Do I "work iniquity"?

"Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we no prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils; and in thy name done may wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-23

YHVH (God) brought these verses to mind this morning. As I was reading them, so many things jumped out at me. I used to be startled when I read these verses...maybe, concerned would be a better word for how I felt. It can be easy to read Yeshua's words here, gloss over them and think "Yep, I'm good." But, what if I don't gloss over them? What if I look deeper into His words? Well, I should always look deeper into His word. YHVH did not give me His word for me to read it like a novel I pick up for enjoyment. Of course, I can find peace and enjoyment in His word, but was that His only purpose?  Absolutely not!

So, as I delve deeper into understanding these verses, I could (as many people should) have trepidation over His words here. Do you?

First, I looked up the word 'will' from verse 21 in Strong's Concordance.  Here's what I found...
   
will (G2307) = θα

• will, desire
• of what YHVH wishes to be done by us (commands, precepts)

I think we can all agree that YHVH wants us to follow His commands and precepts. But, what exactly does that mean? Let me look further into the verses to find out.

Looking at verse 23, I see the word 'iniquity'.  What does "ye that work iniquity" mean?  Again, I went to Strong's Concordance.

iniquity (G458) = ἀνομία

• transgression of the law
• the condition of without law
• because ignorant of the way
• because of violating it
• contempt and violation of law

So, if I use these definition's within the scriptures, verse 21 says, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will [what YHVH wishes to be done of me ~ following His commands and precepts] of my Father which is in heaven. And, verse 23 says, "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity [transgression of the law ~ contempt and violation of law]."

This tells me that I need to actually follow His law. That there will be those that violate (transgress) His law and He will tell them that He doesn't know them.  So, thinking further...  He tells us that there will be those that think they are His people that are not doing His will.  And, what is His will? His will is for us to follow Him and not for us to "work iniquity", for us to follow His law and not violate it.

I am so very thankful that there is no "grey" anymore in His will.  I know His will. His will is for me to follow His Torah.  Have you read His Torah? Have you read the laws (instructions) that most Christian's say are "nailed to the cross"?  His love for us, which is so beautiful, shines through as I read them! I am so very, very blessed that the "grey" is gone!

Now, does this mean that I follow His Torah (instructions) perfectly?  Of course not!  Only Yeshua (Jesus) did that.  But, do I attempt to follow it?  Oh yes, I certainly do. But, through Yeshua's grace, I am forgiven when I fail. 

May your day be blessed! Shalom!