Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven (*)
but he who does the will of My Father in heaven I will declare to them,
I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! (Matt 7:21-23)
those who do the will of Father God shall enter the kingdom of heaven (*)
those who refuse to do the will of Father God are practicing lawlessness
(*) Note-A below shows that Matt 7:21-23 is talking about eternal life!
Okay, what is Father Gods will?
Some NT verses concerning doing Gods will
as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart (Ephesians 6:6)
that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. (Colossians 4:12)
For this is the will of God, your sanctification each of you should know how to possess
his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not
know God For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects
this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8)
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God,
you may receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36-38)
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:17)
The amazing thing is because the Scriptures are all inspired by God
ALL commands and instructions given to NT believers are about doing the will of God.
Examples of Gods will for believers and doing them is necessary for eternal life
All of the 52 Scriptures below refer specifically to how eternal life can be attained or lost:
Believe in Jesus Christ and His gospel
John 3:16, John 3:36, John 5:24, Acts 4:12, Acts 16:31, Rom 10:9-10, etc.
Repent of your sins Luke 13:3-5, 2 Pet 3:9
Know God, follow God, be led by the Spirit John 17:3, John 10:27-28, Rom 8:13-14, Luke 9:23-25
Obey Jesus commandments Matt 19:16-17, Rom 6:16, Heb 5:9, Rev 22:14-15
Practice righteousness, i.e. to be righteous in Gods eyes
Matt 25:45-46, 1 Cor 6:9-10, Rom 6:12-16, Rom 2:5-11, Rom 14:17-18
Forgive mens sins and tresspasses against you Matt 6:14-15, Mark 11:25-26, Matt 18:21-35
Do not be a slave of sin, do not sin
Rom 6:16, James 1:14-16, Rev 21:8, Mark 9:43-48, 1 Cor 6:9-10,
Gal 5:19-21, Eph 5:3-6, 2 Pet 2:20-22, Rev 21:27, Rev 22:14-15
Do not be carnally minded, do not live according to the flesh, crucify the flesh
Rom 8:1-8, Rom 8:13-14, Gal 6:7-8, Gal 5:19-21
Lose your worldly life, hate your life in this world, deny yourself
John 12:25, Mark 8:34-37, Luke 9:23-25, Matt 16:24-26, Luke 14:26-33
Confess your continuing sins, and repent of them 2 Cor 7:8-10, 1 John 1:9
Be holy Heb 12:14-15, Matt 5:8, Col 1:22-23
Do not desire to be rich, do not love money 1 Tim 6:9-10, 1 Tim 6:17-19
Be an overcomer Rev 2:10-11, Rev 3:5, Rev 21:7-8
Endure in your faith until the end of your life Matt 10:22, Rev 2:10-11, 1 Tim 4:16,
1 Cor 15:1-2, Jude 1:20-21, Heb 10:36-39, 1 Tim 6:9-12, Phil 2:12-16, 1 Pet 1:5-9, Heb 2:1-4
Note: for Rev 3:5 and Rev 21:27 please see Note-B, and for Rev 3:12 and Rev 22:14-15 see Note-C.
31 of the 52 Scriptures above refer specifically to how eternal life can be LOST.
These 31 passages apply to Christians just as well as anyone else!
Note: there are also multitudes of Scriptures that reveal Gods will for us
that do not specifically allude to eternal life or death.
Note-A
Entering the kingdom of God appears to be the opposite of being cast into hell
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom
of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire (Mark 9:47)
Inheriting the kingdom appears to be for the righteous who gain eternal life
Come, you (righteous) blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world inasmuch as you (unrighteous) did not do it to one
of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.And these (unrighteous) will go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matt 25:34-46)
So bottom line, we consider entering the kingdom of God/heaven as gaining eternal life.
Note-B
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev 20:15)
Note-C
But there shall by no means enter it (the New Jerusalem) anything that defiles, or causes an
abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lambs Book of Life. (Rev 21:27)
Interesting note
3 of the many sin list passages in the NT contain murder in their long lists of sins.
The following condemnation of murder just serves as an example for all of the sins in the lists.
you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (1 John 3:15)
.
but he who does the will of My Father in heaven I will declare to them,
I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! (Matt 7:21-23)
those who do the will of Father God shall enter the kingdom of heaven (*)
those who refuse to do the will of Father God are practicing lawlessness
(*) Note-A below shows that Matt 7:21-23 is talking about eternal life!
Okay, what is Father Gods will?
Some NT verses concerning doing Gods will
as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart (Ephesians 6:6)
that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. (Colossians 4:12)
For this is the will of God, your sanctification each of you should know how to possess
his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not
know God For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects
this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8)
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God,
you may receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36-38)
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:17)
The amazing thing is because the Scriptures are all inspired by God
ALL commands and instructions given to NT believers are about doing the will of God.
Examples of Gods will for believers and doing them is necessary for eternal life
All of the 52 Scriptures below refer specifically to how eternal life can be attained or lost:
Believe in Jesus Christ and His gospel
John 3:16, John 3:36, John 5:24, Acts 4:12, Acts 16:31, Rom 10:9-10, etc.
Repent of your sins Luke 13:3-5, 2 Pet 3:9
Know God, follow God, be led by the Spirit John 17:3, John 10:27-28, Rom 8:13-14, Luke 9:23-25
Obey Jesus commandments Matt 19:16-17, Rom 6:16, Heb 5:9, Rev 22:14-15
Practice righteousness, i.e. to be righteous in Gods eyes
Matt 25:45-46, 1 Cor 6:9-10, Rom 6:12-16, Rom 2:5-11, Rom 14:17-18
Forgive mens sins and tresspasses against you Matt 6:14-15, Mark 11:25-26, Matt 18:21-35
Do not be a slave of sin, do not sin
Rom 6:16, James 1:14-16, Rev 21:8, Mark 9:43-48, 1 Cor 6:9-10,
Gal 5:19-21, Eph 5:3-6, 2 Pet 2:20-22, Rev 21:27, Rev 22:14-15
Do not be carnally minded, do not live according to the flesh, crucify the flesh
Rom 8:1-8, Rom 8:13-14, Gal 6:7-8, Gal 5:19-21
Lose your worldly life, hate your life in this world, deny yourself
John 12:25, Mark 8:34-37, Luke 9:23-25, Matt 16:24-26, Luke 14:26-33
Confess your continuing sins, and repent of them 2 Cor 7:8-10, 1 John 1:9
Be holy Heb 12:14-15, Matt 5:8, Col 1:22-23
Do not desire to be rich, do not love money 1 Tim 6:9-10, 1 Tim 6:17-19
Be an overcomer Rev 2:10-11, Rev 3:5, Rev 21:7-8
Endure in your faith until the end of your life Matt 10:22, Rev 2:10-11, 1 Tim 4:16,
1 Cor 15:1-2, Jude 1:20-21, Heb 10:36-39, 1 Tim 6:9-12, Phil 2:12-16, 1 Pet 1:5-9, Heb 2:1-4
Note: for Rev 3:5 and Rev 21:27 please see Note-B, and for Rev 3:12 and Rev 22:14-15 see Note-C.
31 of the 52 Scriptures above refer specifically to how eternal life can be LOST.
These 31 passages apply to Christians just as well as anyone else!
Note: there are also multitudes of Scriptures that reveal Gods will for us
that do not specifically allude to eternal life or death.
Note-A
Entering the kingdom of God appears to be the opposite of being cast into hell
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom
of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire (Mark 9:47)
Inheriting the kingdom appears to be for the righteous who gain eternal life
Come, you (righteous) blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world inasmuch as you (unrighteous) did not do it to one
of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.And these (unrighteous) will go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matt 25:34-46)
So bottom line, we consider entering the kingdom of God/heaven as gaining eternal life.
Note-B
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev 20:15)
Note-C
But there shall by no means enter it (the New Jerusalem) anything that defiles, or causes an
abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lambs Book of Life. (Rev 21:27)
Interesting note
3 of the many sin list passages in the NT contain murder in their long lists of sins.
The following condemnation of murder just serves as an example for all of the sins in the lists.
you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (1 John 3:15)
.