Christians, 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.

CJ, did everyone but you get it? You (& your buddies) 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. And that is the TRUE Catholic teaching, ol CJ dear one.

That's ok - we know what we teach and what we believe.

Answer 1

I dunno, but it gives a whole new life to the "saved by works" theory...

Answer 2

Hi spiritroaming,


The Catholic position on salvation can be summed up thus: We are saved by Christ's grace alone, through faith and works done in charity inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Works have no merit in themselves -- and faith without works is not enough. We are saved by grace alone -- a grace that we accept neither "by faith alone" nor "by works alone," but "by faith that works in charity" (Galatians 5:6).





CJ and gang,

It takes more than simply knowing Jesus is the Messiah to be saved; even the Evil One knows Who Christ is.

Answer 3

Saving faith cannot exist alone

and it is not just mouthing the Lordship of Jesus,but struggling to live it by grace

There is no security in just having the label Christian or in collecting emotional experiences so that i can think that I cannot rebel against God and evict Him from my life and abandon salvation's course when we see it happening all the time.

Faith without work s is dead, as St James teaches.

We will be judged not on what we believe but on how we live

Rom2:5-8
2 Cor 5:10
2 Cor11:15 God repays according to our deeds-if they are cooperation with grace or rejection of grace

Those who separate faith from works and grace from faith and works cannot see the truth of the Scriptures because they areblinded by their human traditions and their refusal to interpret the Bible in Apostolic Tradition rather than the church traditions of their particular denomination's theology or their own setting themselves up as the interpretive authority over anybody else's

Answer 4

Great question, Spiritroaming. You even put the verse into KJV, but still CJ doesn't get it.

Perhaps this explanation from Jesus (Matt 25) will be even clearer:

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Those who expect to make heaven by faith alone, while ignoring the command to do works of charity, will be among the large crowd on Jesus' left.

Cheers,
Bruce

Answer 5

If we back up a few verses to verse 16

16Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21Not 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.

We can see what Jesus is speaking about. If we as true followers of Christ do His will, not our own we will be known by our fruits. His will means following the 10 Commandments, following the Commandment of being baptized,doing unto others, going to church, helping our neighbors, showing love to all, not condemning someone to hell because they believe differently, spreading the word of Christ. Our works must come from the heart, not forced. Our works show our faith in Christ. If we do not do the works of Christ and just say we believe in Christ we are just paying lip service, our faith is not true.

Answer 6

Are you all still arguing about this? It says LET YOUR FAITH SHOW by your works. That doesn't mean your works get you into heaven, silly.

Another point is that what you are pointing out is an interpretation. What if someone else interprets it differently? That does not mean they are wrong, just that they see it slightly different.
I interpret His words in this passage as Exhortation, not a commandment. Ever hear of shy people?

Or better yet, it is an exercise in discernment.

And finally, if you really wanted to be clear on this, you would have gone into a lot of detail (with evidences) about what the will of the Father is. You failed to meet the requirements of a valid argument.

STOP RANTING - it is about a personal relationship with Christ. HE has something different for everyone. EACH PERSON IS UNIQUE, why can't their relationship with God be unique?

Your good work must be to bash other Christians, eh?

Answer 7

It means that it is easy to say you are a Christian, anyone can do it, but that doesn't make you one. We see people posting Christian questions on here all the time, but they are no more Christian than I am atheist or agnostic or pagan...take your pick. If you are truly a Christian then you will earnestly try to live in the example of Christ and you will have works. Works does not only mean salvation of others (although that is one). Works is standing up for Jesus, sharing, giving, being kind, caring, compassionate, not being ashamed of His name...I could go on. Every true Christian will have works that attest to (are proof of) their salvation. The dramatic changes that occur in the lives of some born again Christians are all works...proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit in that persons heart. Works, however, cannot get you into heaven. We don't do good works to get into heaven (we could never do enough good works to get us in). We do good works to show our thanks to God for including us in the heirship of Christ!

Answer 8

It means that not everyone that says Lord, Lord is saved. They may act like it in church or around other Christians but acting like one and really being one are 2 different things.

Answer 9

The passage refers to false teachers like CJ.

Answer 10

It means that just because you call yourself a Christian and go to church, does not mean that you are actually born again. There are lots of people who claim to be Christians who aren't born again at all....they are as lost as a goose in the fog (thinking of Dubya....).

"...he that doeth the will of my Father..." That is simple to explain, actually. God's will is different for everyone in that He has a different plan for each of our lives. However, one thing that is universally His will for all people is this: God is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) God's universal will is that everybody puts their faith in Christ and repents of their sins. THAT is doing the will of God, and that is the only way we can enter into heaven one day.

So in that light, not everyone who claims to be a Christian is saved, but if a man has done God's will and repented of his sins and put his faith in Christ, then he will see heaven one day.

I hope that helped.

Answer 11

I'm not Christian, so I hope you don't mind my answering. :) To me, it means that many will realize too late that they should have been faithful to the Christian Lord and will call out for him at the end. But just because they do doesn't mean that they will go to heaven. Likewise, someone may not have called on the Christian Lord, but does the will of His "Father which is in heaven." In other words, someone who lives a "Christian" life will enter heaven, not someone who just gives it lip service.

From a former Southern Baptist.