Matthew 7:21-23 says, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"
Think about the many thousands of people that have cried, "Lord, Lord," but will never enter heaven. While we know that God is a loving Father and the Creator of the Universe, we also know that He is a just, jealous, and righteous God. For the sake of us understanding this text, we need to realize that some of the people that call themselves Christians will NOT enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. You're probably running through a list of 4-5 people right now - people that you know are not living their lives for the Christ, the Messiah.
So, what does it mean to have true salvation? It's not the fact that we open the door and finally allow Jesus to participate in our lives. Rather, it is the undeniable reality that we are absolutely NOTHING without Him. We have nothing of value to offer for our lives. Just opening the door to His call seems shallow.
The picture that Jesus paints is one of a dinner table, in which we sup with Him. This, from my understanding, is His call to commune with Him. We feast, we talk, we laugh, we obey, we struggle, we do everything with Him. This type of radical salvation is not something that we can take lightly. If we are truly "saved" from the pit of hell, it is because we are allowing the Holy Spirit of God to make sweeping changes in our lives, bringing us closer to mirroring Him, and not our former life.
If there is truly a great need in our lives, it is that we tell everyone that we know of the salvation that God offers through His Son, Jesus Christ. Many are calling Him "Lord," but He is not the Lord of their lives. If you care about those that are without Christ, then you will do something about it. I challenge you to consider this message today. Salvation is not for us to keep to ourselves. There is a Savior that can change our lives, and we need to share Him with everyone that we can!
God's blessings on your life this week,
Bryan
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If you'd like to subscribe to this weekly devotional, please forward your email and name to thebtaylor@gmail.com. Also, the idea for today's devotional comes from David Platt's book Radical.
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