Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity, MAT 7:21-23.

These are such solemn words; they are heart-searching words. This revelation of our Saviour's basis for dividing the sheep from the goats is such a heart-searching declaration which has eternal consequences for those to whom He shall say, "...I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Why? Do you see the contrast between V:21 and 23? V:21 says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." The contrast is found in V:23, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Let's refer to HOS 7:1-2, "When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without. [But now see the eternal consequences of these actions!] And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face." We must understand that salvation is much more than seeking a pardon in the blood of Christ. Salvation is to be delivered from serving sin, and until we have been delivered from the power of sin, we may not even talk about having a pardon.

Compare the meanings in "they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness," and the words of our text, "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." They did not understand what the Lord meant when He said in MAT 7:21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." In the Day of Judgment we will be brought to an accounting of those things we have done, whether they be good or evil. This is a solemn reality, cf., MAT 25:33-46.

After setting forth the "strait gate...[and the] narrow way" which leadeth unto life, and its contrast as being the "wide gate...[and the] broad way," which leadeth unto destruction, Jesus warns of the danger of false prophets which cause men to walk in the broad way. A ministry that will compromise the authority of the Word of God in order to please men is the object of Jesus admonition, "Beware...ye shall know them by their fruits..." MAT 7:15-16. Look at the fruits of their ministry. Do they cause men to stand in His ways and turn from their wickedness? Do they fear the Lord? If that is not the fruit of their ministry, they are false prophets. "But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings," JER 23:22.

False prophets may think they have all their doctrines straight; they may be able to speak of great things, but Christ says they are false prophets if the fruit of their ministry is not that they, "...turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings." Our text says, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" Much of this is lip service, designed to draw and please the majority, rather than serving Christ according to the will of God. Then Christ will say, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." He will not judge them by their lip service, He will judge them according to the fruit of their actions.

What have we done in our lifetime? Upon the law of love hangs all the law and the gospel. We are to love God above all with our heart, soul, and mind. That is true Godly fear. It is a holy reverence for God and His will. It is not done out of a slavish fear or for merit, but it is service out of love. The first fruit we see from that is that we love our neighbour as ourselves. We get a glimpse into the reality of the golden rule: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."

We must realize that forgiveness from our heart toward our brother comes before forgiveness from the Lord. In MAT 6:14-15 Jesus says "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Jesus said this immediately after the Lord's Prayer where He taught us to pray, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," MAT 6:12.

The Lord is looking at our attitudes as well as our actions. Now consider HOS 7:3-4, "They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened." Then HOS 8:1 says, "Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law." What is the trumpet? The trumpet is the gospel.

The first thing revealed in the gospel is God's wrath upon sin. If we are ever going to rightly understand the gospel, we see that the proclamation of the gospel tells us how wroth God is with sin. ROM 1:17 says, "For therein is the righteousness of God..." Christ's sacrifice on the cross reveals that rather than let one sin go unpunished; the Father would rather send His own Son to come in the way of obedience to step into His holy wrath to cover that sin. They are the false prophets who say, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" They are the broad-road Christians who can take along their filthy communications, attitudes, or persist in a hateful spirit and still think they are on the way to heaven.

HOS 8:2 continues, "Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee." Isn't that the same thing as our text says? "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" The Lord will answer them with, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." MAT 7:23b. You see, that is what the Lord Jesus is explaining to us in our text. We are to "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves," MAT 7:15.

At this point Jesus gives us the identifying marks we are to use to separate the false teachers from those who are sent by Him. "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" MAT 7:16. He is pleading; He is coming to reason with us. He shows us a parallel to know how to distinguish between the two manner of fruit. Which fruit does their ministry bear, grapes or thistles?

The vine which produces grapes is the one spoken of in JOH 15:5: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." Who will bear the fruit of the vine? It will be those who abide in Christ and walk in His footsteps with His Spirit. They are the ones who love and serve Him by coming under His yoke, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light," MAT 11:30.

Those who bring forth thistles and thorns are cast out. They cannot abide in the vine. You cannot abide in the vine if you do not bring forth the right fruit. That is the message of our text, and we also see it in JOH 15:6, "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."

How can a person who doesn't bring forth the good fruit of the Spirit recorded in GAL 5:22-23 which is "...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance," abide in the Vine? Can they be a part of the church fellowship? No, Jesus says they are gathered up and cast into the fire. We may not fellowship with them; we may not take them in and call them brothers in Christ because they are bearing thistles instead of the fruit of the Spirit of Christ.

Our Heavenly Father is the one who sorts out those who do not bring forth good fruit. JOH 15:1-2 says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." You see, even those who bear fruit will be purged by the Lord. He will search their hearts, try their reins, and see if there is a wicked way in them. If there is, He will purge that out. He does not allow those who bear fruit to bear two kinds of fruit. The good tree cannot bear evil fruit because the Father will purge and prune it. He will cut off that which is not of the Lord so the branch will bring forth more fruit.

The motive of our fruit-bearing must be love for God and His glory. If we are to bear the kind of fruit Christ wants, we are not motivated by selfishness or by what we can gain. We must be motivated by love for God and what will be for His glory.

JOH 15:8-10 tells us, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit [What fruit? Mercy! If we want mercy, we must show mercy which is undeserved, one-sided love. It is undeserved favor toward people who have done all manner of evil and wrong against us, and we are to put coals of fire upon their heads. Those coals of fire are a vehement flame of love that devours all the hardness and treachery of the heart. The fruit of love and self-denial has the motive of glorifying the Lord.]; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."

Do you see the parallel Jesus has drawn? We must forgive as we want to be forgiven and love as He loved. Jesus loved by keeping His Father's commandments; He wrote death upon Himself. He stepped into death to die unto sin. "For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God," ROM 6:10. We must follow and step into death of self and die unto sin. Why? "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord," ROM 6:11.

We must keep His commandments of love as He kept His Father's commandment of love and abide in His love. Jesus would not have had His abode in the love of the Father if He had transgressed His commandments. That is what Jesus is telling us; we cannot call Him "Lord, Lord" if we do not do the things He says.

The Lord Jesus tells us in our text that these acts of love will be the proving ground of our profession. The false prophets made a great profession telling all the wonderful things they had done. MAT 7:21 also tells us, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." The reward will not go to those who profess, but to the people who do God's will. Sometimes those who do the most, say the least. Sometimes those who speak the most, do the least.

The next verse tells us that our true characters will be revealed by the test of true love for Christ: if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. On the final day, the proving ground will be our love for God. The test will be how we served Him. Did we serve Him or self? Did we obey? Did we follow His footsteps? Did we live in the Spirit of Christ?

Heed the awesome words from One who cannot be imposed upon by deceit. "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity," MAT 7:22-23. A profession of being a Christian will be of absolutely no avail. We will be judged on the basis of whom we served. The Lord tells us in MAL 3:18 that whom we have served in this life will separate the wicked from the righteous. "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."

Then all lip service will have an end in itself because Jesus will then make His profession unto them, "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you [Why? Because all these wonderful works were done through a compromise of His Word! Then He will say unto them]: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Then they will understand what the Lord said in HOS 7:2, "And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face."

Those who truly love to serve under the yoke of Christ's kingdom will be revealed, but the Lord will profess He never knew those who claimed all the wonderful works done in His name because all those works were compromise and lies as we read in Hosea 7:2. Their doings will also be remembered.

JOH 14:21 says, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." The Scriptures are so clear on this point. Such service to Christ under the law of love will be the measurement wherewith we shall be judged. "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again," MAT 7:2. How does the Lord measure the judgment wherewith we judge others? It is the love we reveal in forgiving our fellow man, in being merciful. "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment," JAM 2:13. It is by showing mercy that we obtain mercy. That doesn't mean we merit mercy; we obtain it.

As you judge your fellow man to be worthy of mercy or love, the Lord will so judge you. With what measure you mete to others, the amount of love you show others and the amount of love you show the Lord by observing His sayings, is the measurement that will be measured to you again. MAT 7:24 says, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock." It isn't only a matter of hearing; it is hearing and doing.

Never since the time of the creation has there been more religion in the world than today, neither has there been more broad-road professors with a "form of Godliness," who deny the power thereof. We see this in 2TI 3:1-5, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." Notice in V:2-4 what the perilous times are. Those who have a form of Godliness, but deny the power thereof in their daily walk of life have an imitation Godliness; they go to church and have a great profession; they hear, but they don't do. Their attributes are the opposite of Godliness. The power of Godliness is revealed in loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind which leads His true flock to follow in His footsteps and to do His will.

Verses 2-4 continue and describes these people who have never been delivered from the power of sin. "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."

Where can you find a better description of the broad-road church? Jesus tells us to beware of false prophets who will take a person walking in the sins named above, and tell you he is a Christian because he has accepted Jesus. The false prophet for whom Jesus says, "Beware...," is the pastor of a broad-road church which has a form of Godliness, but the heart is a cage of unclean birds. These pastors claim to be devoted to Christ's service, but their fruit does not correspond. The love for God and their neighbour is not seen in their lives.

Jesus was not speaking of those who make an empty profession, but of those who do the will of His Father in heaven when He said in MAT 10:32-33, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." These were not only calling Him "Lord, Lord," but they were doing what He says. That's how we are to confess Him before men.

Our actions speak much louder than our words. Words may exclaim, "Lord, Lord," at the top of our voice, but we can deny Him with our actions. When Jesus is talking about professing Him before men, he is not speaking of lip service.

Those who make great professions calling Him "Lord Lord" and do not those things which He says only bring blasphemy upon His name. People who make a loud profession of Christianity, and then rebel against the authority of His Word, cause the world to blaspheme Christianity. Such professed Christians bring a reproach upon the very name they profess.

It is doing Christ's will from the heart, motivated by the law of love which distinguishes God's servants from the servants of self and Satan. We must identify the various types of broad-road professors who have only a name to live while they are yet dead in their trespasses and sins. Let's look at and name those broad-road professors one by one. Let's consider how we can identify those with whom we may and may not fellowship.

There are the nominal Christians who may have been sprinkled as an infant and possibly had some religious training in their youth. However, after reaching maturity, they probably attend church on Christmas, Easter and go to a funeral or wedding occasionally; yet when asked, they profess to be Christians.

Many people believe the Bible is true and holy, they have accepted Jesus, and they live a "good" life. They equate being good with salvation--if they think about salvation. Many see God's wonderous works in nature and feel it is enough worship to "commune" or appreciate nature, but they have never learned to understand the deceitfulness of their own heart.

It is important to understand what is happening. They do not observe the Lord's day, neither do they walk according to the will of God by any stretch of the imagination, but they still call themselves Christians. They may attend church on a few occasions to soothe their consciences. It does not mean they are saved. Their profession of being Christians actually means they are not Jews, pagans, or open infidels. They identify themselves as being followers of the Christian faith.

There is a second type of broad-road professors who are formal professors. The formal professors are more active in church; they are usually a member of some organization and well-learned in church doctrines. They make bold claims of submission to Christ as their King, yet their lives clearly reveal they can barter the authority of the Word of God for human reasoning. You hear them proclaim one can't be legalistic; one must show love, letting people barter the authority of God's Word for their own human reasoning. Their affections are set on self and the world, and they are ignorant of the spirit of the law. There will be evidence of bitterness in their heart against their neighbour; they will come against the authority of the Lord's Word as they barter it for their own human reasoning. Their rebellion has never been broken; their hearts have never been brought into submission to the Lord.

There is a third type who are deceived professors. We read about these people in PRO 30:12: "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness." They are the people who think they can merit salvation by their works. In their own esteem they are as Paul had said of himself in PHI 3:56, "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." He was a Pharisee of Pharisees, but when his eyes were opened to see the spirit of the law, he saw how unclean he was.

Those are deceived professors; they are pure in their own eyes, yet they are not washed from their filthiness; they have never understood the spirit of the law. They have never known that they commit adultery by casting an eye or commit murder with hateful thoughts. They do not understand true love. They are ignorant of the spirit of the law and are deceived professors.

Our lovely Saviour said in LUK 13:3, "...except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish," so what does it mean to repent? There are many philosophies about what it means to repent. This is very important when we start sorting out the true church and the broad-road church.

There are four principle parts or acts to repentance: confession of sin, hatred of sin, sorrow for sin, and a firm resolution against sin. Now there is something awesome to consider; each of these acts of repentance have been performed by those who have never entered the strait gate, nor walked in the narrow way. So is it sufficient to do these four things? The answer is no. One may perform all of these steps, yet have never turned to the Lord. Let's go into this.

Cain cried out under the weight of his sin; he confessed his sin. He hated his sin, and he had sorrow for his sin. GEN 4:13 says, "And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment [`the iniquity of my sin' as it is in the original] is greater than I can bear." Yes, he saw the weight of his sin.

Pharaoh, King Saul, and Judas acknowledged their sin and condemned themselves for it. Do you see that these elements of repentance, in themselves, are not sufficient. One can have a confession of sin, hatred of it, sorrow over it, and a resolve against it, but still be deficient. EXO 9:27 tells us, "And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time [Did he confess his sin? Certainly!]: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked." Look at his confession and remorse for sin.

In 1-SA 15:24 we read, "And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice." Saul confessed he sinned, and he had sorrow over his sin because it caused the kingdom to be ripped from him. He begged Samuel to come with him in 1-SA 15:30, "Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God." Saul had remorse over his sin, but the fruit of that remorse, the source of it, was deficient. His own honor was his concern.

MAT 27:3-4 says, "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that." Judas repented and returned the silver to the chief priest, but he never turned to the Lord for forgiveness.

Jehu detested the idols of Baal and destroyed them, yet his heart was never right with the Lord. 2KI 10:26-28 says, "And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them. And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel." However, Jehu's heart was never right with the Lord as we see in 2KI 10:31, "But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin."

The Apostle Paul spoke of those who abhorred idols, yet committed sacrilege. ROM 2:21-23 says, "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?" You see, we can have a remorse over sin, but never repent in the right light.

Concerning sorrow for sin, Israel mourned after their worship of the golden calf and mourned greatly, yet they continued in their provocations. Look what we see in EXO 33:4, "And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments." A mere mourning over sin is not true repentance. We can see sin as abominable and hate it. We can practice confession of sin, hatred of sin, sorrow for sin, and have a firm resolution against sin and, still not have true repentance.

Ahab showed much remorse over his sin. In 1KI 21:27 we read, "And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly." Ahab was a wicked man who never knew true, gospel repentance, but he mourned over his sin.

See the strong resolution against sin in Balaam! NUM 22:18, "And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more." Look at his firm resolution against sin, yet we read in Scripture that Balaam loved the reward of unrighteousness and fell. These things do not constitute repentance.

The repentance of all these was deficient, but wherein? Why wasn't it a "...repentance unto life"? ACT 11:18. The source was corrupt. Self was the source and the object of their repentance. It was self-centered; it wasn't motivated by the law of love.

"Repentance unto life" proceeds from sorrow for sin itself, whereas the repentance of the broad-road Christian proceeds from sorrow over the consequences of sin, not over sin itself. Do you see where the deficiency lies in the repentance of all these different examples named above? Their repentance was deficient in that it was a remorse over sin only due to its consequences. Those whose repentance springs from a mere desire to go to heaven to escape hell are equally deficient. The tidings Ahab received of the consequences of his sin caused much remorse; yet it wasn't the fact that he had sinned against the love and honor of God. He didn't mourn over his sin, seek forgiveness for it, and a pardon on the basis of love. His only love was for self.

Secondly, the broad-road Christians' repentance is deficient in that their sorrow over the consequences of their sin is also selfish. They do not mourn that their sins have dishonored God, slighted the authority of His Word, or displeased Him in any way, but they mourn the consequences of His anger! That is the distinction between true, gospel repentance and the repentance of the broad-road church.

They have no concern about Satan being gratified or the cause of Christ being reproached as long as they can escape God's wrath upon their sin. It is no concern of theirs that Satan was promoted or that God's name was reproached. Their main concern is to escape God's wrath; it is self-centered.

Thirdly, the repentance of the broad-road professor is deficient in that they do not mourn over all the consequences of sin to themselves; even though it is selfish, there are many consequences to themselves they do not mourn. These consequences would identify true repentance. Consider, they do not mourn the consequence that it defiles the soul, causes God to withdraw His love, and hardens the heart making it more incapable of holy duties. The only thing they mourn over is that it deprives them of mercies and produces misery; this is the only reason they mourn and have remorse over their sin. They ignore the fact that it pollutes and hardens their heart; the consequences of the Lord withdrawing His love are also of little concern to them.

Their hatred for sin may well include gross sin, but they are strangers to David's words which spring from a renewed heart, from a principle of holiness. PSA 119:103-105 says, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! [They do not understand that kind of language] Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." See the contrast between the broad-road Christian's hate of sin based on self-centeredness and David's hatred of sin which was based on his love of the Word. Do you see why David hated every false way? Because through God's precepts he got understanding of God's way. David didn't want anything to dull the edge of that Sword which is the Word of God.

Those who have repented unto life, are described by their actions. This is the evidence we use to sort them out. MAT 7:21 says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Do you see how Jesus describes those who have repented unto life? They are the people who do the will of the Father which is in heaven.

Two things are included in doing the will of His Father which is in heaven. The first is they hear; they hear with an ear that is open to hear, and a heart that understands the will of the Father which is perfectly revealed by His Son. We see that in MAT 17:5, "While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." There is the first commandment from the Father which we must obey. We must hear His Word, not gainsay it or barter it, but to hear it as the only authority of our heart.

The second thing included in doing the will of His Father in heaven is to not only hear His words, but do them. "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock," MAT 7:24. The Father has given unto the Son all authority. Are we going to do the will of our Father? Then we must hear and do what His Son says.

The will of our Heavenly Father is that we should forsake our sins, trust in His Son, take His yoke upon us, and walk in His footsteps. That is doing the will of the Father.

To call Him "Lord Lord" and not do those things which He says is open mockery and brings blasphemy upon His name. Doing His will does not mean we are able to give a flawless service, yet nothing short of this must be the standard of our life. Many people say, "Oh, well, you know we all sin, nobody is perfect." They mock with sin; they justify their sin based upon their inability to be perfect, by saying they are incapable of flawless service. Some people make a whole religion out of the word inability. They justify sin and put the whole blame on the Lord for everything they do.

A flawless service must be the standard of our life. We must come back before the Lord to confess "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would," GAL 5:17. We must come every day to the Lord to ask forgiveness, but the standard of our life must be to "...press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. [We must strive for perfection.] Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ," PHI 3:14-18.

We have many short-comings that cause us to weep and cry before the Lord, but certainly we must not stand and boast of our inability to justify our sin. Satan is so crafty; he would like to have us boast of perfection in our own strength or see us hide behind inability, justifying our sins, and laying the blame on God for our sin.

Let us look at a precious illustration from the Apostle Paul in the preceding verses. We must strive for the mark of the high prize which is obtaining perfection in Christ. Notice that he talks about the walk of the people, not their profession; that is how he knows they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. It is their walk, their conduct, and their unloving spirit that reveals them.

The Lord is not pleased with a legalistic keeping of the letter of the law, but He is pleased with our compliance with the spirit and intent of the law from the heart. The Lord wants us to have the spirit and intent of the law to be observed from our hearts. EPH 6:6 says, "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men." We must not act to be seen; we act out of love and respect and reverence for God. Our motive must be for God's glory, not for us to gain some honor in the way of eyeservice.

There are proud Christians; people who have a tendency to want everyone's attention. The Lord Jesus is cautioning us against this throughout the Sermon on the Mount. We are not to blow a horn when we do alms so people will see. We are to go into our closet when we pray. We shut the door and pray in secret to our Father which sees in secret. We do not stand on the street corner so everyone will see us. That is eyeservice and lipservice by menpleasers.

Our text says, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity," MAT 7:21-23. I want you to see how solemn that is. That is the dividing line: those who serve the Lord and those who serve Him not.

Those who work iniquity and have not labored in the law of love are broad-road professors. They may have a big profession and claim many wonderful works, but who says they were wonderful? It is all centered in self. Their reward is the praise of men, but in the eyes of the Lord, it is abominable because it brings reproach upon the name of God by making such a great profession with the mouth while denying Him with their walk of life. Those are the people the Lord will demand that they depart for they work iniquity.

We must see the blessedness of those who hear His words and do them. They do them from the heart. To those people Jesus says, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock," MAT 7:24-25.

Do you see that the "sayings"of our Lord Jesus, or the Word of God, is the rock, or the foundation, upon which our walk must correspond? It is upon the Word of God that we must build our walk of life.

God's Word says, "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps," 1PE 2:21. We see His walk, and He becomes our example, forerunner, and King. We hear Him. We call Him Lord because we have taken His yoke upon us. We have learned that He is meek and lowly, and we come to realize what it is to learn from Him, i.e., from His walk of life.

We build upon Him and His "sayings" as our foundation, not upon ourselves. That becomes the graciousness; when all the storms come against us and beat upon us, we will stand the test and not fall because we built upon the authority of the Word of God. Amen.

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