Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Jesus is making a statement about religious people. It’s not enough to just know he is. The scripture teaches that is this going to be a problem in the last day church.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Just a few verses prior to Matthew 7:21, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the road to heaven would not be heavily traveled.
Matthew 7:13+14 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
This leads us to ask a question. How easy is it to get into heaven? I think by the time we’re through the answer will be pretty clear. Being born again and initiating a relationship with God is easy. Maintaining that relationship over a lifetime is a little more difficult.
Jesus does reveal 2 requirements for entering the Kingdom of heaven. Citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven requires doing the will of the Father.
1 John 2:17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
Jesus claimed kinship with those who were doing the will of God
Matthew 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
Jesus taught us that God answers the prayers of those who do the will of the Father.
John 9:31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.
What is Jesus referring to when speaks of the will of the Father?
1 Thessalonians 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
It is God’s will for us to give thanks to the Lord no matter what the circumstances. It is God’s will for us to be a people of praise and thanksgiving in all circumstances. God is worthy of praise regard-less of what may be going on in our lives. In the good times and in the bad. Faith is revealed in the heart that can continue to praise God even when life is stinks. Perhaps that what Paul meant when he said…..
Hebrews 13:15+16 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Paul continues on with an interesting, but important truth. In verse 17 when he says, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
It is God’s will to obey those who are in authority over us and to do good.
1 Peter 2:13+14 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
It’s God’s will for His people to be Holy.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 God’s will is for you to be holy.
1 Peter 1:15+16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
What does it mean to be holy?
2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore come out from them and be separate and holy, says the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
This passage of scripture suggests that holiness requires us to separate from certain people. The words “unequally yoked” suggest a binding together. Therefore the scripture would seem to be warning against getting into relationships with an unbeliever where the unbeliever would influence the believer rather than the other way around. It is not a command to alienate yourselves from unbelievers, which would be a contradiction considering Jesus spent a great deal of his time with sinners. I think the best way to sum it up would be found in…
Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
A person who is doing the will of God is some one who does not love the world.
1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
So the question we ask now is…..What does it mean to “Love not the world”?
Romans 12:2a Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
This scripture suggests that there is a “pattern of thinking” that has “Worldly origins”. It goes on to tell us that our minds need to be transformed and renewed. Being holy is not about actions alone, it’s about attitude. Holiness is about our mentality, and our way of thinking. Holiness is about forsaking a worldly pattern of thinking and embracing a Christ like mind. If we embrace the mind of Christ, godly actions will follow.
Ephesians 4:23+24 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
How does this affect our ability to do the will of our Father? Let’s go back to Romans 12:2
Romans 12:2a Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2b Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Whatever it may be…Being thankful in all circumstances, Obeying authority, Being Holy as God is holy. They all require us to do one thing. SUBMIT. Living out the will of God requires a heart that is totally submitted to His Word and His Spirit.
Jesus is making a statement about religious people. It’s not enough to just know he is. The scripture teaches that is this going to be a problem in the last day church.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Just a few verses prior to Matthew 7:21, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the road to heaven would not be heavily traveled.
Matthew 7:13+14 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
This leads us to ask a question. How easy is it to get into heaven? I think by the time we’re through the answer will be pretty clear. Being born again and initiating a relationship with God is easy. Maintaining that relationship over a lifetime is a little more difficult.
Jesus does reveal 2 requirements for entering the Kingdom of heaven. Citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven requires doing the will of the Father.
1 John 2:17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
Jesus claimed kinship with those who were doing the will of God
Matthew 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
Jesus taught us that God answers the prayers of those who do the will of the Father.
John 9:31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.
What is Jesus referring to when speaks of the will of the Father?
1 Thessalonians 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
It is God’s will for us to give thanks to the Lord no matter what the circumstances. It is God’s will for us to be a people of praise and thanksgiving in all circumstances. God is worthy of praise regard-less of what may be going on in our lives. In the good times and in the bad. Faith is revealed in the heart that can continue to praise God even when life is stinks. Perhaps that what Paul meant when he said…..
Hebrews 13:15+16 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Paul continues on with an interesting, but important truth. In verse 17 when he says, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
It is God’s will to obey those who are in authority over us and to do good.
1 Peter 2:13+14 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
It’s God’s will for His people to be Holy.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 God’s will is for you to be holy.
1 Peter 1:15+16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
What does it mean to be holy?
2 Corinthians 6:14-17 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore come out from them and be separate and holy, says the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
This passage of scripture suggests that holiness requires us to separate from certain people. The words “unequally yoked” suggest a binding together. Therefore the scripture would seem to be warning against getting into relationships with an unbeliever where the unbeliever would influence the believer rather than the other way around. It is not a command to alienate yourselves from unbelievers, which would be a contradiction considering Jesus spent a great deal of his time with sinners. I think the best way to sum it up would be found in…
Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
A person who is doing the will of God is some one who does not love the world.
1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
So the question we ask now is…..What does it mean to “Love not the world”?
Romans 12:2a Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
This scripture suggests that there is a “pattern of thinking” that has “Worldly origins”. It goes on to tell us that our minds need to be transformed and renewed. Being holy is not about actions alone, it’s about attitude. Holiness is about our mentality, and our way of thinking. Holiness is about forsaking a worldly pattern of thinking and embracing a Christ like mind. If we embrace the mind of Christ, godly actions will follow.
Ephesians 4:23+24 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
How does this affect our ability to do the will of our Father? Let’s go back to Romans 12:2
Romans 12:2a Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2b Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Whatever it may be…Being thankful in all circumstances, Obeying authority, Being Holy as God is holy. They all require us to do one thing. SUBMIT. Living out the will of God requires a heart that is totally submitted to His Word and His Spirit.
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