Matthew 7:21-23 - I Never Knew You

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

Good morning. It's good to be here at Southwood this morning and I want to say thank you for

giving me this opportunity to preach and bring God's Word this morning and also worship.

And so, with that being said, if you have your Bibles or you can look up at the screen,

you'll see that we'll be looking at Matthew chapter 7, verses 21 through 23.

Matthew 7:21–23

And as always, this is God's good and holy Word. It stands over us. It is for our good and for our benefit.

Therefore, let us give our attention to it.

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.

This is God's Word. Let me pray for us and pray for our time this morning.

Let's pray.

Jesus, as always,

as always, we need you.

We need your grace.

We need your mercy.

We need your kindness to us.

Especially

where we are sitting under your Word.

Lord, we ask that you would be with us this morning,

that you would soften our hearts,

that we might hear you and hear your Word.

We ask that you would unstop our ears

and again shine the light of your grace upon us,

that we might take in these hard but good words,

that we might see you as beautiful,

as glorious,

that we might see your gospel as it really is,

the good news for us.

our prayer this morning, Lord,

is that you would be our teacher,

that by your Spirit,

you would teach us.

For we,

your people,

we do not need to hear from a man,

but we need to hear from you.

And so we ask,

kindly,

humbly,

begging,

that you, God,

would be gracious and kind to us

and speak to us,

that we might be changed,

that we might leave this place

differently from the way we came in.

We ask,

Lord,

that you would use me,

a sinner,

to proclaim the goodness

and the excellencies of your kingdom.

We pray all these things in Christ's name.

Amen.

Growing up,

I was a part of about six friends

who were really big into WWF wrestling.

So much that I pretty much used to say

that Hulk Hogan was my dad.

I don't know if you can see the resemblance.

But we really loved wrestling.

We would talk about it all the time.

It would consume our lives.

It consumed everything we did.

And these circle of friends,

we would,

you know,

a lot of times just try to emulate

what we saw on WWF the night before.

Well,

there's one friend in this group

who in particular was a friend

who made us comfortable in a lot of ways.

And the reason why is because

whenever this friend would come around,

we knew to be on our guards.

We knew that we better watch out.

And the reason why is because this friend,

instead of greeting you like a normal person would,

you know,

like a handshake or a hug,

this friend would greet you with a wrestling move.

And so we would be standing in a circle

and we would see this guy coming

and immediately we'd start trembling

because we knew,

okay,

he's about to put one of us in a full Nelson

or he's about to dropkick one of us

and we're just going to have to take it.

And the thing about it was

that was his way of saying hello to us.

And so it got worse over time.

The more we saw him coming,

the more immediately in our hearts we would tremble

because we knew that this could be the day

that you would be suplexed on concrete

or you would be putting the figure four leg lock.

And for those of you who are like me now,

a little jaded about wrestling,

is you know it's not real,

but if you do these moves in real life on people,

they actually hurt.

And so this friend was an extreme source

of anxiety and discomfort for me.

And when I think about that story

and that experience growing up,

there are very few times

where I feel that sense of angst

and anxiety and discomfort.

And one of those ways in particular

is at times when I read the Word of God.

That you're reading in your Bibles,

you're having your personal time of devotion with God,

and then you stumble on a passage

like this one we read this morning.

That Jesus is speaking to his disciples

and talking about what it means to be in his kingdom.

And then he says this,

Not everyone who says to me,

Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Not everyone who says to me,

Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.

That as I think about these words,

that immediately they unsettle me.

That these words bring to mind

the words of C.S. Lewis

in his work,

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,

if you're familiar with.

The first time the children are going to meet Aslan,

who's this God figure.

And they are inquiring to figure out

what is Aslan like?

And they're asking Mr. Beaver these questions.

And Lucy asks this question,

Is he safe?

And you can remember Mr. Beaver's response,

Safe?

Safe?

Who said anything about safe?

But he's good.

Safe?

Safe?

Safe?

Who said anything about safe?

But he is good.

And that's what I want you to come away with this morning.

That Jesus says hard things to us.

Things that make us feel unsafe.

But it is for our good.

It is for our benefit.

That Jesus in this passage is talking about

what it means to enter the kingdom of heaven.

And he shows us,

for our purposes this morning,

these three things.

That Jesus shows us

that entrance into the kingdom of heaven

is not through right theology.

Secondly, he shows us that entrance

into the kingdom of heaven

is not through right works.

But thirdly, he shows us that

entrance into the kingdom of heaven

is through him and him alone.

So not through right theology,

not through right works,

but through him and him alone.

So as we consider this passage

in light of this first point,

you might be familiar,

this is the Gospel of Matthew.

This is one of the five major teaching sections

of the Gospel of Matthew

where Jesus has began to speak about his kingdom.

And in Matthew 5,

he begins what we know as

the Sermon on the Mount.

He begins with the Beatitudes.

He begins by talking about

how the law speaks to our hearts,

how it shows us our sin

and our need for God's grace.

He continues in talking about

what it means to pray

and what it means to trust God

and not be anxious.

And then as you get into chapter 7,

he begins to talk about false prophets

and trees that do not bear good fruit.

And then we get to verse 21

and he says this,

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.

And if you think about those words,

Lord, Lord,

in the context in which this passage is given,

that what Jesus is teaching us

is that for these people

of whom he's speaking,

they really do understand

and get some things about him.

That, for example,

they get the fact

that he is Lord.

They get the fact

that he is master

and ruler over all things.

They get that he is sovereign

and in control of all things.

Now, I know it's easy for us at times

to miss the significance

of the word Lord,

especially in Southern culture

because it's ingrained in our culture.

But I want you to take a step back

and try to imagine

what it would be like

for a first century Jew

to call Jesus Lord.

that for one thing,

they would be guilty

of one of the greatest sins

in the eyes of Jewish religious leaders.

That you don't call a man Lord.

That is blasphemy.

That is wrong.

And in some cases,

it's punishable by death.

But also,

that this group of people

were under Roman authority.

That is,

they were taught

that only one person was Lord.

And it's not Jesus.

It's Caesar.

Caesar is Lord.

And any threat to his lordship

was a crime

that was punishable by death.

And yet,

Jesus would say

of these people,

listen,

you really do get

who I am.

That you call me Lord,

and rightly so.

And yet,

we see

that he says

these hard words.

not everyone

who says to me,

Lord, Lord,

will enter

the kingdom of heaven.

It shows us

that even though

these people,

theologically speaking,

knew things about God

that were right,

that that,

in and of itself,

was not enough.

That that alone

did not save them.

And especially

being a ordained minister

in the Presbyterian Church

in America,

I think this is something

we need to hear.

That you and I

need to hear

over and over again

that

reformed theology

does not save us.

That the five solas

don't save us.

That adherence

to the Westminster standards

do not save us.

That our perfect theology

does not save us.

Jesus saves us.

Jesus alone saves us.

And he is saying,

not everyone who says to me,

Lord, Lord,

will enter the kingdom of heaven.

And I know

when we hear these words,

as I so often do,

I just immediately think,

well, he's not talking

about me.

He's talking about

those other people.

And I'm going to ask

that you not do that.

I'm going to ask

that you not run to

the Westminster Confession

of Faith,

chapter 17 and 18,

on the assurance

of grace and salvation

and perseverance

of the saints.

I'm going to ask you

to be vulnerable

and let the words

of Jesus cut.

and let them

do their good work.

Because what he is

saying to us

is that is

not enough

to save us.

And that's not to say

what we believe

doesn't matter.

It's not to say

just throw all our theology

out the window.

But it is to say

that if we are resting

in and on that,

it will not save us.

We will be sorely

disappointed

on the last day

if that is our hope.

Jesus saves us.

Martin Lloyd-Jones,

as we wrap up

this first point,

says that orthodoxy,

that's right belief,

is absolutely vital

and essential.

Unless we believe

that Jesus of Nazareth

is indeed

the Son of God,

unless we recognize

him as the eternal Son,

substance of the eternal substance,

made flesh

and dwelling amongst us,

unless we believe

the New Testament doctrine

that he was sent by God

to be the Messiah,

the Savior of the world,

and that because of that

he has been exalted

and is Lord of all,

to whom every knee

shall eventually bow,

we are not Christian at all.

We must believe that.

To be a Christian

is a matter

of believing certain truths

concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.

In other words,

believing on him.

There's no such thing

as Christianity

apart from that.

To be a Christian

means that we rest

our entire case,

our whole salvation,

our whole eternal destiny,

entirely upon

the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is why

a true Christian

says,

Lord, Lord.

That is the content

of the statement.

It does not just mean

saying the right words.

It indicates that we mean

those things

when we say them.

It is not just saying

the right words.

It indicates that we mean

those things

when we say them.

Jesus shows us

that not through

right theology

that is the way

that we enter

the kingdom of heaven.

But secondly,

he shows us

that it is not

through right works.

And I think

this is the part

of these three verses

that are equally troubling

or more troubling

than those first words

because Jesus says this

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 you see this clause

in your name.

In your name.

It comes up three times.

And I think

that is terrifying.

That what Jesus

is communicating

is that there are

actually people

who are laboring

in his name

and don't know him.

That there are

actually people

who are serving him

and don't know him.

that if Jesus

were telling

this story

in light of

our day and age

and in light of

our culture

in specific terms,

that he wouldn't say

did we not

cast out demons

in your name

because we don't do that

in the Presbyterian church.

If you're in a Presbyterian church

that does that,

run.

So,

but what he might say

and the way

that he might

word this

is that

did we not

preach the word

of God

faithfully

in your name?

Did we not

worship you

faithfully

in your name?

Did we not

serve your church

in your name?

Did we not

give to the work

of your church?

Did we not

give our tithes

and offerings?

Did we not

baptize our children

in your name?

Did we not

love our spouse

in your name?

Did we not

do all those things

because we loved you?

And that is troubling

to see

that Jesus would say,

I don't

know you.

I don't

know you.

that even

as a minister

of the gospel

that I have

many times

where I

question

what in the

world am I

doing?

That God,

why in the

world would

I do

RUF

and have

to raise

support

and

labor

for the

good news

and the

kingdom

on the

campus

of Alabama

A&M?

and

I think

it's a foolish

way to live

if I'm

humanly speaking

that if I

would say

to God

was I

not

was I

not

doing

all that

for you

and to

think

that on

the last

day

Jesus

will look

at me

and say

I never

knew

you

that that

is

terrifying

that what

God is

asking

all of

us

is that

are you

sure it

is God

you are

serving?

Are you

sure that

you are

resting in

Christ

and not

in all

the stuff

that you

are doing

for God?

Are you

sure

that Jesus

wants to

show us

over and

over again

that he

alone

saves?

I had a

friend in

seminary who

went on to

be a church

planner who

in the

middle of

our preaching

class he

became a

Christian he

was converted

in the middle

of our

preaching

class and

for the

kids who

are here

and think

it's tough

to sit

through one

sermon

just imagine

being in

seminary and

listening to

five sermons

in a row

and that'll

give you

some

perspective

on just

long

suffering

but this

friend

was

you know

if you

had asked

me if

there was

anybody

who knew

God and

was faithful

and was

a Christian

I would

definitely

have said

before that

moment that

guy is

definitely a

Christian

that guy

definitely

gets what

it means

to walk

after God

and here

he was

in the middle

of this

preaching

class he's

standing

before us

and he

makes this

confession

hey I

don't know

if I'm

really a

Christian

in the

middle of

seminary

and today

I want

to accept

Jesus as

Lord of

my life

I want

to submit

myself to

him

and his

reasons for

not coming

to Christ

earlier

was that

he had

already been

in youth

ministry

he had

already been

involved in

the ministry

of the church

and he

had heard

the gospel

preached at

a youth

conference

and was

deeply moved

to confess

his sin

and turn

to God

and yet

out of

shame

he didn't

because

who wants

to be

the youth

minister

who goes

to a

conference

and gets

converted

and he

shared that

with us

that he

needed

Jesus

and he

trusted

Jesus

and I

think it

is better

that he

stood

before us

that day

some years

ago

and confessed

Christ as

Lord

than for

him

to wait

at the

last day

and have

Jesus say

to him

I never

knew you

depart from

me you

worker of

lawlessness

that what

God wants

you and

me to

do

is to

consider

our hearts

consider

what it

is

we think

makes us

right with

God

and if it

is anything

other than

Jesus

himself

then it

will fail

us at

the last

day

and that's

where Jesus

takes us

finally

in these

three verses

that

in verse

21

he says

to us

and 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

and

that last

clause

where he

says but

the one

who does

the will

of my

father in

heaven

we've

just seen

that it's

not a

matter of

just doing

the right

things before

God

and so

it must

mean something

else

and in a

passage that

I think is

strikingly

similar to

this passage

is John

6 you can

turn there

if you want

to but if

not I'll

read it

for you

but in

John 6

Jesus is

again

teaching his

disciples what

it means to

follow him

what it means

to trust him

and the

reality of

it being a

very hard

thing

the reality

of it being

that kingdom

life is

hard

and in

John 6

in verse

verses 28

and 29

his disciples

ask him

this question

what must

we do

to be doing

the works

of God

what must

we do to

be doing

the works

of God

and this

is the way

Jesus responds

to them

in verse 29

Jesus answered

them

this is the

work of God

that you

believe in

him

whom he

has sent

this is

the work

of God

that you

and I

believe

in him

whom he

has sent

that God

has set

his seal

upon his

son

Jesus

that God's

will for

your life

and my

life

is that

we would

believe

and rest

in the

person

and work

of Jesus

that you

and I

would know

that

the good

news

is really

good

that Jesus

really

paid for

our sin

that Jesus

really

makes us

righteous

that Jesus

is enough

for us

and what

that does

whenever the

Bible talks

about belief

it is not

just

these cognitive

things

or these

rational things

but it always

is wedded

with

action

that what

we think

about God

influences

what we

do

what we

think

about

Jesus

influences

all of

our

living

and because

you and

I believe

in Jesus

then it

should affect

how we

think about

him

that we

should study

God's word

more

that we

might think

rightly

about God

that our

theology

might be

good and

helpful and

true of

the way

God

declares

and shows

himself to

be

that our

actions

should be

influenced

by Christ

and what

he has

done for

us

and that's

a subtle

difference

but a

significant

one

in this

that you

know that

your right

theology

and your

works are

not the

things that

save you

but Jesus

himself is

the one

that saves

you

that he

is the

one who

has come

to us

and this

is all

by his

grace

not because

you and I

deserved it

but he

has come

to us

by his

grace

and given

us the

kingdom

and given

us everything

we need

to honor

him in

our thoughts

in our

words

in our

deeds

that God

has made

us daughters

and sons

that God

really loves

us

and he

has done

that through

Jesus

and Jesus

alone

and that's

what Jesus

is showing

us

that this

is how

you get

in

this

is how

you enter

my

kingdom

it is

through

me

it is

reason

why

heaven

won't be

just

Presbyterians

sorry if

that's

big news

to you

or shocking

news to

you

but it's

because

Jesus

really

saves

as we

wrap up

our sermon

I want

to close

with

this quote

from

Alec

Motier

and he

says

this

the grace

has made

them citizens

of a heavenly

city

in their

far off

land

they are

the heavenly

homeland

in miniature

heaven's laws

are their

laws

and their

privileges

its privileges

the life

worthy of the

gospel

is an

inescapable

obligation

it is the

essence

of the

homeland

where the

lamb

standing

as though

it had

been slain

forms the

focal point

of all

life

that the

work

the person

of Jesus

informs

all of our

lives

and that

is my

hope

that is

your

hope

that Jesus

gives us

these hard

words

that we

might again

come back

to him

and rest

in him

and trust

him

that the

work of

God is

that you

and I

believe

in Jesus

whom he

has sent

for us

let's pray

father we

we confess

the many

ways

that we

would love

to get

beyond

our need

for grace

our need

for Jesus

we

we

confess

that

many

times

we

we

don't

think

Jesus

is

enough

we

find

or we

think

that Jesus

is lacking

that our

salvation

is lacking

and we

we ask

that you

would forgive

us for

that

we ask

that you

would help

us

to treasure

our savior

to prize

him

highly

to love

him more

we thank

you

that you

speak to

us

through

your word

we thank

you

that you

continue

to

build us

up

and encourage

us

and make

us more

like him

and

we pray

that it

would never

be said

of us

at the

last day

that

Jesus

you don't

know us

we pray

that it

would be

said of

us

well

done

my good

and faithful

servant

we thank

you for

the joy

the peace

and the

hope of

the gospel

we thank

you for

the kingdom

we thank

you for

for

your loving

us

please

continue to

bless us

and keep

us

we pray

in Jesus

name

amen

amen

you

we favor

we honor

you

we

we

we

we

we

we

we

can

we

we

you

we

we

we

we

we

you

we

we