Read and pray: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Cor 5:10)
DOING THE FATHER’S WILL (2)
The Lord Jesus said that they should not call Him Lord with their mouths only. If they called Him Lord, they should do the Father’s will. Even if they performed outward works of prophesying, casting out demons, and doing miracles, these works should not replace the Father’s will.
Doing the Father’s will is one thing, while prophesying, casting out demons, and performing miracles are entirely different. Sometimes, one can prophesy, cast out demons, and perform miracles without doing the Father’s will. We must remember not only to call Him Lord with our mouths, but also to do the Father’s will in our walk.
If the Lord were speaking about unsaved people, this word would completely lose its meaning, because if these people were not saved, it would matter little to the disciples whether they heard His word or not. The disciples could say that His word was for the unsaved, but they were saved; therefore, whether they did the Father’s will or not, the Lord could not deny that He knew them.
If that were the case, then all unsaved people would be those who do not do God’s will, and all saved people would be those who do God’s will. This would nullify the greater meaning of these words. Here, the Lord Jesus must be warning the saved, speaking about the saved. He cannot be warning the saved while speaking about the unsaved.
Suppose a person has a maid and two daughters and says to the younger daughter: “Do you see this maid? She was not born of me, and I am punishing her. You must be obedient, or I will punish you the same way I am punishing her.”
Are these words consistent? The maid was not born into the family and, if disobedient, can be punished. But the daughter of the family is not a maid. One cannot apply the way of treating a maid to a daughter. The mother should say: “Last night I punished your sister because she was disobedient. Now, be careful, for if you are disobedient, I will punish you in the same way.” The mother should take the sister as an example.
A maid cannot be used for comparison. There is no reason for the Lord to use unsaved people as an example to show the disciples that they need to do God’s will. If He did, the disciples could rise and say: “They are not saved, but we are saved.” If they said this, no one could say anything further.
What the Lord Jesus is saying is this: “Many people are children of God. They are saved and like you. They call Me ‘Lord’ and have performed many works. Yet, despite this, they will be excluded from the kingdom. For this reason, you must be careful and do God’s will.”
Only in this way would the disciples understand that, even if they performed many works, if they did not do God’s will, they would receive the same punishment. If He were speaking to the unsaved, the penetrating element of His word would be lost. The Lord was warning them that only those who do God’s will can enter the kingdom. If someone relies on their own works to approach God, the Lord Jesus will say to them: “I do not know you.”
Let me give another example. Suppose a judge’s son drives recklessly and crashes into another car. He is taken by the police to court for a hearing. The judge asks: “Young man, what is your name? How old are you? Where do you live?” Feeling ashamed in court, the son might think: “You must know all this better than I do.” He can answer the first few questions. But after a while, he might shout to his father: “Father, you don’t know me?” Then, what should the judge do? He could strike his gavel and say: “I do not know you. At home, I know you. But in court, I never knew you.”
If someone considers the matter of the kingdom, they will see that in the kingdom, the question is not whether a person is saved or not, nor whether they are a child of God or not; what truly matters are their works after becoming a Christian.
Suppose that after being saved, you are very zealous. Even if you have not done God’s will, you have prophesied, cast out demons, and performed miracles in the Lord’s name. If you come before the Lord asking to be admitted to the kingdom because of these unscrupulous works, the Lord will say that He never knew you.
Why did the Lord say: “I never knew you”? The next sentence explains: “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” Please remember that the Lord did not tell them to depart from eternal life. In the original Greek, “those who practice lawlessness” refers to people who do not follow rules, do not keep the law, or do not accept regulations.
In God’s eyes, doing evil does not just mean doing bad things. No matter how much a person has done, once they have not considered God’s requirement, His judgment, and His sovereign arrangement, it is evil in God’s eyes. If the word “lawlessness” is translated as “evil,” as some versions do, many could argue.
The issue here is not doing evil, but lacking principles. What are principles? Principles are God’s Word. But what is God’s Word? God’s Word is God’s will. If you are not doing God’s will, no matter what you do, the Lord Jesus will say that you are lawless.
Those who act according to their own ego will have no part in the kingdom of heaven. My purpose in saying these things is to show the importance of a Christian’s works. The Bible clearly shows that a person, after believing in the Lord, although never losing eternal life, can lose their place and glory in the kingdom.
If we do not do God’s will but instead do works according to our own will, we will be excluded from the kingdom. We may think that prophesying, casting out demons, and performing miracles are the most important, because we believe that if we can do these things, we are wonderful people. However, these things can never replace God’s will.
Those who have never learned not to work for God are not worthy to work for Him. Those who do not know how to stop their own work certainly know nothing of God’s will. Only those who know God’s will can cease working. God wants us to first obey His will and then work. God does not want us as volunteers to work for Him.
The more someone knows the Lord’s will, the more they will learn not to work carelessly. Therefore, there is a great difference between working and doing God’s will. Today, we may appreciate works and be interested in prophesying, casting out demons, and performing powerful works. But one day, many will be awakened.
Enjoy more:
Hymn – Fullness of the Spirit – “The Baptism”
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