New Testament Reading Plan: 1 Thessalonians 1-3
SCRIPTURE READING
Matt 7:21-23 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. 22On 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?’ 23And then will I declare to them, ‘I never
knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (ESV)
This passage of scripture is not one commonly preached on in today’s churches. It sort of
makes us feel uncomfortable and maybe even causes a few of us to worry. This is actually
a healthy response; we should look at our lives and judge ourselves so that we can be
sure that we are living up to God’s standard. You see, not everyone who thinks they’re
covered by grace is covered by grace. Not everyone who says Jesus is Lord, and believes
in their head that He died on the cross and rose again; not everyone who has prayed the
sinners prayer to ‘receive’ Jesus into their heart is covered by grace. Many prevalent
‘grace’ doctrines of our day are deceptive – we’ve been taught that grace covers anyone
and everyone who prays a prayer and believes a few correct doctrinal statements. No!
The issue is OBEDIENCE – ‘but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.’
Grace doesn’t just cover everyone who calls themselves a Christian, it covers the obedient!
This passage uses the word “MANY”– Jesus does not say ‘some;’ He does not say ‘a few
here and there’, He says ‘MANY.’ This will not be a rare event, or a low-percentage event.
This will include a large chunk of people who thought of themselves as Christians – it will
almost certainly include people you know. These people will be surprised. ‘Did we not
prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in
your name?’ These people will be surprised: I led a cell group, I went on a mission’s trip, I
said ‘Jesus was my Lord and Saviour on my baptism testimony. BUT DID YOU OBEY? Did
you pursue righteousness?
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Ask the Lord to reveal an area of disobedience in your life. Then commit to obeying
Him in this area.
2. Pray that you will live a life of obedience in ALL things, that you will surrender your
rights and follow Jesus completely.
