Matthew 7:21-23

If you have your Bibles, if you would open them

to Matthew chapter 7. I really debated a lot

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

this week whether I would continue in this sermon

series knowing this is my text. You know, I believe

in expository preaching as we go verse by verse

making our way through each book of the Bible.

And sometimes you come to some harder verses,

certainly more sobering. You know, there are

days in which the Sunday falls, the Wednesday

falls, and, you know, I really thought, Lord,

do I want to, do you want me to preach a comforting

song? But I just didn't have any peace about

that. And so I decided, no, I'm going to stick

where we were and trust that God's providence

has brought us to this passage before us, although

it is Mother's Day. And with that, I wish all

of you ladies a very happy Mother's Day. It's

a gift of God's grace to us. And we celebrate

and we honor you this morning. that we worship

Christ, and we have to hear from him. And this

is how he has spoken to us. He has spoken to

his church through his word. We're in Matthew

chapter seven, verses 21 through 23. Jesus himself,

the divine son of God, he says, not everyone

who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into

the kingdom of heaven. Now right there is terrifying.

That's terrifying to me. That he who does the

will of my father in heaven. Many will say to

me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied

in your name, cast out demons in your name, and

done many wonders in your name? And I will declare

to them I never knew you. Depart from me, you

who practice and notice lawlessness. Some translations

may say iniquity. Let us ask the Lord for help

this morning. Would you join me in prayer? Our

Father, Lord, speak by Your Spirit to Your people

who are gathered in Your name, Lord God. We profit,

Lord, by hearing from heaven. Lord, we realize

that it must be the Spirit of God that brings

conviction as well as illumination. Lord, I pray

that I would not be a distraction. Would You

help me to speak clearly, boldly, yet humbly,

Lord? I need You in this regard. Father, I beg

of you, Lord God, I pray that you would help

me to speak, Lord, by your spirit so that Christ

and Christ alone will get glory this morning.

And we pray this in his blessed name, amen. As

a teacher, whenever something is important or

I want to emphasize that my students really need

to know something, I will usually give a warning

or more than that, I usually just drop a hint.

And the warning may go something like this. If

I were you, I would highlight this because you're

probably going to be seeing this again in the

future. And the idea there, if you're a teacher,

everyone knows, well, that's going to find its

way on a test. Warnings like that are very helpful

because they arrest the student's attention.

They cause them to think about why I just said

it was important. And that's what warnings are

really designed and supposed to do. As we come

to the text today, it is not a teacher, but it's,

again, the Son of God. And he issues the most,

and I say that with all seriousness, the most

sober, the most serious, and I believe the most

sad warning of all. Jesus says not everyone who

calls him Lord is going to enter into the kingdom

of heaven. That means that some who assume they

belong to Christ do not belong to him. In other

words, there were some on that day who were listening

to Christ speak and they were deceived believing

that they were right with God. Yet sadly, Jesus

said they will be cast away from the presence

of Christ for all eternity. It's a dire warning.

And with dire warnings, we do well to take heed

and listen carefully to what he's saying. We

need to understand context, right? We're nearing

the end of this great sermon, known as the Sermon

on the Mount. He opened it. He began with those

Beatitudes. Blessed are. Blessed are the poor

in spirit. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are

the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after

righteousness. And in it he was giving the qualities

of those people who do enter the kingdom of Christ.

We then were directed, our attention was, to

the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, the scribes

and Pharisees. Jesus himself said that his disciples,

they are the light of the world, they're the

salt of the earth. He talked about a narrow gate

that led an open to a narrow way, a difficult

way is the word thepsis in Greek, and it ends

in life. We saw there was a danger posed by false

teachers who infiltrate the church and they lead

people astray. And today we come to the most

sobering passage yet. Jesus said there's going

to be some who are shut out of the kingdom of

God on the day of judgment. That means not everyone

who says they are saved are saved, and not everyone

who calls Jesus Lord is saved. Is there anything

more tragic than that? I mean, I don't think

there could possibly, there is nothing more devastating

than to come to the end of your life and find

out that you have been denied entrance into this

glorious kingdom of God. Nothing stands to that.

Everything pales in comparison to that. Jesus,

remember, there's two gates. Two gates open,

they lead to two roads. And they lead to two

different destinations. As I said, there's that

narrow gate, but since it's a narrow way, again,

the Greek word there, it's difficult, it flips

us, it hones you in. It's a way fraught with

danger. It ends in life. There's a very broad

gate, a very wide gate, opening to a very easy,

well -worn path. Looks enticing, yet it ends

in destruction. And that's the problem, that

easy path, that wide gate, it's enticing because

it makes absolutely no demands of you. The wide

gate would say there is no cost at all to following

Jesus. The easy road says, hey, you can have

your cake and eat it too. You can have Jesus

as Savior and no, he does not have to be your

Lord. That's a lie. Jesus said, not only are

there two gates leading to two roads leading

to two destinations, there are two types of trees

which represent two groups of people. There are

good trees and there are bad trees. Well, how

can you tell them apart? Jesus said it's very

easy. The good trees will bear good fruit. The

bad tree either bears no fruit or it bears a

corrupt bad fruit. Here's the problem. The bad

trees may look like good trees, for a while.

But in the end, the fruit will always reveal

what type of tree it really was at its root.

The trees, obviously, are serving as a metaphor

for the disciples of Christ. See, both types

of people, both the good trees and the bad trees,

both claim to belong to Christ. They both say

they're disciples of His, but Jesus said only

the tree that bears forth good fruit actually

belongs to Him. And then he said, hey, to his

disciples, be on guard. Be vigilant. Why? Because

Satan is going to make sure there are false teachers

who are on that broad, easy path, and they will

be beckoning people to join them. Now, these

false teachers are coming in sheep's clothing.

They look like Christians. They sound like Christians.

They are not Christians. The broad way, it's

the way of indulgence. Pride. It'll appeal to

your flesh. The narrow way. It's hard. It's a

way of cross bearing. Surrender. Humility. Repentance.

It is a hard way, folks. And yet it is compelling.

It is compelling to those who are truly regenerate

because the true disciple of Christ sees and

understands the cost of following Jesus, yet

He does not let that deter Him. Why? You are

compelled to follow Christ because your eyes

and your heart have been opened to see how glorious

He is. You can't deny it. You see Him and you

must follow Him. But in the passage before us,

Jesus was addressing a mixed audience. See, on

that day, he said they were gathered. You have

true disciples. Then you had false converts or

false disciples, we might say. Some of them who

were gathered there on that day were just merely

curious. They hadn't made up their mind. But

we also know the scribes and Pharisees were there,

the leading religious officials, and they were

deceived. And all of them were gathered. There

was a crowd there that day. Now, our text, verses

21 through 23, is connected to the passage we

looked at last week, verses 15 to 20. Let me

show you real quickly. In verse 15, Jesus warns

his followers, watch out for whom? False prophets

who come dressed as sheep, right? Verse 22, our

text today, the people who are shut out of the

kingdom, what are they crying out? We've prophesied

in your name. Verse 19, Jesus says that tree

that bears no fruit at all is going to be cut

down and thrown into the fire. It's a sign of

God's judgment. Verse 23, though, our text today,

those who are shut out of God's kingdom are cast

away from Christ, depart from me. Again, it's

a sign of God's judgment. So we understand false

prophets that Jesus issued the warning in verse

15. They are religious leaders. They are people

who claim to speak for God. And in this case,

they even preach in the name of Jesus. But not

only do they preach in Jesus' name, they cast

out demons in His name, they actually work wonders

in His name. Now, you're probably right there,

you're a little bit puzzled. Well, if they're

false, how do they do those things? If they are

false prophets, then how are they doing these

mighty signs and wonders? I think there's a couple

reasons. I think back to the Exodus event. And

Moses and Aaron are standing before Pharaoh,

and Pharaoh has his own sorcerers and magicians.

And remember when Moses' rod is thrown down and

becomes a snake? So they threw their rods down.

What happened? They became snakes. They were

able to duplicate some of Moses' and Aaron's

miracles. Not all. Now we do know that Moses'

snake ate up their snakes. But nevertheless,

that's what happened. So it could be done by

the power of Satan. It could be done with permission

from God. And you're like, why? He tests His

people. He weeds out the false from the true.

In Matthew 24, speaking about the end, it says,

for false Christs and false prophets will rise

and show great signs and wonders to deceive,

if possible, even the elect. Now, it's not possible,

but they're going to be doing such mighty signs

and mighty wonders that if it were possible,

even the elect would be deceived. So we learn

something very clearly here. Being able to do

signs and wonders is no guarantee of the authenticity

of the one performing them. So let me just tell

you, pay heed to what you see on Christian broadcasting.

Not all that glistens is gold. There's a call

for discernment. Because these false sheep, false

prophets, they come dressed in sheep's clothing,

so they look good, they sound good, they're doing

mighty works, evidently. And you say, but if

these mighty works don't confirm authenticity,

and we know that they're false, then how are

we not to be deceived? How can we know for sure

who is actually speaking the truth of God? First,

as our Lord taught us, you must examine the fruit

of their lives. Listen, let me just say an easy

test, low -hanging fruit here, and this is not

the only one. Those Christian broadcasters who

are fleecing the flock of God and getting filthy

rich and living in mansions and having private

jets, they're false. Look at the fruit of their

lives. It appeals to the flesh. That's an easy

way. Don't listen to them. That's not hard. It

gets much more difficult because there are some

who are much more deceptive than that. Secondly,

not only do you examine the fruit of their lives,

you must examine carefully the content of their

message. Is their message consistent with revealed

truth that the church has always taught from

the beginning? So we need to go back, we need

to know something about history, we need to know

something about apostolic teaching passed down

through the generations. Is it consistent with

that? Peter, James, and John, do you remember

on that day they were permitted to go up with

the Lord to that mountain and they saw him transfigured

before them? Not only, they were eyewitnesses

of his glory, but they also heard the voice of

God the Father from heaven. See, three men, they

saw Christ's glory, they heard God the Father's

voice, thunder from heaven, and then Peter writes

this though. And the King James says we have

a more sure word of prophecy. I'm reading the

New King James. And so we have the prophetic

word confirmed, which you do well to heed as

a light that shines in a dark place until the

day dawns and the morning star rises in your

hearts. Knowing this first, no prophecy of scripture

is of any private interpretation. Yeah, you don't

get to come up with your own interpretation.

For prophecy never came by the will of man, but

holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the

Holy Spirit. There is something even more sure

than signs and wonders, and that is the Word

of God. We must evaluate every miraculous sign,

every mighty wonder. Even, now listen carefully,

personal experience must be examined and judged

by the sure word of God. I've had people through

the years tell me about personal experiences.

I don't ever try to argue with them and tell

them they didn't have it. But I can tell you

if they're biblical or not. Just because they

saw something or had some religious experience

leading to religious affection does not make

it of God. We're called to be discerning here.

So we have to understand there are false prophets.

Everything must be judged by the canon of Scripture.

It's the only infallible guide. So there's false

prophets, but there are also false converts.

You know who was there on that day when Jesus

was speaking? Judas. Judas preached in Jesus'

name. He was part of the one sent out. Apostolos,

one of the sent ones. He cast out demons in his

name, we know. Judas was permitted to do signs

and wonders in Jesus' name. And for all those

things, he was never a true convert. He was not

a believer. He spent time with Jesus. He spent

three years with him. And yet he never knew Jesus

in a saving way. For all the external garb, for

all the external works, Judas had no internal

reality. He was a false convert. And then Jesus

is saying, not everyone who says to me, Lord,

Lord, will enter into his kingdom. But he gives

a caveat here. Who does enter the kingdom? The

one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

The one who does the will of God. The one who

enters the kingdom of heaven is the one who does

the will of God. Doesn't that sound like works

righteousness? Is Jesus somehow suggesting that

our entrance into His kingdom is based on our

works? Is that what He's saying here? No. We

must listen to the whole counsel of the Scriptures.

In Ephesians 2, and I know these are common verses,

but bear with me. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. For by

grace you have been saved through faith, and

that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God,

not of works. Why not? lest anyone should boast.

No man, no man, no woman will ever boast before

God that he has somehow contributed anything

to his salvation. Salvation does not come by

our works. It is a gift, a gift of God received

by faith or in faith. Titus chapter 3, Paul speaking

Titus 3 · chapter mention

there. Notice, not by works of righteousness

which we have done, but according to His mercy

He saved us. How? Through the washing of regeneration

and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is

not of you. 2 Timothy 1, 9, speaking of God,

who has saved us and called us with a holy calling,

not according to our works, but according to

His own purpose and grace which was given to

us in Christ Jesus before time even began. I

mean, the scriptures are abundantly clear, and

that's a sampling. The sinner is saved by grace

alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone,

to the glory of God alone. So what did Jesus

mean when he said the one who does the will of

God is the one who will enter into his kingdom?

Again, we must consider the whole of scripture.

What were these people calling Christ? Lord.

Kurias. Kurias means master. owner. The Greek

word there, it was used of supremacy and authority.

It can refer to deity. It could also just refer

to an elevated status. So these people were calling

Christ, kurios, master. But they didn't do his

will. Master, I'm your servant. Who doesn't serve?

That's an oxymoron. Luke 6, Jesus said, Why do

you call me Lord, Lord?" That's exactly what

these people were doing. And do not the things

which I say. Jesus is saying, stop it. Be done

with the fakeness. He loads it. Read Revelation

with the Church of Laodicea. Don't call him Lord

and then not obey him. He says, you call me Lord.

You recognize that I'm someone special and you

don't follow me. You don't serve me. You don't

obey me. I'm not your Lord. They only called

him Master. But they didn't do what He commanded.

They didn't honor Him as Lord through their obedience.

And what did Jesus just say? Every tree is known

by its fruit. That means you can say He is Lord.

You can mouth those words all you want. Your

actions will show if that is true or not. Their

profession of Christ as Lord was only that, a

profession. They never bowed their hearts. to

Christ. It's the same today. Many will call Christ

Lord, but their lives show no evidence that they

really mean it or that there's any reality behind

it. People call themselves Christians all the

time. Christians literally is the diminutive.

It means a little Christ. Today we use it to

refer to as followers of Christ. So you have

followers of Christ who don't follow Him. Do

you see the problem Jesus has? You want the kingdom

of God, but you don't want to follow God. So

what is Jesus saying? To say that He is Lord

is to bend and bow our will to His even when

it's uncomfortable and when it's unpopular. See,

the true disciple of Christ strives to obey the

will of God, albeit imperfectly. There's always

been two dangers in the church, and I'll talk

briefly about them. Do you have legalism, and

then we could call license. But I prefer the

term antinomianism. Don't get hung up on the

terms. Legalism is where, and this is my definition,

there's a better definition out there. Legalism

is where one so emphasizes works that they begin

to believe, now they may be orthodox and no it

doesn't, but they begin to believe that their

works play a part in their standing before God.

This would be Jesus plus something equals salvation.

You go to the churches in Galatia, it was Jesus

plus circumcision, then you could be saved. So

legalists, here's what they believe. Your works

somehow will earn merit before God and increase

your standing before Him. And friends, that's

a damnable lie. Isaiah 64 6. all our righteousnesses,

and I know it's a weird word, they made it plural,

are like filthy rags. See, our acts of righteousness

and the quality of righteousness both are reprehensible

to God. Why? Because the only way for our works,

in order to be acceptable to God, they would

have to be pristine and absolutely perfect according

to His holiness. And that's an utter impossibility

for those born of Adam. That's legalists. They

believe somehow, I'm working, I'm contributing.

Now they may not say that, but that's their MO,

that's their modus operandi, that's what they're

working from. But you have on the other hand,

you have the antinomians. They distort God's

grace. They say it doesn't matter really how

you live because grace covers it all. So they

would say, Christians are not bound by any ethical

or moral law because we are justified by faith

alone and not by obedience to a law. Now we are

not saved by obedience to any law, but you are

never without law to Christ. 1 Corinthians 9,

when Paul is talking about how he does all things

to win some, to the Jew becomes like a Jew, to

one without the law, he acts like one without

the law. But notice what he said in 1 Corinthians

9, 21, to those outside the law, that's Gentiles,

I became as one outside the law, but notice,

let me highlight this, not being outside the

law of God, but under the law of Christ. This

is Paul. that I might win those outside the law.

What he meant by there, I'm not going to go observe

the kosher laws. I'm not going to observe the

ceremonial laws because I'm dealing with Gentiles.

I don't need to do that. But the whole time he

knows he's operating, I still have an obligation

to obey God. I'm under the law of Christ. Elsewhere

called the law of love. Friends, if he's Lord,

if he is Lord, it is our duty to obey him. Not

to be saved. but because we belong to him and

we have been purchased by him for his holy purposes.

First Corinthians 620, for you were bought, don't

look at 19, for you were bought at a price. That's

a son of God dying for you. Therefore, glorify

God in your body and your spirits which are gods.

You don't even belong to yourself. It's not your

life. It's not your body. It's not anything of

yours. Paul put to death the antinomian view

in Romans 6. What shall we say then? Shall we

continue in sin that grace may abound? Hey, sounds

like a good idea. God loves to sin. God loves

to forgive. Let's just keep that going. Verse

2. God forbid, certainly not. How shall we who

died to sin, that's a Christian, live any longer

in it? Do you not get it? Antinomianism is a

perversion of God's grace. Titus chapter 2, for

Titus 2 · chapter mention

the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared

to all men. Notice what the grace of God does,

teaching us that denying ungodliness, denying

worldly lusts, you and I as Christians should

live soberly, that's seriously, righteously,

that's holy, and godly, just like Christ, in

this present age. So grace does something. The

grace of God teaches us to obey and to follow

Christ. But today, surprisingly, in this area,

in Lawrence County this morning, there are people,

there are false teachers who say that repentance

from sin is unnecessary for salvation. And yet

Jesus said, unless you repent, you're going to

perish. John the Baptist said, unless you repent,

you're going to perish. You read Peter and Paul,

they said, unless you repent, you're going to

perish. We've reached it today, so you don't

need to repent. Just believe. It's false. There

are teachers who say you can continue to live

in sin and open rebellion to God and be a Christian.

Let me read 1 John 2, not my words, this is inspired

text. Now by this we know that we know Him, if

we keep His commandments. That does not save

us, this is how we know. He who says, I know

Him, and does not keep His commandments, John

says is a liar, and the truth's not there. Whoever

keeps His word, Truly, the love of God is perfected.

It's matured. It's brought to completion in him.

And by this, we know that we are in him. See,

the people that Jesus mentioned, they claimed

to be disciples, but they didn't obey him. And

the whole point of Jesus' sermon, Matthew 5 through

7, is what life in his kingdom looks like. It's

an internal righteousness leading to external

displays or works, we could say that. And he's

really issuing an indictment on the scribes and

Pharisees. Remember, they had twisted, they had

perverted the law of God, leaving others astray,

yet the whole time thinking we're actually serving

God. They were the most deceived. They were confident

in their relationship with God and the fruit

of their lives, so there is no root there at

all. But they couldn't see it. They were proud

men, self -righteous, and worst of all, they're

hypocrites, who appeared to work for God. But

as you got close to them and closely examined

their lives, you could see they did not know

God. They weren't poor in spirit. They were not

meek men. They never hungered and thirsted after

righteousness. They hungered and thirsted after

commendation. Do you see what Jesus is saying

here? These people did religious works, but that's

not a substitute for a changed heart, and a changed

heart leads to a changed life. Obedience is a

key. It's one of the tests of our sonship. Read

through 1 John, 1 John 3, verse 10. Notice what

1 John 3:10

he says here. In this, the children of God and

the children of the devour manifest. Friends,

that ought to make us stand up. I'm like, okay,

let's listen to this. Whoever does not practice

righteousness is not of God. Nor is he who does

not love his brother. Pharisees, remember, a

religious veneer. obeyed their man -made traditions,

they kept them fastidiously, assuming they were

okay, but there was no relationship in the heart

that brought forth love, mercy, and obedience.

They were not marked by love, they were marked

by pride. Those who know Christ, again, and we're

not talking about perfection here, but they obey

Christ from a heart that has been changed and

it's now marked by love for Him. John 14, Jesus

said, if you love me, keep my commandments. Who

goes to heaven? You're saying, well, the person

who's been saved by the grace of God, received

in faith, yes. And yeah, as we look through scriptures,

the grace of God produces something. First John

2, the seed still abides in you. A heart of love

and a heart of obedience in those who have been

truly redeemed and received God's grace. So,

who interests the kingdom of heaven? Jesus said,

the one who does the will of my Father who is

in heaven. What is God's will? At its core, it

is to believe in Jesus, John 640, and to follow

him in obedience. Friends, I need to say this

once more. Salvation is not earned by works.

It's not. It's all of grace. That true living

faith that's united to Christ will always produce

a fruit of obedience at some level. Transformed

lives flow from transformed hearts, new hearts.

Regardless of how weak our obedience seems at

times, and I will tell you mine seems very weak

at times, but even then there's contrition, there's

shame. The Holy Spirit has His hand upon you.

Bruce Hurt, he said this, do believers always

do God's will? No. Sadly, the answer is no. We

are not yet glorified. We still possess the fallen

flesh. Clearly, genuine believers from time to

time choose their will over God's will. Many

times. But when they do, as disobedient children

of God, they subject themselves to the discipling

hand of their Father. Amen. In contrast, those

individuals that Jesus is describing in this

passage continually, habitually, and as their

normal pattern of life, choose their will over

God's will. In short, he says, what Jesus is

describing is not perfection, but direction.

Direction of one's life as evidenced by your

daily thoughts, words, and deeds. Believers,

while not perfect in this life, are headed toward

heaven. That's the direction. Although from time

to time they do live like they're headed in the

opposite direction. See, this is what makes it

so hard. Do you remember the seed that was sown

in the field that produced wheat and tares? And

the disciples said, do you want us to go pick

the tares? And Jesus said, no. Leave it alone

until the end, because inevitably you're going

to pick up some wheat when you do it. It's hard.

But we have to understand there's a warning here

that we need to heed. Spurgeon, he explains the

danger of these false converts. He said they

had a religious character, but they never had

a renewed heart. They had religious actions but

never born again. They were fluent talkers, earnest

workers, but they had not confessed or repented

of their sin or laid hold of Christ by living

faith. And then Spurgeon, he counsels those like

us who've made a profession in Christ. Here's

what he said, covet, seek, desire most of all,

seek holiness, the holiness that does not want

to be seen. That's just the opposite of the religious

leaders. Remember, they would sound a trumpet

before they gave. They loved to be praying outside

where people could see them. They loved all these

things. They loved it when you knew they were

fasting. Spurgeon says, no, seek to be holy in

private. Plain, honest, dealing with God in private.

Much secret prayer, much meditation upon the

Word, in brief, a life of consecration to God.

This is his counsel to converts. We're quickly

nearing the end. MacArthur, he says there's two

reasons why there's so many false converts in

the church. His two reasons, and I thought these

were pretty good. He said, first of all, there's

many preachers who give a false doctrine of assurance,

and I would say amen to this. I've seen it many

times. So many professed Christians have a false

doctrine of assurance. Often it is because the

person who witnessed to them told them that all

they had to do was make a profession of faith,

walk an aisle, raise a hand, say a prayer, and

never doubt what the Lord had done in their lives.

I can tell you how many people I have talked

to through the years that will tell me of their

salvation at a vacation Bible school when they

were in second or third grade, and that was the

last sign. And they're like, well, I know I saved

them. I'm like, how do you know that? Well, I

know, because the preacher told me if I do that.

Unfortunately, many evangelists, pastors, and

personal workers, they attempt to certify a person's

salvation apart from the convicting work of the

Holy Spirit and the evidence of fruit with continuance

and obedience of the word. Secondly, he said

there's a failure to examine themselves. Do you

know we're told to test ourselves? Paul told

the Corinthians that. Examine yourselves as to

whether you're in the faith. Test yourselves.

Do not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in

you unless indeed you are disqualified. Test,

examine. Some never examine their lives though.

They simply will look back on a time when they

made a profession of faith or said that prayer

and they satisfy their hearts with that. I know,

I know what I prayed. A person who is not concerned

about having his present sins cleansed has good

reason to doubt that his past sins have been

forgiven. A person who has no desire to come

to the Lord for continued cleansing does have

reason to doubt that he ever came to the Lord

to receive salvation. When a couple lives together

without being married, when a person practices

homosexuality, when a person is deceptive or

dishonest in business, is hateful, vengeful,

and I've had to lying or habitually practice

a sin without remorse or repentance, such persons

cannot be Christian no matter what sort of experience

they claim to have had or what sort of testimony

they now make. Jesus said there will be some

shut out of his kingdom. And verse 23, he said,

and I will declare to them. I never knew you.

Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness."

I never knew you. Now you say, but I thought

Jesus is God. Doesn't He know all things and

all people? Yeah, He's not saying He doesn't

recognize them. He's not saying, I don't know

your name. New means relational intimacy. He

is declaring that He has never had a relationship

with these people, meaning they're not part of

His flock. John 10, Jesus said, I'm the good

shepherd and I know my sheep. 2 Timothy 2, the

Lord knows those who are His. Friends, this is

the good news. The Good Shepherd is acquainted

with His sheep. Why? Because it is for them He

died, and it is for them that He ever lives to

make intercession. Of course He knows those who

are His. So the ones who are denied access into

the kingdom never belonged to the kingdom. He

says, you who practice lawlessness. The Greek

word is anomia, without law. It's where we get

the word antinomian. These people have lives

marked, characterized by iniquity. They are Lord

of their lives, not Christ. They refuse the rule

of Christ in their life. They govern themselves.

They're not submitting to Him as Lord. In 1 John

2, Jesus said, John says, he who says, I know

him and yet does not keep his commandments as

a liar and the truth is not in him. I don't know

how to be any more clear than the Apostle John

is. But there's people that'll explain it away,

explain it away, and explain it away. I don't

think we ought to explain it away, I think we

ought to listen. Even Billy Graham, who is known

as this big evangelical leader, not always known

for being the most theologically precise, even

he said, no man can be said to be truly converted.

to Christ who has not bent his will to Christ.

He may give intellectual assent to the claims

of Christ, may have had emotional religious experiences,

however he's not truly converted until he has

surrendered his will to Christ as Lord, Savior,

and Master. You can profess many things. That

your lives that are marked by a lack of obedience,

that are marked by having no law to God, he does

not rule over you, show that you don't belong

to the kingdom. And the most loving thing I can

do today is to preach what Jesus said. Salvation

and obedience are inseparable. Salvation produces

obedience to God's will. It's not a perfect obedience,

it's not a complete obedience, but there is a

level of fruit being produced. Because a good

tree cannot bear bad fruit, which is why Jesus

said, buy their fruits, you will know them. I

close with these words. They're actually engraved

on a cathedral in Germany. I thought that might

be hyperbole, but no, it really is. These are

engraved on a cathedral there in Germany. Thus

speaketh Christ our Lord to us. You call me master

and obey me not. You call me light and you see

me not. You call me the way and you walk me not.

You call me life and you live me not. You call

me wise and follow me not. You call me fair and

love me not. You call me rich and ask me not.

You call me eternal and seek me not. If I condemn

thee. Blame me not. Friends, this is not to scare

anyone this morning. My prayer has been, Lord,

help us not to do that. I also want to make sure

that we are not emphasizing obedience at the

point of your thinking. That's what brings you

into the kingdom. But what he's saying is those

whose lives have received the grace of God don't

receive it in vain. Those who call him Lord bow

their knee to him. They don't rise up in self

-governance. And friends, this is the word of

the Lord this morning. I would say if you're

here this morning and you know you're like, my

life, I can tell you right now, I've never, I've

never repented of my sin and bowed my knee. This

is what Jesus said, all those who come to me,

those who are given by the Father are going to

come to me and all those who come to me, they

will be received. Jesus does not reject you.

If you understand that you are a sinner and you

believe Christ is Savior, then you bow your knee

to Him, confessing Him as Lord and He will receive

you. And I pray that God would so work in your

life that that would be true even today. Let's

pray. Father, I pray, Lord, this morning, God,

for your help. Father, if there's been anything

that I've said that's been unclear, unhelpful,

or at last untrue, Lord, I pray that not only

would there be correction, but the Holy Spirit

would bring that to my mind. But Lord, I pray

for those who are listening this morning. Lord,

your word always tells us, he who has ears, let

him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Lord, this is what we're wanting to do. Lord,

Father, help us to preach Christ, but the whole

Christ. Lord, he's not just Savior, he is Lord.

Lord, grace does something. And Lord, God, let

us, Lord, fight this good fight of faith. Lord,

let us proclaim the truth. And Lord, I pray that

you keep me back, Lord, that by any means, Lord,

we would begin to slip either into legalism,

where we believe our performance brings us merit

before you, or Lord, where we would, on the opposite

hand, just be lawless before you because of grace.

Lord, help us, Lord. God, we need you, Lord.

God, we need your forgiveness. We need your work.

We need you, Lord, because the most desirous

thing that we have, Lord, is to know Christ and

to make him known. It is to live for the kingdom

of God and seek you first, Lord, and your righteousness.

And we ask all this in Jesus' mighty, glorious

name. Amen.