Matthew 7:21-22 (ESV)
[21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
[22] On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?
Not everyone who says “Lord” will enter the Kingdom. That’s a significant
warning. That’s a scary warning! How many think they are doing work in God’s
name, but fail to know him? This is not teaching a works salvation. Jesus says
that “the one who does the will of my Father. . .” But what is the will of the
Father? Contextually, the will of the Father is to have internal holiness, not
external holiness alone. The way we get internal holiness is to receive it by
faith. Jesus had not yet revealed his coming death to his disciples, so he did
not go into that aspect of the gospel. But he did emphasize the need for
internal holiness, a holiness that “exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees”
(Mt. 5:20). Hebrews 10:22 says, “let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and
our bodies washed with pure water.” That is received by faith.
Salvation is not received by praying a magic prayer any more than it is
received by changing our behavior. It is received by the grace of God through
faith, on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Salvation is about
a new heart. It is about transformation from the inside out. Are we truly
trusting Him, or are we trying to fix ourselves in order to be acceptable to Him?
That Pharisees were trying to fix themselves, but no matter of self-discipline
or self-denial will accomplish that. Simply faith! And when we believe God
transforms us from the inside out.
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