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
Surely this is good evidence that God doesn't justify us through our faith alone, but also through works! Jesus Himself is saying that those who say "Lord, Lord," won't necessarily be saved, but that they must also follow God's will in order to be saved, right? I don't think so... again, I see this approach as a reversal of what God has actually revealed in these passages. Just like with the passages that we looked at in James, I think that this is a question not of works as the basis of justification, but as the evidence of true faith. To make this more clear, let's look at the six verses leading up to what Jesus will say in verses 21-23:
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
-Matthew 7:15-20
It seems more clear in this context that Jesus is not claiming that one must follow God's will in order to be saved, but that those who are saved will inevitably follow God's will! Just because somebody does a good deed does not mean that they have the Spirit of God working in them to glorify Him through these actions. Salvation is not ultimately about works, even works done in the name of God. However, again, as Jesus says here, justification will necessarily lead to sanctification... but sanctification can never lead to justification! There may be some who would ask me, "What's the big deal, Chris? This is just a small difference in meaning. There's no need to cause a fuss over this!"
Ahh... but I would disagree greatly with that disagreement! :o) There is great need, indeed!
Firstly, an interpretation of these passages of Scripture which allows us to believe that we are ultimately saved by the things that we do (i.e. our sanctification leads to our own justification) builds a doorway for legalism to enter in with great ease. This is not in the spirit of Christianity, for in the words of John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
Secondly, and more importantly, the very glory of God is at stake here! When we begin to get our eyes off of ourselves and our own works, we turn them to Christ, and see the wonderful nature of His holy majesty and perfect righteousness! God must get the glory in our salvation, not us. However, this opens up many questions that are debated among Christians, which I will not get into here here and now, but I will say this about my personal experience here: when I started to understand more of how the Bible declares that I was saved from my sin, my eyes were opened to see the beauty of salvation, and what an amazing thing it is to even be called a child of God! Here are just two of the many verses which show why it is that I feel unending gratitude to God for being His son:
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
-John 6:44But you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
-John 10:26-27
Or take also the words of Christ that we have already seen from Matthew. What is Jesus' reaction to those who claim to follow Him, and even do good works in His name, yet will not see salvation? "And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Jesus didn't know them? But Jesus is God, right? So shouldn't He know everything?! It's clear that Jesus is using a different definition for the word "know" here when referring to these people. It's the same "know" that is used in Amos 3:2 when God says of Israel, "you only have I known of all the families of the earth." God certainly knew about all of the families on earth... but there were only certain people on whom He chose to set His divine love. Or, when the Bible records that Adam "knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain", we can be sure that Adam did a lot more than have intellectual recognition of his wife in order for her to become pregnant!
The point I'm trying to make here is not only that the people who come to God saying, "Lord, Lord," yet are rejected by Him, are not justified by their works, but that these people do not follow Christ because they are not of His chosen adopted children, not of His flock. It is this adoption which gives the Spirit, it is this Spirit which gives true sanctifying power, and it is this sanctification which is the fruit of true faith, not the basis of justification. The sheep of Christ's flock make themselves known by the transforming power that is in them, and by their love (John 13:35), but it is not these signs which allow them to be in the flock in the first place. Christ's sheep are not His flock because they do what He says... they do what He says because they are in His flock!
Well, if we are not saved through our own works, but through our faith in Christ, how can it be that one can receive this faith? That question will be tackled in the next part, "Faith is a gift", but I would ask you to ponder over these verses until then:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
-Ephesians 2:8-10
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