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Reading Matthew 7:21-23 where Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' well enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father." Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!
Matthew 7 verses 21 to 23, some of the most terrifying verses in Scripture. For there are many on the day of judgment who will say, Lord, Lord, and will not enter the kingdom of heaven, when we understand the text.
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Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.
Thank you, Becky. In our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we're in Matthew chapter 7, and today we get to one of the most frightening passages in all of Scripture. This is Matthew 7 verses 21 to 23, which I'll read to you from the Legacy Standard Bible.
Hear the word of the Lord. 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, will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, in your name did we not prophesy, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty miracles.
And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. What a terrifying passage. To think that you could be spending your whole life following Christ only to discover that you had never known the truth at all.
Or, even more serious, Jesus never knew you. And so on that day when you stand before him in judgment, instead of hearing, well done, good and faithful servant, now great is your reward, you hear, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.
Let's look at this particular passage today, that we may examine ourselves to know that we are in the faith, to continue to hold fast to our Savior and long for that day when we will hear him say, well done.
Once again here in Matthew chapter 7, we had in verse 7, Jesus say, ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. Jesus then said in verse 13, enter through the narrow gate.
For the gate is wide and the way is broad, that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted, that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
So what we're reading about here today in verses 21 to 23, are those broad that are on that wide road to destruction. We saw yesterday the warning in verse 15, to beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves, and you will know them by their fruit.
So examining them by the fruit that they produce, what is it that they are demonstrating in their lives? Do they show a love for God, and a love for his word, and a love for his people? Then that person is producing good fruit.
But if they do not love God, you will not see from them righteousness, you'll see actually in their lives a pursuit of lawlessness, a pursuit of fleshly passions, going after those things that are not of God, but really are the attitudes and behaviors that mark pagans and unbelievers and the worldly.
You know, one of the things about today, in an Internet age, in a day when you've got the entire world's information right there in the palm of your hand, in the form of a smartphone, when you can get on your computer and privately look at whatever you want, do it in a dark room, and nobody has any idea, any knowledge what it is you're spending your time doing, when you're on your phone or you're on your computer.
There are a lot of secret sins that you can hide, and no one has to know that you're doing. I'm not going to articulate exactly what those sins are, but I think you've got a pretty good idea. And it's not just looking at things that you shouldn't be looking at, it's chat rooms, saying things to people that you shouldn't be saying.
I don't know how many people really do chat rooms anymore. DM messages on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, or something like that. Maybe you take on an anonymous persona on social media, and you like to chew people out, cuss them out, say bad things about them, say slanderous things of them, things that you don't think that you could get away with if your name was on it.
But if you take on an anonymous persona, see, now I can really tell a person what I think of them, and it won't come back on me. But God knows these things. As we'll read later on in Matthew, everyone is going to have to give an account for every careless word they say, whether it comes out of your mouth or it comes out of your fingertips.
So there are ways in the world today, especially within technology, within the realm of technology, people can have secret sins nobody has to know. So maybe sometimes, maybe there are those persons who never actually demonstrate something outwardly that everybody can see that indicates this person has a lot of sin in their heart, and they are still holding on to some fleshly passions rather than crucifying the flesh and submitting the members of their bodies as members of righteousness, as Paul talks about in Romans 6.
And they may even be able to get through their whole lives with nobody knowing about these secret sins. But who knows? I think you know. I think you know what you're doing is evil, which is why you would try to keep it a secret.
So you know, and God knows. Nothing is going to remain permanently hidden. It all comes out in the light eventually, whether that is going to be in your day, where somebody exposes the truth, exposes your behavior, or it will be on that day of judgment when all those things will be exposed.
I bring this to your attention because even if it looks to other people like you are producing good fruit, the Lord knows whether the heart that you have is genuine or not. And so he says in verse 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 will enter.
How are you doing the will of God? How do you demonstrate in your life good fruit? Once again, Jesus saying, You will know them by their fruit. What kind of fruit are they producing that you may know whether that person is of the truth or of the lie?
There was a book that was written by M. Scott Peck several decades ago called People of the Lie. It was one of the most harrowing books for me. I think it was the first book that I ever read that really opened my eyes to the reality of total depravity, to the doctrine that we are totally depraved and there is nothing that we can do to lift ourselves out of it.
Left to ourselves, we would only do wickedness and rebel against God. That's not the conclusion that M. Scott Peck comes to in that book. But the things that he wrote about, a psychologist, and he talked about various cases of evil people that he had to deal with, just reading that book that I realized the wicked condition of the human heart, the wicked condition of my own heart.
And it's only by Christ that my heart is cleansed and I'm made into something new, that I'm given righteousness, a righteousness that doesn't come from myself, but it is a righteousness that is gifted to me by God.
It is Christ's righteousness that I am clothed in, that I may desire to do the right thing and walk that path of righteousness, that I may enter through the narrow gate. So, Lord, may I be producing fruit, whether public or in private, that is reflective of the righteousness of Christ that I want to be clothed in.
There will be people on that day that will stand before the Lord and they will sincerely say his name, Lord, Lord. I think that's one of the things that demonstrates there when Jesus says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.
He's showing that these persons were sincere. They really called upon the name of the Lord and they believed that they were in the right. Remember what I read to you yesterday, the quote from Martin Lloyd-Jones.
Most false teachers were not dishonest men. There are charlatans out there. There are those who know the truth but prefer the lie because they get rich off of that. Yes, there are definitely false teachers out there who do that.
But most false teachers really think they're doing the right thing. They really think they're giving you the truth. They really think they're helping other people. But if it goes contrary to what God's word says, it's a lie.
And it leads people to destruction no matter how sincere they might be in thinking that they're doing the best for other people. I remember seeing a comment from somebody online just the other day who said that teaching the doctrine of hell scares people.
It doesn't win people into the kingdom of God. So even if you believe there's a hell, you shouldn't talk about it. You should tell people that everybody is going to be saved because that message will draw more people in than telling people that most folks are going to hell.
I mean, that's a lie. It's a lie from the pit of hell. No matter how well-intentioned that person might be in saying such a thing, he's setting people up for their own destruction. If you tell people that everybody goes to heaven, then nothing matters.
You can do whatever you want and you're going to get rewarded for it. That's even worse than what the atheist believes. I mean, the atheist believes you just die and become worm food and you just cease to exist.
The universalist believes that you can live like the devil and you will still get into heaven. You'll even be rewarded for that behavior. That is astonishing. And you are leading people to hell with a message like that.
No matter how well-intentioned the universalist might be, no matter how much he thinks he loves people with the message that he is saying, or something that you're seeing happen in more and more evangelical churches today, saying homosexuality is not a sin.
A person can be homosexual and still enter into the kingdom of God when what did the Spirit say in 1 Corinthians 6, 9, and 10? Do not be deceived. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Neither the sexually immoral, nor the adulterers, nor the idolaters, nor homosexuals, nor the effeminate, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
So there are pastors out there telling people that you can be gay and be Christian. They're leading them to hell. They're telling them you can continue in this sin that God has promised he will judge.
And it doesn't matter how well-intentioned they are. They are leading people to destruction. So there are those who will stand before God on that day, on that day of judgment, who with the best of intentions will say, Lord, Lord, but they will not enter the kingdom.
Only the one who does the will of the Father. And my friend, that desire to do the will of God has to come from the very core of you. It cannot be something that you just do on the outside. And maybe if you just do it on the outside enough, then it'll cleanse the stuff out that's on the inside.
That's not how it gets done. You have to be cleaned from the inside out, and that's a work that only Christ will do. You must come to him. You must be broken in your sin, and you must beg that you be cleansed of all unrighteousness.
1 John 1, 9, if we ask forgiveness for our sins, he is faithful and just to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. This is something that happens from the inside out. Going back to the illustration of the good tree bearing good fruit, if the root is good, the fruit will be good.
If the root is bad, the fruit will be bad. The bad fruit doesn't make the root bad. It's a bad root that leads to bad fruit. So being cleansed from the inside out, that we may with our hearts desire to do the Father's will.
And it's the one who does the will of the Father who shows that he is truly of Christ. For Christ did the will of the Father. And so we must do the Father's will as well. This is something that's going to come up several times in Matthew, as a matter of fact.
Jesus will later on say, Who are my brothers and sisters and mother? He who does the will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother and my sister and my mother. So those who are the brethren of Christ, who are in fellowship with him, are those who do the will of the Father, as he did the will of the Father.
Jesus goes on to say in verse 22, Many will say to me on that day. Many will say. Because remember, we had that contrast earlier between the narrow gate and the broad way. Many go down the broad path, few will find the path that leads to life.
So there are many who think they're on that narrow path, but are really on the broad way, who will say to Jesus in that day, Lord, Lord. Again, the sincerity of their words. In your name did we not prophesy.
In your name did we not cast out demons. In your name did we not do many mighty miracles. All the wonderful, incredible things they will claim to have done. And done so in the name of God. But as Paul said to the Corinthians, even the devil disguises himself as an angel of light.
And Jesus will say later on in Matthew 24, that there are many who will come with their false signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So there are those who will even claim to have done many mighty things in the name of God.
But Jesus' response to them will be in verse 23, I never knew you. Depart from me. You who practice lawlessness. They might have looked great on the outside, but inside, as Jesus says in Matthew 23, they were full of dead men's bones.
They were whitewashed sepulchers. They polished and cleaned the outside of the cup, but inside was still dirty. They showed themselves to be a servant of Christ. Lord, Lord, did we not do all of these things in your name?
But they were really servants of Satan. Consider this parable that Jesus gives in Matthew 24. He says, Therefore stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
For this reason, you must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think he will. Now, of course, Christ is talking here about his second coming, but we really have to consider this in such a way of like, you have no idea when your hour is up.
The Lord will come for you in one of two ways. It will either be that he comes for you on the day of his return, or he will come for you on the day of your death. And you have to stand before the Lord in judgment.
As it says in Hebrews, It is appointed for a man once to die, and after that comes judgment. So we must always be ready. We must always be in righteousness, walking in the light as he is in the light.
Back to 1 John 1 again. So that on that day when we appear before the Lord, whether it is by our death or by his coming, we will be ready. We will stand before him blameless, because we had been in his righteousness after the Father's will rather than after Satan's will.
So in this parable, Jesus goes on to say, verse 45,. Who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
So what is the mark of the good slave here? The one who cares for other slaves. As it said also in 1 John, if we obey his commands, we'll love one another. Jesus said to his disciples that the world will know that we are his when we show the love that we have for each other.
So Jesus says, Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all of his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, My master is not coming for a long time.
And he begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards. So the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect him at an hour that he does not know and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites.
In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus will say to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. What is even more important than we know God is that he knows us.
Consider the words that Paul said in Galatians 4, 9. Now that you have come to know God or rather to be known by God. Like Paul even puts the emphasis there. As far as our faith is concerned, as far as our commitment to Christianity goes, we believe that we have come to know God and that is certainly true.
But the reason why we know God is because he knows us. So really the reality of the situation is the one who is saved is the one who is known by God. Remember what is said in 1 John. We love because he first loved us and gave his son to be the propitiation for our sins.
So we must be known by God. And the words that Jesus says to the one who is not known is depart from me, you who practice lawlessness, I never knew you. Now if you're reading from the NASB or the translation that I'm reading from, the LSB, then you'll notice that those words depart from me, you who practice lawlessness are in all caps.
That is a quote from Psalm 6, 8. Depart from me all you who do iniquity. For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication. The Lord receives my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed.
They shall turn back. They will suddenly be ashamed. So David there talking about his enemies, saying depart from me all you who do iniquity. And so Jesus is saying here that those that will be cast out from his presence are not his servants, but his enemies.
No matter how sincere they were in their words, calling upon the Lord, they did not do the will of the Father, but the will of their father, the devil, as Jesus makes reference to in John 8. And so following Satan, they will be cast into that place that has been prepared for the devil and his angels.
And my friends, this is a terrifying passage, as I said in the very beginning, and one that should cause us to pause, to meditate, to tremble before God and examine our own hearts. Are you sincerely a Christian or are you really a Christian?
Like is it just words that you say or is your heart truly devoted to the Lord? One way that you examine yourself is to test your own fruit. As Jesus had said about the fruit of the false teachers, what kind of fruit are you producing?
Is it fruit that loves God and his word and is obeying it? As Paul had said to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 13, examine yourselves, test yourselves to see that you are in the faith. Do you truly love God?
Do you truly love Christ? Jesus' warning to the church in Thyatira in Revelation 3, you say that you have everything that you need, but you are poor, pitiable, blind, and naked. Repent. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
To the church in Ephesus, return to the love that you had at first. They even taught sound doctrine, but did not have hearts that truly loved Christ. Return to the love that you had at first. Isaiah 66, 2, God says, This is the one to whom I will look, he who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at my word.
Do you believe the word of God and desire to do what it says? Do you desire to hear your Savior say on that day, Well done, good and faithful servant. Now great is your reward. Then live for that prize, the ultimate prize, who is Christ.
As we read in James 4, Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Heavenly Father, we thank you for what we've read here and however terrifying this might be for us to read. Work it in our hearts that we examine ourselves and desire Christ above all things.
We know that if we draw near to Christ, in him we are justified and we have nothing to fear. For you will deliver us ultimately into your kingdom. Produce in us the fruit of righteousness, that we may show by our works, by our lives, that we truly belong to the Lord.
And if there is any sinful way in us, convict our hearts, that we may turn from that sin to Christ and be cleansed. Lead us in paths of righteousness for your name's sake, that we may on that path enter through the narrow gate and hear our Savior say on that day, Well done.
It's in Jesus' name we pray,.
Amen. Pastor Gabe is the author of several books and Bible studies. Available in paperback or for your e-reader. For titles and more information, visit our website at www .wutt .com. Join us again tomorrow as we grow together in God's Word, when we understand the text.