1. “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but he who does the will of My Father who is in the heavens” (Matt. 7:21).
Entering into the kingdom of the heavens is different from being saved. Being saved is a matter of grace, which we obtain by believing. Entering into the kingdom of the heavens is a matter of reward, which is gained by doing the will of God. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, but not everyone can enter into the kingdom of the heavens. We do not enter the kingdom of the heavens merely by calling on the Lord’s name. If we want to enter the kingdom of the heavens, we must do the will of God. The kingdom of the heavens is the reward that God has prepared for those who do His will.
1. “The world is passing away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).
The world is the enemy of God, and its lust opposes the will of God; therefore, the world and its lust will pass away. God and His will are eternal; therefore, those who do His will also abide forever. Whatever we have of the world and its lust will pass away. Whatever we have of God and His will abides forever. Just as passing away is the punishment for loving the world and following its lust, abiding forever is the reward for loving God and doing His will.
There is a reward for doing the will of God and a punishment for not doing the will of God. Many believers think that there are only rewards as an encouragement for doing His will but that there are no consequences as a punishment for not doing His will, because God always deals with us in grace and love. This thought is wrong. In God’s Word, the Bible, we are told that those who do the will of God receive a reward, and we are also told that those who do not do the will of God receive a punishment. Furthermore, the punishment for not doing the will of God is as heavy as the reward for doing the will of God is great.
1. “Rebellion is like the sin of divination, / And insubordination is like idolatry and teraphim. / Because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, / He has also rejected you from being king” (1 Sam. 15:23).
God commanded Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites and all their animals. But Saul did not listen to God’s commandment; he destroyed only what was bad and kept what was good. Because Saul rejected the word of the Lord (which is the same as not doing the will of God), God rejected him from being king, causing him to lose the kingship. In God’s eyes the sin of rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as idolatry and teraphim. This should be such a warning to us. If we do not do the will of God today, we will lose the blessing of being kings with the Lord in the future.
1. “That slave who knew his master’s will and did not prepare or do according to his will, will receive many lashes” (Luke 12:47).
If we know the Lord’s will but do not do it, we will receive many lashes when the Lord returns.
1. “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, was it not in Your name that we prophesied, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name did many works of power? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt. 7:22-23).
In these verses the Lord said that in the future many—not just a few—who call Him Lord will be refused entrance into the kingdom of the heavens because they did not do the will of God. These are saved ones, since they call on the Lord’s name. Although they preach, cast out demons, and do many works of power in the Lord’s name, they do not do them in accordance with God’s will and are workers of lawlessness in the Lord’s eyes. Workers of lawlessness are those who are disobedient. What they do may be good and spiritual, but they do not do it according to God’s rule; therefore, it is lawlessness. This is like a student who studies after ten o’clock in the evening, even though the school has a rule that all lights must be out after that time. Although his studying is good, he is breaking school rules. Because of this type of lawlessness, the Lord will disapprove of many, and He will not allow them to enter the kingdom of the heavens. If we do not do the will of God today and gain the Lord’s approval, the Lord will refuse us entrance into His kingdom as a punishment in the future.