"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. Many will say unto me, 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? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-22
"...he that doeth the will of my Father..." makes clear that faith in grace is not enough, that to achieve heaven you must also do works that are in accordance with the will of the Father.
How do you justify a faith in grace alone when Jesus makes clear your works must be in accordance with the Word to attain heaven?
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:48
2006-10-18 00:29:54 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
"The verse is actually saying the opposite..." You ignore His judgment of them, that their works were wicked ("iniquity").
2006-10-18 00:51:19 · update #1
Ephesians
You would place more emphasis on the words of Paul than the Word of Jesus? Who is holier?
2006-10-18 00:52:19 · update #2
The verse is actually saying the opposite of the meaning you prescribe to it. Many will say, didn't we do works in Your name? And I will say to them "I never knew you"
Grace will save you. Plain and simple. However, you must understand that if you have truly received grace then it will show in your works. After you have received grace, you are going to want to do the will of the Father, and good works will be the result.
2006-10-18 00:38:46 · answer #1 · answered by arewethereyet 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
What the Lord is referring to are those people who profess to know God and have a relationship with him, but in actuality are really not saved. That is why you see ministers on television reading from the bible and preaching the word, but some of them aren't right. Anyone can know the bible cover to cover, even Satan knows the bible cover to cover, but it doesn't make him or her a true christian. There is no way around it......you have to have a personal relationship with Christ. It is through Jesus the son that we are able to come to The Father. Many are doing what they think is Christ's work, but on that day of judgment they are going to be in for a rude awakening. God has set forth his laws and commands and it is expected we will follow them.It's not enough to just believe, you have to do God's work as he has directed. We have to remember all we do must be in the will of God. God bless you and I pray this helps answer your question.
2006-10-18 07:41:05 · answer #2 · answered by softlyinspired 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The obvious answer is Ephesians 2:8 -
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
The contrast between this and Matthew 7:21-22 makes clear what's really going on with the Bible. It contradicts itself, and Christians simply pick what parts they want to and follow those.
That pretty much undermines the common fundamentalist complaint about believers who pick and choose elements of religion to suit themselves (referring of course to "liberal" interpretations). It turns out that as long as your church has a stand on the question "are we saved through grace alone, or do works matter?", your church is right up there with those "liberal interpretation" folks. The only possible honest Biblically-supported answer is "The Bible contradicts itself on that matter, so we honestly don't know whether or not works are important".
2006-10-18 07:35:33 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Mt 7:21-22 says that not everyone who calls himself a Christian is true believer.
We do good works because we are saved, not in order to get saved.
No one could ever earn their salvation by doing good works.
Read Ephesians 2:8,9.
2006-10-18 07:56:39 · answer #4 · answered by David S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
By His grace/ decision we are saved. He created us, it is His decision alone and as Christ reads from the book of life as well it is judged. It says in Ephesians that we were known from before birth and all things are known. I do not even try to know the mind of God. If you believe you need deeds as well grace, that is your choice and most Christians do try to comply, but it still is His grace we are finally saved, not our acts of kindness.
2006-10-18 07:38:32 · answer #5 · answered by AJ 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
We are saved by grace...but not grace alone
Here is the map
Hear the Word
Believe the Word
Admit that you are a sinner
Repent of your sins
Be Baptised
Live a Faithful life
DO this and I'll see you there...:-)
2006-10-18 07:33:39 · answer #6 · answered by kenny p 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I believe Jesus is refering to people who thought they were doing God's work but didn't really believe in the Lord Jesus as Saviour.
I Cr 13;8a, Love never fails!!!!!
10-18-6
2006-10-18 07:33:10 · answer #7 · answered by ? 7 · 2⤊ 3⤋
David, and Softly -- GOOD answers!
2006-10-18 11:14:37 · answer #8 · answered by Mandolyn Monkey Munch 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We are responsible for our own actions. Stop reading the bible and start saving the planet.
Prayer won't stop Global warming, actions will.
2006-10-18 07:34:17 · answer #9 · answered by Jimmy 4 · 1⤊ 4⤋
No one can save but yourself
2006-10-18 07:32:25 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋