Not Everyone Who Says To Me, Lord, Lord...

As Jesus approached the conclusion, of what we commonly call the “sermon on the mount”, He clearly distinguished those who will go to heaven from those who will not. Hear the Lord,  (Matthew 7:21)

^“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.”

If we really want to go to heaven, it requires of us more than merely calling upon the name of the Lord. Jesus said in Luke 6:46, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” 

In a religious climate where so many believe we need not do anything in order to go to heaven, because God is a God of love and mercy and will not damn anyone to a devil’s hell, then we need to take special note of Jesus' words, and share them with them our religious friends. He says we must DO something - we must DO the will of the Father in heaven.

In Matthew 7: 22 we read, “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?”  Jesus pictures a judgment scene where many will receive a great surprise. Some will claim, "...have we not done this and that in Your name..." Their claim to glory was their fanciful works, but they had neglected to actually do that which the Lord commanded. He didn't command the casting out of demons or miraculous works -- He commanded that we obey the Father's word.

Of those who do their own works, and not the works required by the Father, Jesus says in Matthew 7:23, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”  Though they make a claim to know Him, He did not know them, for they did not submit to the will of God. In fact, He speaks of them as workers of lawlessness or iniquity. They were without Law. They refused to submit to the Father's will and chose to walk according to their own will.

Jesus concludes His discourse with a contrast of the wise man and the foolish man. In Matthew 7:24-27 we read, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And 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. And 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: And 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.”