The American Christian
The American Christian
When Calling Jesus "Lord" Isn't Enough To Enter Heaven
Jesus warns of the terrifying reality that many who call Him "Lord" and even perform impressive religious deeds will be rejected from the Kingdom of Heaven because they never truly knew Him.
• Matthew 7:21-23 contains some of the most frightening words in the Bible: "I never knew you"
• Jesus consistently presents us with choices: two gates, two paths, two types of trees, two foundations
• The true test of discipleship comes when God's will conflicts with our own desires
• It's possible to know about Jesus without truly knowing Him personally
• RC Sproul's conversion story shows how even religious leaders can be spiritually lost
• Genuine salvation requires both personal relationship with Jesus and obedience to the Father
• Many assume they are Christians because they attend church or think well of Jesus
• True salvation comes through repentance and faith, not religious performance
• The Lord knows those who are His – we enter heaven on His terms, not ours
• Jesus offers a beautiful marriage-like relationship to all who come to Him in faith
Don't just think you're saved because you attend church or have done things in Jesus's name. Make sure you are born again – that Jesus is not just part of your life, but is your life. Repent of your sins and ask Him to be your personal savior.
Our scripture today comes from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7. I'll read from the ESV, beginning with verse 21. That's Matthew 7, 21. It is part of the Sermon on the Mount. I've entitled my message. I Never Knew you. Not everyone who says to me Lord, lord, this is our Lord Jesus speaking, 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 I will declare to them I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. What we have just read, at least in my opinion, may be some of the scariest words in the Bible. Remember that these words that we just read come from the very mouth of God. Come from the very mouth of God.
Speaker 1:Jesus likes to present us with choices and to pose questions to his listeners. He does this through his parables. He says that there are two gates and two roads, found in Matthew 7, 13, and 14. He asks will you find and enter the narrow gate and then follow it, even though it may get hard? The hard road is good, for it leads to life, or will you enter the broad gate and take the easy path? The easy road, the one that you control, makes no demands on you other than what you want for yourself, but it offers no lasting rewards and leads to eternal destruction.
Speaker 1:Two trees bear two kinds of fruit. A fruitless tree may deceive people who stand a little bit at a distance, but eventually the sum of their words and their deeds will reveal who they truly are. Good trees bear good fruit. Bad trees bear bad fruit, and Jesus asks each person, including you and me, what fruit do you bear? Two builders construct houses on two foundations. We can build on sand or we can build on the rock. When the rain comes, when the water rises, when the winds blow, only one house will be left standing. In other words, when the things of this world attack us, it's only if our faith is built upon the rock, jesus, will we be able to go through those things and remain standing after the storms are over.
Speaker 1:Finally, there seems to be two ways to call upon the Lord. Some call upon his name and do great things in that name, but don't know him. Others call upon Jesus truly, as he is presented in the gospel. In our passage today, jesus describes a choice every hearer must make. It can be easy at times to be fond of Jesus, even to revere him and even call him Lord, but it is deadly, then and now, to claim to be a disciple while falling short of true discipleship. In Jesus' day, almost everyone was willing to listen to his teaching and call him a prophet. On the back of your bulletin today there's a place to take notes, and if you want to look at Matthew 21.11, matthew 21.46, and Luke 6.16, you will find that they're calling Jesusa prophet, and in some instances, a great prophet.
Speaker 1:Today, most Americans think that they are Christians. As long as they're not atheists, or maybe Buddhists. As long as they go to church occasionally, as long as they think well of Jesus, they call themselves Christians. And they thought that they're going to spend an eternity in heaven with Jesus. That thought is a falsehood. That will be the ugliest, most terrifying thought that they ever had.
Speaker 1:Think of Judas for a moment. He was a disciple and an apostle appointed by Jesus. Matthew 10, verse 1, says this. Matthew chapter 10, verse 1, says this and he, jesus, called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal every disease and every affliction. Did Judas actually perform any of these? Well, the Bible doesn't tell us. But Judas did have the power to do so because Jesus gave it to him. But whether or not Judas did any of those things, he did actually walk with the Lord for three years, was appointed an apostle, but he did not know Jesus in a personal, saving way. He never knew Jesus.
Speaker 1:Similarly, a number of ordained pastors or priests become believers each year. They say I preached and counseled and baptized in Jesus' name, but I did not know him as my personal Lord and Savior. I never understood the gospel, never knew Christ's love, until this year. Let me give you one example. Most of you have probably heard of a pastor and theologian by the name of RC Sproul. Rc Sproul is now with the Lord. He was an incredible theologian, wrote many books, started a ministry called Ligonier Ministries, was on fire for the Lord for many, many, many years.
Speaker 1:Well, he was in college. This goes back to like 1957. He already thought he was right with God but was truly not so. As we go back to 1957, he is a freshman at Westminster College. It was a Presbyterian school. It's about an hour drive north of Pittsburgh, so not too far from us. He went to church all his life, but it might have easily been classified as a liberal church. He never really heard the true gospel preached, although he thought he was right with God.
Speaker 1:And so here he is, one night in the student lounge with God. And so here he is one night in the student lounge and he gets summoned by an upperclassman who was also one of the leaders of the football team to come over to the table that he was sitting at. So of course RC is going to do this as a freshman because he wanted to be on the football team as well. And he comes over to the table and his upperclassman is sitting there with a friend of his and they're doing a Bible study and there's an open Bible to the table. And his upperclassman is sitting there with a friend of his and they're doing a Bible study and there's an open Bible on the table. And RC said he never saw anything really like this People actually studying the Bible together, especially college people and his peers.
Speaker 1:And this fellow student of RC turns the Bible around to show it to him and he says look at this verse, and it's Ecclesiastes, chapter 11, verse 3. And here's what that verse says If a tree falls, whether it falls to the north or to the south, wherever it falls, there it shall be. Now none of us would think that this would be a verse used in the Romans Road, kind of verse that we might normally use. But the Holy Spirit brought conviction to RC Sproul through that verse. When RC saw those words of that verse on the pages in that Bible, he said he knew instantly that was me. I was that tree, I was fallen and I was dead and I was rotting, just lying there on the ground. He went back to his dorm room, had a time of struggling with the Lord, time of prayer with the Lord, where he finally cried out for mercy from his wonderful God and God saved his soul that night.
Speaker 1:At the beginning of the Reformation, thousands of priests who thought that their work for Christ would allow them entrance into heaven finally converted to Jesus. Martin Luther was one of those priests, long before he grasped the gospel truth that God forgives and justifies the wicked, not the good. Sadly, many ordinary people attend church, they pray, they serve in the church or even serve outside the church, but they do not know Jesus personally, we can say that exclaiming Lord, lord makes for a good confession, at least on the outside, but it doesn't mean we know him here on the inside. And that's exactly what Jesus brings to our attention in this passage. He says the ones that he was talking to were not genuine in their faith. There are two signs of genuineness personally knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and then doing the will of the Father in response to Jesus becoming your King.
Speaker 1:Strangely, and even ominously, a false profession of faith can only come from someone who calls himself a follower of Jesus. A disciple calls himself a follower of Jesus, a disciple. In Jesus' day, they called him Lord. Today, people still call themselves Christian and call Jesus Lord without grasping what that means. In Jesus' day, once again, they called him a prophet, even a great prophet. Today they call him a great man, a supreme moral teacher, but deny that he is so much more than that. He is God in the flesh.
Speaker 1:You know, we can agree on some of the commandments, but agreement alone does not test us, does it? Oh yeah, not murdering is a good thing or not stealing is a good thing. We'll agree with those things. But agreeing with those things doesn't test our faith. The test of loyalty, the test of our submission to the King of kings and Lord of lords comes when his will and his word goes against ours, we can know that we truly obey, that is, submit our lives to God. Whenever we obey a commandment that requires painful or odd actions, disciples true disciples strive to heed every command from Jesus, the easy ones and the hard ones alike.
Speaker 1:My point is this we can call Jesus Lord and not know him as Lord of our lives. Just as important as this passage reminds us, it is possible to obey Jesus on many points and still not know him personally. Now, when Jesus makes this statement, he does not mean to frighten his true followers, those that are born-again believers, but to awaken those who profess faith without having faith. He stirs up all who know about Jesus without knowing Jesus. Jesus aims the warning at false prophets and false believers and their followers, not at his true disciples. I never knew you. Just what does that mean when he says that, in his deity, jesus knows all things. He is the judge of the earth. He knows our every thought and our every deed. He never has to ask. And who might you be? So then, here's what I believe Jesus means. I never knew you means that Jesus never knew you as his child, as a member of his covenant family. Jesus says I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Paul says the Lord knows those who are his.
Speaker 1:2 Timothy 2.11,. The first part the Lord knows who are his. The part for me is what Jesus, as judge, will say on the last day Should you stand before him carrying your sins before him, when he sends evildoers away from his presence? Matthew 7, 23,. We just read it From the beginning. Since God banished Adam and Eve from the garden, this has been the essential punishment for rebellion. Jesus sends away evildoers, which is what the NIV says, or workers of lawlessness, which the ESV says. Since we all do evil things. Does Jesus send everyone away? No, he sends away evildoers who have no interest in true repentance. Paul says everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. Again, that's the second part of Timothy 2.19.
Speaker 1:The great news is this, though there is more than enough room in heaven for those who are immoral and idolaters. Listen to these incredible words that Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9-11. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? That part of that verse, right there is exactly what Jesus is saying in Matthew 7, 21-23. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God, and such were some of you. But you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God. That's the true believer who has placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in nothing else and no one else. You and I have committed all or some of those sins listed by Paul in that 1 Corinthians passage. It is not a complete list of sins, but there's enough there to say that's me. And yet Paul ends that verse by telling us that faith in Jesus Christ washes us, makes us clean.
Speaker 1:David said in Psalm 51, wash me with hyssop, that I would be clean. Hyssop was the branch that in the Old Testament, during the time of Exodus, that the Jews used to take the blood of the unblemished lamb they picked it up with the hyssop and put it on the doorpost. And the lintel and David is using an analogy here Wash me with hyssop and I will be clean. New Testament Jesus washed me that I will be whiter than snow. Sanctify me, make me holy, set me apart to do the will of God. That's what he does when we come to him and he justifies us, as we talked about last week. He makes us as though we had never sinned.
Speaker 1:Let us pause to think hard about this passage. You know there's some braggartly type of athletes that can always talk a great game but that tells you nothing about their true athletic abilities. And not everyone who talks about heaven belongs to God's kingdom. Jesus exposes those people who sounded religious but had no personal relationship with him. On judgment day, only your relationship with Christ, our acceptance of him as Savior and our obedience to him will matter. It's the only thing that will matter. Many people think that if there are good people, say religious things, practice religious things, they will be rewarded with eternal life. In truth, faith in Christ alone is what will count at the judgment day, which is the day of reckoning, where God will settle all accounts, judging sin and rewarding faith.
Speaker 1:Remember what Jesus told his disciples. This comes out of Luke, chapter 10, verse 20. Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Jesus sent his disciples out and he said you know, you can do this in my name and do that in my name. Oh, wow, we've got all this power and all this authority from the King of kings and Lord of lords. And they come back and Jesus says look, don't rejoice in the fact that the Spirit's obeyed you, because I gave you the power to do so, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
Speaker 1:We cannot overlook the alarm, the dire warnings in Matthew 7, 21 through 23. Yet Jesus is not telling us or them to double up on our efforts. On the contrary, we see time and time again in Scripture that he sternly warns against hopeless activity when done in attempt to make ourselves right with God. The question that is posed here is this Do you, do I know Christ? Not here here. So then, how do we know Christ so that we enter the kingdom of heaven? Because Jesus says in our passage this morning it is the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven. All these works done in my name without a personal relationship with me, do nothing to help you or me on judgment day.
Speaker 1:It's important to know what his terms are, because we get to heaven on his terms. Remember, the Pharisees thought they had it all. Their act together and do this, this, this, this and that, and you're going to be right with God. And Jesus says baloney, phooey guys, you've got it all wrong and you're leading people to hell by preaching false things that you're preaching. So what are his terms? First, we need to admit our need of salvation because of our sinful nature and the sins that we've committed before him and against him. Then we need to ask him for help to repent of those sins and then, second, we need to ask him to be our personal savior and trust him at his own word.
Speaker 1:Each person alive, which includes everyone here in the sanctuary as well as within the sound of my voice, must choose between two paths. Here's choices for us again that Jesus gives us. Matthew 7, 13 and 14 says this Again enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy. That leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard. That leads to life, and those who find it are few. We must choose between our will and his will. We must decide if we want to continue to be the captains of our own souls or allow him to truly be the Lord of all areas of our lives. Humble repentance and faith in Jesus open the door to eternal life. Jesus is the Savior and the Lord of sinners.
Speaker 1:Fernando Ortega sings a song called Sing to Jesus. Let me just read you this part of this verse Sing to Jesus, lord of our shame, lord of our sinful hearts. Can you imagine such a Savior who takes upon himself the perfect Son of God, takes upon himself all the shame from the sin that we committed? He died for that that you might have life eternal. He is the Lord of our sinful hearts. As we continue to try and be more like him, if you're a true believer but yet sin each and every day, he remains the Lord of our sinful hearts. He is our great redeemer. The song goes on to say sing to Jesus and honor his name. Sing to his faithfulness, pouring out his life unto death. He can save because he is God and has in himself alone the power to save. He can save because he is a man and has borne the punishment due to all mankind. He can save because, after he died on the cross for the sins of the world, he rose from the dead, showing that he has ultimate and full power over the last enemy called death. Oh death, where is your victory? Oh grave, where is thy sting? And Jesus will save if we ask him to do so, but again, it's on his terms.
Speaker 1:Let me end today with a picture of a wedding. Imagine you step onto the altar to be married. There's one standing there already. He watches as you approach him. He looks at you with his eyes that penetrate your heart and your soul. You're thinking is this truly the one I want to be married to? If I choose him, I'll have to promise him that I will hold him tight throughout my life, you think. Do I want to take this man to heaven to hold for all the years of my life? Do I want him to lead me and guide me through the good times and the bad times, through sickness and even unto death? Do I really truly want to give up my own life and give it to him? Do I trust him enough to do all the things that he has promised, or am I having second thoughts about this whole marriage? After all, I like my life the way that it is. Maybe sometime down the road road I will come back to the altar, but now isn't a good time.
Speaker 1:He stretches out his arms to take yours. You see his blood-scarred hands, with holes that have been made by nails that held him to the cross. You feel a warmth and a love that you have never felt before, but yet you remain a little uncertain. He calls you by name. He knows everything about you, yet you know he wants to make you his child. The question has been posed to you on this altar, has been posed to you on this altar. Will you take me for who I am? Will you take me at my word? I have loved you with an indescribable love. Will you, in turn, love me, no matter the cost? Will you take my hand and be my bride?
Speaker 1:Once again, we see Jesus giving you and giving me a choice, and it's all ours. If you say yes, he will grab your hands, draw you into him and hold you and tell you that he loves you so and that he will never, ever, ever let you go. You feel a sensation that is truly better than life itself. You feel a love as you have never felt before. So your weeping eyes look deep into his and you tell him that this time has come it's come before, perhaps many times, and that you chose to continue to go your own way and stay married to the world.
Speaker 1:You tell him that you are broken. When you look at what you've done and how you have offended him. So, and then wondering if all this could be true, you ask him is it possible that you would forgive even me? Will you possibly accept me just as I am? Will you possibly accept me just as I am? And he says I know exactly who you are. You are precisely the one that I have chosen this day, just as you are. If you take me as your bridegroom, you'll be forgiven. I will remember your sins no more.
Speaker 1:You ask him to hold you even tighter, and his embrace is so loving that all the cares of the world pass by. Your only thought is to make your beloved pleased with your love for him, no matter how imperfect it might be. And for some reason, in response to his perfect love that he has freely given to you, you kneel down at his feet, you wipe off the dust and wash them with your hair. You have made him your bridegroom and he is now your beloved. The bond between you and your beloved is now complete. Never to be broken ever that's his promise.
Speaker 1:He pulls you up and he says come with me to a banquet that I have prepared for you, for the wedding feast has now begun, and he asks you to look up, and what do you see? But a glimpse into heaven, where you witness joy before the angels of God, over one sinner that's you that repents. You stand amazed, with tears of thankfulness rolling down your cheeks. The precious moment is over, but the marriage will continue for all of time and beyond, held together by the loving, great, awesome and powerful bridegroom whose name is Jesus. To all here today, I ask is he truly your beloved? If he is, then may praise be continually on your lips.
Speaker 1:If he is not, if you have not received him for who he truly is, make today the day of your salvation. We are not promised tomorrow. Don't just think that you're saved because you attend church or that you have done some things in his name. Make sure that you are a new creation. Make sure that you are born again. Make sure that Jesus is not just a part of your life, but is your life. Repent of your sins and ask him to be your personal savior. Here's his promise All that the Father gives me will come to me. No-transcript.