“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’” (Matthew 7:21–23).
Jesus is not seeking followers for the sake of numbers—His interest is in seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10). Jesus seeks followers who will diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:46–50).
Hypocrisy is a real problem; and it’s a problem that every single one of us has participated in at one time or another: no one is exempt from “playing the part.” But we know better, and therefore, we should strive to be better (Luke 13:24).
James reminds us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:22–25).
But it’s not just about being busy doing things, it’s about doing the right things in the right way—“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be sharers with them, for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live like children of light (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is well-pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:6–10 LEB).
God’s word equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17). In other words, God’s word provides for us the authority for doing what pleases Him, just as His Son pleased Him: “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
This principle of discerning what pleases God and being zealous doers of His revealed will (Titus 2:14) is not only discovered in the New Testament; we find examples of this mindset in the Old Testament as well. For example, Moses taught Israel: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13).
Pray for the right kind of desire, the very mindset of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:3–5). But don’t limit your effort to praying alone; read God’s word for yourself (2 Timothy 2:15) so that you can be the right kind of Christian who knows God’s will for himself, and does it.
“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you (1 Peter 1:22–25).
“The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).
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