Matthew 7 again - If believing in Jesus is all thats needed to go through the strait gate then why.....?

Question

Why does Jesus say afterwards in verses 21 - 23 ?
"Not everyone 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.
22. 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?
23. And yet then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

So Jesus will say to some who say they're following Jesus that he never knew them and tell them to depart from him.

I'm asking because many answered my last question about how do we know if we're on the right way (where only few find it) and some said if we just believe in Jesus, but that cant be all thats needed can it?

Please will you tell me why you think that you're so sure that you're on the right way.
Thanks

icthus90 - thanks for your comment.
Faith in Jesus cant be all thats needed because of the verses (above) that clearly shows that Jesus tells some that say they believe in him & do wonderful works to depart from him as he never knew them. Please read the scripture
If all who believe in Jesus will be saved then who are the ones that he tells to depart from him?

Answer 1

You are surely correct in your reasoning.

The mere use of Christ's name is empty if not living God's will by the Holy Spirit Whom God gives to those who obey Him.

Each is called to, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Knowing God and obeying Him, which is only possible through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit, is that which is needed.

Answer 2

What makes me sure that I am on the right way is checking into the Bible and examining what it says and not what I think. The Bible will explain itself, if we take time to read and meditate. The scripture you quoted is perfect. It is only if we are "doing the will of God" as verse 21 says. If you go to verses 13 and 14, you will see that there are ONLY 2 roads. The broad and spacious one with many on it goes off into destruction; whereas, the narrow and cramped one leads to life and few are the ones finding it. The reason being that the majority of people think that any thing goes. God has standards and those don't change even though people change and accept things that God condemns. So not only do we need to believe the truth found in the Bible, we have to continually act on it. (We can't just 'believe' and all is well. What would have happened to Noah or any of his family members, if they left the ark during the flood?) But, all the scriptures in the Bible are for our benefit. (2 Timothy3:16,17) We have the perfect model Jesus to follow. He did his father Jehovah's will. (John 5:30) So we need to find out what that will is and then do it.

Answer 3

This is a tough question. Even though salvation is a gift, we are still expected to do God's will and keep his commandments. This is tough even for Christians who live in a world with temptation and sin all around. A lot of pastors do preach once saved always saved. They tell us that salvation is a gift from God because Jesus was sent to her to pay for our crimes. Actually, this is quite troubling. Because it seems there is no certain way to be assured of your salvation. I've actually read that there are five requirements for salvation, and not just believing that Jesus was the Son of God and that he died for our sins. I'm not totally sure and there is so much disagreement even within the faith on what's proper doctrine to teach. I like you who believe in God and Jesus Christ as the way to salvation have not gotten clear answers. The most troubling thing about is that you have the verse the God desires that no one will perish but in other verses it seems to suggest that the vast majority of humanity is not going to make it into heaven. It seems like there will only be a select few. It's one of the most troubling areas of Christianity, truthfully. Because the fact of the matter is, in a lot of areas of our lives, Christianity requires a drastic change of lifestyle. Some will tell you that it's a process and the more spiritual you become the more your life will come in line with the will of God. Some say that you have to be willing to give up all sinful behavior in your life before true salvation can take place. The problem is really that there are no clear cut answers. The best answer I can give is to continue to search for the truth yourself. You have to continue searching for it and God will reveal himself to you.

Answer 4

It all hinges on vs 21-23-"But he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven."
As you know there are some preachers that may put their hand on you head and push you back to the arms waiting to catch them after what they call prophysing-and you may have heard someone saying they worked in a healing tent once and those people could walk before------all that--------Believe me the ones that ask Jesus haven't we done all these things------knew the truth about themselves-and Jesus knew they knew--
You are on the right track if you Ask Jesus To Come into Your Heart, Forgive Your Sins and cleanse You--and truly believe it.
You will want to read His Word, You will want to make some changes in your life....you just will, BUT when you sin, ask Him to Forgive you---very important forgive yourself! and get own with His work--we all have days we don't , still we can Worship Him-you know God Has a vial holding our praises in front of Him all the time? Makes me want to SHOUT! Its important to stay around Christians so you can life each other up when one gets low--that is the enemy --he wants you to think you aren't good enough, will never really make it-thats when you have to cast him out--its no easy road I tell you-we are having to fight the enemy or be Praising God--Remember to put on your armour daily-The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of ................it will help
then, like Paul said, (can't quote exactly) When you can look back and see the changes in your life YOU will know--you will be so happy---thats a good day. Oh wow, I don't do this or that anymore. Yea!-----You will hear from the Lord, always remember to sit and listen.........ok, off my soap-box--I get excited talking about Him

Answer 5

Jesus knows our hearts. To be on the right path to God, it's not a matter of just saying some words. The words must be true in your heart. This is the point Jesus makes....that some say "we prophesied in thy name...cast out devils....done wonderful works"......but He never knew them as His. Just saying "I believe in Jesus" doesn't mean someone really does in their heart...and Jesus surely can tell the difference. "He that doeth the will of my Father" is a result of actually believing in Christ. Any good works done are a result of having Jesus as Savior, not something done to be saved. How do we know we are saved? The Holy Spirit (which indwells the believer as soon as he receives Christ) bears witness to our connection with Christ. We know in our spirit because now God reveals Himself in a new way, by the Holy Spirit.

Answer 6

Notice in verse 21 that it says only those doing the will of his Father will enter into the kingdom of the heavens. So we need to find out what his Fathers will is & then do it. I feel as I'm on the right road as I'm trying my best to do this, I'm not perfect but I try my best. I'd be glad to let you know what Gods will is.

Answer 7

>some said if we just believe in Jesus, but that cant be all thats needed can it?<

Why not? Faith is a gift from God - if someone offered you a fantastic gift for free and then said - oh by the way you have to give money to charity, clean the church for a year - it's not free any more! But as it's free all you have to do is accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, repent of your past misdoings (sins) - trust and believe in Him and you will be saved!

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Answer 8

Getting through the gate is the first step on the Christian journey. The path is narrow, long and full of pitfalls. Many fall by the wayside (parable of the seeds that fall on stony ground and parable of the wheat and weeds). Yes, Jesus is the gate and many profess to believe in Jesus, but their actions prove otherwise. Yes, we must believe in Jesus, but that's just the starting point.

Assurance that we are on the right path comes from conviction by the Holy Spirit. Acts 2: 38 says, "Repent, and let each one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit." This is the proof that our sins have been forgiven - the Holy Spirit anoints us.

Check out John Bunyan's 'Pilgrims Progress' - a wonderful, inspiring allegory of the Christian journey.

Answer 9

Being a Christian is not easy. Most people falsely assume that once we believe we are saved no matter what. It takes work to try and follow Jesus. We will be forgiven of our sins if we repent and turn away from those sins; we cannot keep repeating and repenting. The Bible says that faith without works is dead. We should want to do God's will, which proves who we truly are.

God Bless.

Answer 10

God gave us the 10 commandments as a guide to live he didn't make them law like some people believe! the bible may say alot of things about being good and accepted in heaven but it also says that u only need to believe! :-D

Answer 11

Believing in Jesus is all that’s needed. However, that belief must come from Faith based in knowledge.

credo ut intelligam; I believe so that I may understand

Christ told us to spread the Gospel; the good news is that God has provided for redemption in Christ Jesus. The Word then must be heard in order to believe. Christ tells us that that redemption requires confession of and repentance of sins. Therefore belief requires us know we are sinners and turn from that sin. And we must have Faith, not in ourselves but in God that He is faithful in His promise of redemption.

This then is the path to the strait gate and it is indeed narrow. That is why good works alone will not provide Salvation.

In summary what Christ is speaking against is “blind faith’ which is ironic because believers are constantly accused of having only blind faith.