The Book of Matthew • Matthew 7:21-29

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Well, good morning, church.

If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Matthew

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7.

If you do not have a copy of God's Word, we do have some free copies that we would love

to give you.

They are at the back of the church, and so back at the connections table, they look just

like this, so you can stop by there afterwards and grab one.

We would love for you to have a copy of that.

This morning, as we continue on in our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we will conclude

our mini-lengthy study on the Sermon on the Mount.

I look back over this, and we started our study of Matthew really at Christmas last year, and

we looked at Matthew's birth account in December.

We continued on, and on January 25th, we started in Matthew 5.

And now we come today, and we will conclude the greatest sermon ever given by the greatest

preacher, and Jesus being the greatest preacher, the Sermon on the Mount being the greatest sermon.

And so we're glad that each and every one of you could be here.

A couple of things before we get into this this morning.

A reminder, if you haven't been able to be here, I will be going on sabbatical after tonight.

And so, no better way to kick off a sabbatical in South Carolina than with a night of bingo.

All right, so we'll be here tonight.

Would love for you to come and join us.

I have been promised that, I don't know what the prizes are, but I've been promised that

they are fantastic.

All right?

So, that's a word.

You can come, you can hang out with us tonight, be a part of that.

At the very end of the service, I'm going to come back out.

We're going to have a special time of prayer for a family in our church, and we'll share

about those details at the end of the service.

So, if you don't have somewhere that you've got to be, if you can just hold back for a

couple of minutes, we want to have that a little bit different than normal.

So, make sure that you stick around for that.

Well, the greatest pastor, the greatest preacher, Jesus, gives the greatest sermon that we know

in the Sermon on the Mount.

And Jesus perfectly, in his perfection, lays out the narrative that he's been building on

since chapter 5.

So, if I could take for a moment and just kind of hit the high points of what we've been working

on since January 25th.

Jesus redefines for his audience and for us what it means to be blessed.

Jesus gives a call from the very beginning about missionary mobilization for those who have

responded that repent for the kingdom of heaven is near to go and be salt and light.

Jesus gives a challenge that if you have a hope in eternity, it is that your righteousness

exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees.

He corrects faulty teaching in matters like anger and lust, divorce, oaths, and so on.

He challenges the motives of the religious works and exposes hearts of self-righteousness.

And now he will give his conclusion.

He will draw it to a final point where everyone there then and everyone here today must decide

within themselves, what do I do with what I've just heard?

How do I respond to this?

I heard a pastor say this week that what Jesus is bringing everyone to is the understanding

of the desperation that we come to Christ.

He said, you cannot listen to the Sermon on the Mount and think that you come to Christ by

your own means.

But he said, no, and I love this, that we come to Christ as the means of a beggar who deserves

nothing but finds everyone, everything in Christ alone.

To come to God in our own inability is the death of the pride that we wrestle and struggle

with.

So if you'll join with me as we look at this, starting in verse 21, we'll look at three

different sections, the first being verses 21 through 23.

Jesus says, 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 I will declare to them, I never knew you.

Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

Folks, this is a terrifying passage of scripture.

Jesus shares that there will be people when the day of judgment comes

who have made a verbal profession of Christ.

They've done religious works.

They've done works that the world would look at and be astonished and amazed

that this could happen and that this could take place.

But their eternity will not be eternity with Christ.

And what they will hear is, I never knew you.

Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

What I want to look at this morning, within the words of Christ, is what we find are two professions.

Two professions that within us today, I hope it becomes a internal wrestle within us

about who we are and what have we professed.

Jesus deals with the verbal profession.

This is important to remember.

Jesus here is not dealing with an irreligious or unreligious people,

but he is dealing with a group of people who are obsessed with religious activity.

But for a large majority of the crowd, that's all it was, was an activity.

And Jesus says that in this religious-minded, relationally broken people,

is that they are delusional about their eternity.

And what you and I need to do today as we look through this,

and I hope you've been working through me,

and I'm like, this is what Jesus says about anger,

and this is where I'm at with anger.

This is what Jesus says about lust, and this is what I'm wrestling through with lust.

This is what Jesus says about marriage, and this is what I'm wrestling through within this.

I hope within this that you didn't just skim over this,

and without leaning into the working of the Holy Spirit,

you go, no, no, no, I'm good.

I'm good.

For me this week, full confession, and right where we're at,

like, man, like, I read this, and I'm like, God, like, where are we at?

Where are we at?

Because I'm going to tell you, like, I don't want,

Lord, Lord, oh, Bo, I never knew you.

I never knew you.

But I'm a preacher, but I never knew you.

Well, I'm a pastor, but I never knew you.

Well, I've got degrees, I never knew you.

I went on mission trips, I never knew you.

I give, I never knew you.

I don't want, in my eternity,

I don't want, in my kid's eternity,

I don't want, in my wife's eternity,

I don't want, in your eternity,

for that day to come,

and you feel like there's confidence

in what you've done in your religious resume of activity

that's void of a relationship with Jesus.

But Jesus says

that there are people

who think they're good

and they're not.

And they're not.

So what can cause someone

to assume

that they're saved?

What can cause someone

to assume

that they're saved?

John MacArthur, in 1980,

preached this message.

And in 1980,

I love how, like,

for some of us in here,

I said 1980,

and we were like,

man, that was yesterday, right?

We know who we are.

Some of us said 1980,

and another group of us is like,

I'm pretty sure

that's when World War II was, right?

Like,

1980.

In 1980,

John MacArthur is preaching

on this passage of Scripture.

And he shared, like,

four things

that can creep

into someone's life

that can cause them

to have a false assurance,

a false hope

of salvation.

So I want to share

these four with you,

explain them a little bit.

Number one,

number one,

he said,

he categorized this one

as simply

a false sense

of assurance.

That you've falsely

been assured

by other people

in your life

that you're saved.

You're not.

You're not.

But there are people

in your life

who either have

such a desire

to encourage you

that they've falsely

assured you,

oftentimes out of

a good motivation,

that you are someone

that you are not.

They look at your works,

they look at your morality,

they look at your attendance,

they look at all your deeds,

all of your works,

and time and time again

they assure you

that you're the best

Christian they know.

The problem with that is,

what if the Spirit of God

is testifying to you

something different?

Can I tell you,

the testimony of God

is always greater

than the testimony of man.

And God knows your heart

greater than anyone else.

So MacArthur said

a false sense of assurance.

The second thing

he talked about

is a false work

of self-examination.

A false work

of self-examination.

Like under the power

of the Holy Spirit,

do you and I examine

sin and see the sin

that is in our life?

And in that,

when we do,

when we notice it

because it's what

we've been taught

that we can recognize

within here,

do we fall in

an abuse of grace?

And let me explain

what I mean by

an abuse of grace.

My sin doesn't matter

because Jesus

just forgives me.

Folks,

Paul actually writes

about this in Romans

and he says,

if this is where

your heart is,

your void spirit of God.

I'm good.

It doesn't matter

what I do

because God's

just going

to forgive me.

if a husband

said that

about his wife,

we would call him

an abuser.

So why would we

think any differently

when that's what

we do to God?

Does God lavish us

with his forgiveness?

Absolutely.

But receiving

and abusing

two different things.

Number three.

Number three.

A false desire

for religious

activity.

A false desire

for religious

activity.

Here's the question.

When it comes

to doing

the works

of God

at the core

of who we are,

are we simply

just working for it?

Are we simply

just

working for it?

You know,

I want to keep

God happy.

I want to prove

myself to God.

I want to show

him what I'm

capable of.

I want to show

him why I'm

here and why

I'm worth it.

And so this

is what

I do.

One of the things

that I found

interesting with

reading through

here in verse

22, when it says,

on that day,

many will say to me,

Lord, Lord,

did we,

did we,

did we not

do?

Let me tell you

anything.

Let me tell you

one thing with

this.

When it comes to

did we not do,

let me tell you

the heart

that's found

and set

and secure

in Jesus Christ

that if there is

anything good

that comes from

me or is,

it is not

of me.

It is from

him.

It is from

him.

So a false

desire for

religious activity

to keep God

happy, to prove

myself to him,

to show that I

am worth it or

the second part

for this, that

some people, that

this is the

balance of what

they do and a

false desire for

religious activity

to pay for past

sins.

Let me tell you

like Jesus has

forgiven you, he

is forgiving you

and he will

forgive you.

And so the

mindset of someone

that says, I

sinned yesterday,

so today let me

do holiness to

account for my

sins that I've

done.

Folks, that's

works, that's

not the gospel.

That's works,

that's not the

gospel.

If you can feel

like you can do

anything to

deserve the

forgiveness of

God, that's not

the gospel.

It's not a set

amount of prayers,

it's not enough

giving, it's not

enough mission

trips, it's not

enough kindness,

there's not

anything that you

can do to earn

or deserve it.

You don't pay for

your sins, Jesus

paid for them.

And the fourth

thing is a

false application

of righteousness.

This would have

probably been what

Jesus dealt with

the most in the

hearts of religious

people during his

day.

A false

application of

righteousness.

Their righteousness

was self-righteousness.

And here's how they

came to a conclusion

of self-righteousness.

They looked at

people who they

deemed worse than

them and said,

at least I'm not

that guy.

At least I'm not

her.

I'm better than

them, so in that

my righteousness

is found in the

fact that look at

how good I am.

instead of

looking at how

broken I am

before a

holy God.

So they've

professed.

They've done the

things.

But Jesus

will say,

I never

knew you.

I never

knew you.

To know

someone

means something

different

based in the

relationship.

So what is

Jesus saying?

Is Jesus

saying,

I never

knew you?

Like, hey, I'm

sorry, like, we

were never

introduced.

Like, this one

got slipped past

me.

My bad on

this.

I never

knew you.

No, that's not

at all what

Jesus is

saying.

The word

to know

here is the

word within the

Bible that it

talks that a

husband and a

wife will come

together and

know one

another.

And this is

not to take us

down a path of

over-examining

the illustration,

but it's to

point to that

within our

relationship with

Christ, to

know Christ

and for Christ

to know us

is described as

an intimacy

of relationship

that is more

than a casual

passing by on

a Sunday

morning or in

the works that

we've lined up

for the week.

Jesus says,

I never knew

you.

So to know

Christ, to

profess Christ

as Lord and

Savior without

the depth of

intimate

relational

relationship with

Christ, folks,

for you and I

would be a

dangerous path

to walk down

concerning your

eternity.

My plea with

you this morning

is not do you

know religious

things, it's not

do you do

religious activities,

but is that at

your heart, is

there a depth of

intimacy that

resides between you

and Christ?

I'm not talking

about perfection

on our end,

but I'm talking

about a deepening

desire for the

Lord.

So we can do

all the stuff,

but do we love

the Savior?

So what does

this intimacy

look like?

What does this

intimacy begin to

pull from,

from here?

Like, I think,

like, this is what

I want to be,

this is what I

want to have.

Well, I want to

just point to

this.

John writes

about this in

1 John 1

chapter 9.

He says this,

what does intimacy

look like?

If we confess

our sins,

he is faithful

and just

to forgive

our sins

and to

cleanse us

from all

unrighteousness.

Right before we

see within the

Sermon on the

Mount being

delivered,

remember,

the Sermon on

the Mount is

not Jesus'

introduction

into ministry.

This is not

Jesus' trial

sermon.

Jesus has been

traveling around

and he's been

preaching and he's

been sharing and

he's been working

and he's been

calling and what

we find in

Matthew chapter 4

Matthew 4:17

verse 17 is

the summary of

the message that

Jesus has been

preaching.

Repent for the

kingdom of heaven

is at hand.

I believe that

at the heart of

an intimate

relationship with

Jesus is a

man and a

woman of

God who lives

in a posture

of repentance.

That it's a

continual.

It's daily.

It's professing.

It's coming

before him.

Broken for who

we are and what

we've done.

And I come to

this in trying to

understand what

is said in

scripture about

David.

about King David.

I'm going to

tell you, King

David is one of

my favorite

characters in

all of the

Bible.

And it

fascinates me

because in 1

Samuel 13,

14,

in the rebuke

of Saul,

here's what is

said about

David.

but now your

kingdom shall

not continue.

That's to

Saul.

But the

Lord has

sought out

a man

after his

own

heart.

And the

Lord has

commanded him

to be prince

over his

people because

you have not

kept what the

Lord has

commanded you.

I'm going to

tell you, that

description

fascinates my

mind.

The Lord

has sought

out a

man after

his

own

heart.

The

intimate

language of

what we find

in the

description of

David.

So David,

if this is

God's

description of

David,

I bet

David is a

guy in the

Bible who

never messes

up, right?

Let me just

tell you,

he messes up

a lot.

A lot.

Here's the

short

five-summary

PG-13

description of

how much

this guy

messes up.

Here's five

sin struggles

that David

has.

He lies.

He lies.

He lies a

lot.

He

commits

adultery.

Some

would even

argue

assault.

David

denies

justice,

God's

justice.

He lives

in and

practices

polygamy.

And I

separated

adultery and

polygamy.

We could

put them

under the

same, but

want to

get that

picture there.

And then

lastly,

in our

brief

description of

the life

and the

struggles of

David,

let's throw

in murder.

maybe not

the guy,

I heard a

guy say one

time, like it

was a pastor

somewhere where

sometimes we

say things and

then we listen

to what we

said and

I wish I

never would

have said

that.

That happens

from time

to time.

And this

guy said

this, he

said,

wouldn't we

all love

it if

David was

our worship

leader?

No.

No.

Like that's

meeting after

meeting to deal

with that.

You know what I

mean?

Like we're on

the front page

of the news,

right?

That's not

what we

want.

So what

makes that

guy,

what makes

that guy

a man

after God's

own heart?

Because when

David sinned

and he did

and David

sinned

greatly

and you

and I

we sin

and you

may not

think that

your sin

is great

but your

sin is

and so

was mine.

But when

David sinned

because of

the intimacy

and the

relationship

with God

David

grieved

his sin.

David

grieved

over it.

I want

to read

to you

the 51st

Psalm.

51st

Psalm

written

by David

written

after the

prophet

Nathan

confronted

him

concerning

his sin

with

Bathsheba

and the

murder of

her husband.

David

David

David

doesn't

blame

her.

David

doesn't

blame

the natural

desires

that he

has.

David

doesn't

blame

God

and the

kingship

and the

authority

that God

has given

him.

The most

powerful man

who could

have made

it go

away

politically

at the

snap of

his fingers

but realizes

that he

can't make

it in

himself

go away

before a

holy God

writes

this.

Have

mercy

on me

God

according

to your

steadfast

love

according

to your

abundant

mercy

blot

out

my

transgressions

wash

me

thoroughly

from my

iniquity

and cleanse

me from

my sin

for I

know

my

transgressions

and my

sin

is ever

before me

against

you

and you

alone

have I

sinned

and done

what is

evil

in your

sight

so that

you

may be

justified

in your

words

and blameless

in your

judgment

behold

I was brought

forth

in iniquity

and in sin

did my

mother

conceive

me

behold

you

delight

in truth

in the

inward

being

and you

teach me

wisdom

in the

secret

heart

purge

me

with

hyssop

and I

shall be

clean

wash

me

and I

shall be

whiter

than snow

let me

hear joy

and gladness

let

the bones

that you

have

broken

rejoice

hide

your face

from my

sins

and blot

out all

my

iniquities

create

in me

a clean

heart

oh God

and renew

a right

spirit

within me

cast

me not

away

from your

presence

and take

not your

holy spirit

from me

restore

me

to the

joy

of your

salvation

and

uphold

me

with a

willing

spirit

then I

will teach

transgressors

your ways

and sinners

will return

to you

deliver

me

from the

blood

guiltiness

oh God

oh God

of my

salvation

and my

tongue

will sing

aloud

of your

righteousness

oh Lord

open my

lips

and my

mouth

will declare

your praise

for you

will not

delight

in sacrifice

or I

would give

it

you will

not be

pleased

with a

burnt

offering

the

sacrifices

of God

are a

broken

spirit

and a

broken

and contrite

heart

oh God

you will

not

despise

do good

to Zion

in your

good

pleasure

build up

the walls

of Jerusalem

then you

will delight

in right

sacrifices

in burnt

offerings

and whole

burnt

offerings

then

bowls

will be

offered

on your

altar

can I

ask you

a question

this is a

question I

felt as I

read this

this week

that the

spirit of

God

asked me

now I

will be the

first to

say

that I

lack the

eloquence

of David

but the

eloquence

of David

is not

what's

impressive

about

Psalm 51

it's the

honesty

and the

brokenness

and the

humility

of David

and this

week I

had to ask

myself this

question that

I'm going to

ask you

when was the

last time you

talked to God

like that

when was the

last time

that you

talked to

God

in the

true reality

of who

and of

what you

are

and of

what you've

done

folks

sometimes I

think we

admit sin

but we

don't grieve

it

do you

grieve your

sin or you

just feel bad

because of the

consequences that

come with

it

do you

grieve your

sin or

just seek

better works

tomorrow to

replace the

sins you

committed today

do you

grieve your

sin and run

to God or

just make

excuses how

life is

unfair and

people around

you should be

better do

you grieve

sin and

seek forgiveness

and righteousness

or do you

just compare

yourself to

other sinners

who are

around you

what's your

profession

what's your

profession

Jesus

continues on

in verses

Matthew 7

Matthew 7:24–27

verses 24

through 27

everyone then

who hears

these words

of mine

and does

them

will be like

a wise

man who

built his

house on

the rock

and the

rain fell

and the

floods

came

and the

winds

blew

and beat

on that

house

and it

fell

and great

was the

fall

of it

there's two

professions

but there's

also two

decisions

within this

and the

brokenness

and the

convincing

of ourselves

that we

are sinners

who desperately

need to be

saved

that we

are people

who are

broken

and removed

from a

relationship

with God

and our

religious

activity

cannot

fix the

brokenness

that's

there

but Jesus

has fixed

it

through his

death

on the

cross

and the

power

of the

resurrection

he has

made a

way

and that

way is

not simply

found

through an

intellectual

acknowledgement

of who

Jesus is

and what

Jesus has

done

and it's

not a

commitment

to just

doing

more

religious

works

but it's

a surrender

to Jesus

it's a

brokenness

before him

it's a

depth

it's an

intimacy

of relationship

and Jesus

in his

conclusion

paints a

picture

paints a

picture of

two people

one who

is wise

and one

who is

foolish

and then

this

Jesus

says

it's what

you're going

to do

with these

words of

mine

will we

truly

know

Jesus

and know

the word

and obey

or we

will we

simply

know about

Jesus

know about

the word

and then

at our

heart

disobey

we see

two houses

we see

two people

yet the

same

environment

the same

attacks

and yet

two

different

outcomes

that

from

the

intimacy

of

relationship

what we

see

when we

were to

look

if we

were to

do the

full study

of David's

life this

morning

is we

see the

brokenness

that comes

from the

sin

we see

the

restoration

and the

work

that God

does

and we

see the

desire

of the

obedience

for David

to do

what God

has called

him to do

then I

will teach

sinners

and

transgressors

will turn

to you

there's a

desire

James

in James

1

22

through

25

that

within

us

be

doers

of

the

word

and

not

hearers

only

deceiving

yourself

for if

anyone

is a

hearer

of the

word

and not

a

doer

he

is a

man

who

looks

intently

at his

natural

face

in a

mirror

for if

he

looks

at

himself

and

goes

away

and

at

once

forgets

what

he

is

like

but

the

one

who

looks

into

the

law

the

law

of

liberty

and

perseveres

being

no

hearer

who

forgets

but

a

doer

who

acts

he

will

be

blessed

in his

doing

in

Matthew

the word

wise

is used

seven

different

times

and

in

each

time

that

wise

is used

in

Matthew's

gospel

gospel

it's

connected

with

the

call

to

prepare

for

the

coming

of

the

Messiah

and

so

in

your

life

and

in

my

life

and

the

depth

of

the

relational

intimacy

with

Christ

are

we

living

our

life

in

the

preparation

for

him

there's

the

contrast

there

will

be

those

who

hear

and

make

the

choice

to

disobey

and

there'll

be

those

who

hear

and

obey

Jesus

says

that

the

ones

who

hear

in

the

choice

of

who

they

are

choose

to

disobey

he

says

that

he

will

deceive

himself

but

in

others

there's

the

heart

and

the

obedience

of

Christ

folks

are

you

different

are

you

different

because

of the

work

of the

Holy

Spirit

and

the

message

of

the

gospel

I'm

not

asking

are

we

perfect

because

I'm

not

perfect

and

you're

not

perfect

but

are

you

different

are

you

different

because

you've

encountered

and

you've

met

and

you've

been

brought

into

relationship

with

Jesus

are

you

different

because

of

the

gospel

concerning

your

anger

are

you

different

concerning

lust

are

you

different

in

your

marriage

are

you

different

in

truth

are

you

different

concerning

retaliation

or

loving

others

are

you

different

in

your

giving

are

you

different

in

your

prayer

are

you

different

in

your

fasting

and

your

dependence

are

you

different

in

the

goals

of

your

life

are

you

different

concerning

matters

of

control

and

anxiety

are

you

different

in

your

judgmental

attitude

that is

critical

of

others

are

you

different

in

how

you

treat

others

are

you

different

in

the

daily

path

of

life

that

you

choose

are

you

different

for

the

desperation

of

truth

not

because

you

have

to

prove

yourself

but

because

you

know

who

Jesus

is

the

storm

of

judgment

will

come

and

the

Bible

says

Jesus'

words

there

will

be

those

who's

built

on

the

rock

and

it

will

sustain

and

there

will

be

those

who

are

built

on

the

sand

and

it

will

crumble

in

his

words

in

that

fall

will

be

great

the

destruction

of

it

will

be

like

no

other

last

two

verses

we'll

conclude

with

these

verses

28

and

29

can you

imagine

being

there

imagine

this

this

teacher

from

Nazarene

looked at

as

common

by

most

verse

28

when

Jesus

finished

these

sayings

the

crowds

were

astonished

at

his

teaching

for

he

was

teaching

them

as

one

who

had

authority

and

not

as

their

scribes

two

things

for

us

today

concerning

the

message

of

the

gospel

of

what

Jesus

has

shared

through

the

sermon

on

the

mount

folks

Jesus

words

are

amazing

are

amazing

you

see

Jesus

what

they

hear

is

different

than

they've

been

taught

there

is

not

a

world

religion

that

is