Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven but only the one 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.” Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV
The most important question you will ever answer in your life is not, “Will you marry me?” It’s not what will you study in college. It’s not what job you will choose. The most important question you will ever answer is the one you will answer when you die.
If you died right this minute and Jesus met you at the gates and asked, “Why should I allow you to enter My kingdom?” What would your answer be? Would it be, “Well, I was a member of this or that church”? Would it be, “Because I made a profession of faith and was baptized”? Would it be, “Because I attended church most Sundays”? Would it be, “Because I read my Bible all the way through a couple of times”?
Would your answer elicit the response Jesus describes in our Scripture passage? Or, would He answer as the master had answered his faithful servant in Jesus’ parable about the talents found in Matthew 25:21? In this parable, the master responded to the servant by saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”
Our religion is not going to get us into heaven. Our works are not going to get us into heaven. Our relatives and their faith won’t get us into heaven. It’s how we live our lives here on Earth that will get us into Heaven. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus explains that it is a narrow way and a difficult road that leads to heaven. In Matthew 7:15-20, He says that we will be known by our fruit. Have you taken time to inspect your fruit lately?
Jesus very clearly says that only those who do the will of the Father will make it into heaven. So perhaps the first question we should be asking is what is the Father’s will? Jesus explained this in Matthew 22:37-39. He explained that the most important commandment was to love the Lord with all our hearts, soul, and mind. The second was to love others as we love ourselves. It starts with love in our hearts, the love we have for Him, and the love we have for others.
Jesus loved us so much that He died for us. We must be willing to die for Him. We must die to ourselves. We must forget about what we want and focus on His will for us. We need to understand the severity of the question we may be asked to gain entry into heaven. We must understand there is only one alternative to heaven and that’s hell.
By the time that question is being asked, it’s too late. The time to make things right is right here and right now. God knows your heart. He doesn’t need to ask. But if He did, how would you answer?
If you were applying for a job you really wanted and knew you would have a tough interview, you would study the company. You might try to get a hold of their policy manual. You would want to answer the questions in a way that pleased your interviewer.
My friend, we can’t afford to blow this interview. This determines where we will spend eternity. There will be no moving up or down once our destiny is decided.
Give your life to Christ. Surrender to Him. Focus on Him and His commands. Confess your sin to Him. Repent of your sin and trust in Him to lead and guide you in all you do. Be sure that you are sure of your eternal destination. This is the one thing we can’t take a chance on. This is one time we can’t guess and hope we get it right.
You must know that you are saved and going to spend eternity with your Lord and Savior in paradise.
Have a great day!