Some brothers and sisters say, "We have believed in God for many years. We work hard for the Lord and establish so many churches, and we have even been imprisoned for the Lord. How could we be abandoned?"
In regard to this question, there are some other words in the Bible. Let me read them to you, "Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity" (Mat 7:21-23). A spiritual book says, "If there are no changes in your personal disposition, then that is because your viewpoint toward pursuit is wrong. If you are granted no reward, then that is your own problem, and because you yourself have not put the truth into practice, and are unable to fulfill God's desire. And so, nothing is of greater importance than your personal experiences, and nothing is more critical than your personal entry! Some people will end up saying, 'I've done so much work for You, and though there may not have been celebrated achievements, still I have been diligent in my efforts. Can't You just let me into heaven to eat the fruit of life?' You must know what kind of people I desire; those who are impure are not permitted to enter into the kingdom, those who are impure are not permitted to besmirch the holy ground. Though you may have done much work, and have worked for many years, in the end if you are still deplorably filthy-it is intolerable to the law of Heaven that you wish to enter My kingdom!" From these passages of words, God is a holy and righteous God. Whether we can enter into the kingdom of heaven at last does not depend on how much we work or suffer, but instead is mainly determined by whether or not we can be changed in disposition, be cleansed, and follow God's will. If we only rely on our enthusiasm to expend and work hard for the Lord, but we can still often sin and resist God, falling to obey God's way, then we are evil-doers and won't enter into the kingdom of heaven. Like the Pharisees at that time, they served Jehovah God in the temple for their whole life, traveled the land and sea spreading the gospel, and suffered a lot. But they still often committed sins and resisted God: They devoured widows' houses, killed prophets, broke the law and cheated God. Besides, when the Lord Jesus came to work, they clung to their conceptions and refused to accept His work. And in order to keep their status, they fabricated rumors, saying that the Lord Jesus cast out demons by the prince of demons, and even blasphemed Him. But the Lord Jesus didn't forgive them because of their hard work, instead He condemned them.
