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In Matthew 7:21-23, toward the end of his famous “sermon on the mount,” Jesus made some statements that are worthy of some in-depth attention at this point in our study.“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.’”With these words, Jesus established a straightforward distinction between “the will of my Father who is in heaven” and “lawlessness.” There are image-bearers of God who do the will of the heavenly Father, and there are image-bearers of God who are workers of lawlessness. The first will gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven, and the latter will be told to depart from God.It is vital, therefore, that we understand the difference between the will of our Creator and lawlessness.Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Eph 5:15-17)In our last session, we determined that the apostles delivered authoritative teaching as commissioned envoys of the risen Christ (Acts 2:42). What they delivered in oral and written form is to be regarded and abided within as the God-breathed doctrine of Christ (2 John 4-9). We are called to do more than refer to Jesus as “Lord.” The one who enters the kingdom of heaven will have put the revealed will of God into practice.On the other side of the spectrum is “lawlessness.” In Greek, the word is anomia. Nomos in Greek is translated “law” into English. Add an a to the front of the word and it becomes negative—similar to the way many of our English words work.On Sunday mornings at 9:45 AM throughout the months of January, February, and March, Jason Hardin is leading an adult Bible class called God-Shaped Respect for Authority. Our schedule for the quarter: Week 1 (January 5th) • What is Authority and Why Does It Matter? Week 2 (January 12th) • God’s Authoritative Expectations in the Old Testament Week 3 (January 19th) • God’s Authoritative Expectations in the New Testament Week 4 (January 26th) • The Catastrophic Consequences of Lawlessness Week 5 (February 2nd) • The Raw Materials of Communication Week 6 (February 9th) • The Nature of God’s Written Revelation to Mankind Week 7 (February