God desires that all of us receive eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. God’s will is that we gain eternal life by believing in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Yet when we look at the false prophets in today’s passage, we can see that they put forward their own deeds as the basis for entering the kingdom of heaven. But no one can obtain eternal life by their own strength. No one will be declared righteous by human works and thereby enter heaven. We are saved not by what we do, but by believing in Jesus Christ—because, as Scripture says, “a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16).
When we come to have true faith, we receive Jesus as the Lord of our lives and live in obedience to his word. Genuine faith responds to God’s word with the whole of our lives. It means living according to what God has spoken. Therefore, the one who does the will of God lives in a manner fitting for someone who has been saved through faith in Jesus Christ.
Then how can we know whether we are living according to God’s will? We can know by looking at the fruit. Just as a tree is recognized by the fruit it bears, so our lives reveal whether we are walking in God’s will by the kind of fruit they produce. As Jesus teaches, “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16), and again, “Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:20).
Those who do the will of God bear good fruit. True faith is always accompanied by good fruit. A life of faith that expresses itself in loving God and loving our neighbor is a life that bears good fruit. The genuineness of our faith is made evident by obedience—by its fruit.
A life lived in close fellowship with God, a heart overflowing with love for Jesus Christ, a desire to follow him, and a distinct life as God’s children—one that bears the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23)—this is what a life bearing good fruit looks like.
May we, as God’s children who believe in Jesus, obey God’s word in the places where we live each day, bear good fruit, and so follow God’s will and bring joy to him. That is my earnest hope and prayer for us all.
Matthew 7:15-23
Pastor Paul