“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he 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;\u00a0depart from me, you who practice lawlessness<\/strong>‘<\/em>” (Matthew 7:21-23).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The popular appeal made by many preachers is “Just accept Jesus into your heart, and you will be saved.” While “accepting Jesus” is good, there is more to salvation that than. Christ points out that obedience\/doing the will of the Father is also necessary. Many do not like the idea of “obedience.” They just want to do what “feels good.”<\/p>\n So, just what does it mean to “do the will of the Father?” My wife and I have a will – our “Last Will and Testament.” Upon our death, whatever possessions we have will be given to our children. We can put any conditions in the will that we want. That is our prerogative. Thus, if our children want to inherit, they must meet the terms of the will.<\/p>\n Our Heavenly Father has also prepared an inheritance for us, which is far greater than treasures of silver and gold. And he has written his “Last Will and Testament.” It is called “The Bible.” That’s where we must go to learn the terms of the will.<\/p>\n Now, in the aforementioned text, Christ mentions people who will be surprised when they are denied entrance into heaven. They may argue that they have done many good deeds, and they even called him “Lord.” So … what’s the problem?<\/p>\n The problem is that they were doing “good things” for which they had no authority. They were committing “lawlessness.” Other translations may use “iniquity” or “workers of evil.”<\/p>\n Going back to Matthew 7, it is clear that Christ is telling those on judgment day that while they were doing things that seemed good to them, they were doing things for which they had no authority – unlawful or lawless things.<\/p>\n Consider an example. Some years ago I had a Bible study with a young woman from a denomination where they used potato chips and Coke for the Lord’s Supper. They called upon the Lord and did what seemed good to them. But it was “lawlessness” and was “without authority.”<\/p>\n Among the many places in the New Testament where the matter of authority is mentioned is Colossians 3:17: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”<\/em>\u00a0We understand what “in the name of” means – it means “by the authority of.” When a policeman knocks on your door and says, “Open up, in the name of the law,” he is claiming that he is acting with authority. So Paul writes to the Colossian church, instructing them that “in word” (their teaching) and “deed,” they are to do these things “in the name of the Lord Jesus” – by his authority.<\/p>\n Many churches today do many things that seem “good” to them, but they are absolutely without any authority from God. When we go to the Word of God, where do we find authority for churches sponsoring ball teams, having raffles, having women preachers, using instrumental music in worship, giving honored titles to their ministers (“Reverend,” “Father,” etc.), wearing special robes to set them apart, having car washes to raise money, building gymnasiums, etc., and the list could go on and on.<\/p>\n The point is, that these things are “without authority,” and therefore Christ calls them “lawless,” as they are not in “the will of My Father.” If they were in the Father’s Will (the New Testament), then surely we could point to the passage that mentions them.<\/p>\n The church which was established by Christ 2,000 years ago was given instructions as to its doctrine and practice. Note Paul’s words to Timothy: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work<\/em>” (II Timothy 3:16-17).<\/p>\n The Holy Spirit said he gave us all that we needed, all that was authorized. We cannot add to or detract from it, or else we practice “lawlessness.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Jefferson David Tant In a well-known New Testament passage, Christ addresses a misconception that many had in that day, which is also held by many today. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will…<\/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,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[78,179,76],"class_list":["post-47675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-authority","tag-sin","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41186,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-gods-will\/","url_meta":{"origin":47675,"position":0},"title":"What is God’s Will?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"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\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":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":47675,"position":1},"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":66238,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/religion-says-do-jesus-says-done\/","url_meta":{"origin":47675,"position":2},"title":"“Religion says DO, Jesus says DONE”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton People come up with the strangest viewpoints and don't realize how unbiblical those ideas are. I keep passing a sign that says the above but offers no scripture reference. Because the Bible is the final authority, I would suggest that both Jesus and His religion say,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"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":47675,"position":3},"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":4778,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-one-justify-being-a-christian-if-he-is-not-baptized\/","url_meta":{"origin":47675,"position":4},"title":"How can one justify being a Christian if he is not baptized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 20, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How can one justify being a Christian if he claims to believe but is not baptized until some time later? Is he convinced that baptism does not save you? Question: Many denominations teach people that belief is all that is required for salvation. Some, such as the Baptists, do\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":47675,"position":5},"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. 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The original Greek word \u00a0is “anomia<\/em>.” It is derived from “nomos<\/em>\u00a0– law.” The Greeks did the same as we do in English with certain words. If we want to make a word negative, we may put “un” in front of it. “Healthy” becomes “unhealthy.” “Lawful” becomes “unlawful.” Thus, when we see a sign in that says “It is unlawful to smoke here,” we understand what that means. We have no authority to smoke there. The Greeks put the alpha, an “a<\/em>” in front of “nomos<\/em>,” and “lawful” became “anomia<\/em>,” “unlawful,” or “lawless.”<\/p>\n