This is day 11 of a video series called 21 Days of Once Saved Always Saved Salvation Assurance. It’s January 2022 and, in honor of the new year, my church in Marietta GA has asked us to dedicate 21 days to the Lord to draw closer to Him.  Over these 21 days, I’m going through 1 passage of Scripture a day that proclaims our salvation assurance in Christ and shows how salvation can never be lost or forfeited but is held securely in place for us by our heavenly Father so we can have confidence that we are eternally saved.

Today’s passage is Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? and in Thy Name have cast out devils? and in Thy Name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23 KJV)

This passage may seem like a strange one to bring up to prove Once Saved Always Saved, because it is often the first passage those who believe you can lose salvation bring up to try to disprove Once Saved Always Saved. But they misinterpret this verse to come to that conclusion. This passage is one that totally affirms Once Saved Always Saved, and I’ll prove it to you in this video. So, let’s break it down.

The passage begins with the statement by Jesus:

“Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;” (Matthew 7:21 KJV)

Jesus tells us clearly that there will be some who call Him Lord that will not be saved. Some people will think of Him as Lord, refer to Him as Lord and, we’ll see in a minute, even do works of obedience for Him as Lord, but they will be excluded from entering into God’s kingdom.

Why is that? Jesus tells us in the next verse:

“Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21-23 KJV)

Only those who do the will of the Father will enter God’s kingdom and be saved. Many have therefore said, “This proves Once Saved Always Saved is false, because if a believer in Christ does not walk in obedience and do the Father’s will, then he or she will lose their salvation and be excluded from God’s kingdom. Because clearly, only those who do the will of the Father will enter in.

Really? Is that what it means? No. Not even close.

It is obviously true what Jesus said: Only those who do the will of the Father will enter God’s kingdom. The question is: What is the will of the Father?

Lordship Salvationists will tell you that it means walking in obedience, obeying all of God’s commandments, overcoming sin in your life and doing everything God tells you to do. But that’s not what the Bible says.

We don’t have to guess at what this phrase “doing the will of the Father” means, for Jesus tells us in John chapter 6:

“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:39-40 KJV)

Twice in this passage Jesus mentions the Father’s will. First, He says it is the Father’s will that of all which He has given the His Son, none be lost and all should be raised at the last day. 

“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” (John 6:39 KJV

Let me ask you, if it’s the Father’s will that not one single person who places their faith in Jesus be lost, do you not think He will accomplish His will? Hence, not one single person who places their faith in Jesus will be lost, for it is the Father’s will that none be lost. That’s Once Saved, Always Saved.

But second, Jesus says:

“And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40 KJV

It is the Father’s will that all who place their faith in Jesus have everlasting life and, by Jesus’ own Words, He will raise them up at the last day. As far as the Father’s will concerning us, there’s only one requirement here: It is to believe in Jesus. Some have said, “No, this statement only applies to those who actually saw Jesus, for it says, “ever one which seeth the Son.” But the word “seeth” in the Greek can mean “to perceive” or “to behold.” I can perceive or behold Jesus without actually having been there in person to physically see him. It’s saying everyone who perceives Him and believes in Him will have everlasting life.

From this statement, we clearly see that the will of the Father is that we believe in His Son, Jesus. That is the will of the Father: to believe in Christ.

So, in Matthew 7, the meaning is clear:

“Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father (Believe in Jesus) which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21 KJV)

Jesus is not talking about obedience or doing good works. The will of the Father is to believe in Jesus. It is to believe that Jesus is God’s Son, who died on the cross for you to pay for your sins, was buried and rose again on the third day. Those who believe in Him and trust in Him for salvation are doing the will of the Father. The moment you believe, your sins are forgiven (past, present and future), you are born again spiritually, you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and adopted into God’s family, forever having an intimate relationship with God where you can know Him.

Those who don’t do the will of the Father (believe in Jesus) will not enter the kingdom of God. Jesus isn’t talking about obedience or works. Lordship Salvationists say it’s all about making Jesus the Lord of your life and obeying Him. But the very next verse proves them wrong, where Jesus said:

“Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? and in Thy Name have cast out devils? and in Thy Name done many wonderful works?” (Matthew 7:22 KJV)

Notice first off that these people call Him Lord. They are, in fact, Lordship Salvationist, who thought of Jesus as their Lord and went about serving Him as Lord. They did great and mighty works for Him as Lord, proving their obedience. They prophesied in His Name. They cast out devils in His Name. They did many wonderful works in His Name. Jesus never refutes that they actually did these works. They were people who held Jesus up as their Lord and thought the way to heaven is through obedience, by obeying commandments and doing good works to serve Him. Those things are important, but they have nothing to do with salvation, which is by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone.

They were doing good works. The problem was, they weren’t doing the work of God. What is the work of God? Jesus tells us in John chapter 6:

“Then said they unto Him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” (John 6:28-29 KJV)

The work of God is the same as the will of the Father: It is to believe in Jesus.

In Matthew 7, these people declared that Jesus was their Lord and did mighty works of obedience to prove their worthiness before Him. What was the problem? Jesus tells us in the next verse:

“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23 KJV)

Lordship Salvationists think this passage in Matthew 7 proves someone can lose their salvation. But notice what Jesus said: He NEVER knew them. These weren’t people who were saved and lost their salvation. It says He NEVER knew them. They were never saved. These were people who thought that the way to heaven was to make Jesus their Lord and walk in obedience so as to do good works. Jesus never denied that they did good works. The problem was, they never trusted solely in Jesus’ finished work on the cross to save them. They thought they needed to live a holy life and prove their own worthiness and that would save them. In their minds, they were overcomers. But Jesus said, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” They were never saved. They never trusted solely in the blood of Christ to saved them from all their sin. They thought that His sacrifice was only part of it, that they had to do their part by walking in obedience and doing good works. And if they proved themselves worthy, that would save them.

In effect: They added to the finished work of Christ their own efforts to save themselves. They didn’t believe the Gospel that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone. 

They didn’t understand the difference between salvation and discipleship. Salvation is gift of God through faith in Christ. It cannot be earned. It is not of works and requires only believing in Jesus. Salvation is based on faith alone and can never be lost or forfeited. As Jesus said in John 6: The Father’s will is that none be lost and that all who believe in Jesus will have everlasting life and will be raised at the last day. That’s Once Saved, Always Saved.

Discipleship, on the other hand, comes after being saved. It follows salvation and is about becoming like Jesus: Taking up your cross daily, obeying Him doing good works and walking in holiness. Discipleship is based on works where we can earn eternal rewards if we’re faithful or lose eternal rewards if we are not faithful. But salvation is not a reward that can ever be lost. It is a gift from the Father.

When you mix verses about salvation and discipleship together, what you end up with is a works-based gospel that is not the Gospel at all. The true Gospel is that:

Salvation = God’s Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Nothing more. Nothing less. There are no other requirements to be saved than to believe in Jesus. The question is: do you believe this? Or are you like those in Matthew 7 who think you need to prove your own worthiness before God. You’re not trusting in the finished work of Christ by trying to prove yourselves worthy. Well, let me give you some help: You’re not worthy! You never will be. None of us are. It is Christ who is worthy. We stand in His obedience by faith, not our own. We stand in His righteousness by faith, not our own. He makes us worthy. He makes us righteous.

Once you believe in Him, you are born again, and you are forever a child of God. He is a good Father Who will never abandon you but will preserve you in the faith. 

If you are not certain about your salvation, time is getting very late. Don’t take the chance of missing out on God. Prophetically, the current “Age of Grace” where God is giving people time to turn to Him for forgiveness is almost over. When it ends, it will be too late. God’s judgment is coming. Those who are not saved will be separated from God for all eternity. Don’t take chances with God. Don’t play with Him. Take Him seriously.

If you are not 100% sure you are saved, don’t put it off any longer. You can know with certainty that you have eternal life today. Do it now before it’s too late.

Making Sure You Are Saved Is As Easy As ABC

Admit to God that you have sinned.

Believe that Jesus, God’s Son, died to pay for
your sins 100%, was buried and rose from the dead.

Call upon Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save you.

If you make that decision to call upon Him, God gives you this assurance:

“For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 KJV)

If you are still not sure, I’ll include a link to a video I did called, “What is the Gospel (in 6 Words)?”

Thank you for watching.