Who is Going to Heaven?
Matthew 7:21-23 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. (22) 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? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
In a poll from 2013, 62% of all Americans believe there is a place called Heaven. Furthermore, that same 62% believe that they would be going there. That is a fascinating statistic. It is amazing that so few people in America believe in Heaven. It is even more amazing that for everyone that believes in Heaven, they think they are going.
In previous verses in this chapter (verses 13-14), Jesus says that “Many” are on the “way” that leads to destruction (not Heaven) and only a few will enter the gate that leads to Life (Heaven). Without trying to assign specific values to Jesus’ qualifiers of many and few, logic can conclude that at a bare minimum, greater than 50% of the world’s population will be lost and less than 50% of the world’s population will go to heaven. The best case scenario, according to the numbers, at least 12% of those polled are misguided about their eternal fate. According to Jesus, there are quite a few people that are misinformed about their eternal future.
The news gets even worse. In our passage today, Jesus narrows the field even more. Jesus say that “Not everyone that says Lord Lord with enter the Kingdom of Heaven”. So let’s identify who Jesus is talking about. Who would say to Jesus “Lord Lord”? Would atheists? Absolutely not. They would NEVER claim loyalty to a being they believe never existed. How about agnostics? Would they call Jesus Lord? Again, if you do not believe in someone, you would not claim them as your master. This can only include one group of people: Those that CLAIM Jesus as their Lord…Believers, Followers, maybe even christians. Now what does Jesus say about them? Not All “believers”, “followers” and “christians” will enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Who Does Jesus say will Go to Heaven? Those that do the will of the Father in Heaven. Therefore, it demands that we Learn God’s Will. It demands that we Apply God’s Will. And it demands that we Do God’s will. This passage is contrary to many doctrines that are taught throughout Christiandom. Christianity is not just a mindset that we prefer Jesus over all other alternatives. Jesus demands that we are both Loyal and demonstrating our Love for him by doing what he says. It is not good enough that we just have our names on the roles. Jesus wants us to be ambassadors and representatives of and for his cause.
Jesus continues in verses 22-23 showing that many people that will be lost but think they were right with him will make an argument for themselves that they have done good works and should be able to enter. Jesus will say unto them “I Never Knew You”. It is sad that there could be a significant number of people that truly believe they have a relationship with God, but God does not “know” them.
This passage is quite consistent with the rest of the New Testament. When we become Christians, Jesus expects us to Deny ourselves and Follow him. As a christian and a follower of Jesus, we must always and continually strive to Know the will of God and have the courage to do it, regardless of the cost.
Reflecting the SON,
Dennis Hogan
Questions, comments or further explanation? Contact me at: dennis.hogan@icloud.com
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