“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’.” Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” The answer to these words are very important for those who want to enter the kingdom of Heaven. What is the will of the Father [Jesus’ Father]?
Let us clear this up, God did not put us on this earth so He can send us all to hell. In fact, He tells us that:
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
What He did do is put mankind on this earth with a free will to choose to embrace the living God, or to embrace the world and its temporal pleasures, in which He has given us 70, or with strength 80 years to live out.
Men for the most part squander these years and drift apart from God the Father, even to the point of saying there is no God. Did God leave us without a positive witness to His existence?
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11
Every person born has a knowledge that there is an eternity for us. We are also told that “God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” Those schemes often extinguish or dim that little spark of the knowledge of eternity.
But God does not stop with the knowledge of eternity in man’s heart He shakes us with the knowledge of the things we see, feel, taste or smell.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:18-21
Instead of listening to the tiny beacon that God has put into men’s hearts they wander about seeking their own devices and schemes in an effort to throw off a God who may stop them from following their own fleshly lusts to destruction.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” As men kick against the goads of conscience, they must suppress the truth that they see as they excuse their sinful ways.
These sinful men suppress the truth despite God’s obvious witness, “because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them”.
But, what of those who begin to wake up and realize that their lives have become meaningless as they sink into a morass of sinful lust?
Well, those who are still self-willed will seek out a god who is created in their own image so they join a cult or a liberal church where their itching ears are satisfied with words that appeal to the same lower nature they suppose they are trying to escape.
Many others join a church, Catholic or Protestant, whichever appeals to them. In time, with perfect attendance and many potlucks, and growing popularity they join the choir or teach Sunday school and become convinced that they are doing the works of Christ.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” If the folks mentioned above are not doing the will of the Father in heaven, what is His will?
Jesus shows us below the process of bringing a soul to salvation.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” John 6:44-45
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” It is God the Father who tests the hearts and teaches the unsaved persons who desire the truth. When these folks hear and received the things God teaches them, He shows them the way to salvation in His Son Jesus.
“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” Jesus would often call out to His audience, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear!” meaning that Jesus was about to tell the crowd something very important.
Another very important reason that Jesus would call out, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear!” was because many of those in His audience were either not listening carefully, or were zoning out because they were unbelievers who thought they were listening to another ho hum speech. You must listen! You must hear! You must receive!
This is why so many fail to come to Jesus, “everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” because multitudes do not hear or learn from the Father, they are too busy with the temporal things of this earth that they do not listen to the things which are eternal.
God speaks, men do not listen. While over time many will turn to Him, others will continue to reject Him. God continues to speak, in pity for them until they become hardened against Him and He ceases to speak. Only the pit of hell awaits them. “He that has ears to hear, let him hear!”
However, Jesus assures us that all who have “heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” And as He tells us below, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:37-40
John chapter 6 relates the account of Jesus feeding five thousand people (please read the entire chapter for context).
He then crossed over the sea of Galilee and landed on the other side where the same crowd found Him and attempted to get Him to feed them always, just as God fed the people manna in the wilderness when led by moses (see Exodus chapter 16).
This crowd that sought free food from Jesus tried to cajole Him into granting their desire. However, the Lord told them that He was the true manna from heaven, bringing on more unbelief from the multitude. Finally, it came down to the question from the crowd, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
Works, finally it comes back down to the belief that one must work their way into heaven.
Thinking that one can reject God’s Son Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross and work their way into heaven is nothing less than the greatest of sins!
“Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:28-29
“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’” This is the one work you can do for God is to believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him as your Savior from sin and the only way to heaven.
“…knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” Galatians 2:16
Lord, Lord taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 9-9-25 ck.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.