Righteousness and Reality
Brad Pearce
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It is always a privilege to be here and present the Word of God to the church.
I am constantly in awe of the goodness of God and the provision He gives. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but it is truly a grace that God would save even one rebellious sinner, much less the multitudes from every tribe and tongue that He saves. To think that He would save even a wretch like me, is humbling and honestly mind-blowing.
When we understand that God is pure and unadulterated righteousness we begin to see the true cost of sin. We begin to grasp why it says that the wages of sin is death in the book of Romans. When we understand that God is Holy, that is completely set apart and that He cannot tolerate sin, we see the true expression of love that it was for God to send His Son, Jesus, to cover the cost of sin for sinners like you and me. You may feel like I talk about this often, but that is because it is so true. We truly should be brought to awe and tears when we consider how great a sacrifice it was that Christ made for us, and how unmerited such a gift was in the first place.
As we begin to walk through our section of Scripture today, it is very important to remember the true grace it is that God would save anyone. I love how it is put in Psalms 18
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
This God, the One True God of the Universe, the Creator of all things, the One who knows the number of hairs on every head, the One whose divine nature and power is evident throughout everything that is made, His way is perfect. He never fails. He never lies. He is Righteousness.
It is that God who Lords over the earth and every decree, every Word He utters proves true. Even when it is doubted by many, the Lord will be vindicated in the end. His Word will prove to be true. Every syllable. Every judgment.
That same God who is so above everything, such a master over all of creation, is a shield for every single person who takes refuge in Him. That is grace! He doesn’t owe it to anyone to shield them, but in His great love, God cares for all those who abide in Him.
God is Perfect. His Word is true. He graciously saves.
We must remember those truths as we begin to look at our Scripture today. The section we are looking at today should make all of us take a moment to step back and pause. It is my hope that all of us would be attentive today, not to Brad’s words, but to God’s Word. Today’s scripture is one of the most sobering sections of Scripture in the New Testament. If you have not already, turn to Matthew 7.
Last week we looked at the marks of a false prophet. We said that we can evaluate those who are not from God by their character, creed, and converts. It is absolutely essential to mark and avoid false teachers because their message does not bring glory to God, rather it leads to destruction. Remember Jesus called them ravenous wolves. While they may appear godly, they are actually devouring the sheep that follow them. We must look at a teachers fruit to evaluate their true intentions.
Our Scripture today flows from that concept, but with a dramatic shift. We are no longer looking at false teachers but false converts. We have moved from false prophets to false professors.
This conversation may make us a bit uncomfortable this morning, but thats because maybe it should. Today we will see that many people who claim to know the Lord, in reality, know nothing.
We are being confronted by the reality of our position before God. This is a message so serious that we can’t obscure it with pleasantries. We have to be blunt and honest. Sin is real. Sin incurs eternal death. There is but one way to be forgiven of sin, faith in Jesus Christ. And there will those who say they have faith in Christ, when in reality, they do not.
Let’s go to God’s Word and see what Jesus teaches us about false professions.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is 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 mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
All of these verse are so intertwined in their meaning, that we really have to be looking at them all together. Jesus is illustrating what will happen to false converts on the day of the judgment! Jesus has already said that the gate is wide that leads to destruction. He has shown us that the gate is narrow that leads to life. We’ve seen that He IS the gate. Matthew 7:21-23 shows us what it looks like for those who thought they had entered by the right gate, but are sorely mistaken.
Let me make one thing crystal clear from the onset of our look this morning: This message, what Jesus is saying here, is not directly for the clearly lost—those whom many would call the bottom dwellers of society. This message is not even for those who are successful by cultural standards but adamantly deny the existence of God, people like Penn Gillette, Richard Dawkins, or Arian Foster.
Here Jesus is not addressing the clearly lost and rebellious heathens of the world. He is addressing the confidently religious. He is addressing those who put all of their hope in a one-time profession of faith but though they have said they believe with their mouth, their hearts remain stone. They may even have the appearance of godliness, but they deny its power, as it says in 2 Tim 3:5.
All of this comes back to the doctrine of Assurance. The doctrine of Assurance is beautifully explained throughout the book of 1 John. We spent sometime last fall walking through that book. As you go through the book of 1 John, and i suggest that all of us do this on a fairly regular basis, you will gain some valuable insight on the assurance there is in Christ Jesus. You will see that if you willfully and continually walk in sin while claiming fellowship with Jesus, you will be found to be lying, having no fellowship with Christ. You will see that salvation does not mean that you never sin again, but rather that you are given a repentant heart and continually cling to the source of forgiveness. You will see that it is Christ’s sacrifice on the cross that paid the debt for your sin. You will see that those who know the Lord want to grow in their faith. You will see that this world has nothing to love in it. This world is passing away but those who do the will of God abide forever. You will see that sin is lawlessness and those who happily remain in sin have not seen the Lord, nor do they know Him. You will see that all those who truly believe in the in the name of the Son of God truly have eternal life!
1 John is a beautiful exposition of what it truly means to be saved and secure forever. I cannot properly explain all of its content in just a couple of minutes of this sermon, so please go back and read it for yourself later. Let that be your homework! But I bring that up because a proper understanding of the doctrine of assurance of salvation is integral to understanding what we see in our text here in Matthew.
Here are two complimentary truths we all must understand before we go any further:
No one can pluck you from the Father’s hand (John 10:29). That is to say if you are truly saved by grace through faith, then you will always be saved by grace through faith. You cannot even take yourself out of the Father’s hand. But at the same time:
Many people make false professions they cling to for security rather than clinging to the Father in whom’s hand they say they are in.
No one can pluck you from the Father’s hand, but many people would rather say they’re in His hand than actually be there.
So you say, Brad what do you mean? How can I know if I’m actually in the Father’s hand or if I’m just saying that. Well a few things on that. Go back and read 1 John like I mentioned earlier. It is filled with doctrinal tests for you to use to evaluate your position before the Lord. Secondly, I can’t give you assurance of your salvation. Brad Pearce doesn’t get that job, nor would I be qualified to even attempt it. But thank God that HE assures believers of their salvation through the Holy Spirit. If you’re taking notes jot down:
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Assurance comes the Word and God and the Spirit of God. That’s where you’ll find real assurance. Quick and easy, man given assurance can deceive you.
But let’s look at a couple manifestations of false conversions in our text this morning.
Look at verse 21
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Here you see someone who proclaims correct truth but clearly were not saved and thus made into a new creation. Despite the truth they knew about Jesus, it did not make an impact on how they lived their lives.
“Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven,” There is a whole lot going on in just that phrase. First off, look at what this individual says to Jesus. They call Him Lord, Lord. Now, it is important to now just how important the repetition of that word is. Lord used one time would have been a relatively common expression of respect. It was an honor and respectful signification to call someone Lord, but many would be appropriately called that. Really any political leader, military leader, or religious leader could be given such a title. But the repetition of the words elevates its meaning. This person is clearly identifying Jesus as someone even more worthy of honor and respect than an average teacher. This points to an understanding of the divinity of Jesus!
Jesus says not everyone who acknowledges Him as Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Some will. But not everyone. It is those who know Jesus as Lord and do the will of the Father who enter into heaven. Now we have to pause here for a second. You could easily look at this as a two step process as salvation. “Brad, you just said acknowledge the Lord, then do works in the will of the Father, THEN you will be allowed to enter heaven.”
That is not the point you should get from this. We will expound on this as we look at verse 22, but works do not save a person. “Jesus was not suggesting that works are meritorious for salvation, but that true faith will not fail to produce the fruit of good works.” Even your best deeds do not saved you. But when you truly believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and your life is then led by the Holy Spirit, you are going to produce fruit. You are going to do good deeds for the glory of God. Works are not a prerequisite to gaining salvation but a product of it!
Now I want to address an elephant in the room. You may not see it, but I sure do. Church, we have to be soberly aware that there are many people who would say that Jesus is Lord, Lord and have a knowledge of who He who is, with no significant or substantive desire to do the will of the Father in their lives. Church, our country is plagued by what is called “easy-believism” fueled by cheap grace. There are many people that think that they are saved, not because they have life-shattering faith in God-incarnate who died for them, but rather because one time in bible school, they prayed a prayer and took a dip in baptistry. If asked they might say “Yeah I’m a Christian.” They might even share Bible verses on facebook from time to time. But at the end of the day honor God and seeking to glorify His name is an after thought if its a thought at all.
I recently reached out to a friend that I’ve known since elementary school. I hadn’t talked to this guy in years but I could see online that he was going through some very rough waters in life. He was getting twisted up in some really harmful things that were clearly antithetical to pursuing godliness as presented in Scripture. So I thought his eternal soul was too precious to not say something. I very lovingly reached out and was going to share the gospel with him. I used the qualifying questions from Share Jesus without Fear. That is I asked him, Do you have any kind of spiritual belief? To you, who is Jesus? Do you believe there is a heaven and a hell? If you were to die tonight, where would you go? If heaven, why? And wouldn’t you know it, but he gave me basically the most perfectly orthodox and correct christian understanding response to every single question. I was floored. On one level I was excited! This guy knew the gospel, praise the Lord!
But then I started asking about discipleship and following the Lord in everyday life. The conversation stopped right there. There was no interest in pursuing godliness and biblical application. We went from a really great conversation, to being completely shut out.
Here’s the thing, my friend, nor anyone for that matter, has to prove to ME that they are saved. Getting my stamp of approval wont do you any good. But Jesus says in our text this morning, that just because you know who He is, that doesn’t mean you are saved. James 2:19 tells us even the demons know who Jesus is and what He did, but true faith is life shattering and produces fruit of righteousness. Pray for my friend. I’m afraid that when his time for judgment comes it will be like the scene Jesus is describing in verse 21.
Simply professing that Jesus is Lord, Lord does not grant entry to heaven. It is full authentic faith in Him that leads to subsequent submission in all facets of life. Jesus says in:
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Salvation and obedience go hand in hand. They are inseparable. Jesus didn’t die and rise again to make you a new creation that is indistinguishable from the old creation! No, 2 Corinthians says the OLD HAS PASSED AWAY AND THE NEW HAS COME.
A one-time profession of faith is not something to hang your hat on. Nor are works as we see in verse 22
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 mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Lord, did we not do a lot of amazing things in your name? Weren’t those things good enough! Jesus’ response is that they were not working in His name, but rather that they are workers of lawlessness! How is this possible?
Here’s what you must know about the many who will say to Jesus that they did great things in His name. Like the first group, they may have claimed faith in Jesus, but they never truly submitted to Him. They may have done what would be perceived as righteous deed, but they never really called on the name of the Lord to be saved, and so their deeds were nothing more than filthy rags.
Though they prophesied, casted out demons, and did mighty works, they were not regenerate. How is this possible? One scholar suggests three options. One, they were allowed to do great things by God’s power, but like Balaam and Caiaphas, were not they were wicked. A Second option is that those amazing acts were actually accomplished through Satan’s power. We’re told in 2 Thessalonians that Satan will use his power to make false signs and wonders to deceive people. Or a third option is that these works are lies. The miracles or mighty works were fakes. Much like a guy who goes around miraculously “elongating” legs to “fix” back pain. In all likelihood, on judgment day, all three of these categories will be represented.
And ultimately how or even if those works were accomplished is insignificant. The many who are represented in verse 22 may or may not have done great things and claimed to do them in the name of the Lord. But when it comes down to it, this text makes it clear that they did not have the desire to do the will of the Father.
That is evident because Jesus’ response is, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.”
Now, just to make it clear. Jesus saying “I never knew you” is not a detriment to His Omniscience, rather it is a term that refers to intimate knowledge. He is saying that sure you may have done those things, but you were never a child of God. You were never adopted into the family of God. You never abided in Me!
In just these three verses we are confronted with some very serious truth. We see that neither a Basic knowledge of Christ nor a plethora of good works are sufficient enough for salvation.
Jesus says in these verses that “many” will be in these categories and many will hear “I never knew you.”
It is my goal that in these last few moments we have together this morning that you will be equipped and led by the spirit to ensure that you are not one of those many.
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
Take the rest of this time this morning to examine yourself. Are you really in the faith? Or have you been putting your hope in a profession you made 30 years ago that made really no impact on your life? Am I here this morning because I know God wants me to be with His people or because I think checking in at this building once a week will keep me off the eternal naughty list? Test yourself. What’s your motivation for the things you do? Are you heaping up wealth and comfort to “live your best life now”? Or, are you genuinely concerned with giving God the glory, not to earn your spot in heaven but because you know that He truly is worthy of all glory, honor and praise?
Church, we shouldn’t be afraid of testing ourselves and our motives. If we know Jesus, why would we be? Do we not realize that Christ is us? If He truly is in us, then when we test ourselves then that is what we will find! And we can keep on singing O Happy Day O Happy Day When Jesus Washed My Sins Away. Unless that test is failed and instead we find that our faith isn’t really in Jesus. Our faith was in our works. Our hope was in our profession at a bible school. Our trust was in being baptized. If that is what we find then we will see that we fail to meet the test and that Christ is not in us!
And what should you do if that is the result of your testing? Should you shake your fist at the pastor and fly out the back of the church? Should you just keep on living for yourself and trusting in works or a profession? Should you keep quiet for fear of embarrassment? No—NO to all of those things! If you find that you fail the test and Christ is not in you, then praise God that you were given this blessed opportunity to evaluate yourself now before the time of judgment comes! IF you fail the test and Christ is not in, Repent and believe in the gospel, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Stop playing games, respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and submit to Jesus as Lord today!
“Mere professed devotion to Christ is [nothing more than] another Judas kiss.”
Judas said that he was a follower of the Lord and turned Him over to be killed. Thanks be to God that what man meant for evil, God meant for good and when Jesus was tried and eventually killed He would inso be the perfect sacrifice to once and for all cover the cost of sin for all those who would ever believe in Him. Jesus says that those who love Him, those who have faith in Him, those who call Him Lord Lord, they do what He commands to Him. The true Christian’s life is marked by a desire to actually follow Christ! “God’s will may not be for the perfection of the true believer’s [earthly] life, but it is the direction of it.” Submit to Christ and seek to glorify God by doing His Will for His glory! You’re not perfect and you’re never going to be on this side of heaven. But it is the God’s will that we desire to please Him.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
I am imploring you this morning as an ambassador of Christ to examine yourself beyond simple actions and professions and ask yourself if you truly fear the Lord and hope in His steadfast love.
I am not calling for perfection. I am calling for you to check your priorities and be honest with yourself and God. You can see in Scripture like Romans 7, that being truly saved by grace through faith does not mean that we will always be perfect and sinless. But even in our failures, the Christian’s life is marked by a desire to repent and glorify God. “A person who has no desire for continued cleansing has reason to doubt that he even came to the Lord to receive salvation.”
Ask yourself, and cry out to the Lord as well, asking where you truly stand in relationship to Him.
The reality is that the stakes are too high to get this wrong.
The Lord is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
Have you repented from you self dependency? Do you take refuge in the Lord? Are you doing that for the first real time today? if so, come forward during this hymn of response.