Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?   And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I was listening to a video that said that this passage is normal glossed over in many of the modern Christian pulpits today. And truth be told, the ones that I have attended over the last few years did not speak on it much. And if they did, it was only as a prelude to a sermon that ultimately allowed for sin. They would use it to lead into verses like Matthew 7:1 ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged’ and Matthew 22:39 ‘And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself’.Both of which are generally taken out of context. But that is for another article.

In verse 21 above, it states that the ones who will make it to eternal glory (heaven) are those that DO the Lord’s will. That little two letter word is the hangup for many Christians. That DO in the verse means there is work to be done.Both spiritual and  physical. And I can here the screams now quoting Sola Fidei ‘Faith alone’ which in being saved by the sacrifice of Christ is true. But They neglect many areas of the Gospels and Epistles (and the Old Testament).

To understand verse 21, you must look at the preceding verses. Matthew 7:15-20 ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.   Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them’. 

Know them by their fruits. Doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. If anyone has worked in agriculture, planted a garden, or done a plant based science project in school, one thing is certain. The fruit does not come by faith but through work. Having a seed and having faith it will produce will not make it produce. The ground has to be readied (plowed, fertilized), the seed has to be planted and tended. Then the fruit comes to bear. As the physical is a mirror of the spiritual, Jesus gave us the parable of the sower and the seed. The physical: Mark 4:1-8 ‘And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.   And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,   Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:   And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.   And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:   But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.   And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.   And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred’.The spiritual: Mark 4:14-20 ‘The sower soweth the word.   And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.   And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;   And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.   And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,   And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.   And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred’.

Now that we have linked the two sets of verses as they should be, let us look at what the fruits are and what they produce. Looking at these will give one a full understanding of the text. Because too many pastors and christians today take a verse, usually out of context, and make a sermon that has nothing to do with the context that is required to understand the verse.

The parable above discusses the process of planting in various soils. So let us first look at the fruits of the world, sowed by the devil (Satan) and see what they produce. Galatians 5:19-21 ‘Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God’. So, this is the fruits that lead to the second death because God said He does not know those who do the opposite of God’s will.

Now, to do God’s will, we look at the fruits that the Holy Spirit help instill in the hearts and minds of the redeemed. Galations 5:22-26 ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another’.

So you may ask, if one has these fruits, what does it mean for us to do? These are split into two categories. Jesus says they are the two greatest commandments. Matthew 22:34-40 ‘But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”What Jesus did in this passage was regive the Ten Commandments in abbreviated form. The first set of four Commandments are how we related to God. (I have articles on my page about these if you wish to study further). The second set of six commandments are how we relate to our fellow man, and that is where the fruits come into play. Exodus 20:12-17 ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.   Thou shalt not kill.   Thou shalt not commit adultery.   Thou shalt not steal.   Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.   Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s’.

The fruits of the Spirit, mentioned above, are seen in the way we do God’s will toward our fellow man. As I said previously, they are both spiritual and physical. Some call them the works of mercy. Some call them being the hands of God. However one chooses to term it, it is the meaning behind the writings of James in his epistles James 2:14-24 ‘What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?   If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?   Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?   And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only’. 

Spiritual

• Counsel the doubtful:
• Mark 4:10-20
• Mark 9:14-29
• John 14:27
• Instruct the ignorant:
• Matthew 28:19-20
• John 20:21
• Admonish sinners:
• Proverbs 27:17
• Luke 15:7, 10
• Luke 17:3
• Comfort the afflicted:
• Psalms 9:8-11; 22:23-27; 27:4-5; 30:2-4; 46:2
• Psalms 55:22; 56; 71:20-22; 116; 119:49-50
• Isaiah 40:1-11
• Jeremiah 29:11-14
• Lamentations 3:21-24, 31-33
• Nahum 1:7-8
• Matthew 11:28-30
• John 14:15-18, 27
• John 16:20-23
• 1 Peter 5:6-11
• Revelation 21:4
• Forgive offences:
• Mark 11:25
• Matthew 6:14-15
• Matthew 18:15-35
• Luke 11:1-4
• Luke 17:1-4
• Bear patiently those who do us ill:
• Matthew 5:38-48
• Luke 6:27-36
• 1 Peter 2:18-25
• Pray for the living:
• Philippians 1:3-5
• Colossians 1:3

Corporal (Physical)

• Feed the hungry:
• Proverbs 22:9 – “The generous will be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”
• 2 Kings 4:42-44 – “A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing the man of God twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” / But his servant objected, “How can I set this before a hundred?” Elisha again said, “Give it to the people to eat, for thus says the LORD: You will eat and have some left over.” / He set it before them, and when they had eaten, they had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.”
• Luke 3:11 – [John the Baptist preaches to the crowds]: “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”
• Jesus Feeds the 5000 – Mark 6:30-44; Matt 14:13-21; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14
• Jesus Feeds the 4000 – Mark 8:1-10; Matt 15:32-39
• Give drink to the thirsty:
• Isaiah 55:1 – “All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, buy grain and eat; Come, buy grain without money, wine and milk without cost!”
• John 7:37-38 – On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. / Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.'”
• Revelation 21:6b – “To the thirsty I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water.”
• Revelation 22:17b – “Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.”
• Clothe the naked:
• Luke 15:22 (Parable of the Lost/Prodigal Son) – “But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.”
• Welcome the stranger:
• Ezekiel 47:21-23 –“You shall divide this land according to the tribes of Israel. / You shall allot it as heritage for yourselves and for the resident aliens in your midst who have fathered children among you. You shall treat them like native Israelites; along with you they shall receive a heritage among the tribes of Israel. / In whatever tribe the resident alien lives, there you shall assign his heritage– oracle of the Lord GOD.”
• Heal the sick:
• Luke9:1-2 – “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.”
• Visit the imprisoned:
• Hebrews 13:1-3 – “Let mutual love continue. / Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. /
   Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body.”
• Bury the dead:
• Acts 5:6 – And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

These are the works of God that go with our faith. These, done in a right mind, heart, and spirit that are aligned with GOD, will keep you from hearing Matthew 7:23.