Sermon from Matthew

This can be a tough lesson. It's a hard thing to grasp. It's from Matthew, Chapter 7.


21Not 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.
22Many 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?
23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.


This passage will preach on Sundays, that's for sure. It's scared me too, more than once.
You read that and think, "If I don't do the will of GOD, then I'll go to Hell". I bet that's energized many Christians in the past. It should energize us, too.

I reread that last night. I became worried not only for myself, but for all my family. Are we doing the will of our father, who is in heaven? Are we in danger? I read and prayed.

I believe that it was revealed to me that taking that panic approach to your walk is borne out of the feeling of having to EARN your salvation. The whole point is GOD's grace saves you, and there is not anything you can do to earn it. In fact, THAT'S WHAT HE JUST SAID. Jesus just said in 7:22 that people will claim that they did great works in his name. It's obvious that the power of the blood and the name of Jesus will work in every situation, and is true and effective no matter what the spiritual status is of the people wielding it.

Those people thought they HAD earned their way into Heaven. The Lord will say, "I never knew you". Those people didn't make it in because they hadn't accepted Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only door.

Accepting Jesus and getting to know the Lord....THAT is the will of the Father in Heaven. The will of the father is that everyone be saved. Even common sense will tell us that GOD wants us to be saved. That is his will for our lives, and works alone won't save us. They didn't save the people Jesus just referred to, did they?

Jesus went on to say...


24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.


The name of Jesus will not bring us to shame. He is faithful. When you are saved, you are locked in. If (or when) you fall short, then you fall under his grace to complete you.

We need to honor his faithfulness with some of our own. Faith without works is dead. Now that we know our eternal security is secured...it's time to be soldiers and go about preaching Christ, and him crucified.

I slept very soundly last night.