We come to one of the most frightening words of Jesus. “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 in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in our 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…” (Mathew 7:21-23).
I am reminded of yesterday’s discussion of television evangelists. Most of us would think that successfully casting out demons would be proof enough that the evangelist was someone we should listen to. We would most likely agree that giving prophecies that came to pass would be a strong indicator that the person was sent to us by God. And if the person cast out demons, gave accurate prophecies, told us things about ourselves that no one else could know and performed miracles that would certainly be proof that God sent him or her. We would record their sermons, buy their books and put their teaching into practice.
But Jesus said there will be those whose ministry is filled with all of these and they still do not belong to him. Jesus will say to them on judgment “Depart from me I never knew you.” We ask ourselves, “If these powerful men and women cannot enter heaven, how will I ever get in?”
Jesus does not leave us guessing. He tells us plainly, “But he who does the will of my father.” It is he who has been born again and obeys God’s commands enters heaven (John 3:3-8; 14:15’ 1 John 2:3-6).
