For non-Catholics..what does this passage mean?

Question

Matt. 7-21: 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.

Ok, so the answers I've gotten so far all say that a person has to DO - not just believe. Is that correct?

So, doing the will of God would involve living a Christ-like life, yes? Doing as He would do?

Skepsis, you hit the nail on the head - EXACTLY the point I was trying to make. I hear every day on every day that Catholics think they are saved by works, when this is not what we teach AT ALL. Bless you!

Answer 1

Evangelical Protestants have a hard time interpreting this verse meaningfully because they can't appear to be endorsing salvation by "works". What it means is that true conversion, true faith in Christ will change the way you think and live. James had it right when he said, "Show me your faith without works and I will show you the faith that underlies my works." Intellectual assent is not enough, spiritual, mental and bodily commitment is required. The faith will be demonstrated in the world.

This is not two things but one. You don't do the faith thing AND the works thing. "Works" is a consequence of genuine faith, becoming second nature to the believer. Saying "Lord, Lord," is superficial. God doesn't need the evidence of "works". He already sees into the heart and knows whether the faith is genuine. The works are a consequence, not a proof.

If you squeeze the tube, the toothpaste will come out. If you truly are committed to Christ, you will be feeding the hungry, visiting the sick or imprisoned, comforting the afflicted and spreading hope and encouragement to those who need it. And you would do it not out of duty but out of compulsion. It wouldn't occur to you not to.

Answer 2

To me, it means we have to live our lives the way Christ would...or at least to as close as he would since we can never be perfect...
That shows to me that "saved by grace alone" is false. We are "saved" by grace after we have done all we can do...like a cup we must fill, we cannot ever fill it all the way but Christ will make up the difference when we have filled it as much as we possibly can.
It is not enough to believe in Jesus Christ, we must be active in the gospel, not "well I am saved now" and go on our merry way. That is the part of Christianity I have trouble with, I am a Mormon and hear constantly those people say "I am saved" when I believe salvation is a future event, one that will most likely not be known during this lifetime...
Anywho, that's just my opinion.

Answer 3

That means not everyone who claims to be saved is saved. There is a part in the bible that referrs to them as false prophets and wolves in sheep clothing. Plain ans simple. Some aren't a bit more saved than a man in the moon.They pretend for fame or money or to fit in.
Alot of people believe in God but their hearts are far from him.Follow the will of the Father.John3;7 SAYS " Ye must be born again ".

Answer 4

you can't just take one verse...
this section is speaking of false prophets/teachers who:
"smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.
"Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' for instance— isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'"

God knows your heart...that's what this is saying. Even the devil believes there is a God. You need to repent and believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord. You want to live a life as Christlike as you can. Otherwise you're in for a serious surprise when you die. We don't want that. No sir.

blessings.

Answer 5

It means that not everyone that pays lip service to Christ is actually a Christian. Just because you say that you believe in God means nothing if you do not actually believe in what is happening and pursue a relationship with Christ at the head. That is the reason Christianity is not brainwashing because it is a persons choice and if the person does it under duress then it is not real. It must be a free choice made with full knowledge of what you are actually saying.

Answer 6

Mat 7:21 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.
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 then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

No it's not saying you need to do anything. Those who do the will of the Father are those who have been given eternal life through the work of salvation done solely by Christ himself. Those who are saying Lord, Lord, are those who think they are saved because they have done what they believe to be good works, when in reality they are not saved at all.

A person can only live a truly Christ like life after they have become saved. Before we are saved we are spiritually dead. We may try in our physical nature to be obedient to the word of God but unless we are saved it will have no spiritual value. Having faith, believing, seeking, calling, accepting, confessing, and repenting(among others) are all works that we do that have no impact on our becomeing saved, but rather are evidences that manifest themselves in the true believer after Christ has done all the work of saving.

Answer 7

you're an extremely naughty woman! and you besides mght wasted a great threat. as a exchange of setting up a straw guy argument approximately something that purely isn't interior the Bible, you need to have picked an occasion it quite is interior the Bible. So why did no longer you? given so you might no longer locate something remotely resembling the obnoxious occasion you went on approximately? The Bible consistently states the justifications for God's judgments on persons and communities of people. it consistently has to do with wickedness and gathering evil. for example, he gave the Amorites over 4 hundred years until now performing to break them. The 4 hundred years purely brought about the Amorites to dedicate further and extra atrocities against different individuals. yet look how God's persistence is used as an excuse to rage against God's eventual judgment! nicely, Mark, thank you for making me chortle - at seven of the clock this Friday morning! excellent! Apple supplies the final ripost on your question, by using how. no choose for me to assert extra.

Answer 8

This passage is a set-up for the delivery of the real topic of the chapter: the accomplishment of obtaining God's favor in judgment. Jesus is trying to warn the listeners of the consequences for taking what He is saying lightly. He knows that He will obtain the rights to the Throne of Judgment. He is even gracious enough to tell them this. He even warns them NOT to try to suck-up to Him, and pretend to love Him when they secretly despise Him, similar to the story of Joseph's brothers, when Joseph told them of his own coming authority...Joseph meant no harm to them, but Joseph's bad reports to his father made the older brothers so envious they wanted to get rid of Joseph.
But Jesus also knows that when the Day finally comes, He will be forced to expell any that reject His authority. The passage in question concerns this expulsion, and it is a reference to Psalm 6, which is in turn a reference to Genesis 42-45.
How many times have I seen this take place! When people that took advantage of me before get put side by side with me and feel that it is below their dignity, only to get run-off or resign their position. Just desserts, I suppose...and it seems to be happening more and more.

Answer 9

It sounds like you have to be a good person not just believe in him to get into heaven.

This brings up something, if you have to do "gods will" then do you really have free will? How do you know it is his will in the first place?

Edit: I think you are trying to get us to agree with you that you have to do good works to get into heaven. I think that living a decent life would qualify as that. Like I said, there is no way to know what his will is and to try and do so seems a little egocentric to me.

Answer 10

You can't just accept Jesus and go off and willingly do bad things or do whatever you want. You must adhere to jesus teachings and be an example of him while on earth. The scripture means not all who call themselves christians will go to heaven. In order to go to heaven you must be a genuine christian and walk your talk.