Matthew 7:21 - Plain English Version

²¹ And Jesus said, “Lots of people call me, ‘My leader and my boss,’ but some of them will never be in God’s family. God will only have people that do what he wants them to do. God will have those people in his family, but not the other people. God is my father in heaven.

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

²¹ Not every one 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.

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

²¹ Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.

American Standard Version (1901)

²¹ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Common English Bible

²¹ “Not everybody who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.

Catholic Public Domain Version

²¹ Not all who say to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, the same shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 7:21 Cross References

Matthew 18:19

I’m telling you this again. If you agree together about something, even if it is only 2 of you, and then you ask my father in heaven to do that thing, then he will do it for you.

Matthew 18:35

Then Jesus said, “It’s like that with you too. You have to be good to all my other followers. If they do something bad to you, don’t do payback to them. Just forget it. Then, in the same way, my father in heaven will not do payback to you.” (We have not yet translated chapter 19. You can read those stories and messages in Mark 10:1-31.)

Matthew 25:10

So those 5 stupid women went to buy some oil. While they were away, that man came to the house to get married. The 5 other women were ready, and they went with him into the house, and somebody locked the door. Then they all started to eat the wedding dinner.

Mark 3:35

My real family are the people that listen to God, and that do what he says. Those people are my brothers, and my sisters, and my mothers.”

Mark 9:47

It is the same for your eye. If you want to look with your eye at something, and if it gets you to do something bad, you have to look away. It is like you have to dig your eye out. It is better for you to be in God’s family with only one eye, than for God to send you to hell with 2 eyes.

John 14:7

If you know me properly, you know my father too. So you do know my father now, and it’s like you have seen him too.”

John 15:23

You see, if anyone hates me, they hate my father too.

John 3:5

Jesus said, “Listen, I am telling you straight, if anyone wants to be in God’s family, they have to get born again God’s way. God has to make them clean, and he has to put his spirit in them.

John 5:17

Jesus said to them, “God, my father, is always working, and I am always working too.”

John 6:40

Everyone that takes notice of me and believes in me will live with God for ever. That’s what God, my father, wants. On the day when the world will finish up, I will make them alive again.”

John 7:17

If anyone really wants to live God’s way, they will know that those words came from God, and that I did not make them up.

Acts 14:22

In each of those towns they talked to the Christians and said, “Keep on believing in Jesus, and don’t turn away from him. Some people will keep on making big trouble for all of us Christians, but don’t worry, Jesus is with us. We are in God’s family now.”

Romans 12:2

Don’t be like most of the people in the world that like to do bad things. You have to be different from them. You have to let God change the way you think, so that you will become new people. Then you will be able to find out the things that God wants you to do, and you will know what is good, and the things that really make God happy.

Romans 2:13

It doesn’t matter if you know that law or not, if you do good things, God will tell you, “You are all right.”

Ephesians 6:6

Do what they say, and try to make them happy. Don’t only do it when they can see you, but also when they can’t see you. Work happily in your job, like you are working for Jesus Christ, and then you will be doing what God wants.

Colossians 4:12

And Epafras is another one of your mob that is here with me. He says hello to you too. He works for Jesus too, and he is always praying strongly for you. He prays that you will keep on trusting God, and that you will properly know everything that God wants you to do.

1 Thessalonians 4:3

This is what God wants. He wants you to be properly good and to keep away from everything that is wrong. If somebody is not your own wife or husband, don’t sleep with them as if you are married to them.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Always thank God, no matter what happens to you. You see, you belong to Jesus Christ, so God wants you to do those things.

Titus 1:16

Those bad people say that they know God, but they do the bad things that God hates. So those people show that they don’t really know God. They shame themselves. They don’t do what God says. They can’t do anything good.

James 1:22

And don’t just listen to that word from God, but you have to do everything it says too. If you don’t do the things it says, you will just trick yourself.

1 Peter 2:15

God wants you to live the right way, and if you do that, nobody will have anything bad to say against you. Those people that want to blame you for no reason or tell lies about you, they will not be able to say anything.

1 Peter 4:2

It shows that you want to do the things that God wants. So whenever you want to do something bad, you have to turn away from it and live God’s way.