"HE WHO DOES THE WILL OF GOD"

By David J. Riggs

Intro.
   A. Our text for this lesson is Matt. 7:21-23.
      1. These words were spoken by Jesus as he began to conclude
         His great sermon on the mount, as recorded in Matthew
         chapters 5-7.
      2. Though the passage may be very familiar to most of us, let  
         us seek to grasp its true, deep significance and practical
         application for our own lives.

I. THERE IS A PLACE CALLED HEAVEN.
   A. The term "kingdom of heaven" in these verses refers to the
      eternal kingdom (heaven) as shown by the context.
   B. Heaven is not a myth, or a state of mind, but a real place.
      1. It is the place where the Father is and where Jesus has now
         gone. 1 Pet. 3:22
      2. It is described as a place of great beauty (Rev. 21:18) and
         where there are no sorrows (Rev. 21:4).
      3. Heaven is not temporary like the earth. Someday, the earth
         will be destroyed by fire. 2 Pet. 3:10
   C. Heaven will be the place where we will dwell when our bodies   
      are changed into a new form. Phil. 3:19-20
      1. The corruptible body will put on incorruption. 1 Cor. 15:52-
         53
      2. Someday, when our earthly tabernacles no longer exist, we
         have a building from God. 2 Cor. 5:1
   D. Let it be our all-consuming purpose to go to heaven.

II. ONLY THOSE WHO DO THE WILL OF THE FATHER WILL ENTER HEAVEN.
   A. Some think that the grace of God and works are incompatible. On
      the contrary, salvation is both by grace and works.
      1. Suppose a particular rich uncle said to his nephew, "I will
         give you a million dollars if and when you graduate from
         college, are married, and name your first child after me."
         When the young man meets those conditions, will he have
         actually earned the million dollars? No, it was a gift. He
         simply received it by meeting the conditions. So it is with 
         the grace of God. 
   B. Eph. 2:8-9 teaches that we have not been saved by boastful     
      works which we might devise ourselves; however, we are saved by
      the works which God ordained.
      1. One is saved by grace through faith, but verse 10 shows that
         one must do the works of God.
         a. In Eph. 2:8-9, Paul is showing the purpose and plan of
            God in Christ.
            (1) We are saved by the grace of God and not by
                works which we might devise ourselves. Titus 3:5;
                Jer. 10:23; Prov. 16:25
      2. The Bible teaches in many passage that we are saved "by
         faith," but never by "faith alone."
         a. The only time the words "faith" and "alone" are
            together in the Bible is in James 2:24.
   C. In our text (Matt. 7:21), one must not only believe, but he    
      must do the will of the Father. This should settle the matter  
      once and for all.

III. A PERSON MUST BE ACTUALLY DOING THE WILL OF THE FATHER IN ORDER 
   TO GO TO HEAVEN.
   A. It is obvious from our text that many do not actually do the   
      will of the Father.
   B. God has made His will known. Eph. 1:7b-9a
      1. God makes His will known today through His Son. Heb. 1:1-2
         a. In the Old Testament, His will was made known in
            different parts and in various ways.
         b. However, to us, He makes His will known through His
            Son.
            (1) In Heb. 2:3-4, we see the order in which we
                received it from the Son.
            (2) It was received, first, from Him as He spoke it,
                and then from those who were commissioned by
                Him.
   C. We have the responsibility to learn the will of God. Eph. 5:17;
      Rom. 12:2
      1. We must make sure we are doing God's will and not our
         own will, or the will of someone else.
      2. Matt. 7:15; 1 John 4:1 - Many false teachers are gone out
         into the world and they must be tested and identified.
         a. Many so-called religious people do not believe that
            there is any such thing as a false teacher. Thus, how
            could they ever identify a false teacher?
         b. These same people fail to recognize that there is a
            possibility that they themselves might have a false
            teacher teaching them.
      3. According to U.S. News and World Report, John Papworth,
         an Anglican priest in North London, England contends it is
         morally justifiable to steal from large supermarkets who are
         putting the smaller stores out of business. 
         a. The apostle Paul somehow forgot to add that exception
            as he was writing the commands of the Lord!
      4. According to a recent Associated Press story, Norman and
         Melissa Cameron informed the Federal National Mortgage
         Association that they would not pay their $54,000 mortgage
         because, as they said, "We asked God, the Heavenly Father,
         in the name of Jesus Christ, and He heard us and freed us
         from this mortgage bondage."
         a. When someone says that God has told them something
            which plainly contradicts Scripture, we can know
            immediately that they are frauds.
      5. There is great simplicity in the Lord's teaching: "If we    
         follow the will of the Father, we will enter heaven, if we  
         do not follow His will, we will not enter heaven."

IV. INVOLVED IN THE TEXT IS THE EXPRESSION "THAT DAY" - THE JUDGMENT 
   DAY.
   A. All men of all ages, great and small, shall stand before the   
      great throne to be judged. Rev. 20:11
   B. The standard of judgment will be the Word of God, the holy
      Scriptures. Rev. 20:12
   C. The judge will be Jesus Christ Himself. Acts 17:30-31
      1. The "time" for the judgment has already been set - "He has
         appointed a day."
      2. The "manner" in which He will judge is set - "He will judge
         the world in righteousness."
      3. The "Judge" has already been assigned - "He will judge the
         world by the Man whom He has ordained."
      4. The "assurance" of the judgment has been clearly established
         - "He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from
         the dead."

V. ALSO, IMPLIED IN THE TEXT IS A PLACE TO WHICH THE WICKED WILL     
   DEPART.
   A. The wicked will be severed from God. Matt. 13:40-42, 49-50;
      25:41
   B. We have vivid descriptions of their departure place in the
      Scriptures. It is described as:
      1. A furnace of fire. Matt. 13:42,50
      2. The unquenchable fire. Mark 9:43-46
      3. Everlasting punishment. Matt. 25:46
      4. A place of outer darkness where there will be weeping and
         gnashing of teeth. Matt. 22:13; 25:30
      5. It is a place of eternal destruction from the presence of   
         the Lord. 2 Thess. 1:6-9
   C. Thus, we should make it our all-consuming purpose to avoid this
      terrible place.

VI. WE ARE GIVEN THE REASON MANY WILL NOT BE APPROVED OR RECOGNIZED  
   IN THAT DAY.
   A. Because they worked iniquity.
      1. In the original Greek, it is the word "law," but preficed by
         the negative; thus, "not law, without law, lawlessness."
      2. They were acting without law, without a "thus saith the
         Lord."
      3. They were not acting according to the law. They were not
         actually doing the will of the Father.
      4. The same word "iniquity" is used to describe the great
         apostasy in 2 Thess. 2:7.
   B. Notice the things we can draw from their questions.
      1. Just because one is "religious" does not necessarily mean he
         will be saved. These people were very religious.
      2. Just because one is "sincere" does not make him right. They
         were very sincere in what they were doing.
      3. Just because one "feels" or "thinks" he will be saved, does
         not necessarily mean he will be saved. They thought and felt
         they would be saved.
      4. Just because one is "active" or "doing religious works" does
         not mean he will be saved. They were very active in their
         religion.
      5. Just because we have a "show of success" does not mean we
         will be saved.
         a. We need to remember this verse when we approach our
            Pentecostal friends. Just because they have "witnessed"
            a miracle or "spoken in tongues," doesn't prove them to
            be right.
         b. The people mentioned in Matt. 7:22 were prophesying,
            casting out demons, and doing many wonderful works
            and were still wrong.
      6. Just because one is "convinced" that he will be saved,
         doesn't mean he will be saved. They were convinced they
         would be saved.
   C. The only thing that will save, so far as we ourselves are
      concerned, is doing the will of the heavenly Father.

Concl.
   A. The forcefulness of this passage is seen in the fact that it is
      a judgment scene. Jesus is showing us plainly how it will be in
     "that day," the judgment day.
   B. It will be a terrible day for those who stand before God and   
      find that they have not done the Father's will after all.
      1. Notice, too, it won't be just a few, but "many."
      2. On that day, untold millions will be made to realize that   
         they had been deceived, and their religion was not according
         to the law of God.
   C. Thus, it behooves all of us to make absolutely sure we are     
      doing the will of the Father, not our own will, or the will of 
      someone else.
      1. Let us carefully examine everything that we do religiously  
         to make sure we are doing the Will of the Father.