Not everyone

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.  – Matthew 7.21-23

A lot of us have grown up in cultures that we might well call Christendom. The US and much of Europe, especially Western Europe, have lived in societies that are culturally Christian. If you asked people, even in recent history, if they were Christians most would have answered ‘of course. I am not a pagan.’

It has been kind of nice because Christendom tends to be kind to Christians. It tends to have laws which are at least friendly and maybe ever supportive of Christian values and morals. The laws of Christendom are very often based on Bible teachings.

The problem with Christendom is that many people think that because they are part of a ‘Christian culture’ they must surely be Christian. If their family is ‘Christian’ they must be too.

Jesus says here that there are many who are going say ‘Lord, Lord, have we not done many good works in Your name?’ and are only going to hear ‘depart from Me.’

Only those who ‘do the will of God’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. Doing the will of God starts with accepting God’s free gift of salvation. Salvation does not come by osmosis. God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son that whoever puts their faith in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

Those who are trusting in Christendom instead of Christ will one day here those fateful words ‘depart from me.’