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Let’s begin with Matthew 7 (Amp)
21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name
and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name?
23 And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].
24 So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them]
will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock.
25 And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house;
yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does NOT do them
will be like a stupid (foolish) man who built his house upon the sand.
27 And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house,
and it fell—and great and complete was the fall of it.
So, those who do the will of Father God will enter the kingdom of heaven.
And those who are wise will obey the words of Jesus, and their lives will not end in destruction.
Yes, this Matthew 7 passage teaches that eternal life is CONDITIONAL.
It is the will of God that you keep (obey) His commandments
Matthew 19:17 • “But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
Hebrews 5:9 • “He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”
1 John 2:3-5 • “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word … By this we know that we are in Him.”
1 John 3:10 • “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.”
Scripture has several famous verses like this one
John 3:16 (Amp) • “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up
His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him
shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”
It has been pointed out that the Greek word for “believes” here is in the continuous tense!
So, this continuous believing agrees with about 10 NT passages that affirm
… one must endure in his faith until the end of his life to be given eternal life!
Yes, John 3:16 agrees with Matthew 7 that eternal life is CONDITIONAL.
Do all “believers” inherit eternal life?
Only true believers belong in God’s special “elect” group.
A true believer really appreciates what Jesus has done for him/her.
And the truly appreciative believer truly loves Jesus.
The one who truly loves Jesus has a personal relationship with Him.
John 10:27-28 • “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish”
John 17:3 • “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and (know) Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
These verses obviously agree with the “I never knew you” in Matthew 7:23.
Is anything hindering you from experiencing this? … pride? stubbornness?
True believers have enormous appreciation and love for Jesus, resulting in obedience
The one who truly loves Jesus will really try to keep (obey) His commandments.
Matthew 22:37-38 • “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.”
John 14:15 • “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:21 • “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.”
John 14:23 • “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word”
John 15:14 • “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”
1 John 5:2-3 • “… when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
2 John 1:6 • “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.”
Obedient believers practice righteousness, which leads them to holiness
Romans 6:16-19 • “you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,
whether (slaves) of sin leading to death, or (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness
… so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.”
Hebrews 12:14 • “Pursue ... holiness, without which no one will see the Lord"
Acts 10:35 • “whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
Ephesians 5:8-10 • “Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness,
righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.”
1 Timothy 6:11 • “But you, O man of God, flee these things (sins) and pursue righteousness”
2 Timothy 3:16 • “All Scripture… is profitable for … instruction in righteousness”
1 Peter 2:24 • “we, having died to sins, might live for (the practicing of) righteousness”
1 John 2:29 • “you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.”
1 John 3:7 • “let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous”
1 John 3:10 • “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:
Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God”
True love for Jesus is the critical link between belief and obedience.
