Sermon Tone Analysis

The Danger of Spiritual Deception…

The Danger of Spiritual Deception…

Jesus is everything.

He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

He is the bread of life, the chief cornerstone, the creator, our deliverer, our everlasting Father.

He is God.

He is the Good Shepherd, the Great High Priest, the Holy One, and the hope of glory.

He is the great I AM.

He is the image of the invisible God, the Judge of the living and the dead.

He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

He is the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

He is the power of God.

He is the resurrection and the life.

He the way, the truth and the life, the very Word of God made flesh.

Jesus is all these things, and so many of us treat Him simply as the leader of a religion and act like He’s not the most important thing in our life.

Do you realize you need Him for every breath.

The only reason your heart is beating at this moment is because of Jesus.

We’re going to begin a new series that I believe is eternally important.

I believe there are many people across this country today who are sitting much the way you are and believe that as long as they prayed that prayer or walked down the aisle and signed that card that their salvation is secured.

It has been reduced to a religious rite or rite of initiation.

What I never want is any one of you to be under the sound of my preaching for years and one day stand before Jesus and He says to you, “Get away from me, I never knew you.”

At the end of His sermon on the Mount Jesus gave a very clear picture of someone who thought they were right with Him, but were very mistaken.

I want us all to make sure we get it right.

It’s of eternal importance.

Let’s listen to Jesus’ words...

Matthew 7:13-27

This is how Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount, with a picture of a house, symbolizing one’s life, falling with a great crash.

What Jesus is telling us here is that it’s possible to deceive ourselves in the most important issue of this life.

He is speaking of the devoutly religious people of His day who were deluded into thinking that they were on a road that leads to life, when in reality, most of them are on a road that leads to death.

They have the rituals down pat, but don’t have the relationship.

Just because you’re here today and think you’re right with God, doesn’t mean you’re saved.

I want us to make sure you know for real.

So I want us to very intentionally unpack these three pictures Jesus gives: Roads and trees and foundations.

I want us to see what Jesus is telling us about the danger of spiritual deception.

We’ll start with the first picture in verses 13 and 14.

Warning number one from Jesus in the danger of spiritual deception...

We gravitate toward that which is easy and popular.

The wide gate, the broad road, is the easy road.

Now don’t miss this: It’s the religious road that doesn’t require much of you.

Remember, Jesus was talking to religious people.

Contemporary picture…all that’s required on this road is a one-time decision for Jesus.

A one-time decision to pray to Jesus, and after that, you don’t need to worry about the commands of Jesus, you don’t have to worry about anything else.

You have a pass to heaven, and your sins will be tolerated along the way.

Now don’t misunderstand me, salvation doesn’t require anything but faith.

But many…their faith is in a prayer or walking down the aisle and making a transaction with Jesus.

They have no intention of surrendering their life to Him and acknowledging Him as Lord.

They’ve taken the easy road.

It’s like someone wanting to lose weight but not wanting to change their lifestyle.

Just take a pill and lose weight while you sleep.

It doesn’t work that way.

He says, “Enter by the narrow gate… narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.”

What’s really interesting is that He uses two different words that are often translated for narrow here in the original language of the NT.

The first time you see it there in verse 13, the word literally means, “to groan as if you’re under pressure; to be pressed on all sides.”

Narrow gate.

The second time he uses it, “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.” the word that’s used here is the verb form of the noun that’s used throughout the NT to talk about tribulation, most often persecution.

What Jesus is saying when He talks about the narrow gate, He’s saying that...

The way of Christ is hard to follow.

We tend to gravitate toward that which is easy and popular, but the way of Christ is hard to follow.

Jesus already set the stage for that earlier in His Sermon on the Mount when He said that following Him would bring persecution.

“You follow Me, you will be persecuted.”

This goes completely against what we expect.

and second...

The way of Christ is hated by many.

Because they hate the way of Jesus.

Go down to verse 21...

Now verse 37...

How is that for hard to follow Jesus?

Some of you may be thinking, “Isn’t that being a little extreme?

Jesus is trying to get the point across that the danger of spiritual deception is that we gravitate toward that which is easy and popular.

The second warning from Jesus...

We can profess publicly what we do not possess personally.

This is verses 15 through 23 back in where Jesus addresses false prophets, false professors of faith.

He says, “Watch out for false prophets.

They come to you in sheep’s clothing...” i.e., they look like they know Christ, they look like they have Christ, and they even speak to Christ like they know Him.

That’s the picture in verses 21-23.

They’re crying out to Jesus.

“Lord, Lord!” There’s not just fervor but orthodoxy.

They’re acknowledging the lordship of Jesus.

They were even driving out demons and performing miracles.

How could they do these things if they didn’t know Christ?

The way of Christ is always fruitful.

Don’t be misled.

All throughout Scripture, we see God using those who are opposed to Him to accomplish His will.

All throughout Scripture, we see Satan at work in deceptive ways.

You think about it.

God … Old Testament picture … He’s using Balaam … not just Balaam; He uses Balaam’s donkey.

This is no saved donkey.

This is a donkey that God uses.

It’s Caiaphas in who prophesies.

It’s the sons of Sceva in ; they’re driving out demons.

It’s ; it’s false prophets and false christs who are performing signs and wonders.

All of these extravagant things only deceiving the reality that they are professing publicly what they do not possess personally.

Jesus looks at those who are crying out “Lord, Lord, did we not do these things in your name.”

He quotes to them and says, “I never knew you.

Away from me, you evildoers.”

So, how do we know if what we profess publicly, even here, what we’re singing … how do we know if what we’re professing publicly is something, someone, we possess personally?

How do you know that?

Jesus says two things.

He says, number one,

David Platt, “The Gospel: Why It’s Important,” in David Platt Sermon Archive (Birmingham, AL: David Platt, 2008), 1264.