Hi,<\/p>\n
Just a quick note to say I really enjoy your website. I find it very helpful.<\/p>\n
Quick question: In Matthew 7:21 Jesus talks about only those who do God’s will get to enter heaven. Have you written on this verse before that I could go back and read somewhere? I guess the question is, what is God’s will?<\/p>\n
Thanks!<\/p>\n\t
“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!’<\/em>” (Matthew 7:21-23).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There is a hint as to what Jesus considered to be God’s will in verse 23. Those not doing God’s will were practicing lawlessness. In other words, they were violating God’s law. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness<\/em>” (I John 3:4). The Will of God is just another way to refer to the Bible which tells us what God wants us to do. Compare:<\/p>\n
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God<\/em>” (John 1:12-13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
with<\/p>\n
“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever<\/em>” (I Peter 1:22-23).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Belief comes from listening to what God has said. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God<\/em>” (Romans 10:17). That is why the Gospel saves us. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek<\/em>” (Romans 1:16).<\/p>\n
To be saved, we have to do what God wants, and not what man wants. “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ<\/em>” (Galatians 1:10).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Hi, Just a quick note to say I really enjoy your website. I find it very helpful. Quick question: In Matthew 7:21 Jesus talks about only those who do God’s will get to enter heaven. Have you written on this verse before that I could go back and read somewhere? I guess the question…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[219,90,76],"class_list":["post-41186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-bible","tag-god","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19161,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-person-uses-jesus-name-to-heal-the-sick-and-prophesy-is-he-using-gods-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":41186,"position":0},"title":"If a person uses Jesus’ name to heal the sick and prophesy, is he using God’s Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening sir, I hope you are doing well. I was having a Bible discussion with a friend and he asked me a question: if someone uses Jesus' name to heal the sick, get revelation and prophesy, is that person using God's Spirit? Please help me to answer him.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46734,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-jesus-rebuke-those-who-did-works-in-his-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":41186,"position":1},"title":"Doesn’t Jesus rebuke those who did works in his name?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Many teach salvation by works. Matthew 7:22-23 clearly shows that Jesus revealed they boasted in their many wonderful works they did in the His name. Yet Jesus did not praise them nor did He exalt them; He rebuke them. Many today are modern day Pharisees. They try to make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32102,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-think-i-need-to-stop-sinning-get-baptized-and-follow-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":41186,"position":2},"title":"I think I need to stop sinning, get baptized, and follow Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I appreciate what you have written, and I agree with you. Honestly, I'm a Catholic, but I don't practice a lot of things that Catholics do. I consider myself a Christian because in my heart I have to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and his teaching. Of course, I've\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22446,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-feel-like-im-a-fake-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":41186,"position":3},"title":"I feel like I’m a fake Christian","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good afternoon, I\u2019m in my thirties. I have never been intimate with a man. Last month, for the first time I actually had a hard time setting boundaries and was fingered by the man I\u2019m seeing. I\u2019m so upset at myself because I\u2019ve been so steadfast my entire life\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16488,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-john-316-the-only-passage-that-we-need-to-get-to-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":41186,"position":4},"title":"Is John 3:16 the only passage that we need to get to heaven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have just found your website and have learned a great deal as well as carry great respect for your ability to answer questions biblically. That being said, I bear an immense disagreement but extremely open to reconsideration if thoroughly convinced. I'm only 23 and have been born\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61025,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-does-god-think-he-is\/","url_meta":{"origin":41186,"position":5},"title":"Who Does God Think He Is?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Floyd Chappalear modified by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Worship isn't enough. The Bible says that voluntary humility, severity to the body, acts of contrition, and such like may be nothing more than evidence of \"will worship;\" that is, serving one's own interests (see Colossians 2:18-23). 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