21 “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. 22 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?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23 ESV)
This scripture should and does give many Christians pause. It is a very concerning couple of verses that should have us reviewing our motives and our actions. Nothing we do can get us into heaven. Nothing we do can assure our salvation. It is only through the blood of Christ that we are provided justification to enter into God’s eternal reward.
We should examine the reasons and motivations behind our actions and make sure that they are meant to glorify God and not ourselves. We should never attribute anything done in any way to anyone other than Christ. This can be hard for the driven and successful as they attribute much of their success to their skills, capabilities or knowledge. However, this is not wisdom
Anything we do is for ourselves is done to make us seem righteous, we can be assured that that is all it is….a show for ourselves and others. God does not honor these acts. But we must attribute all to God, and we fervently mean it, giving Him all the glory.
Reflect on: Really everything you do, and who gets the preponderance of the glory.
