Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount: Who will get to go to heaven?

Matthew 7:21-23, 

“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.’

Ok, before we dive into Jesus’ teaching here, I just want to point out a common misconception about heaven.  Due to popular culture, and Cartoons, some get the idea that the final destination for the godly is somewhere up in the air, literally.  That we will go off somewhere else, another realm or dimension entirely when we die, or at the end of time. 

Now, that may be true initially.  It’s mysterious.  Scripture tells us that when we are absent from the body, we will be present with the Lord, and it’s obvious that that isn’t here.  But that isn’t the ultimate state!  We won’t remain disembodied spirits.  God created the body and soul to be one.  So, a disembodied spirit isn’t our natural state.  The Bible teaches that we will be resurrected at the end of time, our souls joined to resurrected bodies that will be incorruptible, like Jesus’ resurrected body. 

Then where will heaven be?  Here’s the thing.  Ultimately, heaven will come to earth.  And the earth will be completely restored.  So, when we read this passage about those who will be in the Kingdom of Heaven, you need to understand that this won’t be that other place, where you’ll rest on clouds, playing harps.  This will mean, you are body and soul with the Lord, right here on terra-firma, all restored and perfect.

But, who will get to be there?  That’s the subject of Jesus’ teaching.

The first thing we see here is that not everyone who assumes they’ll be there will get to be there!  That is quite frightening… and it’s meant to be.  God is the judge of all.  And in the end he will separate the sheep from the goats.  And Jesus teaches here that some of the goats will assume they are sheep, when it just ain’t so. 

Why might these individuals assume they’ll get to be in heaven?  Jesus mentions their reasoning here.  “We prophesied in your name, did mighty works, cast out demons.”  They assume they’ll get to go to heaven because of the works they did in Jesus’ name.  During their lives they claimed to have spoken for God, and to have been doing the works of God.  But in reality, their works were not authorized by God.  They had effectively deceived themselves into thinking they were part of the body of Christ, when they weren’t. 

But who does get to be a part of the body?  Who does get to go to heaven?  How can you be sure you aren’t deceiving yourself? 

Look at what Jesus said, “I never knew you.”  Though these false disciples did mighty works in Jesus’ name, they didn’t have a relationship with Him.  There was no personal relationship.  They didn’t actually walk with Him or follow Him.  So, those who have a personal relationship with Jesus by faith in him, they’re the ones who will be with him. 

What else did Jesus say?  He said, “Not everyone who says Lord, Lord… but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”  So, it is those who have a personal relationship with Jesus by faith, and those who do the Father’s will.  What does Jesus mean by that?  Because we all know that we don’t meet God’s righteous standard, right?  We’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 

Well… three things:   

1. Your sins and lawlessness have been forgiven.  Acts 8:1.

2. The righteousness you now have is an alien righteousness; it isn’t your own righteousness that saves you, but Christ’s righteousness that has been applied to you.

3. You have been filled with his Spirit, and God’s Law has been written on your heart, so that you may do His will.  Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

It all boils down to this: If you, surrender your life to Jesus and trust him for your salvation, you will be saved.  You will receive his Spirit.  And you will be with him in heaven forever. 

So, what do we do with this? 

First, be forewarned.  Feel the full weight of Jesus’ teaching here.  Just because you do Jesus stuff and say Jesus things, doesn’t mean you know Jesus or that you follow him.  What did Jesus say to Nicodemus, “You must be born again.”  This Word must be etched onto your heart and your mind must be renewed in Christ Jesus.  He died for you.  And if you believe he died for you and that his Heavenly Father raised him from the dead, you’ll be saved.  That’s what Scripture says in Romans 10:9-10. 

So, pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ, trusting him fully for your salvation.  Like we talked about in church last Sunday, he has done everything that needed to be done for your redemption and reconciliation.  Then walk in newness of life.