Perplexing Bible Verses

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The apostle Paul told us, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” On the other hand, Jesus told us, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”  What gives? Are these contradictory statements? Find out in today’s message.

At first there appears to be a perplexing conundrum between the verse from Romans 10:9 and Matthew 7:21. In Roman’s 10:9, Paul says that by confessing and believing in Jesus we will be saved. But in Matthew 7:21 Jesus states, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven.”

When Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven,” He was emphasizing that true discipleship requires more than mere words coming forth from our lips.

Doing the will of the Father and living according to God’s commandments and teachings, is an essential part of our Christian journey. Far too often we witness those who profess a faith in Jesus but live in a way contrary to all of His teachings. We cannot allow ourselves to live that way.

As Christians, we must not only believe in Jesus, but we must also put our faith into practice through concrete actions and a life of obedience to God. Simply crying Lord, Lord, is not enough.

We need to live in such a way that our actions put flesh on the bones of our profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Our life should be an outward sign of the fruit of God’s grace and the Holy Spirit working in us. The initial grace of justification is always a free gift from God. If we say we have faith and fail to live without charity towards others, our profession of faith could rightly be called into question. We all know that actions speak louder than words. Our response to the saving grace of Jesus, freely given to us, should be apparent in how we live. In other words, what we do demonstrates the authenticity of our faith.

How then can we, as disciples, do the will of God?

To start with, we need to develop a close personal relationship with God through prayer and familiarity with Him. Without a strong personal relationship with God, it is difficult, if not impossible, to discern His will for our life.

Self-knowledge is also a valuable aspect of our Christian journey. Taking an inventory of our flaws and shortcomings helps us to clearly see the need for God in our life. We all need a clear-eyed vision of the obstacles before us.

We must continually ask ourselves this question, “Have I completely given my heart over to God?” If I have, my deepest desire will always be to do His will. If I have only partially surrendered my heart to God, my own self-focused desires will likely trip me up and steer me away from God.

In John 14:15 Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Being a true disciple is more than mere words. Following the commandments is part and parcel of our profession of faith.

A true disciple continually seeks the grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has the ability to grant us wisdom, faith, and discernment. These are valuable gifts that can assist us throughout life.

The Bible can, at times, seem perplexing, yet The Word of God can never contradict itself. It does, however, require us to dig in and study. Ultimately, doing the will of God requires an ongoing, dynamic process of prayer, self-knowledge, desire for God, obedience, and openness to the Holy Spirit. Living a life that exemplifies the profession of faith we made with our lips can be demanding and difficult. But this demanding path of Christian discipleship is a joyful path that leads to true fulfillment in this life and everlasting happiness in the next.

Heavenly Father, I long to be a true disciple of your Son Jesus Christ. I want to live a life that is pleasing to you. Send your Holy Spirit to strengthen my resolve. Help me to surrender my entire heart to you. Show me how to be other focused rather than self focused. Make me an instrument of your peace and love in the world. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

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 AMDG

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

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