Many of us know the
story of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31-46. In case you do not know the story here is a
quick synopsis: the King, Jesus, comes
and sits on His throne of glory and gathers all the nations of the earth before
Him. Then He separates each person just
like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats of his flock. In this parable the sheep represent the
righteous who did things for the Lord and ministered to Him without even
knowing it, whereas the goats represent those who did not do things for the
Lord or minister to him. The righteous
get to live with God forever but all others are sent to the everlasting fire
prepared for the devil. I know a number
of people that cannot view God as being so harsh or restrictive. God loves us so He must be more
forgiving. Surely He would let us into
heaven if we try to live a good life, otherwise He would not be a “fair” God.
Let me ask you
this: would you think it would be right
for God to let Jeffery Dahmer, the mass-murderer and cannibal into heaven (or
other mass-murders such as Samuel Little or Ted Bundy)? How about the Roman Emperor Nero, the leader
of the then-known world who blamed the burning of Rome on the Christians and
condemned thousands of slaves (Christian, Jews, Greeks and other ostracized
people groups) to the atrocities of the arena where they were torn apart by
animals or dismembered alive by soldiers?
How about Hitler? Should he be
allowed into heaven? What kind of
dividing line would you set? Who would
be on your list of sheep or on your list of goats? Now, while I have you thinking on this for a
bit let me add one more “group” to the list of who does or does not get into
heaven: pretenders.
“Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
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 KJV
For some reason I
thought these two scriptures were together in the Bible but I found that they
are not…yet the end result is: who gets
into heaven? Most of us who profess to
be Christians are pretty sure we are going to heaven; after all, we do the
things mentioned of the righteous (sheep) in Matthew 25, but, are there ‘pretenders’
among us? So, how do we know for sure
who will enter heaven?
I like how the The
Living Bible paraphrases this verse in that it says that “Not all who sound religious are really godly people.” (Note, it
does not say “good” people, it says “godly" people.) It gives the clear condition that we must
obey Jesus’ Father who is already in heaven:
“Not all who sound religious are
really godly people. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but still won’t get to
heaven. For the decisive question is
whether they obey my Father in heaven. At the Judgment many will tell me,
‘Lord, Lord, we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and
to do many other great miracles.’ But I will reply, ‘You have never been mine.
Go away, for your deeds are evil.’”
-Matthew 7:21-23 TLB
The Voice
translation backs up this condition when it says: “Not everyone who says to Me,
“Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven. Simply calling Me “Lord” will not be enough. Only those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven will join
Me in heaven.” -Matthew 7:21
VOICE
The Passion
Translation goes on to say in verse 23 that Jesus was never joined to those who
are ‘pretending’: “On the day of judgment many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, don’t you
remember us? Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we cast out demons and do
many miracles for the sake of your name?’ But I will have to say to them, ‘Go away from me, you lawless rebels! I’ve
never been joined to you!’” -
Matthew 7:22-23 TPT
So, what do I strive
for in my walk through life? Do I do the
right things; help others, give to the poor and needy? It is not enough. My focus is to KNOW Jesus and be known by
Him. The more I grow to know Him, the
more I desire to please and bless Him. I
want to return the love He has shown me by helping others and giving to the
poor and needy. He blessed me so much
when He gave His life for me I want to live my every waking moment for Him. This is the Heavenly Father’s will.
“It is not everyone who
keeps saying to me ‘Lord, Lord’ who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the man who actually does my
Heavenly Father’s will. In ‘that day’
many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we preach in your name, didn’t we cast
out devils in your name, and do many great things in your name?’ Then I shall
tell them plainly, ‘I have never known you. Go away from me, you have worked on
the side of evil!’” -Matthew 7:21-23 PHILLIPS
