Jesus said "Not everyone who says me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but only those....?

Question

but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 7:21 If salvation is a free gift from God through belief in Jesus Christ (John 3:16) then doesn't the Matthew passage mean we have to work our way into heaven?

Answer 1

NO ONE ON THIS EARTH IS GUARANTEED TO GO TO HEAVEN JUST BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST OR BY GOD'S GRACE ALONE!

God's grace, alone, won't do it...

My faith, alone, won't do it...

How I live my life, by itself, won't do it...

I know that I can only get to heaven through Jesus. Also, it is not just by this faith in Jesus, nor just the Grace of God, nor just the works that I do. It is a combination of many things.

We receive God's saving and sanctifying grace in many ways, and Christ Himself, into our souls when we are baptized and through the sacraments. Yet we also know that Christ Himself has established certain conditions for entry into eternal happiness in Heaven.

"Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."" (John 6:53-58)

We will be judged by this as well, so be warned...

"Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself." (1 Cor. 11:27-29).

We will also be judged by our faith, but not by this alone, we will also be judged by the works that we do (Justification by faith alone is a Protestant doctrine; it was unheard of in the Christian community before the sixteenth century.)...

If St. Paul meant that faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, he would not have written:

". . . and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." (1 Cor. 13:2).

If faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, the Apostle James would not have written:

"Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by faith only'? . . . For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also faith without works is dead." (James 2:24-26).

If faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, the Apostle Peter would not have written:

"Therefore, brothers, be all the more eager to make your call and election firm, for, in doing so, you will never stumble. For, in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you." (2 Peter 1:10-11).

If faith was the only necessity for salvation, the Apostle James would not have written:

"If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world." (James 1:26-27)

Christ Himself stated:

"For the Son of man . . . will render to every man according to his works." (Matt. 16:27).

"‘Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven’" (Matt. 7:21).

But, I need my faith as well...

"Who were those who rebelled when they heard? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt under Moses? With whom was he "provoked for forty years"? Was it not those who had sinned, whose corpses fell in the desert? And to whom did he "swear that they should not enter into his rest," if not to those who were disobedient? And we see that they could not enter for lack of faith."(Hebrews 3:16-19)

When I die, I will not enter the kingdom of Heaven immediately, either...

The Bible distinguishes between those who enter Heaven straightaway, calling them "the church of the firstborn" (Heb. 12:23), and those who enter after having undergone a purgation, calling them "the spirits of the just made perfect." (Heb. 12:23).

Christ Himself stated:

"Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny." (Matt. 5 :26).

And:

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak. By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matt. 12:36-37).

Answer 2

We do have to work to get closer to God, lead people to church, supp1 John 5:7
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one...

1 John 5:8
And there are three that bear witness in earth the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

If you really want to know and study this you will see they are all One God...

Jesus is Man

Isaiah 7:14, 9:6
Luke 1:31 2:6-7
Acts 17: 31
Galatians 4:4
Pilippians 2:7-8
1 Timothy 2:5
Hebrews 4:15 7:24-25


Jesus is God
Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah 9:6
Micah 5:2
John 1:1, 14
John 1:10
John 8:24, 58-59
11 Corinthians 5:19
1 Timothy 3:16

Source(s):

God is a Spirit

John 4:23-24
Acts 7:48-49
Acts 17:24-28
Psalm 139: 7-14
1 King 8:27
Jeremiah 23: 23-24
ort the church, keep the commandments ect..

Answer 3

No, Salvation is free in Christ. Just earlier then that scripture in verse 15 , Jesus is warning those He is teaching about false teachers and uses the example of a tree that will be known by the type of fruit it bears. Salvation is a very big part of knowing Christ, but its not the only part Ive learned. No living person on the planet knows Christ's true saving grace yet, but we all have a chance to know His changing mercy right here on earth. Don't pay attention to the sign on the door "Christian", take a look at the heart within and the actions that result. Not every door that reads "Christian" desires God's reign in thier lives and Jesus won't share rule with our desires and ambitions. Hope this helps, good question by the way, keep asking, God will provide the ones that speak to your heart!

Answer 4

Going to haven have nothing to do with the true salvation. Father that Christ is mentioning is not the primal force the true Lord, God, ...
Going to haven might last longer or shorter time but eventually will end and you will have to return back in to the life. In this way you will not leave circle of life and death.
In to the haven goes only those that are actually making sacrifices for other people. You give something to others that you could have for yourself. There is another sacrifice inside yourself where you try to change those aspects of yourselves that are causing that you take from others instead to give from what you have or you might have.
The latter sacrifice is of the greater order. True salvation is possible only trough mercy of true god when you are reap.

Answer 5

yes. The Master is the greatest gift from Heaven, but belief in him means belief in his teachings - and the reason Jesus said this is that there are many, many people who claim to be Christian, but don't behave that way (i've seen tons of mean-spirited sniping from so-called Christians on this site - absolutely not Christian behavior), yet think they've got a free ticket to Heaven by saying "yeah, okay, you're the Christ, i believe." But if you don't follow his teachings as best as you can (life is about trial and error, failing and succeeding), this will not work, and this is why Jesus tore the Temple down in the first place - corruption of the Truth by people with their own agenda, not God's.
You have to believe, but you also have to do your best to live it.

Answer 6

Yes Matthew 7:21-23 is correct. Many today are leading to destruction(Matt.7:13) by not following God's Will(Luke 4:4).

Next part is when you believe in Jesus; you have to follow him(1Peter 2:21; Col.2:6).

No man is saved by works; their saved by grace; willingly to change their lives into a obedient life of Christ. We all have sinned; so works can't save you. By changing your life however into Jesus's (living by every word in Bible) is better because you're willing to do it for God and not yourself. We're judged by what we know.
Rom.1:17; 2:12-29; 10:17; Gal.3:11-12; 21-29; Heb.10:26, 36-39; 1John 2:1-6.

Look what Hosea 4:6 says: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee..."
Now look what James 2:24 says: "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."
James 1:21-23 = "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your ownselves.
For if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:"

Answer 7

Of course we have to work our way into heaven. I mean, not just because we are Christians or Catholics means that we have an automatic pass to heaven. It counts for nothing if we go to church and pray everyday, if as soon as we step out of church or finish praying, we are already cursing at someone or doing things that are morally wrong.
I believe that we will get into heaven with our good actions not only towards God and Jesus, but also with our good actions towards the people around us.

Answer 8

Precisely because they choose to do their own will, not "but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." They do what gets them noticed. Their names on every building, hospital, school and shelter. Yes, these are fine things, but not what either Christ or God told those wanting to do God's will to do today. Specifically, as Jesus instructed "teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded YOU. And, look! I am with YOU all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matt. 28:20) The kind of knowledge is vital. "And this is what I continue praying, that YOUR love may abound yet more and more with accurate knowledge and full discernment; 10 that YOU may make sure of the more important things, so that YOU may be flawless and not be stumbling others up to the day of Christ. " (Philip. 1:9-10) It is "accurate knowledge and full discernment". A thing the churches are hopelessly devoid of. Instead, they concentrate on bake sales, food and clothing drives or bingo.

Answer 9

Let me ask you, can you be perfect and never sin? Of coarse not; but that is the only way you will be able to ever EARN salvation. The thing to keep in mind is that God makes a covenant with those who hear the gospel and believe it. We learn from the book of James that the only faith that saves is the faith that is perfected (or made complete) by works. It is free because we cannot earn it, but the very nature of any covenant requires a response on the part of the one entering this covenant. Also look at Matt.7:13,14. There we see that the gate is narrow and the way is narrow that leads to eternal life and few will find it. This also shows some effort on our part. Yet, the way to view these things we MUST do to be saved, is that it is our response of a good conscience. On the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2, those who heard the words preached to them by Peter, asked; "Men and brethren, what MUST we do? They wanted to know what they must do to be saved. In verse 38, Peter answered them.

38"Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39“For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
40And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

They needed to respond to the call and be baptized FOR the remission of their sins. Notice also that in verse 42, they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. We cannot earn the gift and yet when we obey Christ and His word (the New Testament), we are sanctified continously and justified BY Christ. He makes us perfect as long as we show our love for Him by the way we live our lives. We will still sin on occassion, and when we do, we MUST pray to God for forgiveness and turn from that sin. Yet, as long as we are not living a completely worldly life, we have Christ's blood cleansing us continually.

Answer 10

No. How did you come up with that conclusion? It does not mention working our way into heaven but it means being obedient to God.

Answer 11

Salvation is free...It doesn't cost you a thing. Think of it as a gift or a reward from God. Reward for living and serving him.