The Will to Christianity
Why do you call me "Lord, Lord," and not do what I tell you? -St. Luke 6:46
Not every one who says to me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On 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?" And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you evil doers." -St. Matthew 7:21-23
The manner in which Our Lord ends his statement is chilling or should be. Here Christ is telling us that even the doing of great works in His Name does not warrant eternal life with Him. It's more than that, too. People who consider themselves to be His faithful followers and who are performing great works in His Name, Our Lord is calling evil doers.
I cast out demons in your name. I never knew you, evil doer.
I prophesy in your name. I never knew you, evil doer.
I do many mighty works in your name. I never knew you, evil doer.
Being Christian has nothing to do with what we think we should be doing or how we interpret what Christ says about what we should be doing. Being Christian is only about doing the will of the Father. Christ defines what it means to be a Christian. We don't. We may believe we are living a Christian life, one full of mighty works in His name, but that doesn't mean we are. It is obvious from this passage in St. Matthew's Gospel that doing the will of the Father requires more than the individual's will to Christianity.
From all that Christ teaches, the Christian must be humble in order to accept the Lordship of Christ in his life and to follow Him. What does Christ's Lordship entail?
"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." -St. Matthew 18:3-4
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." -St. Matthew 5:17
"Follow me." -St. Matthew 5:19
The Beatitudes -St. Matthew 5:3-11
"For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished....[H]e who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." -St. Matthew 5:18-19
"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." -St. Matthew 5:44-45
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal." -St. Matthew 6:19
"You cannot serve God and mammon." -St. Matthew 6:24
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life." -St. Matthew 6:25
"Judge not, that you be not judged." -St. Matthew 7:1
At this point, most of us feel fairly good about ourselves. We're humble; just ask us. We keep the commandments, at least the ones we think are really important. We do love our enemies, because we talk about them only to our very closest friends and with the greatest charity, of course. We don't judge anybody; we just point out the bad things they do without ever discussing the bad things we do. We're only laying up treasure here until we have enough to take care of ourselves, then we promise to give more to the Church and the poor. It's very easy to justify our morality and rework Jesus's words to fit what we are doing. We all do it and say, "Lord, Lord," the whole time we're living exactly the way we want to live.
If we are so anxious to be right in our own eyes that we can twist Christ's words to fit our immorality, is there any wonder that we completely ignore His more difficult commandments?
"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation comes!" -St. Matthew 18:7
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea." -St. Mark 9:42
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but are ravenous wolves." -St. Matthew 7:15
"Do not think I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." -St. Matthew 10:34
"And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'" -St. Matthew 16:17-19
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." -St. Matthew 18:15-18
"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold." -St. Matthew 24:9-12
"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst....I am the living bread which comes down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh....Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him...so he who eats me will live because of me." -St. John 6:22-71
"And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' And likewise the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." -St. Luke 22:19-20
"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord." -1 Corinthians 11:23-27
"I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." -St. John 17:20-21
How do you interpret the above passages? We are our own gods, and so we ignore the Son of God. We interpret what we want in the way we want to prevent our faith from interfering with what we want. We are selfish, petty, petulant little children, who are giving no thought to what our Father in heaven is trying to do for us.
Does it matter that there are Catholic priests teaching their own "gospel" from the pulpit? Does it matter that there are over 34,000 non-Catholic Christian denominations world-wide? Does it matter that morality has been reduced to whatever feels good for me at this moment?
Yes, it all matters, because it is Christ's Will that defines Christianity, not our will. Our will sends us to hell. God's Will makes us His children and co-heirs to the kingdom. What is important to you?
Not every one who says to me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On 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?" And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you evil doers." -St. Matthew 7:21-23
The manner in which Our Lord ends his statement is chilling or should be. Here Christ is telling us that even the doing of great works in His Name does not warrant eternal life with Him. It's more than that, too. People who consider themselves to be His faithful followers and who are performing great works in His Name, Our Lord is calling evil doers.
I cast out demons in your name. I never knew you, evil doer.
I prophesy in your name. I never knew you, evil doer.
I do many mighty works in your name. I never knew you, evil doer.
Being Christian has nothing to do with what we think we should be doing or how we interpret what Christ says about what we should be doing. Being Christian is only about doing the will of the Father. Christ defines what it means to be a Christian. We don't. We may believe we are living a Christian life, one full of mighty works in His name, but that doesn't mean we are. It is obvious from this passage in St. Matthew's Gospel that doing the will of the Father requires more than the individual's will to Christianity.
From all that Christ teaches, the Christian must be humble in order to accept the Lordship of Christ in his life and to follow Him. What does Christ's Lordship entail?
"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." -St. Matthew 18:3-4
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." -St. Matthew 5:17
"Follow me." -St. Matthew 5:19
The Beatitudes -St. Matthew 5:3-11
"For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished....[H]e who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." -St. Matthew 5:18-19
"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." -St. Matthew 5:44-45
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal." -St. Matthew 6:19
"You cannot serve God and mammon." -St. Matthew 6:24
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life." -St. Matthew 6:25
"Judge not, that you be not judged." -St. Matthew 7:1
At this point, most of us feel fairly good about ourselves. We're humble; just ask us. We keep the commandments, at least the ones we think are really important. We do love our enemies, because we talk about them only to our very closest friends and with the greatest charity, of course. We don't judge anybody; we just point out the bad things they do without ever discussing the bad things we do. We're only laying up treasure here until we have enough to take care of ourselves, then we promise to give more to the Church and the poor. It's very easy to justify our morality and rework Jesus's words to fit what we are doing. We all do it and say, "Lord, Lord," the whole time we're living exactly the way we want to live.
If we are so anxious to be right in our own eyes that we can twist Christ's words to fit our immorality, is there any wonder that we completely ignore His more difficult commandments?
"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation comes!" -St. Matthew 18:7
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea." -St. Mark 9:42
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but are ravenous wolves." -St. Matthew 7:15
"Do not think I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." -St. Matthew 10:34
"And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'" -St. Matthew 16:17-19
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." -St. Matthew 18:15-18
"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold." -St. Matthew 24:9-12
"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst....I am the living bread which comes down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh....Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him...so he who eats me will live because of me." -St. John 6:22-71
"And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' And likewise the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." -St. Luke 22:19-20
"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord." -1 Corinthians 11:23-27
"I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." -St. John 17:20-21
How do you interpret the above passages? We are our own gods, and so we ignore the Son of God. We interpret what we want in the way we want to prevent our faith from interfering with what we want. We are selfish, petty, petulant little children, who are giving no thought to what our Father in heaven is trying to do for us.
Does it matter that there are Catholic priests teaching their own "gospel" from the pulpit? Does it matter that there are over 34,000 non-Catholic Christian denominations world-wide? Does it matter that morality has been reduced to whatever feels good for me at this moment?
Yes, it all matters, because it is Christ's Will that defines Christianity, not our will. Our will sends us to hell. God's Will makes us His children and co-heirs to the kingdom. What is important to you?
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