Spiritual DNA

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.'”—Matthew 7:21-23

I like spy movies. One particular spy flick that I remember watching was about an evil spy who had his identity changed to look exactly like his enemy, the hero of the film. When the time came and the two met, it was virtually impossible to tell them apart. That is, until their DNA was analyzed, then it was easy.

So true it is in our walk with Christ. There are many out in the world that look and sound like a Christian. The person may go to church, read their Bible occasionally, forward Christian e-mails, speak in terms that are familiar to Christians, and even list “Christian” under Religious Views on their Facebook page, but speaking like, going to church, or listing oneself as a Christian does not make it so. The real litmus test of a believer in Christ goes deeper and is found in their spiritual DNA. And that DNA has in it the gene of obedience. It’s by what we do when confronted by the truth of Christ and His commands upon our life that identifies who we really are.

Consider our text for today. Jesus indicates that there are many in the world that say to Him, “Lord, Lord...” But that is not the necessary mark of a Christian. They can say whatever they want to, but saying it does not make it true. They said, “Did we not prophesy in Your name?” They said great things, told many about Jesus, but that is not the essential mark. “Did we not cast out demons in Your name?” These were people who exhibited mighty acts of power and piety, but that is not the missing ingredient. “Did we not do mighty works in Your name?” Again, they were misguided. They did many things, which seemed to prove their faith, but the missing ingredient was much more indicative. It was obedience. Jesus says that the one who enters the kingdom of heaven is, “The one who does the will of My father” (Matthew 7:21b).

God’s will is that we obey what He has revealed in His Word, the Bible. It is not one isolated thing like say, evangelism, prayer, or going to church. It is much more than that. It is all encompassing. God wants all of us and He wants all of our life to be under His authority. He wants to be supreme in our life. The Christian faith is not one spoke in the bicycle wheel of life, it is the center from which all other spokes come from and are supported by.

In other words, we are to be mirrors of His glory. When we do His will (His commands as revealed in Scripture), we reflect back to Him what He means to us. We show as we obey His word that we love Him and others see it as well. So, don’t get caught up in the hype that says there must be a display of great power, or those who use great words. Those aren’t what make one a true disciple. A person’s spiritual DNA reveals the true disciple. And that is the gene of obedience, doing the will of God the Father as revealed in His Word. Amen.