The Work that Gets Us to Heaven

Matthew 7: 21 – 23 (NIV): "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

It's clear from Jesus' words that good works will never get anyone into heaven. What better works are there than preaching, healing and casting out demons? It should frighten us somewhat when we first read this. It should make us pause and ask ourselves, “Am I doing the will of the Father so I can go to heaven?”

When Jesus said “prophesy”, he undoubtedly meant preaching. We see this in other New Testament passages. So being a preacher is not a guarantee that a person will get into heaven. Neither is being a healer or casting out demons. No, there will be people who do these things, good as they are, who don't have a relationship with God and will not enter heaven. Again, it's not our good works that save us, its something else.

But what? What is God's will to which Jesus is referring? It can't be a good work or preaching would qualify us. Jesus gives us a huge clue when he says he will tell them plainly, “I never knew you.” It must have to do with having a relationship with God. We find the answer by studying the rest of the New Testament. In John 6:29, Jesus, when asked what the work is that God requires, said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Jesus also said this in John, chapter 3, when he told us that we must “believe in him”. Paul said we are saved by grace, through faith and not of works in Ephesians 2. The Gospel is salvation through placing our trust in Christ – understanding that he is our only Savior. After all, if we could save ourselves, then Jesus did not have to die for us. What a tremendous waste that would have been!

Now we know the secret to getting into heaven. It is by believing that Jesus is Savior. But it cannot stop there. James 2 says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.” But that belief does not save them. We must take our belief to the next step – acting upon it. We must ask Jesus to save us. We must trust in him and him alone for salvation. When we do, he promises to save us; he adopts us as his children; he seals our salvation with his Holy Spirit. On “that day” when we face him, he will know us and welcome us into heaven.