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Concerning self-deception

A deep analysis of Matthew 7:21–23 exploring faith, self-deception, and true discipleship, applying biblical lessons to modern life. Written for HRE4M1-4 by Jovin Singh Nagra.

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    Nagra 1 Jovin Singh Nagra Mrs. Fernandes HRE4M1-4 11/29/2023 Concerning Self Deception The modem world often holds ■ onto the misguided notion that scripture of the past can no longer apply to our so-called advanced world. In truth, passages written in scripture such as the Bible still hold unparalleled power and truth today. One such example can be found in the passage. "Not everyone who says to me. 'Lord. Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father 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 deeds of power in your name? 1 Then I will declare to them. 'I never knew you; go away from me. you evildoers. 1 (_Vew Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition Bible, Matthew 7:21-23). By breaking the passage into components and anab.’zing their messages, it can be seen how the subtle nuances bring in a complete message to be followed. By studying the deeper meanings said by Jesus in line 21. unraveling the travesty He had called out in line 22 and understanding His response in line 23. we can become knowledgeable about ourselves as creations of God and our true purpose even as we navigate a modem world far detached to the times the Bible was written Verse 21 In the first verse, we can anab,-ze the contexts literally and contextually as observed from multiple translations such as; "Not everyone who says to me. 'Lord, Lord? will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." (_Vew Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition Bible. Matthew 7:21), "Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master. Master.' for instance—isn't going to get you anywhere with me.

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    Nagra 2 WTiat is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills." ( The Message Bible, Matthew 7:21-23). a contextualized translation, and "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my F ather which is in heaven.' James Version Bible, Matthew 7:21), a liberalized translation. After we analyze the line from multiple angles, we can break it down, to understand each individual portion of the text. The first aspect we can observe is what the author is communicating. The leading component of the text would be its key words: 'lord master', 'heaven' and 'will'. With this, it can be inferred that the text is referring to the Divine Lord and His Will, and that this involves hearvea. These key words are consistent between translations. The Message Bible translation uses the term 'password' as well. This can be seen as a form of symbolism. It portrays pleading to God as a sort of 'password' that humanity uses as an attempt to attain heaven (Smith Slush' Guide for Matthew). The quote from Jesus attempts to deter us from that misguided perspective. The mam characters of this text are the Lord foremost, followed by us. the followers, and Jesus the narrator. Our relationship with the Lord is depicted as carriers of His will. God is the judge of who can reach heaven and Jesus is the Lord's messenger. As such, the passage addresses the human dilemma of whether or not people can reach heaven. Our source for this message is Jesus himself, as he is the speaker as observed by Matthew and written as such. We do not have access to the source, and the original text has been translated by ether authors. In the way the text is organized, the most emphasis is placed on the start of the line "Not everyone who says to me. "Lord, Lord"' (Matthew 7:2 1). The writer wants us to picture the phrase foremost before anything, in order for us to self-insert ourselves into the situation. It is the most important pan of the verse as it speaks to us, the reader, and accuses us of wrongdoing that we may be c ommitted to doing. The original author of the bock was Matthew, who was a tax-collector recruited by Jesus to

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    Nagra 3 be one of His twelve apostles (Britannica St. AttaAffw). He w a s a follower of Jesus' message and it could be understood that Matthew recognizes the will of the Lord. This line speaks on our socio-cultural norms to an effective degree as it speaks on people who praise God's name, yet neglect God's message. These can be called false disciples. People of this caliber are the ones who initiate some of the wars on religion. These people seek or believe that they will reach heaven, but really only use the Lord's name in vain and dishonor. Furthermore, the text speaks on the fact that such followers exist which are unserious regarding faith and expect that believing in Gcd is the only condition to reach heaien. Therefore, we can assume that culturally Jesus has faced this norm to an extent that it needed to be addressed. Next, the text can be analyzed through interpreting what the author is trying to convey. The first step of this is understanding the political and geographical situation fiom when and where the text was originally 'written. At the time, there was the Roman occupation of Israel, which was the main setting for most of the Bible. "God" was a major factcr in the political sphere of Israel as the leaders were all religious figures. God slowly went in tain as society slowly shifted into capitalism, i.e.. the marketplaces that Jesus was unhappy ■ with and other such things. Despite this, most of the population were theists. but the respect for God was slowly getting neglected. For this reason, this was written for God's disciples and addresses the issue of being a false disciple of God. We can see this by interpreting the literary contexts of the significant phrases, such as 'Lord. Lord'. Reading this in a literal way is hard to understand, but contextually it is referring to a person calling out and praising God's name for the sake of it; meaninglessly. The main point that the author is trying to address is the significance of understanding false and true faith The author is seeking our rectification cn the basis of seeking God's true mission. Matthew wanted the world to

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    Nagra 4 understand his faith and Jesus' message, as he was one of Jesus' apostles and a follower of His message. Finally, we can move the context and meaning of the message to our modern-day life by breaking it down using a hermeneutical lens. The most fundamental step of this is understanding the authors purpose. Matthew wanted to inform people that there is more to faith that grants access to the kingdom of God. In cur modem world, people are mere desensitized to injustice and more neglecting of their faithful duties. Despite this, people still believe that only their faith in God is what truly matters deep down. Therefore, this message can still be applied today to an effective degree. It fits with the overall message of the Bible because it speaks on the core issue of putting the Lord's name in vain. .After reading this verse, one must consider what their purpose is as a follower of God. They must understand what they believe in. whether their faith is honest or simply misguided. If it is the latter, they must encourage themselves to practice what the Lard's 'will' is. This will in turn teach them about their true relationship with God and broaden it. The good news this gives us is that we can still make it into heaven. In our modem world, it could be explained that this verse is telling us that there is more to faith than just acknowledging its existence. In order to connect our modem selves to this teaching, we must ask ourselves what we think God seeks of us. Then, we must reflect on whether or not we truly act on that, or if we are acting contrary to that. Verse 22 Looking at the second verse, we can continue to look through multiple translations to unravel the meaning behind what Jesus had attempted to call out in this line. These translations include: "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 deeds of power in your name?"

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