In Matthew 7:21-27 Jesus told the people how to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said, not everyone, who calls Him Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many people will say in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? And in Thy Name cast out devils? And in Thy Name done many wonderful works? But Jesus will profess to them, that He never knew them and tells them to depart from Him. Then Jesus told the parable of the wise and foolish man. If these are the words of Jesus, then the message that is preached in many churches deviates from the Bible. Why were these people, who called Jesus their Lord and prophesied, cast out devils, and did many wonderful works, not allowed to enter into the Kingdom of God? What must you do to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven according to the Bible?
What did Jesus say about entering the Kingdom of Heaven according to Jesus?
Jesus said, that you won’t enter the Kingdom of heaven by calling Jesus Lord, but you enter the Kingdom of heaven by doing the will of the Father:
Not every one that says unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy Name have cast out devils? And in Thy Name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:21-23).
Before Jesus told the parable of the wise and foolish man, He first spoke about the Kingdom of Heaven and how to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus said, Not everyone, who says: Lord, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he, who does the will of My Father.
The people, who came to Jesus, knew Jesus, because they called Jesus Lord.
So these people were not unbelievers (Gentiles, ungodly) but believers (Christians). Because in the next Bible verse, they defended themselves by saying:
“Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? and in Thy Name have cast out devils? and in Thy Name done many wonderful works?”
So, these people thought they were Christians. These people justified themselves, by telling Jesus, what kind of works they had done in His Name during their lives on earth.
The people had done, what Jesus commanded the believers to do. Therefore, they believed they were saved. They thought they earned their way into the Kingdom of Heaven by the works they had done ‘for Jesus’ in His Name. But Jesus didn’t know them.
Workers of iniquity will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven
These believers thought that they deserved to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. However, Jesus answered them and said, “I never knew you: depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.“
If we look up the word iniquity, it means: illegality, that is, violation of law or (generally) wickedness:- iniquity, X transgress (-ion of) the law, unrighteousness.
Look at all those believers, who were not allowed to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
These people thought they were doing the right thing, they did all the works in the Name of Jesus and thought they knew Jesus. But Jesus said, they were workers of iniquity; violators of the will of God (law of God). Therefore Jesus did not know them (Read also: A counterfeit Jesus produces counterfeit Christians).
Obedience to Jesus Christ (the Living Word)
Jesus wants you to spend time with Him and get to know Him. He wants you to abide in Him; the Word. He wants you to hear and receive His words and obey them. There are so many people, who say they love Jesus and know Jesus and say they have a relationship with Him, while in reality, they haven’t.
Because when you say, that you know Him and love Him, you shall obey His words and walk in His commandments. You shall walk in Him and do the Word of God.
You shall walk in obedience to the will of the Father because the Father and the Son are One.
We have the opportunity to become a son of God (this applies to both males and females). We have the privilege to have a relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ.
God wants to have communion and fellowship with you.
God doesn’t want to be your Boss, but He wants to be your Father. He loves you and showed His love for you, and He wants you to love Him too.
If you really love Him, you will show Him that you love Him by obeying His words and keeping His commandments and not sinning. That is the only way, to show Him that you love Him.
Sometimes people can be so focused on the works and results, that they lose track and forget the most important thing. The most important thing is to love God above all and to spend time with Him. You should build a relationship with Him. He is your Father and He is your Source.
The works will follow the believers
The works will follow the believers, for sure. However, the works should come forth out of the right Source; the Spirit and not the flesh.
You should walk in His ways and do what He says and become a copy of Jesus Christ. Because that’s what the word ‘Christian’ means; a copy of Christ.
You should look like Jesus all the time. Not only when you go to Church and/or when you go to prayer meetings or Bible studies. No… You are a Christian 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This means, that even when you are home alone and nobody is around and nobody is watching you, you should do His will.
The meaning of the parable of the wise man and the foolish man in the Bible
In the parable of the wise man and the foolish man, Jesus talked about two kinds of believers: the wise and foolish.
- The wise man; a believer who heard the words of God and acted upon the words of God. Therefore, he was a doer of the Word
- The foolish man; a believer who also heard the words of God, but did not act upon the words of God. Therefore, he was only a hearer of the Word and not a doer.
Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hearth these sayings of Mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it
(Matthew 7:24-27)
The wise man built his house on the rock
The wise man’s house could resist anything that came his way. The house of the wise man was strong enough to resist any storm. Why? Because the house was founded on a rock; Jesus Christ, the Word. He heard the words of God and received His words and applied His words in his life. The wise man was a doer of the Word and did the will of God. He wasn’t influenced and led by his will nor by the people around him, but he was led by the words of God.
When you hear the words of God and do the words of God, you built on the Rock Jesus Christ. You are rooted and seated in Jesus Christ and entered His rest and therefore you will be able to handle and overcome any attack, any storm, and any difficult situation in life. You shall stand and overcome by the Word of God.
The foolish man built his house on sand
The house of the foolish man wasn’t built on a solid foundation, it was built on sand. This foolish man heard the words, which instructed him to build his house on a rock, but he didn’t act upon the words.
The foolish man relied on his own insight and did his own will and rejected the instructions. When the floods and the storms came, the house was destroyed.
Hearers will wash away but doers will stand
When you only hear the words of God and don’t act upon the words of God, the words will remain words and shall eventually fade away. You don’t build upon His insight and His truth and don’t build upon the Rock Jesus Christ; the Word, but you will live after your own will and build upon your own insight and the world’s insights, which equals sand.
When the storms come into your life, you will be overtaken by these storms. You shall not be able to stand nor gain the victory (Read also: a prisoner of circumstances).
Jesus says: He that hath My commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves Me: and he that loves Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him (John 14:21)
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and my Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.He that loves Me not keeps not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me (John 14:23,24)
How to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven?
You enter into the Kingdom of Heaven through regeneration (John 3:5) and by doing the will of the Father on earth (Matthew 7:21).
The will of the Father means obedience to His Word; Jesus Christ.
A relationship with Jesus Christ is necessary to access the Kingdom of Heaven. Get to know the Word by reading and studying the Bible and by prayer. Speak to Him and listen to Him. Take His words and commandments and be a doer of the Word.
Do the will of God on earth, which means that you submit to God and His Word and obey and do His words and keep His commandments and be faithful to Him.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
