Did you know that not all "Christians" are going to heaven? No, it's true. Not everyone who professes to be a Christian is actually going to be counted among those who will spend eternity in paradise with God the Father. I'm not the one who came up with this idea; this idea originated with Jesus Christ.

Does this mean that there are those who will call Jesus "Lord" but will not enter into the kingdom of heaven? That seems to be exactly what these verses say; so what is it that gets one into heaven? Verse 21 states that only those who do the will of God will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Does this then get into a works-based theology meaning that anyone who wants to get to heaven must find someway to work their way there? What about the concept of grace and how does that fit in?

Many people focus on verses 8 and 9 of this Second Chapter in Ephesians and do not move on to the 10th verse. We are created in Christ Jesus to do good works. The reason that we were created for this purpose is that we are God's workmanship; He is the potter and we are the clay. He molds and makes us for His good purpose. That purpose is defined by this verse. We were designed for good works and that purpose was pre-ordained by God the Father. He not only saw that we were to do good works, He also prepared them in advance for us to do.

In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus was confronted by a question that was troubling on its face. His own disciples were concerned about their position in the coming kingdom and wanted to know who would be the greatest. Clearly, they were contending amongst themselves for power and position and took their argument to Jesus. The answer given had to be surprising not just to them but also to us.

After calling a small child to Him, Jesus said that you had to be changed and become just like this small child. He indicated that conversion must take place in the life of the one professing belief.

We hear people talk about being "born again" and yet, like Nicodemus in the 3rd Chapter of the Gospel of John, many do not understand what it means. Being "born again" or being changed or converted means to become new again. One must be reborn spiritually. It can be summarized as A, B, C or admit, believe and confess.

The lesson contained in verse four of this passage is that we need to understand who we are. We are nothing absent the grace of God. We should be humble in our position before God. Everything we have ever done, all of our works are filthy before Him.

His standard is one that we could never hope to reach and yet, in His love, He extended to us the opportunity to become His sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, His Son.

So if we are to be considered the sons and daughters of God through our acceptance of Jesus in our lives, what does that really mean? If Jesus is the Son of God and we are the sons and daughters of God as believers in Christ, does that entitle us to the same consideration? It seems to do exactly that.

Note, however, what Jesus had to say verse 50 of this passage. Those who do the will of God are to be considered His brother and sister. Clearly, "doing the will of God" implies action on the part of the believer.

In the 10th Chapter of Matthew, Jesus talked about taking up one's cross and following Him. Too many people today equate the taking up the cross as accepting the burdens of the Christian life. It is important to recognize what Christ was talking about in this passage. The cross was an instrument of death, the very instrument that Jesus knew would end His mortal life on this earth. It was a tool of the executioner. The 39th verse in this chapter talks about losing one's life for the sake of Christ. It is dying to that life, the life of the unbeliever, that Christ was talking about. By dying to that life, one would inherit eternal life.

We all know that people can tell you anything. There is an old expression that "talk is cheap." It really is. Jesus knew this too.

The heart of a man (and a woman) is evidenced by what they do, not by what they say. A person's actions evidence what they truly believe and for the one who claims Jesus as Savior, those actions should reflect the life and teachings of Christ. In short, if you love Jesus Christ, you will do what He says. When you do what He says, He and the Father abide in you. If you don't, well, you don't love Jesus.

We have all heard the expression that you "reap what you sow" but most of the time, people use this phrase to explain that people should not be surprised by what happens to them. The actual context of that phrase is one of an eternal nature.

If you act to please your sinful nature, the results will be destruction. I believe that this passage reflects that destruction will not only be temporal but also eternal due to the language contained in the second half of verse eight, i.e. when you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life.

We are commanded to do good for the time is approaching when we will reap a harvest. Do not give up. Keep persevering for the cause of Christ.

What does all of this mean when you read it together? Quit playing the game. If you are going to claim the name of "Christian" or "Little Christ", then act like it. Let your life reflect what you believe. If you don't actually believe it, quit being the hypocrite.

If you ask a roomful of people, "Who wants to go to heaven?", everyone will raise their hand. If you ask them, "Who wants to give Jesus Christ lordship over your life?", you won't get the same response. It's the same question. How would you answer it?

** A modern language quote is provided for readability together with the accompanying KJV version which is believed by many to be a more accurate representation of the original scripture.