An Empty Religious Profession — E.A. Johnston

The Danger of an Empty Religious Profession

I come to you this evening, friends, in fear and trembling, for a fear that the majority of our church membership today, along with pastors, have never gotten to Christ savingly, and all they're hanging on to is an empty religious profession.

Many in our churches are traveling on the broad road to hell, as they sit upon a false and shaky foundation of a mere religious profession that is both empty of Christ and void of any pardon for sin. Thus they sit in a perilous position of great danger, for any moment they could suddenly die and their soul could be thrust into a crisis eternity, while they desperately cling on to that empty religious profession, which will not keep them out of hell.

And our pulpits today are largely occupied by unsaved men who've graduated from seminary, but who know nothing of being joined to Christ through the new birth. All they have is an empty religious profession, and because of that, they are not ambassadors for Christ, but merely false prophets who will lead you astray and tell you that you're saved when they themselves are unsaved men who don't have a clue what true salvation is.

And we live in a day, friends, where there is a famine in the land for hearing the word of God, and salvation is hard to come by, and few there be that find it. And in our churches we've elevated man and lowered God to such a sad degree that many have missed Christ and been baptized and given church membership, but they're unconverted and deceived individuals whose hope of heaven is nothing more than a straw man.

Now I speak honestly before you tonight for two reasons. Number one, I don't want your blood on my hands at the judgment. And number two, I must be true to your souls. The title of my message this evening, friends, is An Empty Religious Profession, and my text can be found in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 7.

The Narrow Way to Life

You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We'll be beginning in verse 13. And it's important that we study this chapter and learn what Jesus states about true salvation in him. Here now is the word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord attend the reading of his holy word.

Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Let me pause here, friends. The Lord Jesus is stating that out of a generation of people, very few find Christ for salvation. The way is narrow. The way is straight. It does not widen to accommodate popular false prophets who've written some big bestsellers, who've broadened the way of salvation with their false teaching.

Discerning False Prophets by Their Fruits

Jesus issues a stern warning against being deceived by these false prophets who proliferate in these last days. Beware false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, with their seminary degrees and denominational backing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Let me pause here, friends. I have been a member of churches through the years where the congregation was largely unconverted because the pastor was lost and he could not produce any good spiritual fruit.

All was done in the flesh, and what activities were carried out by money and manpower were fleshly dead works under the judgment of God. The people were baptized and active in the church, adamant about their profession of faith and their hope of heaven, but all many of them had was an empty religious profession.

Their personal lives and witness to the world was no different after their so-called conversion than it was before. They just now hid under the cloak of religion and were yet still in their sins. Listen to me, friend, and listen to me carefully.

Holiness and the Evidence of True Conversion

There is no such thing as a carnal Christian. You have either found Christ and have experienced the new birth, or you have not, but many today rest on a false foundation of an empty religious profession, and Christ describes these poor deceived individuals in the next verse.

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. Let me pause here again, friend. God is holy, and he hates sin.

He will not tolerate sin in an individual, nor will he accommodate sin. If you're not pursuing a life of holiness, then you cannot do his will. You cannot have one foot in your mud puddle of beloved sin and still walk in harmony with him.

For Amos 3 .3 declares, Can two walk together except they be agreed? Don't be fooled, friend, by new popular preachers who teach us sin and religion, because they are nothing more but false prophets on their way to hell themselves and deceiving multitudes with them.

I know no Christian is perfect, but her life's desire should be to bring the Lord Jesus' pleasure on his throne with her daily life through a life lived in holiness and consecration to him. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works?

The Empty Profession Exposed at Judgment

Let me pause here, friend. This is where an unsaved religionist will show his true colors. He will boast and brag about all he has done for Christ. He will let you know how much God is using him. He will let you know how spiritual he is.

He's always puffing himself up and drawing attention to himself. But although this unsaved religionist may fool you, he cannot fool Christ, for Jesus says how he will deal with them. And then, will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Building on Christ the Solid Rock

And then, Jesus goes on to describe the picture of a saved person, contrasted with a person who merely has an empty religious profession. Listen to this passage, friends. Therefore whoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. Listen to me, friends. I've known pastors who ended up in apostasy because they built on sandy ground, the sandy ground of an empty religious profession.

I've known countless individuals through the years who were deceived by an unsaved preacher, and they were given a handshake, and a church membership, and a role to fulfill a church, and they ended up as apostates because they'd never gotten to Christ, who is the solid rock.

All they had was a good opinion of themselves, a long track record of service, which they would be sure to let you know of, but their house, the home of their soul, was sitting on nothing but shifting sand.

Their hope of heaven was nothing more than a hole in the wall because all they had, listen to me, all they had, and all they hung on to, was an empty religious profession. Empty of what? Empty of Christ.

They had never gotten to Christ savingly. They never got unto his blood through repentance. Therefore, they never had gotten faith to give them the new birth. Listen to me very carefully, dear friends.

Repentance, Faith, and the New Birth

If you miss Christ, you surely go to hell. Let me ask you, friend, have you ever taken your place as a ruined and lost sinner at the feet of Christ Jesus? Have you ever gotten there and been lost? Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost.

Have you ever been awakened to your lost condition as a guilty sinner who deserves to go to hell? Have you ever come under conviction by the Holy Spirit? Without Holy Spirit conviction, you'll never be saved.

Listen up close now for the words I tell you contain life and death. If you miss Holy Spirit conviction, you miss repentance. If you miss repentance, you miss faith. If you miss faith, you miss the new birth.

If you miss the new birth, you miss Christ. If you miss Christ, you miss heaven. If you miss heaven, you're doomed and damned to a devil's hell. Not like we say in the South, I've given you the oil straight from the can.

I have not diluted the gospel of the Son of God one drop. If you want to get to heaven, friend, then you must get to Christ. A person with an empty religious profession has missed Christ entirely. Jesus declared in John 6, 35, I am the bread of life.

He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. And we have a pure gospel promise from Christ to those hungry and thirsty, poor lost sinners that come to Him. Listen to Him, friends.

He says, and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Let us pray.