Read and Believe in Jesus.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven….” Matthew 7:21.

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REVIEW – Do to others what you would like them to do to you. (Showing kindness first.) They may not always return the “good” back to you, but Jesus says this is the “gist” of the entire Law of God. And God demonstrated this in Jesus, sending Him to bear the wrath we deserved when we were still despicable sinners. Many people will not return God’s love and kindness with gratitude and belief. Instead, they will reject Him.

Many people will also choose the wide gate and easy way that leads to destruction. Some, a few, will take the narrow gate, thank God for their salvation, and walk the hard path. They will probably experience hate and martyrdom along the way, but will receive that promise of eternal life.

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Matthew 7:16-20.

Jesus then cautions them about false prophets (messiahs, preachers, televangelists). These may preach the “easy, wide, prosperous” way to God, but Jesus calls them “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” In other words, they might “look” like true Christians in a crowd, but take off that fake piety and there is a ravenous wolf-soul underneath, who wants to make YOU a child of hell, like him.

A ravenous wolf and a hungry, roaring lion both come from God’s arch-enemy. The devil wants nothing more than to lead people away from salvation in Jesus. He wants slaves to “works,” not free people of faith. And he doesn’t care if they are torn apart and devoured in the process. If he can’t get to Jesus, he will attack us, Jesus’ followers.

Beware! Be aware!

How? Jesus says you, if you are discerning, awake, and watching, will recognize them by their “fruit.” Yes, be a fruit inspector!

Women, and maybe men, shop for produce in the market. We pick up an apple, a tomato, an onion, or a bag of plums. We check them for bruises, rotten spots, and more. If we find slimy leaves on the lettuce or mold in the bottom of a box of berries, we put them back. We disregard them, turn our backs, and walk away. If we find a lot of this rot, we may even shop somewhere else.

Be that picky, that aware, that discerning in those who teach you – even on this blog!! Compare always with the Bible.

A market collects the rotten food and tosses it into the garbage bins to be hauled off. In Jesus’ time, they chopped down a diseased tree or vine and threw it into the fire.

If you can, take a few minutes and read Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:1-13.

“Let no one deceive you with empty words…”

“Walk as children of the light – for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true…”

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness…”

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Matthew 7:21-23.

And now comes the scary part.

Jesus tells them, those listeners on the hillside, that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Not the false prophet. Not the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Not the slicked-down, grinning, gold-jewelry-bedecked TV evangelist, not even that sweet school teacher.)

He continues, “But (only) the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

“Not even the ones who say, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” Nope. Not even those ‘miracle workers.’

Jesus says He will look at them and say… “I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness (or iniquity).”

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So… What IS God’s will?

John 6:40 – Jesus told the crowds at another time, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life.”

The fake believers are the ones who depend on their works to save them, not on faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. They reject Jesus’ sacrifice and offer of eternal life. They want to do it “their way.” THESE are the ones who will be turned away.

And yes, some of these false witnesses, in Jesus’ time (think Judas), in our time, and in the tribulation to come, WILL (and did) PERFORM miracles and try to deceive the very elect!!

But God sees hearts, whether they are true or false. “I never knew you,” Jesus says.

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But Jesus DOES know His own.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28

Praise God!

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