’t God, and it needs to die.
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he 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 perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
