Complete English translation
"For God's love for the world is so great that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." – John 3:16
Friends, if you are a father or mother, let me ask you something. Is there something that you love or want so much, that you are willing to be beaten, insulted in public, and finally killed, just for the sake of it?
If you knew someone who made such a sacrifice to save you from death, what would you think about that person? Wouldn't you feel indebted to him for a lifetime?
Believe it or not, that's what God does for us. He loves and desires us so much that He sent His Son to die in our place, so that we have eternal life.
But why does God, who is so loving, seem to have the heart to reject people who call out to him? Let's find the truth of God's Word!
"Not everyone who calls out to Me: Lord, Lord! Will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. In the last day many will cry out to me, "Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and perform many wonders in your name?" At that time I will make it clear to them and say: Go away from Me, you evildoers!"
Matthew 7:21-23
God, God!
Did you know that the repetition of calling names is a form of calling that shows closeness or love? (Exodus 3:4, 1 Samuel 3:10, Luke 10:41)
The people Jesus talked about in Matthew 7:21 were people who felt they were close to God or thought they loved Him. However, Jesus emphasized that the true relationship with God is not based on the claim of love, but on conformity with the will of the Father in heaven.
Father's Will in Heaven
How important it is to understand the Father's will in Heaven. We must be careful not to rely on interpretation, but always hold on to the Word of God.
The beloved disciple of Jesus, John, clearly explains the will of the Father in Heaven: "so that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life"
So look that this is not about our actions but our attitude.
Deeds, deeds, deeds
Look, how people who claim to love Jesus emphasize all the deeds they have done for Jesus.
However, why didn't Jesus say that what they did was wrong or not enough? Instead, Jesus said, they are the makers of evil! (Greek: anomian) Anomian means "does not know the law". This brings us to an important question: what law does Jesus mean here? Who is the person that Jesus called not knowing the law?
Don't Know the Law
This is really amazing! The people that Jesus called ignorant of the law were Pharisees and the scribes, namely those who were considered to understand and obey God's law the most. (Matthew 23)
How ironic, isn't it? Those who should understand the law the most are the people whom Jesus reprimanded because they did not know the law in question.
What law did Jesus mean? The answer is at the core of Jesus' teachings: the law of love. (John 15:17)
Friends, we have seen that the verse in Matthew 7:21-23, which is often used by some church leaders to scare the congregation to always obey the law and focus on deeds, is actually intended by Jesus himself.
Salvation is not obtained through our deeds or services, but solely by the grace and mercy of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is nothing we can do to add anything to this gift. Paul teaches that obeying the law is good, but it does not save us. When we focus too much on the law, we tend to judge and punish others who fail to obey the law perfectly. (Romans 2 & 3, Galatians 3-5). This is not God's will for His church.
The law is given not to save (Romans 3:20), but to understand that we are all sinners before God. The law shows how we should behave as members of God's family and how we show love to others. Jesus showed this principle clearly in Mark 2:27, that the law of the Sabbath is for man, and not the other way around. God is love. So, the essence of all laws is love for God and love for others. (Matthew 22:37-40)
Does this mean that we do not need to obey the law and can commit sins as much as we want? Paul firmly said in Romans 6:15: Absolutely not!" God's grace is not a permission to sin, but a call to live rightly.
Righteous people, when receiving a very precious gift, must know how to be grateful, haven't we received the greatest gift, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ? Let us live according to His will as an expression of gratitude for His extraordinary love and grace.