Bible Study Is Your Heart Right with God? Matthew 7:21-23
There are going to be people who believe they are doing the work of the Lord, and are going to heaven. When they die, they will find out that their works are not good enough to get them there. There are people who will get into the ministry for the wrong reasons and selfish motives, and believe they will be able to sneak in to heaven. They will be in for a rude shock when Jesus turns them away. There will be those who purposely deceive people using the Gospel and God's gifts for their own gain, and will not be able to enter into heaven. Then there will be those who honestly believe what they are teaching is true, but is actually twisted doctrine. They will cry out to the Lord, and the Lord will say I never knew you.
Even those who seem to be doing great and mighty works for God may not make it into heaven. God will not look at how you used his gifts, but where your heart was when using them. This is also seen in Matthew 6:5 when Jesus basically says these men love to pray in open and public places to flaunt how great they think they are in front of others, and gain a certain satisfaction in that type of recognition. Jesus said that they already have their reward.
This does not automatically mean that all the TV evangelists fall in this category. It is where the heart of the evangelist is while he or she is in front of everybody preaching. There is a need for large evangelists ministries who can reach people smaller churches can't. Just because a person is a pastor of a small church, doesn't automatically mean that their heart is right. They can be the ones boasting how great they are just because they have a ministry. Sometimes it is difficult to tell where a pastor's heart is. This is where you need to look not only at the words they speak, but also the fruits, meaning actions, they produce as Matthew 7:20 instructs us to.
How does one enter into heaven? By accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and accepting His gift of salvation that is freely given to all who call on his name. Even though we have accepted his gift of salvation, we still need to do the will of God who is in heaven. God gave you his will when he gave you His word. We are not to be deceived by others or to deceive others. The only way not to be deceived is to read and study the word of God. If you deceive others, then Jesus will say "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 6:5 "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."
Matthew 7:20 "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
