Matthew 7:21
"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.
There are so many religious groups who claim to be Christians but teach exactly what Jesus here condemns.
You will hear them today saying things like, "Just pray to Him and tell Him you want Jesus to be your personal savior and to come into your life…."
They offer no Bible verses when saying such things, because there is no Bible verse that says anything like that.
But even within the churches, when we do not remove sin from our midst, we are also giving Him only lip service.
We first saw this concept of "many" versus "few" in Matthew 7:13–14.
There it was the easy way versus the hard way.
Here it is words versus deeds.
The Father is the Lord of heaven and sets the rules of entry.
Jesus here is also making a subtle point that our Father in heaven is greater than any earthly fathers.
We ought to pay attention to God's wishes if we wish to gain entrance into God's eternal kingdom.
Matthew 7:22
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?'
The day intended here is clearly the judgment day.
It all boils down to this.
Ecclesiastes 12:13–14
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
In a word, No.
We cannot claim to have divine approval simply by attaching God's Name to anything we do.
Genuine authority comes from allowing God to dictate our actions.
Matthew 7:23
And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
The word Jesus uses for "declare" here (ὁμολογέω) is typically rendered "confess."
In Matthew 10:32, Jesus says He will confess those who confess Him before others.
So here He must remain honest and admit that these who say but don't do are not in fact His.
The original language is rather emphatic, more like, "At no point in time have I ever known you."
Tragically, it really represents categorical denial.
The harsh reality is that we could live our entire lives thinking we are serving Him while actually working lawlessness.
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
The word for "worker" here (ἐργάζομαι) refers to a laborer who over time produces a final product, like a farm hand or factory worker.
Thus, Jesus here refers to our practice in life.
Acts 10:35
…In every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
2 John 8
Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.
These in Matthew 7:23 were indeed working, but not on His things—their product was lawlessness.
Their lip-service led them—and possibly others—astray, as was the case with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
Matthew 23:28
So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Luke 6:46
"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?
General
Although the editors presented this verse by itself, it is actually part of an ongoing narrative in Luke.
It is related to the preceding verse 45, "…for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."
And it flows directly into verse 47, "Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them…."
The progession in Luke, then, is:
- The heart is full of a desire to serve Him.
- The mouth calls Him Lord, reflecting the desire of the heart.
- But the actions may be out of step with the heart.
- The blessing is for those who not only take His words into their hearts but also do them.
Luke's version is almost as if Jesus had said, "If the mouth speaks what the heart is full of, then how can you call Me Lord while not doing what I say?"
So, the heart in a sense dictates to the mouth, but the heart does not dictate the deeds!
We can truly want to do right, but it's not enough unless we actually do it.
As James would warn us later, having the desire in the heart to do right can fool us into thinking we are actually doing right when we aren't.
James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
This is also the major premise of Luke's account.
He is only our Lord if we do what He says.
These New Testament passages are especially useful companions to Luke 6:46.
John 8:30–32
As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
1 John 2:4
Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1 John 3:18
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
James 2:24
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Luke 13:25
When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.'
Luke 13:26
Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'
Luke 13:27
But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!'
The theme of the Luke 13 reading is, "Don't wait til it's too late!"
It's bedtime: the master of the house has already gotten up and closed the door.
After the day is over and the door is shut, then these begin to address him and ask to be let in.
But it's too late then!
Hebrews 9:27
…It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment….
Luke 16:26
…Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.
There are not second chances in the judgment.
Once life is over, the door is shut!
It's too late to pretend to know Him, too late to seek forgiveness, too late to believe in Him.
Don't begin to seek Him when it's too late.
Today is the day of salvation!
Hebrews 4:7
Again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
The time to start living for Christ is now!
1 Peter 4:1–3
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.
Romans 13:11–14
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Several points within the passage especially make clear its theme.
We note here the contrast with the promise of Matthew 7:7, "Knock, and it will be opened to you."
What's the difference?
The timeframe.
If we seek Him now, while we are still on earth, we can find Him.
But if we wait until death, we will have missed the opportunity.
Twice Jesus mentions these beginning to knock and to address Him.
After the door is closed is not the right time to start seeking entry.
Our desire to serve God should have started long ago.
Jesus twice gives exactly the same response.
The first time, His response may sound like He's asking, "Who's there?"
But after they explain why they should be granted entrance, His answer remains entirely unchanged, showing that He wasn't asking.
This back-and-forth parallels Matthew 7:23, "Did we not in Your name do many mighty works...?"
So then, the force of "I tell you" at Luke 13:27 is, "I'm telling you...," i.e., I already told you and the answer hasn't changed.
We may choose not listen to Him in life; we will have no choice but to listen to Him in the judgment.
We are thankful that with God there is no guilt by association—each one is judged according to his own works.
But neither is there credit by association!
The concept of the streets here compares to the concept of the broad and easy road in Matthew 7:13.
What these are saying actually represents the least anyone can do.
Jesus was teaching nearby where we live.
And we didn't object to Him teaching in the streets—in fact, we supported it.
But we didn't invite Him in to the house, either.
Is this supposed to be a credit to us?
"Truth was being taught, and I attended there," will not be enough to save us.
We have to study the Bible at home, teach our children at home, and confess Him before friends and co-workers.