Dec 18 - Matthew 7:21-23

Jesus said,

Not everyone who says

to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will

enter the kingdom of heaven,

but only the one who does

the will of my Father 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 deeds of power in your name?’

Then I will declare to them,

'I never knew you; go away

from me, you evildoers.’

Matthew 7:21-23

I preached on this passage recently.

And I scared a lot of people!

It's not that I didn't preach God's love and his forgiving grace. It's that humans -- even good Christians -- tend to worry. We all have a little insecurity that’s easy to exploit … especially if we have a little guilt. We think, "What if God says to me, 'I never knew you'? ... What if he says, 'You never really knew me'? ... What if God measures me, saying, 'You didn't do enough'? ... What if God says, 'Even though you proclaimed in my name, I still didn’t know you'? "

Yes, this verse scares even a lot of very fine Christians. (And truth be told, every once in a while, it’s scared even me … especially when I compare myself to others.)

So let's make sense of this … and restore our confidence!

First, what's the formula for salvation? In Romans 3, after admitting that we all sin and fall far short of God's glorious standard, we are told that ...

·       "we are justified": forgiven and declared just ...

·       "by God's grace": His love, His action, His initiative

·       "effective through faith": accepting Jesus in our heart as His Son and our Savior

·       "apart from works prescribed by the law": since we all fall short of God's glorious standard, it can't be our works that save us! It must totally be God's grace -- His love, His action, His initiative

Now apply this to these verses for today. On what grounds are the people in this passage approaching Jesus and expecting access to heaven? On the basis of the works.

·       Lord, didn't we do this ... ? (Some good thing like "prophesy in your name.")

·       And didn't we do that ... ? (Another good thing like "cast out demons in your name.")

·       And didn't we do this other good thing ...? (Like "do many deeds of power in your name.")

Think about it, you and I can do plenty of good things in Jesus' name.

I can eat steak in Jesus' name. (I pray before meals.)

I can start wars in Jesus' name. (My righteous – or self-righteous – crusade.)

I can gossip in Jesus' name. ("Bless her heart").

But none of that means I know Jesus!

·       Some may simply use God’s name as a way curry the Lord’s favor … not to truly worship. (Know of any instances of people treating God like a genie?)

·       Others may pridefully be convinced that more people will follow their agenda if they proclaim an allegiance to God. (Know of any politicians who’ve ever done this?)

·       Others ignore the teachings, commands, and wisdom of God, and attribute to God their own personal agenda. (Can you say blasphemy … even when well-intentioned?)

Clearly, just adding Jesus' name to the end of one’s own motives doesn't mean that we have faith!

·       Others may simply want to use God's name to justify actions that are otherwise questionable. But clearly saying that an action is godly doesn't make it godly ... and it doesn't mean that we have faith.

Faith is not in doing. (Works? No!)

·       Faith is submitting … even when our heart is screaming, “Me! Me!”

·       Faith is humbly obeying … even when our culture has a different logic than God’s revealed Word.

·       Faith is believing … even when we don’t yet have full sight.

·       Faith is following … even when we can’t discern yet where we are going.

·       Faith is trusting … even when we don’t understand everything that God has laid out in his calls and commands.

·       Faith is not looking for earthly results (though with God's blessing, those results often come). Faith is simply giving our lives to heaven’s agenda.

And no ... you won't do everything on this journey perfectly!!!! But don’t worry: It's not about doing!

But here's a hint if this passage still worries you: If you're worried about passages like this, then it’s probably care what God thinks. Which means you believe he’s real – otherwise you wouldn’t care. Indeed, you’re probably reading God's word because you want to know God (and perhaps his ways) more fully … and more wonderfully! And, yes, that's faith!

Indeed, it’s that seeking and wanting that saves you! (Not the actions related to seeking, but the heart that prompts it!)

So here's the irony: Because you're worrying (almost certainly) means that you don’t have to worry any longer!

In Christ's Love,

a guy who says, "Lord, Lord"

... with his whole heart