Scary Things Jesus Said: Part 5
In the spirit of King David who confronted Goliath (rather than hiding in a cave with the other soldiers), I bring to you the following scripture that has terrified believers the world over.
Pretty scary, uh? Certainly, in my early years as a follower of Christ, it frightened me. I thought if people who performed miracles in the Lord’s name were unacceptable, then this often-confused, grungy little Christian convert was doomed!
So, let’s confront this giant together. First, can we agree that we all want to enter the kingdom of heaven? So how do we get in?
According to the Lord’s words, prophesying, casting out demons, and performing miracles is not what gets us into the kingdom of heaven. Let me be clear. He is not saying these things are bad. During His earthly ministry, Jesus performed all kinds of signs and wonders. As a matter of fact, in Mark 16:17-18, Jesus tells his disciples that, in His name, signs and wonders will accompany them. So, it isn’t the signs that are the problem. Signs are good. And for those of you who have never even seen a supernatural sign, much less performed one, go ahead and heave a big sigh of relief. According to this scripture, working a miracle is not required for entrance into heaven’s kingdom.
So, why is Jesus warning us to not depend upon our outward works, even if those are supernatural works? Look again at Matthew 7:21-23.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
The problem is somehow failing to do the will of God—and you would think those supernatural acts would be God’s will, but apparently not. Now, let me clarify again. Jesus performed miracles. He cast out demons and He prophesied. So, there is nothing wrong with operating in the supernatural, so long as we are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So, if that is not the problem, what is the problem? According to Jesus, the problem is not doing the will of God and not being known by Him which apparently causes Him to call you someone who practices lawlessness.
Alrighty then. Are we feeling better now? No? Me either.
If performing miracles, isn’t doing the will of God, then being really, really good all the time must be the will of God. In which case, I am in serious trouble because I didn’t return my grocery cart yesterday.
Except being super good is not what Jesus means when He says the will of the Father. I am not saying you should be bad! Return those carts!
Here is the will of the Father put into words and set right before our eyes. I give you John 6:40.
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40
That’s pretty plain. The will of the Father is that we see and believe in the Son, who was sent to restore us to the Father. I researched the word translated “see,” and it means to look at with recognition. I recognize the people I know. We are to get to know Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior. As we grow in our relationship with Him, we are doing God’s will. Because His will is for us to have a relationship with Him through Christ.
Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
The entrance into the kingdom of heaven is through a relationship with Him. This is a relationship gospel. Not a works gospel. As an aside, think about Pharaoh’s sorcerers. They were able to turn their staffs into serpents also. (See Exodus 7:10-12).
When we withhold ourselves from Christ, refusing to give Him our hearts, souls, spirits, and minds, substituting instead our performance—even when that performance is astounding—we fail to build a relationship with Him. Thus, Jesus says, “I never knew you.” He even calls any good work, be it religious or worldly in nature, performed outside of a relationship with Him the practice of lawlessness.
Now, I feel better. I am pretty good at being a friend, and if that is all Jesus is asking of me, that I be His friend, then I’ve got this. And so do you.
and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. James 2:23
God bless you! Let me know what you think of the new website!
Susan
