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Matthew 7:21-23
In Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV) the Apostle Paul teaches us, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” This is a key Bible passage to help us understand what Jesus is referring to in Matthew 7:21-23 as He declares, “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 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!’”
This is a promise and example of the need for a sincere heart to God in our profession of faith in Jesus.
Hebrews 4:13 (NIV) states, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” God knows if we are sincere in our hearts in our relationship with Him in trusting Jesus as our Savior and Lord. We can hide the truth from one another, but we cannot hide our true thoughts and intentions from God. I believe that God calls us all, at some point in our lives, at least once, to put our faith in Him – to trust in Him as our God and Almighty Creator – to believe that He sent His One and only Son, Jesus, to save us from sin (John 3:16-17). This leads us to a point in which we could branch out on the need for us to share the gospel as if we never hear the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus and of the kingdom of heaven, we will never have the information necessary to believe/put our faith in Jesus. But the point is that when we hear the gospel and God does call us to believe/put our faith in our Savior Jesus, at that point we have to make a choice; a choice to believe in Jesus as our Savior or not to put our faith in Jesus. We cannot simply say so without having a sincere heart to God in following His will for our lives. We cannot simply attend church services and believe that is all that is necessary for salvation. We cannot simply do a good deed and believe that is all that is needed to obtain eternal life. This is what Jesus is referring to when He says in Matthew 7:23 (NKJV), “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” As the Apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 10:9-10, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Simply saying so to give an impression of living in the will of God is never enough – it is the humble sincerity to God in our hearts that matters to God.
Dear LORD,
Please help us to understand that we cannot lie to You as You are all-knowing and all-seeing. You know the depths of our hearts, and You know our intentions even before we speak them. Please help us to see that it is a sincere heart that You desire us to have in putting our faith and trust in Jesus as our Savior – the Savior of the world! In Jesus name I pray, amen.