“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven,” (Matt. 7:21).
While it’s not talked about often, the reality is that many people who consider themselves Christians will not be in heaven, including some who have done miracles, signs and wonders.
In one of his latest videos, Isaiah Saldivar broke down Matthew 7, which explains what it truly means to follow God and why some people will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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“This is probably one of the strongest, boldest chapters in the Gospels,” Saldivar says.
Matthew 7 starts off by explaining that we will be judged as we have judged others. It also tells us that we cannot be blind to the sins that we have in our life before confronting others about the sins going on in their lives.
“Jesus is saying make sure that when [you] judge other people or other believers that you’re not doing what they’re doing and then trying to judge them,” Saldivar points out.
Christians are also called to make sure that they are not spending all of their time trying to reach a person who does not want to be reached. Christians are supposed to continue pressing in to prayer, seeking God and He will open the door to those who knock.
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“Often times we pray and then give up before we see the results. We ask one time, we knock one time, we doorbell ditch God,” Saldivar says.
However, we are called to be fervent in prayer and to continue pressing in to God because He promises His children good gifts. As the Scripture says, “What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7:9-11).
Not only are true Christians called to continue seeking their heavenly Father at all times, but they are meant to follow the Golden Rule of doing unto others how they themselves would like to be treated. We are supposed to bear fruit that could only come from a true relationship with Jesus Christ. However, this means we must choose the narrow road. The path of truly following Christ is difficult, and it means dying to self and our desires. It also means our relationship with Jesus must exceed everything else in life, including doing works in His name.
This is where we get the warning about those who will do many things in the name of Jesus, however, they never had a relationship with Him.
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonderful works in Your name?’ But then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice evil,’” (Matt. 7:22-23).
Doing things in the name of Jesus will never triumph actually knowing Jesus. Without truly knowing and embracing a relationship with Him, we are lost. We cannot say that we love God if we don’t know Him.
“To be a true disciple, we have to have relationship with God,” Saldivar says. “This should honestly be chilling to us…”
If you have never truly decided to get to know Christ beyond praying the sinner’s prayer, there is no better time to do so than now. Instead of wondering if you’ve truly made Jesus your Lord, spend the time seeking Him and His will for your life. Anything He has planned will have a much greater reward and freedom than doing things your own way.
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Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
Stephen Strang