NOT
EVERYONE!
Matt
7:21-23
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.
Jesus
uses various illustrations to explain that there are two paths and only two.
One leads to destruction and this path is occupied by the many. The other path
is strait which is the Greek word stenos which means narrow and
surrounded by obstacles. Since that is so, should we not give serious
consideration to the popularity of some modern brands of Christianity? On the
other hand, must true Christianity be unpopular and ill attended?
The
fact is that God is the only qualified judge of whether faith is real or
insincere. Warren Wiersbe says: “A false profession will last
until judgment comes. Sometimes this judgment is in the form of the trials of
life. Like the person who received the seed of God's Word into a shallow heart
(Matt 13:4-9), the commitment fails when the testing comes. Many people
have professed faith in Christ, only to deny their faith when life becomes
spiritually costly and difficult.”
Jesus
shines the light on overt religious activity and shows that it is no real
measurement of true faith. Even foretelling the future or claiming to speak
with divine inspiration is no guarantee that religious works are genuine. Even
the casting out of demons and performing wonderful works is no real proof.
Interestingly, the word “works” is the Greek word dunamis which
is the same word used in Acts 1:8 when Jesus promised power from the
Holy Spirit.
The
wheat and the tares (weeds) will grow together until harvest day when one will
be gathered into barns and the other will be burned. Jesus warned against
trying to remove the mote (a piece of straw) from my neighbor’s eye while there
is a beam (log) in my own. Diligence must be applied to make sure our faith is
genuine (2 Peter 1:10).
Dear
Lord, let me be sure of my calling and display truth in my dealings. AMEN
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