Can Religion Save You?

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"  Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:21-23)

The passage above is a very important one to consider.  The Lord Jesus Christ is talking about people that were very religious but will not enter into heaven!  What can we learn from this brief passage?  Let's take a look.

First, notice that these people said the right things and did religious activities.  They called Jesus 'Lord' and that is correct because Jesus is Lord!  They also prophesied - preached - in Jesus name, cast out demons in His name and did many wonders in Jesus' name.  You would think that of all people, these folks should certainly enter into heaven!

Second, notice also that there are many people that will say this.  There are going to be a lot of people that are doing these things but will not enter into heaven.  Now let's see why Jesus says they will not enter into heaven.

Jesus says, "I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"  There are two truths to consider from Jesus statement.

First, notice He declares, "I never knew you..."  These people had no relationship with Jesus Christ!  You see, the Bible tells us that we need to have a relationship with Jesus Christ by receiving Him as our Lord and Saviour.  John 1:12-13 tells us, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."  When you receive Christ as your Lord and Saviour you are born-again and become a child of God.  When you are a child of God, God - and Jesus - know you!  The people in the Matthew 7:21-23 never received Him as Lord and Saviour, therefore Jesus never knew them.

Second, notice Jesus describes them as people "who practice lawlessness."  Despite their calling Jesus 'Lord' and doing religious works, their lives are characterized as lawless - they had the habit and practice of breaking God's law!  On Sunday they were in church but on Monday through Saturday they were breaking God's law, sinning against Him.  On Sunday they acted as angels but in reality they were living like the devil!  Because they had no relationship with Jesus Christ, their lives did not match the religious words that came out of their mouth.

After considering Matthew 7:21-23 we have to conclude that religion cannot save you.  Religion can give you an outward appearance of respectability in the eyes of others.  But if you have never received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, your religion will not save you.  Sadly and fearfully you will hear Jesus Christ say to you, "Depart from me!"  You will not enter heaven but will instead be cast into hell. 

Jesus Christ does not want that to happen to you - He died to pay the penalty for your sins so that you can go to heaven.  You need to receive Him as your Lord and Saviour.  To find out more, I encourage you to read this brief story.