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In His immortal Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:
Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Mat. 7:21–23).
Herein we see a great and fundamental Truth: the vanity, presumptuousness, and danger of doing anything that Jehovah has not authorized. In His sweeping principle, the Lord embraced every item that one might list as an ingredient of faithfulness to God and His Son. If one has his heart set on doing “all in the name of the Lord” (Col. 3:17), he will be faithful in all things.
Jesus’ statement demonstrates the insufficiency of several things upon which millions who profess belief in Christ are relying in religion. It is not enough to:
- Believe in Christ
- Confess one’s faith in Christ
- Prophesy or preach some religious message
- Do religious works, even if they appear to be great
- Be sincere in one’s religious doctrine or practice
- Be zealous in one’s religious activity
- Do or teach something because one “likes it”
- Do or teach something because it appeals to and attracts large crowds
All that matters is, does God authorize it?
To merely speak the Lord’s name over something we are doing is no sign of His approval. The sons of Sceva quickly learned this to their own dismay and discomfort (Acts 19:14–16). Jesus’ statement conclusively shows that God not only requires more than mere faith and its confession for salvation, but that He requires more than mere works, also. If one’s works are not the works God has authorized, they are all done in vain. That which God does not authorize, He does not accept or recognize!
Jesus once asked the Jewish rulers if the baptism of John was from Heaven or of men (Mat. 21:25). In doing so, he exhausted all possibilities. The wicked Jews knew better than to argue that there was a third possible source of authority. Every doctrine and practice in religion is either authorized by God in His Word, or it is human in origin.
[Note: I wrote this article for and it appeared in the Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton, TX, March 19, 2010].
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator
