"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.' "
Question: Who are these people? Do they represent people who profess but the fruit of their lives doesn't match up with what the faith they profess (i.e. living in sin and rebellion)? Or are these people who try to bear fruit and live righteously but it's all religious and not coming from a relationship with the Lord Jesus? Or could it be both?
How about the next paragraph..."Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."
Who is this describing? What are 'these words'?
And last, what does Jesus mean by saying, 'The gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many?' And what does He mean by saying the Narrow Gate is is hard?
7 comments:
Hi there, I think this is my first comment on your blog. (I read it with the google reader...)
On your first question, about those who say they cast out devils in Jesus name, I think those would be people who use Jesus' name with their mouth -- but don't also believe with their heart that Jesus is Lord and thus don't have a relationship with Him.
For the second one, about the house on the rock or the sand -- I'm not quite sure on that, except that it brings to mind the verse in John's gospel those who believe are not condemned, but those who don't believe are. Also, there are a lot of references to God being a Rock in the Psalms; and having a firm foundation in the Lord will get you through trying times.
On the one about the wide path to destruction and the narrow gate being hard -- that's one I can really relate to. Have you ever read Pilgrim's Progress? A lot of that book would answer that question. Basically, what it means is that being a believer / follower of Jesus Christ goes against the 'world system' It's frequently a lot easier to 'go with the flow' than to do what's right, or do what you've been called to do.
Of course, some of us come to the Lord later in life than you have, so we probably have more of the world's way of thinking to undo than you do.
It'll be interesting to see what others say!
Hey Cia,
Thanks for your comment and input!! I really appreciate it! I'm still thinking on these things I guess. I don't want to force Jesus' words to fit my theology. I was listening to a speaker today, whom I don't agree with on a lot of issues, but he brought up some of these sayings in a way that made me consider them a little different than I had been.
Thank you for commenting. You're most welcome to comment on my blog anytime. :)
Merry Christmas Matt.
Love you. :)
They were people that did not know God and His love, grace and mercy and were instead trying to seek God's approval by adhering strictly to the law and tithing everything very carefully yet calling others not to be merciful to others or like parents in need and telling them to tithe that money to the temple instead. They did not understand what kindness meant because they did not want God's grace and so they lived lawlessly because of it and even became friends with hedonists that they hated so much when they put Christ to death on the cross. They had no change of heart as they were not born again and could not see that only Christ could give them new life. They are who any one of us would be without Christ's new life in us freely give to us through his death, burial and resurrection.
Merry Christmas boo!
Grace upon grace,
Brian
Merry Christmas
Matthew,
My understanding of this verse has always been that it refers to people that try to "live" the christian life. Go to church, be nice, give a little money, etc. But they have never trusted Christ or allowed him to be their life.
That is what makes the path narrow. It is much easier to just go through the motions. Often, even christian motions.
I think that Americans have a very distorted view of christianity because it is so mainstream. Throughout history (and still in many places) christianity is not acceptable and may cost you your life. Even in America, how many people "go through the motions" rather than allow Christ to live in them?
That's how I understand it al least. Not sure if that helps.
Merry Christmas.
Matt,
A lot of verses from the 4 gospels (including Jesus's words) confuses me, especially when I validate it against the message of grace. Like you said, I don't want to force Jesus's words to fit my theology. Frankly, there are a lot of verses in NT confuses me.
However, when I look at the BIG picture (the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross) I tend to reach at grace. The cross is not letting me to bypass the issue of UNconditional love and grace...
This is not to say that each verses in the Bible aren't important. But this is just the way I see it.
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