In Jesus’ time, “Lord, Lord” would have been a title of immense respect (like “revered teacher”).
There may be those who say “Lord, Lord,” who proclaim His name, who highly respect Him, that will enter the kingdom of heaven—but according to Jesus, “Not everyone who says to [Him], ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” He tells His audience that there is a restriction from heaven, to some who use that title.
But Jesus’ point is not in the use or misuse of His name/title. Indeed, we are to respect His name and boldly proclaim it; the foremost problem is not the use of the title, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but the fact that the people Jesus is describing leave it at just that—it is only a profession of His name. Claiming His name (as they do three times), but not living His way. They simply say in contrast to those who do the will of God.
According to Jesus, these who simply profess faith “will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” This means they are not going to be born again through profession of faith and they will be denied entrance into God’s heaven because they never truly believed—it was only a profession; it wasn’t transformation
The important thing to notice is the contrast Jesus makes between those who “say” and those who “do” here in v. 21. In contrast to the one who professes faith, Jesus says that the only person that will enter “the kingdom of heaven” is “the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” It is God's will for you to be saved (Ezek. 33:11; 2 Peter 3:9), but it is also God's will for you to do God's will; that's what Jesus is talking about here. Doing God’s will involves living by His principles, obeying His commandments, serving Him faithfully.
Thomas Linacre was physician to King Henry 7th and Henry 8th of England. Late in his life, Thomas studied to be a priest and was given a copy of the four Gospels to read for the first time. Thomas lived through the darkest of the church’s dark hours under the rule of Pope Alexander 6th, who shamed Christianity with his murder, corruption, incest, and bribery. Reading the Gospels for himself, Thomas was amazed and troubled: “Either these are not the Gospels,” he said, “or we are not Christians.”
Something doesn’t make sense when our actions deny our beliefs. Our lives must demonstrate true belief in Christ—or we do not have true belief. Does your life reflect what you say you believe? Your behavior is a reflection of what you truly believe. If it doesn’t there’s a problem—either you’re not saved, or you’re not being obedient to Christ. If you’re not saved, you can be—by repenting of your sins and turning to Jesus; placing total faith in His finished work on your behalf. If you’re not being obedient to Christ and doing God’s will—God can give you the strength to. You just need to surrender completely to Him. Whatever is stopping you from living out the faith you say you believe—it will be worth it when you get it out of the way so you can fully surrender to God.
Bro. Brandon
From Those Jesus Never Knew: Listen to the full message here:
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