Matthew 7:21 (YLT)

Passage

`Not every one who is saying to me Lord, lord, shall come into the reign of the heavens; but he who is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens.

Nearby Context

Matthew 7:19 Every tree not yielding good fruit is cut down and is cast to fire:

Matthew 7:20 therefore from their fruits ye shall know them.

Matthew 7:21 `Not every one who is saying to me Lord, lord, shall come into the reign of the heavens; but he who is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens.

Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, lord, have we not in thy name prophesied? and in thy name cast out demons? and in thy name done many mighty things?

Matthew 7:23 and then I will acknowledge to them, that--I never knew you, depart from me ye who are working lawlessness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saying", "lord", "shall", "come", "reign", "heavens", and "doing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saying" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "therefore from their fruits ye shall know..." into verse 22's "Many will say to me in that...", so "saying" and "lord" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "saying" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.