MANY IF NOT ALL

"Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” Matthew 7:21-23.

Jesus said that on judgment day many Christians will say to Him that they deserve to be in heaven because they can foretell the future in His name, cast demons in His name, and done many wonders in His name, and Jesus answered "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Do we know what the will of God the Father is? No, I doubt it! Most of us know only the will of the apostle Paul, that's all. Paul says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9. Paul said that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works. It is a gift from God, according to Paul. But the apostle James strongly disagreed with Paul. Read James 2, the whole chapter so you know why James disagreed. So, be very careful because Paul and James are both disciples of Jesus. Whom do I believe? I believe in James. Why? Because his teachings are consistent with the teachings of the prophets and the teachings of the Bible. Faith and work must go together.

Readers, do you see any evidence of grace in Matthew 7:21-23? No, not one. Jesus told them “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” They were not doing the will of God the Father. They were doing things that were against the law. They were lawbreakers. Their work does not match their faith. They practice lawlessness. They keep changing God's laws to make money.

Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one title will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17-18. Jesus keeps the law; Christians break the law. Law abiding citizens keep the laws, criminals break the laws. It’s not funny! God’s law is the foundation of our Christian’s faith, not Paul’s law, not Peter’s law, not Judas’ law.

Where are they found? Yahweh’s laws are found in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Jesus’ laws are found in Mark 12:30-31, `And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This [is] the first commandment. "And the second, like [it, is] this: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Follow these laws and you’ll have NO REGRETS.