Country Guy and I have been discussing and meditating on the meaning of Matthew 7:21-23 this week.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he 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!’
Did you know that the definition of lawlessness is "the utter disregard for God's law--His written and living Word"? Does that mean that if we are not reading His Word, hiding it in our hears, obeying it in our everyday lives, we are lawless? It seems that would be the interpretation. How can we be a "doer of the Word" if we aren't even a "hearer" (or studier) of the Word?
The Message translation goes on to say in verses 24-27:
“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
How many unsuspecting people will arrive at the gates of Heaven believing they will have entrance because they have been taught that all you have to do to be a Christian and go to Heaven, is to say you believe in Jesus? But didn't Jesus say, "Even the demons believe?"
It seems to me He is telling us we must be His disciples--not just speaking words but living a life--if we want to be with Him for eternity. He said He will reward those who "overcome". What are we to overcome, and how are we to do it? Only by reading His Word will we understand.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he 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!’
Did you know that the definition of lawlessness is "the utter disregard for God's law--His written and living Word"? Does that mean that if we are not reading His Word, hiding it in our hears, obeying it in our everyday lives, we are lawless? It seems that would be the interpretation. How can we be a "doer of the Word" if we aren't even a "hearer" (or studier) of the Word?
The Message translation goes on to say in verses 24-27:
“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
But if you just use my words in Bible studies (or don't read them at all--my insert) and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”
How many unsuspecting people will arrive at the gates of Heaven believing they will have entrance because they have been taught that all you have to do to be a Christian and go to Heaven, is to say you believe in Jesus? But didn't Jesus say, "Even the demons believe?"
It seems to me He is telling us we must be His disciples--not just speaking words but living a life--if we want to be with Him for eternity. He said He will reward those who "overcome". What are we to overcome, and how are we to do it? Only by reading His Word will we understand.
2 comments:
On the 'lawlessness' entry, there were several scriptures that wisped thru my head as i was reading it.
One that strikes me was that we are told people WILL perishfor lack of knowledge, (Hosea 4:6) indeed.
and my clingy verse as a child because it scared me so, found in matthew 7:14 that, the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and FEW find it. i was amazed by it's strength in meaning.
And finally, to overcome: came to me of course the revelation ch.12 verse that they overcame him (the accuser) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.
In thinking on the verse you were meditating with: love is the key, we can 'perform' the tasks, but what is the driving force, what is the motive, what is in the heart? only the Lord knows our hearts. did we see Jesus standing in the street gutter as we passed by, did we look at the foot of the cross and see ourselves?
Did the widow receive any alms from us, and the orphaned a minute of our time?
The word of our testimony is being a 'doer' of the word and i believe strongly that we must walk hand in hand with our Lord, in total submission and complete surrender. that is soooo hard for me! every moment that we turn our thots to HIm is
a moment taken from darkness's grasp.
i love meditative exercises. iron sharpening
iron! we stretch, we grow, and sometimes it hurts. Christ's path was a path of hurt, wasn't it?
These are my thots in response to yours.
Let your light shine!
mariann
Thank you, Mariann, for taking the time to comment! You have such good points that I'm sure others will benefit from pondering, too.
Post a Comment