Is Learning to Do God's Will Optional?

By Brother R. Michel Lankford

As Messiah has said, and as it is written:

Matthew 7:21-29 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall."

When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. (Matthew 7:21-29NASB)

 
As you know, Almighty God our Heavenly Father has me working on an ongoing teaching series where we discuss how to obey each and every Command that Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah), gave in the New Testament. I do this in loving concern for the flock of God, and in loving obedience to my Lord who said that making disciples meant teaching people how to obey everything that He commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). In short, if we do not teach people how to obey EVERYTHING that Messiah commanded, then by His own definition, we have not MADE a disciple.

 

An Implied Command

Most of the time I plan on focusing exclusively on the overt and plainly stated imperatives that Messiah gives in Scripture, but this particular implied Command at the very end of Messiah's first sermon is so far-reaching that it must not be overlooked or ignored. I say this is an implied command, because in this passage, Messiah does not overtly say, 'Go and do this or that particular thing, or He does not say, 'Do not do this or that.' Nonetheless, the implied Command is certainly there. The implied Command is basically: Go learn, and then DO the will of God. The reason that I call this an implied Command is because the consequences of not truly learning and then not doing the will of God could not possibly be more severe, according to Messiah's own direct statement. This implied Command will literally be the deciding factor between those who enter into and inherit God's heavenly kingdom, and those who will be cut off and will not be allowed to remain in His presence.

 

 

The Questions That Confront Us

If it is truly our sincere goal to cooperate with Almighty God our Heavenly Father as He transforms us into the image and character of His Son Jesus (Yeshua the Messiah); if it is truly our sincere intent to become authentic and Biblical Christians, then the closing words of the Messiah's first sermon (Matthew 7:21-27), forces us to ask and to confront some very hard questions. If we love God, and truly care about people, then these are questions that we dare not ignore, because if you believe the Scriptures, then these questions are literally a matter of life and death. Salvation or damnation, heaven or hell, eternal friendship or eternal separation from God literally hangs in the balance of these questions. We cannot shrink back from these questions. We must confront them because there is too much at stake to do otherwise.
1. Is Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah and Christ of God?: Do we truly believe that Yeshua (a.k.a. Jesus) of Nazareth described in the New Testament as being the Messiah, truly is Who He said that He is?
2. Are Messiah's Words trustworthy and reliable enough to be obeyed?: If our answer to question #1 is yes, and we truly believe that Jesus is the Messiah, then a second question naturally follows. Since I believe that Yeshua of Nazareth is the Messiah and Christ that God has sent into the world, If I believe that Messiah is seated at the right-hand of THE MAJESTY, making intercession for the saints, (Hebrews 7:25), then do we also believe that Messiah's concrete statements about what does and what does not remain in God's kingdom to be reliable? In other words, since we believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah sent by God, then do we also believe that when He specifically says that a particular way of life WILL enter a inherit the kingdom of God, but another way of living WILL NOT enter the kingdom of heaven, are Christ's words reliable enough to be taken seriously? Do we consider Messiah's Words to be reliable and authoritative? When Messiah specifically says, "Not everyone who calls to Me, 'Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven will enter;" are those words true and authoritative? Do we trust those Words enough to believe that learning and doing the will of Almighty God the Heavenly Father is required in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, just as Jesus says that it is? Those are not merely my words and ideas; they are what Yeshua the Messiah said. So will we choose to believe that what Jesus the Messiah said is true, or will we walk in a manner that treats when Jesus said as though it were not true and authoritative? Should we take the Words of Jesus of Nazareth seriously, or is it truly safe to ignore them? That's the question before us.
3. If His Words are somehow not authoritative, then why claim Him at all? If for some reason, Jesus the Christ's Words are somehow not reliable enough to truly be believed and acted upon, then on what biblical basis do we believe ourselves to be saved? If we treat Messiah's words and teachings as though they were not authoritative and reliable enough to be believed and acted upon as written, then on what Scriptural basis do we have church services and commit acts of sacrifice, service and charity in His Name? If His words and deeds and Commandments are not authoritative and reliable enough to thoroughly direct our lives, then on what basis do we consider ourselves to be His disciples and His followers, why would we want to, if we consider His Word not to be authoritative and reliable enough to be acted upon faithfully?
4. If Christ's Words are True, then is it really safe to disregard them, or to do the opposite of what He says is good?

5. Based on the above questions can we treat learning and doing God's will as being merely optional, or is it super crucial that we learn and that we DO Almighty God the Father's will?: Since Jesus Christ the Messiah specifically said that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of God who is in heaven will enter, then can we afford to treat the prospect of learning and doing God's will as though it were optional, and still expect to live in God's eternal heavenly kingdom? If Messiah's words are true, and yet I do not learn to do the Father's will, do I have any real Scriptural basis to confidently expect that I will enter into and live in God's eternal kingdom?
6. From where can we reliably learn what the will of God is?: The source you use to define truth and discover God's will, does indeed make a difference. If you say that you believe that Scripture is ultimately the reliable source for that information, then the question becomes can we disobey what Scripture tells us to do, and still be doing the will of God? If you discount or deny that Scripture is the reliable source for information about what God's will is, then what other source will you use, and on what basis is your confidence?
7. Since God is perfect, then is it truly possible for God's Word and God's Will to be the opposite of each other? For just one example, (you could use any imperative or Commandment found in Scripture), but I will use this one. Deuteronomy 4:2; Leviticus 22:31; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18-19 all teach the same biblical principle that we should not add to nor subtract away from God's Instructions. So, if I become accustomed to a lifestyle or a habit of practicing smorgasbord or cafeteria Christianity where one picks and chooses the particular Scripture passages that suit me, and I ignore those that do not suit me or those that I don't understand, then in that area of my life, will it truly and correctly be said that I have done the will of God? Can I confidently expect to stand before God on the Day of Judgment and say, “Yes LORD, I know that You said not to add to or subtract from your Commandments and Instructions, but I really didn't think that those Commands applied to Me. Besides, everything that I added and subtracted, I did it all in the Name of Your Son Jesus, because I love and believe Him." I put it to you plainly. Please be honest. How likely is it that Almighty God will truly accept that answer on THE GREAT DAY? We often desire that He will respond that way, because quite frankly that is how we often treat the Word of God, but in all honesty, how likely is it that I would truly hear:

a. "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter now into the Father's eternal rest," in that scenario?

b. I put it plainly before you. Isn't it more likely that we would hear God say closer this: If you TRULY loved ME with your WHOLE heart, soul, mind, and strength, would you not have cared more about doing what I said was My Will and Desires? If you truly love me with your entire being, then would you not have cared more about learning, choosing, and doing what pleases ME, instead of pleasing yourself? If you truly believed My Son, then why didn't you believe and act based on what He said at the end of His very first sermon? When you read in the Scriptures that you are not supposed to add or subtract anything away from My Instructions, why didn't you imitate Jesus, and do your level best to obey Me, and walk before Me as Jesus did? When the Holy Spirit convicted you and reminded you of what My Word says, why did you rationalize away My Will and Commandments, and give yourself permission to do exactly as you please, instead of choosing what My Word says? If you had truly been led by the Holy Spirit, you would have listened when He convicted you. You would have had your heart set on what the spirit desires, and you would have willingly subjected yourself to my Commandments instead of choosing to remain carnal minded (Romans 8:5-8). If you were truly being led by the Holy Spirit of God you would have had the growing desire and the growing ability to learn, to choose and to do what I said was pleasing to Me. You would have been seeking and pursuing me until your desires and deeds were thoroughly changed to agree with what I said was pleasing to ME, because that is what the Holy Spirit does inside MY children (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Philippians 2:13). You would have repented and progressively turned away from adding to and subtracting from My specific Instructions.

 

Counting the Cost: Imagining the most likely outcome Based on what Scripture says, not what we wish it said

 
Beloved, I respectfully challenge you to read item #7 through one more time. You could apply this same scenario as a template for any Commandment that you find in Scripture, and the same litmus test applies If I responded to God's instructions as described in question 7, then based on what Scripture actually says, (not what you feel or wish Scripture said, but what it says) compared to what you what you have just read in Scripture, which one of those, (a) or (b) would be the most likely response that you would receive from God? Beloved, our very eternal lives and our eternal fellowship with God hangs in the balance, so we must learn to get this one right.
May Yahweh Almighty God bless us through His Son Yeshua. May he give us His True Grace to progressively turn away from pleasing ourselves. Instead, may He grant us His True Grace to courageously and earnestly desire, seek and to do what He says is pleasing to Him.
Brother R. Michel Lankford

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27, NKJV)

“And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”” (Luke 11:27–28, NKJV)

“Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”” (Matthew 12:47–50, NKJV)

“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now BY THIS we know that we know Him, IF we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:1–6, NKJV with emphasis on keywords)

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:25–27, NKJV; with emphasis on key clauses; cf. Philippians 2:13)

 
**There is no legitimate reason for mistaking or for denying what the True Holy Spirit of God would do inside of His people. The true work of the Holy Spirit will NEVER teach you to deny or disobey the Commandments of God, because Almighty God already declared that the Holy Spirit's job inside you is to cause you to KEEP His Judgments, and to DO them. So, how could saying and doing anything opposite of keeping His Commandments be motivated or led by the same Holy Spirit of God? We sing it in His house all the time. "I am afraid of God’s... He calls me friend.” In practically the same moment we preach that we do not have to keep the Commandments of God because we are now under Grace. REALLY?! Yeshua the Messiah a.k.a. Jesus Christ in the New Testament specifically said that we are His friends, IF we KEEP His Commandments. So when we say, "I am a friend of God's... He calls me me friend. "Does He really? Are we telling the truth? Is it merely wishful thinking? Or are we deceiving ourselves and learning to lie while trying to approach the very presence of God? If we truly had the holy fear of the Lord which is merely the beginning of knowledge, If the Holy Spirit of Almighty God were truly leading our praise and worship services, would we dare cut it so close? We better start paying much closer attention to what we say and what we sing, especially in God's house (Matthew 12:36).

“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (John 15:14, NKJV)