Not Everyone Gets In?
Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted
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Matthew 7:21-23
Not Everyone Gets In?
Intro: We as a country for sure and It probably extends to all mankind, but we do not like to be told “no” unless we are doing denying? Have you ever been told, you cannot join some club or event for whatever reason? Around 2007 or 2008 a study was done by the pentagon and it found that 75% of the nation’s people between the ages of 18-24 were ineligible for military service. We have an all volunteer force and even at 25%, the number of people that are allowed to be in the military at one time, Other countries have mandatory military service where people must serve
Read Verses:
Main Point: Being a Christian is more than doing works in His name, it is about surrendering your life and doing God’s will.
I. Man’s Idea of Kingdom Membership
Jesus has been talking about what it means to be a follower of God. In his entire Sermon on the Mount, he has been turning everything that people thought about what it means to follow God on its head. The preceding verses Jesus talks about the good fruit and bad fruit and how to recognize the difference between good teaching and bad teaching and teachers. We must be careful to always keep our eyes on God so we do not stray from his words and his teachings.
Warren Wiersbe explains that the two paths are the start of the Christian life, and the two trees are the types of growth that we can experience in or Christian life. But here Jesus is dealing with the judgment. We know this because Jesus says “On that Day,”. Which refers to the day of judgment or the last day.
As Christians we must have a clear understanding of the Gospel and what that means for us individually and other people as we tell share the good news with others.
And so now, Jesus comes to answer a question that comes up today. The people say, We have cast out demons and prophecies in your name. What are they saying? I am a good person, I donate time and money to needy people, I haven’t killed anyone. I tell people I’m a Christian. It's as if someone is saying “See, I bear good fruit.”
Many people through time have thought they could that just proclaim that they are Christians, when their actions don’t match at all to that profession of faith. Or that everyone gets into heaven anyway.
Theologically, the term is Universalism, which is a doctrine that teaches all people will be saved. Other names for this doctrine are universal restoration, universal reconciliation, universal restitution, and universal salvation.
The main argument for universalism is that a good and loving God would not condemn people to eternal torment in hell. Some universalists believe that after a certain cleansing period, God will free the inhabitants of hell and reconcile them to himself. Others say that after death, people will have another opportunity to choose God. For some who adhere to universalism, the doctrine also implies that there are many ways to get into heaven. This salvation system is directly linked to our fallen nature and the fact that we do not like to be told no or we cannot have access to something.
However, you do not have to go very far in the bible to understand that this theological system is flawed. Here in these verses Jesus talks about the Many. The ‘many’ (polloi) of Matthew 7:22 are principally if not exclusively the false prophets (pseudoprophētai) of 7:15–20. The false prophets disguised themselves as sheep. But also in view are persons who fell prey to those teachings and deceptions, in part from being dazzled by those extraordinary phenomena. As Jesus says in that later text, those many false prophets ‘will lead many astray, the messianic pretenders will do the same (24:5). Through the acts of both the false prophets and of their followers, lawlessness will increase (24:12; anomia, as in 7:23). Moreover, the language of 7:22 and 7:21 recalls the use of those terms in 7:13–14, where Jesus says that many (polloi here being not just false prophets but all unbelievers) will enter upon the road leading not to the life of the kingdom but to destruction.
However, Not everyone who says … will enter’ (7:21a) indicates that some will. The close of 7:21 reveals who they are: ‘but only the one who does the will of my Father,’ and thereby shows that his allegiance to Jesus (‘Lord, Lord’) is genuine.
But I want to be clear, this is not advocating a works based system. Jesus is telling the people to do the will of God. Yes that is evidenced by what we do, but It is the reason behind our m]actions that is more important here.
Our faith in God and our willingness to do God’s will is brought about by being born again by God the Holy Spirit. John 3
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. 8 The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
There seems to be no reason why people are chosen to have eternal life or those that are not. We are chosen by God’s own selection process. He makes us good. He makes us perfect. We are not saved because He sees the good deep down inside us. He plants the good seed in us and like the tree, he waters it and watches us grow so we bear good fruit. He is the vinedresser and so he is constantly pruning and tending His plants. And we must have rain and sunshine in order to grow. Even though we do not like the rain sometimes.
TS: If man is the one is judged, then there must be a judge. God is the judge.
II. God’s Idea of Kingdom Membership
And so when people stand before God on the last day we know he is going to judge those who were lawless. He says I never knew you; depart from me. He says those who proclaim things in my name but they did not know me.
The word lawlessness This is the single instance of anomia in the sermon; placed at this juncture (Matt. 7:23), it takes account of the whole preceding exposition. The term embraces both failures to obey the law as taught by Jesus (sins of omission), and willful acts of disobedience (sins of commission). The expression ‘workers of lawlessness’ shows that such persons do not really live without law: their sin is to do their own will rather than the Father’s (7:21) and to replace his rules with their own. At its heart, anomia violates the foundational command to love God and one’s neighbor (22:37–40).
Verse 23 repeats this theme of God’s judgment in a way that makes clear that true Christians cannot lose their salvation. Jesus addresses those he rejects by declaring, “I never knew you.” Perhaps these people fooled many on earth, but Jesus knows that they never had a saving relationship with him. He is warning the people who pretend to have a relationship with God. It is the people who willfully pervert God’s teachings.
In the Old testament the book of Hosea chapter 8 explains God’s unhappiness with His people because they went away from God and
8 Put the ram’s horn to your mouth!
One like an eagle comes
against the house of the Lord,
because they transgress my covenant
and rebel against my law.
2 Israel cries out to me,
“My God, we know you!”
3 Israel has rejected what is good;
an enemy will pursue him.
4 They have installed kings,
but not through me.
They have appointed leaders,
but without my approval.
They make their silver and gold
into idols for themselves
for their own destruction.
Even though their will be judgment here as in the case of the Exile for the Israelites, God is faithful to His people. Because he has chosen them.
Jesus brings up this idea of knowing Him and How God knows those who are considered His people.
Luke 13:27
And he will answer, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.'
John 3:33
Whoever accepts His testimony has certified that God is truthful.
John 10:14
I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,
Paul Tells Timothy English Standard Version
But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
2 Timothy 2:19.
But Going back to the Gospel of John and continuing the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. In John 3:14
14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. 19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. 21 But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”
Everything comes out on that Last Day. Which line will you be in?
Application:
1. God Leads You to the road of Life.
Psalm 107:4-7
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
The Hebrew word in verse 7 for “led” has more of a connotation of He marched them by the straight way.
God leads them. he is in command of the wanderers as he brings them to His city to get rest, food and water.
2. We must Pay attention to God’s teachings
Psalm 107:43 says 43 Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things
and consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love.
The books of wisdom help us learn they difference of being wise or foolish.
3. We Must not just hear His teachings, but we also must do His will.`
Romans: 2:13 For the hearers of the law are not righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified
What is the law really, Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and love your neighbor. Those are the two laws or commandments. If you are doing that and you can say you are doing that and you are teaching others to do that everything else falls into place. Because if you love God, you listen to God and you will want to stop sinning.
You will give yourself over to His will for your life and the things that you want that do not align with God’s will,
Conclusion:
Disney World is expensive. As you come into Florida on I-95. You can stop at any of the numerous rest stops and buy Disney world T-shirts and souvenirs even though you are a few hundred miles away from Orlando. And you can wear them and tell people you got it in Florida which is not a lie. But it may fall apart when people ask you to see pictures of your trip or ask more detailed questions. And it may not matter too much, but people will be content with the answers you give until you meet the one person who is a Disney expert and they start to see through your lies . But you see your eternal life is not an amusement park ticket.
The ones who pretend to be His people or whatever reason will pay for false claims. Think of it like stolen valor. For various reasons people claim to be military heroes wearing ranks and medals they did not earn. They did not pay the price of admission to earn wear those items.
The good news is that God’s chosen people don’t have to pretend that they are Christians and cannot be lost. And they have been given their admission ticket so to speak.
Jesus is clear as to his expectations of what his teachings are and how to use them.
He is also clear that there will be false teachers who will use their influence or understanding to lead others astray. Not everyone is saved. Everybody does not go to heaven.
But the Ones who do God’s will, both with their faith and their works, are the ones who walk the narrow road toward God. This is because they are being led by god himself down this road.