"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 7:21
That verse scares a lot of Christians, but it shouldn't, if they will but read the whole chapter and context it is written in.
Before we decide who Jesus was talking to here, we have to read that verse in context. That's why it's important when we study, to study the whole chapter, to get a feeling for the era and whom Jesus was talking to, and in what context. You will see that He is not talking to Christians.
Jesus isn’t warning His children here. He’s warning people who did religious things but never had Him. They called Him "Lord" but had never surrendered their life to Him.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW:
It’s not about perfect performance. In fact, it's not about our performance at all. It’s about knowing Him. Our Salvation is not determined by our performance, but by the grace of God and Jesus' work on the cross to save us from our sins. We can see this from the next verse below.
WHAT IS GRACE?
UN-EARNED favor from God.
"For by grace you have been saved, through placing your faith and trust in Christ's finished work on the cross. And this is not your [u]own doing[/u]; it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8
• We don’t earn the free gifts. You do not need to earn God's gift of love, acceptance, or grace, in order to receive forgiveness or salvation. Jesus already loves and accepts you - just as you are. • Grace says you don’t have to work your way in. • You come to Jesus just as you are, and He saves you. • If you’ve trusted Him, believed He died and rose for you, you’re His. • He doesn’t save you and then change His mind.
HE WELCOMES YOU WITH OPEN ARMS
"I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me." John 10:14
"And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand." John 10:28
His arms are open to you right now. He knows you. Not just your name, but your heart. If you’ve given your life to Him, you can rest. He’s holding you. When He says you are saved for eternity in John 3:16 and 17, He meant just that... forever and ever. He will not revoke His promise to you.
Jesus isn’t looking for perfect people. He’s looking for people who are willing to admit they need Jesus and are not ashamed of Him. These people love Jesus and accept Him as their personal Savior, by inviting Him into the hearts and lives as their constant Friend and Guide. They have made a personal commitment to trust and follow Him as their Savior.
He's not looking for fancy prayers. He already knows your heart. He's looking for sincere, honest hearts. He's just a prayer away, and He will never turn anyone down who wants to come to Him.
Your prayer can be just as simple as "Lord, I have decided to turn my heart and life around towards you and ask you to forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart and life right now, I pray. In Jesus's name. Amen."
If it comes from your heart and this is truly what you want in your life, Jesus will save your soul right then and there. That's His promise to us in John 3:16 and He never breaks a promise.
The exact phrase or formula known today as the "sinner's prayer" is not written verbatim in the Bible, but the closest direct biblical example of a sinner crying out for mercy and going home justified is found in Luke 18:13.
The Tax Collector's Prayer
Luke 18:13: "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
Jesus explains the result of this humble prayer in the very next verse (Luke 18:14), noting that this man went home justified before God.
Understanding the Sinner's Prayer in Scripture
Not a literal formula: While people often recite a specific modern paragraph to accept Christ, the Bible emphasizes that salvation comes through a heart of genuine repentance, belief in Jesus' resurrection (Romans 10:9), and calling upon the Lord (Romans 10:13) rather than repeating a scripted formula.
The heart of Christ is to save sinners. Paul the Apostle in Romans 5:10, shares the extent of God’s love toward us even when we were sinners and the extent of Christ’s power to save us through His resurrection.
Paul put it this way: “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
God’s grace toward us is beyond our ability to comprehend. It is divine! Therefore, when we as humans would give up on those who continue to sin against us, God in His divine grace & mercy does not give up.
