A common belief today is that Jesus accepts any religious person who claims to know Him. Is this true? Will any religion of our choice be pleasing to the Lord? Jesus speaks on this in Matthew chapter 7.

 

“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.” (v.21).

 

Jesus says that our calling out to Him is not sufficient to save us.  Yet people often say that all one needs to do to be saved is to “pray the sinner’s prayer” to Him. Where is “the sinner’s prayer” found in Scripture? A search shows that it is not there. Jesus says in Matthew 7 that an affirmation of faith in Him is not sufficient. We have to go beyond faith and do what He says. It is not enough for us to merely listen to Him and believe; we must obey His commands.

 

In verses 24-25, Jesus illustrates this through the wise man who built his house on the rock. “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”  If we want to be founded on Jesus as our rock, we must hear and obey Him. It’s that simple. To not obey is foolish.

 

“Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (vs.26-27).  Great will be our fall if we do not do what Jesus says.

 

In verses 22-23, Jesus says that many religious people will be lost on the judgment day. The people He describes assumed they were pleasing to Him since they did many religious things in His name. “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!’”

 

What Jesus says ought to sober us into realizing that we will be lost if we practice a religion that does not conform to His word. We shouldn’t assume that what some teach from the pulpit is according to Jesus, even if they often call on His name. We have an obligation to study the Bible ourselves to find out what Jesus really wants us to believe and do.

 

His plan of salvation is simple. We must believe in Jesus as the Son of God and confess our faith in Him (Mark 16:16; John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10). We must repent of our past sins (Acts 2:38; 17:30), and be baptized to wash away our sins (Acts 2:38; 8:26-39; 22:16). Then as a Christian, our life must be devoted to serving the Lord.  Are we really pleasing Jesus?