Who Will Enter the Kingdom of Heaven?
Matthew 7:21-23
Sermon Summary As we take another look at these verses, the difference between those admitted into God's kingdom and those denied entry becomes clear: Are they trusting in Christ's work or their own? |
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Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
We began to examine these verses last week. We saw that Jesus here gives us a look into the last great day, i.e. the Day of Judgment. We were able to glimpse the future courtroom and witness some of the proceedings of that momentous event. Jesus had assumed his position as Lord and Judge, and we witnessed how many people met a terrible fate, being shut out of the kingdom of heaven and damned forever.
I spoke with one of our visitors last week and mentioned that it was a doozy of a message to drop in on. He responded by saying that he was actually excited when he found out that I was to speak on the #1 scariest teaching in all of Scripture.
Well, we are going to return to the passage today. We want to examine things from the other side this time. We want to look at how we might escape that judgment. And thankfully, our passage is quite clear about that.
“Who then will be saved?” That is the question that faces us today.
As is clear from our passage today, there are going to be a great many people who find themselves quite surprised on the day when Jesus comes again. They are going to be utterly shocked when they stand before Christ because he is going to say that he never knew them.
You see, the problem is their self-deception. The problem is that they had a conviction that they were devoted Christian people, but in reality, they were not. They had grown up within the church. They had attended all the church events. And, in many respects, they were very religious people.
From their perspective (and maybe from the perspective of many others), they were highly devoted Christians. But what you find is that their faith was not true faith. Their faith was not a saving faith.
As Jesus wraps up his great message, he wants us to take a moment to make us think about what kind of faith we possess. If the Sermon on the Mount has taught us anything, it has taught us that there is a kind of religiosity that is fake. Jesus has sought to differentiate the kind of life a kingdom-oriented person will lead as opposed to someone who is not a part of his kingdom.
And here we find that he reiterates that in one of the most sobering ways possible. We should recognize that, at the last day, only a certain kind of person will be admitted to his kingdom. Those who are not kingdom people will be lost forever, condemned to the gloomy realms of hell for all eternity.
We need to look carefully at this passage, for Jesus here teaches us what it takes to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now, what we want to do first is look at those who are not granted access to the kingdom. As is often the case, we can determine what is required by negating all the wrong ideas and options. If we eliminate the impostors, we’ll be more prepared to understand what the true faith should look like. So I want to start with those who will not be granted access to the kingdom of heaven.
I. Who will not be admitted to the kingdom
What we find in this passage is that there are many who think that they are kingdom people. They believe they possess all the right qualities needed, but in reality they do not. As a matter of fact, they protest and argue with the Lord. They seek to validate their position by pointing to certain aspects of their faith that they believe substantiate their belonging.
What they do not realize is that these qualities are not the makings of a kingdom person.
And so we should ask, who is it that will not make it into the kingdom of heaven on the last day? First, we may say that those who possess mere theological knowledge will not be admitted into the kingdom.
A. Those who are theologically correct
Notice what Jesus says in verse 21. He says, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”
What do you see here? People are calling Jesus “Lord.” You might say that on one level they have a right doctrinal understanding of who Jesus is. They know that he is the Lord. They understand that he is the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity. They grasp the basic fact that he is God incarnate and has some authority over this world.
You might go so far as to say that they understand the sovereignty of God. That’s what lordship is really all about. So you might say that these people were even Calvinists. They had a handle on the whole issue of predestination and might very well be able to talk quite fluently about the lordship of Christ in election and reprobation.
But you need to understand that intellectual understating alone (or what we might call an intellectual faith), is really no faith at all.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Having a love of doctrine is something that every true Christian should have. One who loves the Lord and wants to truly follow him should desire to gain as much knowledge of biblical truth as he can. He will study the Scripture in order to grow in his understanding of God’s nature and he will not shy away from theology.
But you must understand this: theological acumen is not a telltale sign of someone who will be saved in the end. To be sure, there will be a plentiful number of people in hell who have a rather resplendent knowledge of doctrinal truth.
As a matter of fact, Satan himself is the most theologically accurate being in the universe. When he came to tempt Jesus, he knew exactly who Jesus was. He said, “If you are the Son of God, turn these rocks into bread. If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from this high point.” Satan most certainly knows the lordship of Christ, yet he is far from being within the pale of the kingdom of God.
So make no mistake, hell will likely be populated by people who have memorized their catechism. There may very well be people who were Bible Bee champions. There will be Bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, pastors, and theologians of the highest stripe.
You need to recognize that though doctrinal depth is something we should all strive to achieve in life, that alone will not necessarily qualify you for the kingdom of heaven. So take that to heart. Mere theological precision will not gain you admittance.
But there is another group that will find themselves just as shocked on the last day. Just as there will be many who are theologically correct who will be turned away from the kingdom of heaven, so too there will be many who are emotionally enthusiastic who will also find themselves lost.
B. Those who are emotionally enthusiastic
Look again at verse 21. Notice the repetition of the word Lord. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Do you see the passion? They possess some real enthusiasm. Whenever something is repeated in the Scripture, it is for emphasis. It is expressing something of intensity and emotion. These are people who are filled with a sense of fire. There is excitement and energy behind their words. It’s not just, “Lord.” They call out, “Lord, Lord!”
Maybe you could call these the broad evangelicals. We had the Calvinists with their doctrinal precision. But here are those who might be categorized as the American evangelicals. These are the people who have had an emotional faith. They’ve been known to be enthusiastic about all the right things. But yet, despite all their vigor, despite all the songs that they sang, despite raising their hands to the music, despite the tears that rolled down their cheeks as they worshiped, they do not make the cut.
This is something that we need to be very attuned to in our day and age, for we are living in a time when much of life is gauged by one’s level of excitement and emotional investment.
One of the greatest assets of our culture is sincerity. That’s supposed to be the thing that validate you in our society. Here is a person who is obviously a big fan: you can tell by how zealous they are. They are the first to speak up. They are the ones who show up first and are the last to leave. They have an ardor that they show. They are heavily involved. You can’t question how sincere they are.
But never forget, you can be very sincere about all the wrong things. Your emotions may display sincerity, but that may be nothing more than a romantic gush.
And think about how much of the evangelical world today is all about the hype. There’s a danger in the music, isn’t there? Oftentimes it can be emotionally stirring. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but it can often be something that rouses one’s feelings without truly engaging the soul.
You’ve been told again and again that you need to be passionate about the Lord. You need to be passionate about the things of the Lord, things like abortion or homosexuality or some other societal ill. And you are out there pounding the pavement when it comes to the hot issues.
We recognize that none of these things are wrong in and of themselves. As a matter of fact, they may be said to be very good. But let’s not forget that there is a real difference between true spiritual fervor and an enthusiasm that is based in our carnal human nature.
I’m afraid to say that there is a huge swath of evangelicals whose religion is nothing more than an external, fleshly enthusiasm. They may come off as quite zealous. They may pray passionately, crying out, “Lord, Lord,” with great ardor, but it may simply be a result of their caffeine intake or their natural human excitement that gets easily stirred up. In truth, God’s Word never really sank into the depth of their souls.
The third group can be found in verse 22. On the last great day, there will be many who end up going to hell despite having been miraculously empowered.
C. Those who are miraculously empowered
Just as those who had theological precision and emotional enthusiasm were ushered out the door, there will be many who did amazing works and great feats who will follow them down to perdition.
Look at what Jesus says in verse 22. He says, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do mighty works in your name?’”
Here are the Pentecostals, you might say. These are the charismatics. They were involved in all kinds of super-spiritual things, miraculous things. They were casting out demons. They healed and spoke in tongues. They performed miracles and uttered prophetic messages.
Now they turn to Jesus, and they say, “Hey, don’t you remember the time when we had that huge manifestation of the Spirit? I participated in that. I was a part of that. There were some pretty grandiose things that I did for you.”
One of the things we do is that we think the bigger the thing the more validation it has, right? If your church gets bigger, it has more legitimacy. A church of 200 is more legit than a church of 50, right? That’s the way we think of it, at least.
The same is true with businesses. If your business is a fortune 500 company, then you are more credible than a small business that’s bringing in less than $50,000 a year.
It is not farfetched to understand that some people will have this same kind of mentality when they stand before Jesus. They will point to the big, flashy things that they did to give some sort of validation to their spiritual life.
But let’s remember, King Saul (one of the greatest apostates in all of Scripture) was a guy who prophesied. He was among some prophets and the Spirit came upon him and he was given this ability to speak prophetically. But Scripture makes it clear that this was not something done from a genuine heart which had been redeemed.
Just because it has a lot of glitz and glamour, just because it is flashy and seems very spiritual doesn’t mean that it has the makings of authentic faith. It could all be a show. It doesn’t necessarily communicate anything about your real spiritual state.
What you have here is a listing of a lot of religious activity, but none of it is necessarily genuine Christianity. It may look very Christian. It may fool many people in the church, and they may call you a Christian. But these things in and of themselves are not specifically characteristics that define a Christian. And, most of all, they will not gain you any admittance into eternal life.
This then raises the question, what will? What kind of person will Jesus admit when he comes again?
II. Who will be admitted to the kingdom of heaven
The answer is found in verse 21. Jesus says that the one who will gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven will be the one who “does the will of his Father.”
Now, there are a couple distinctions we need to make. We need to recognize that what Jesus is saying here is that it is a person who has a real and living faith in him. It is a vital faith that shows itself by cheerfully doing the will of God.
There have been many throughout history who have taken Jesus to be at variance with the Apostle Paul. You know that Paul says that the one who is saved is the one who has faith and faith alone. Paul says that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven by works.
And some people would say, “Well, that is obviously contrary to what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says that it is the one who does the will of his Father. Paul excludes works of the law, while Jesus says that they are very much necessary.”
But let’s be clear on this. Faith and works are not strictly opposed to one another. They are actually complementary things, and the church has always seen them as such.
True faith will make itself known by works. It is as Jesus says in the gospel of John: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If you have faith in Christ and trust him as your Savior, you will be obedient to what he has revealed.
To put it another way, Jesus came to save you from your sin. He not only saves you from the guilt and punishment that you are liable to receive, but he saves you from the opposition you have to the Lord. Thus, you are made more righteous and more eager to walk in his ways.
Now you see why Jesus says, “Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Those who are denied entry into heaven are those who have not embraced the law of God and sought to live their lives by it. They have rejected God’s law and embraced their own version of law.
This was the problem of the Pharisees. Remember, it was not God’s law that they had embraced. They had manufactured a self-righteous take on God’s law. It was an imitation which came off looking quite religious, but it was self-serving and twisted in many ways. Thus, they had become, in reality, workers of lawlessness.
That’s the context in which Jesus is speaking, and it reinforces what we need to know about the kind of faith and life that will prove fruitful for eternity. It is a faith that loves the Lord and seeks to humbly abide by the rules laid down in Scripture. It is Scripture alone that is the guide of the man of faith - not his feelings, not his own agenda, not his own interest, not his own wisdom. It is simply the Bible alone.
So, again, this is the #1 most frightening Scripture in all of the Bible. But here is what ought to give you peace about it. If you are one who fears the Lord and simply desires to walk in God’s ways, then you need not be worried. You will not have this shock.
You understand what the Bible means when it says, “Without holiness no one will see God.” You are seeking to be holy. You want to be holy, even as God is holy, and you take the guidance of Scripture as the means to that end. If that is your heart, then there will come a day when you will stand before the Lord and will find that he says to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.”
Conclusion:
Now, that brings us to a time of self-examination. I have set before you what this passage has said about those who gain access to the kingdom and those who are denied access.
On the one hand, there are many who are self-deceived. They have fooled themselves into thinking that they have a guarantee that things will go well with them on the day of judgment. But the fact is, they are leaning on false pretenses. They have regarded their knowledge as sufficient. Or they have faith in their enthusiasm and think that the abundance of their zeal will do. And then there are those who think that their great and mighty works will be sufficient.
But we must remember that none of that will do. If you do not believe in Christ and seek to live by the standards he has called you to in his Word, you stand condemned. The only criteria that will hold weight in the apocalypse is whether or not you’ve been saved from your sin. Having been delivered, you take up a life of obedience and aim to glorify him with it. It is your hunger and thirst for righteousness that drives you.
You must now examine yourself to see what kind of life you are living. Which path are you on? The good news is that if you have been deceived and realize now that you’ve had it all wrong, you may repent and begin to walk in that newness of life.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
We began to examine these verses last week. We saw that Jesus here gives us a look into the last great day, i.e. the Day of Judgment. We were able to glimpse the future courtroom and witness some of the proceedings of that momentous event. Jesus had assumed his position as Lord and Judge, and we witnessed how many people met a terrible fate, being shut out of the kingdom of heaven and damned forever.
I spoke with one of our visitors last week and mentioned that it was a doozy of a message to drop in on. He responded by saying that he was actually excited when he found out that I was to speak on the #1 scariest teaching in all of Scripture.
Well, we are going to return to the passage today. We want to examine things from the other side this time. We want to look at how we might escape that judgment. And thankfully, our passage is quite clear about that.
“Who then will be saved?” That is the question that faces us today.
As is clear from our passage today, there are going to be a great many people who find themselves quite surprised on the day when Jesus comes again. They are going to be utterly shocked when they stand before Christ because he is going to say that he never knew them.
You see, the problem is their self-deception. The problem is that they had a conviction that they were devoted Christian people, but in reality, they were not. They had grown up within the church. They had attended all the church events. And, in many respects, they were very religious people.
From their perspective (and maybe from the perspective of many others), they were highly devoted Christians. But what you find is that their faith was not true faith. Their faith was not a saving faith.
As Jesus wraps up his great message, he wants us to take a moment to make us think about what kind of faith we possess. If the Sermon on the Mount has taught us anything, it has taught us that there is a kind of religiosity that is fake. Jesus has sought to differentiate the kind of life a kingdom-oriented person will lead as opposed to someone who is not a part of his kingdom.
And here we find that he reiterates that in one of the most sobering ways possible. We should recognize that, at the last day, only a certain kind of person will be admitted to his kingdom. Those who are not kingdom people will be lost forever, condemned to the gloomy realms of hell for all eternity.
We need to look carefully at this passage, for Jesus here teaches us what it takes to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now, what we want to do first is look at those who are not granted access to the kingdom. As is often the case, we can determine what is required by negating all the wrong ideas and options. If we eliminate the impostors, we’ll be more prepared to understand what the true faith should look like. So I want to start with those who will not be granted access to the kingdom of heaven.
I. Who will not be admitted to the kingdom
What we find in this passage is that there are many who think that they are kingdom people. They believe they possess all the right qualities needed, but in reality they do not. As a matter of fact, they protest and argue with the Lord. They seek to validate their position by pointing to certain aspects of their faith that they believe substantiate their belonging.
What they do not realize is that these qualities are not the makings of a kingdom person.
And so we should ask, who is it that will not make it into the kingdom of heaven on the last day? First, we may say that those who possess mere theological knowledge will not be admitted into the kingdom.
A. Those who are theologically correct
Notice what Jesus says in verse 21. He says, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”
What do you see here? People are calling Jesus “Lord.” You might say that on one level they have a right doctrinal understanding of who Jesus is. They know that he is the Lord. They understand that he is the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity. They grasp the basic fact that he is God incarnate and has some authority over this world.
You might go so far as to say that they understand the sovereignty of God. That’s what lordship is really all about. So you might say that these people were even Calvinists. They had a handle on the whole issue of predestination and might very well be able to talk quite fluently about the lordship of Christ in election and reprobation.
But you need to understand that intellectual understating alone (or what we might call an intellectual faith), is really no faith at all.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Having a love of doctrine is something that every true Christian should have. One who loves the Lord and wants to truly follow him should desire to gain as much knowledge of biblical truth as he can. He will study the Scripture in order to grow in his understanding of God’s nature and he will not shy away from theology.
But you must understand this: theological acumen is not a telltale sign of someone who will be saved in the end. To be sure, there will be a plentiful number of people in hell who have a rather resplendent knowledge of doctrinal truth.
As a matter of fact, Satan himself is the most theologically accurate being in the universe. When he came to tempt Jesus, he knew exactly who Jesus was. He said, “If you are the Son of God, turn these rocks into bread. If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from this high point.” Satan most certainly knows the lordship of Christ, yet he is far from being within the pale of the kingdom of God.
So make no mistake, hell will likely be populated by people who have memorized their catechism. There may very well be people who were Bible Bee champions. There will be Bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, pastors, and theologians of the highest stripe.
You need to recognize that though doctrinal depth is something we should all strive to achieve in life, that alone will not necessarily qualify you for the kingdom of heaven. So take that to heart. Mere theological precision will not gain you admittance.
But there is another group that will find themselves just as shocked on the last day. Just as there will be many who are theologically correct who will be turned away from the kingdom of heaven, so too there will be many who are emotionally enthusiastic who will also find themselves lost.
B. Those who are emotionally enthusiastic
Look again at verse 21. Notice the repetition of the word Lord. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Do you see the passion? They possess some real enthusiasm. Whenever something is repeated in the Scripture, it is for emphasis. It is expressing something of intensity and emotion. These are people who are filled with a sense of fire. There is excitement and energy behind their words. It’s not just, “Lord.” They call out, “Lord, Lord!”
Maybe you could call these the broad evangelicals. We had the Calvinists with their doctrinal precision. But here are those who might be categorized as the American evangelicals. These are the people who have had an emotional faith. They’ve been known to be enthusiastic about all the right things. But yet, despite all their vigor, despite all the songs that they sang, despite raising their hands to the music, despite the tears that rolled down their cheeks as they worshiped, they do not make the cut.
This is something that we need to be very attuned to in our day and age, for we are living in a time when much of life is gauged by one’s level of excitement and emotional investment.
One of the greatest assets of our culture is sincerity. That’s supposed to be the thing that validate you in our society. Here is a person who is obviously a big fan: you can tell by how zealous they are. They are the first to speak up. They are the ones who show up first and are the last to leave. They have an ardor that they show. They are heavily involved. You can’t question how sincere they are.
But never forget, you can be very sincere about all the wrong things. Your emotions may display sincerity, but that may be nothing more than a romantic gush.
And think about how much of the evangelical world today is all about the hype. There’s a danger in the music, isn’t there? Oftentimes it can be emotionally stirring. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but it can often be something that rouses one’s feelings without truly engaging the soul.
You’ve been told again and again that you need to be passionate about the Lord. You need to be passionate about the things of the Lord, things like abortion or homosexuality or some other societal ill. And you are out there pounding the pavement when it comes to the hot issues.
We recognize that none of these things are wrong in and of themselves. As a matter of fact, they may be said to be very good. But let’s not forget that there is a real difference between true spiritual fervor and an enthusiasm that is based in our carnal human nature.
I’m afraid to say that there is a huge swath of evangelicals whose religion is nothing more than an external, fleshly enthusiasm. They may come off as quite zealous. They may pray passionately, crying out, “Lord, Lord,” with great ardor, but it may simply be a result of their caffeine intake or their natural human excitement that gets easily stirred up. In truth, God’s Word never really sank into the depth of their souls.
The third group can be found in verse 22. On the last great day, there will be many who end up going to hell despite having been miraculously empowered.
C. Those who are miraculously empowered
Just as those who had theological precision and emotional enthusiasm were ushered out the door, there will be many who did amazing works and great feats who will follow them down to perdition.
Look at what Jesus says in verse 22. He says, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do mighty works in your name?’”
Here are the Pentecostals, you might say. These are the charismatics. They were involved in all kinds of super-spiritual things, miraculous things. They were casting out demons. They healed and spoke in tongues. They performed miracles and uttered prophetic messages.
Now they turn to Jesus, and they say, “Hey, don’t you remember the time when we had that huge manifestation of the Spirit? I participated in that. I was a part of that. There were some pretty grandiose things that I did for you.”
One of the things we do is that we think the bigger the thing the more validation it has, right? If your church gets bigger, it has more legitimacy. A church of 200 is more legit than a church of 50, right? That’s the way we think of it, at least.
The same is true with businesses. If your business is a fortune 500 company, then you are more credible than a small business that’s bringing in less than $50,000 a year.
It is not farfetched to understand that some people will have this same kind of mentality when they stand before Jesus. They will point to the big, flashy things that they did to give some sort of validation to their spiritual life.
But let’s remember, King Saul (one of the greatest apostates in all of Scripture) was a guy who prophesied. He was among some prophets and the Spirit came upon him and he was given this ability to speak prophetically. But Scripture makes it clear that this was not something done from a genuine heart which had been redeemed.
Just because it has a lot of glitz and glamour, just because it is flashy and seems very spiritual doesn’t mean that it has the makings of authentic faith. It could all be a show. It doesn’t necessarily communicate anything about your real spiritual state.
What you have here is a listing of a lot of religious activity, but none of it is necessarily genuine Christianity. It may look very Christian. It may fool many people in the church, and they may call you a Christian. But these things in and of themselves are not specifically characteristics that define a Christian. And, most of all, they will not gain you any admittance into eternal life.
This then raises the question, what will? What kind of person will Jesus admit when he comes again?
II. Who will be admitted to the kingdom of heaven
The answer is found in verse 21. Jesus says that the one who will gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven will be the one who “does the will of his Father.”
Now, there are a couple distinctions we need to make. We need to recognize that what Jesus is saying here is that it is a person who has a real and living faith in him. It is a vital faith that shows itself by cheerfully doing the will of God.
There have been many throughout history who have taken Jesus to be at variance with the Apostle Paul. You know that Paul says that the one who is saved is the one who has faith and faith alone. Paul says that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven by works.
And some people would say, “Well, that is obviously contrary to what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says that it is the one who does the will of his Father. Paul excludes works of the law, while Jesus says that they are very much necessary.”
But let’s be clear on this. Faith and works are not strictly opposed to one another. They are actually complementary things, and the church has always seen them as such.
True faith will make itself known by works. It is as Jesus says in the gospel of John: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If you have faith in Christ and trust him as your Savior, you will be obedient to what he has revealed.
To put it another way, Jesus came to save you from your sin. He not only saves you from the guilt and punishment that you are liable to receive, but he saves you from the opposition you have to the Lord. Thus, you are made more righteous and more eager to walk in his ways.
Now you see why Jesus says, “Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Those who are denied entry into heaven are those who have not embraced the law of God and sought to live their lives by it. They have rejected God’s law and embraced their own version of law.
This was the problem of the Pharisees. Remember, it was not God’s law that they had embraced. They had manufactured a self-righteous take on God’s law. It was an imitation which came off looking quite religious, but it was self-serving and twisted in many ways. Thus, they had become, in reality, workers of lawlessness.
That’s the context in which Jesus is speaking, and it reinforces what we need to know about the kind of faith and life that will prove fruitful for eternity. It is a faith that loves the Lord and seeks to humbly abide by the rules laid down in Scripture. It is Scripture alone that is the guide of the man of faith - not his feelings, not his own agenda, not his own interest, not his own wisdom. It is simply the Bible alone.
So, again, this is the #1 most frightening Scripture in all of the Bible. But here is what ought to give you peace about it. If you are one who fears the Lord and simply desires to walk in God’s ways, then you need not be worried. You will not have this shock.
You understand what the Bible means when it says, “Without holiness no one will see God.” You are seeking to be holy. You want to be holy, even as God is holy, and you take the guidance of Scripture as the means to that end. If that is your heart, then there will come a day when you will stand before the Lord and will find that he says to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.”
Conclusion:
Now, that brings us to a time of self-examination. I have set before you what this passage has said about those who gain access to the kingdom and those who are denied access.
On the one hand, there are many who are self-deceived. They have fooled themselves into thinking that they have a guarantee that things will go well with them on the day of judgment. But the fact is, they are leaning on false pretenses. They have regarded their knowledge as sufficient. Or they have faith in their enthusiasm and think that the abundance of their zeal will do. And then there are those who think that their great and mighty works will be sufficient.
But we must remember that none of that will do. If you do not believe in Christ and seek to live by the standards he has called you to in his Word, you stand condemned. The only criteria that will hold weight in the apocalypse is whether or not you’ve been saved from your sin. Having been delivered, you take up a life of obedience and aim to glorify him with it. It is your hunger and thirst for righteousness that drives you.
You must now examine yourself to see what kind of life you are living. Which path are you on? The good news is that if you have been deceived and realize now that you’ve had it all wrong, you may repent and begin to walk in that newness of life.