The Danger of Self-Deception
Notes
Transcript
If you have your Bible’s go ahead and flip on over to Matthew 7:21-23. Today we are going to be looking at what is arguably one of the hardest, if not the hardest texts in all of Scripture. Last week we looked at the danger of false prophets and saw that there are so many different ways in which Satan would use things, even good things, to deceive you and teach you things that look shiny, but are ultimately poisonous. Today, we’re going to look at the dangers of being self-deceived. We’re going to look at the danger of deceiving ourselves by thinking that we are Christians when really we’re not. Every commentary I read on this passage opens with, this is one of if not the most difficult texts in the Bible. It is not easy, and I think will challenge each one of us today. So let’s read these 3 verses, pray, and see what the Lord would say to us. Hear the words of Jesus this morning:
“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.’
Let’s pray.
He was a 14x NBA All-Star, 3x All star MVP, 5x MVP, 10x scoring champ, 6x NBA CHAMP, 6x NBA finals MVP. He was drafted out of UNC in the 1st round of the 1984 NBA Draft & inducted into the HOF 2009. He played shooting guard and small forward. One of his many nicknames is “His Airness.” Who am I talking about?
Ok, let’s try this one. He was drafted out of Michigan in 2000 to the New England Patriots. 15x Pro Bowler. 7x SB Champ. 5x SB MVP. Known as the Comeback Kid or T.B.12 or The GOAT. Who am I talking about?
Here’s an easy one. He was drafted out of Texas Tech in the 2017 NFL Draft to Kansas City. Who am I talking about?
You know who Michael Jordan is. You know who Tom Brady is. You know who Patrick Mahomes is. All I have to do is rattle off some statistics about them and you quickly know exactly who I’m talking about. While you may know everything about them—You may model your game after them; you may change your fashion so that you look like them; you might have an autographed jersey; you might have shaken their hand and met them; you might even have their phone number; but just because all those things are true does that mean you really know them? More importantly, do they know you?
Church the passage that we’re looking at today challenges us with the exact same question. Sure, maybe you can rattle off all sorts of stats about Jesus. Maybe you can point towards all the good things you’ve done for Jesus. But here’s the real question for us today, Does Jesus know you? Because here’s the thing: Kingdom People are known by Jesus. That’s our main point for today: Kingdom People are known by Jesus.
I’ve got three points this morning. Two are observations from the text and the last is a question that comes from it. The first observation is
The Danger of False Confessions
The Danger of False Confessions
Jesus starts in verse 21 saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. The word Lord here is significant. In Jesus’ day the word “Lord” would’ve really meant 1 of 2 things. It either referred to someone who was an owner of a slave or a piece of property, or it referred to God. In the Septuagint, which is the Old Testament translated into Greek, the word “LORD” referred to Yaweh or Jehovah. That term referred to the God of Israel.
So church, don’t miss this. The phrase, “Lord, Lord” is the orthodox confession of faith. What Jesus is saying here is that in that final day of judgment, the day when you encounter him face to face, there will be people who look at him and say “Lord, Lord,” and will not enter the kingdom of heaven. This group of people believe that Jesus is God. They believe his is Yahweh, Jehovah. He is the one who created the heavens and earth yet through the incarnation took on our form and became a man. They believe that he lived a perfectly righteous life and died a unjust death at the hands of his people and that 3 days later he rose again. They contain all of the right knowledge of who Jesus is and what he did. They are theologically astute, yet spiritually dead.
But this isn’t just an orthodox confession, it’s also an emotional reaction. The use of a term twice is called a double vocative and it indicates a strong emotion. Think about Mary & Martha for a second. Remember when Jesus came to see them and Martha welcomes Jesus into her house and as soon as she does she turns and goes about the busy work of hosting. She was working to serve Jesus and the people around her, when all of the sudden she turns around and sees her sister doing what? Sitting at Jesus’ feet! Irate she goes to Jesus and says, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me alone?” And Jesus responds back to her, you can almost hear the gentle emotion in his voice, Luke 10:41,
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
Do you hear it? Do you see it? You see how the double use of the term ties in the emotion. SO back to our text today, these people don’t just have an orthodox confession of faith, they have an emotional reaction to their confession. Do you know who else has an emotional, orthodox confession? James 2:19
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Just because you had a moment in your life where you felt something really strong, and you prayed a prayer that said something like, “Jesus I believe you are the Son of God who has come to take away the sin of the world and I am a sinner that needs to be saved, will you save me?” does not mean that you are a Christian. As one article said, “Positive emotions toward Christ are not in themselves an adequate response to his word.” You could say even the demons believed and felt correctly.
I can remember when I was maybe 8 or 10, I’m not sure how old I was. I was a kid. We had a “revival” here. All the churches of the city came together and we rented out the coliseum. There were these strong men that came in and bent like 1’ rebar and broke cinder blocks and did all sorts of hefty things, and as they did it they’d say, we have so much strength to do these cool tricks, but if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can move a mountain. And then there was this preacher who’d come and do an awesome, compelling gospel presentation, and at the end he’d lead everybody through “the sinners prayer.” He’d say, “If you prayed that prayer for the first time tonight raise your hand or come up to the front.” And as a kid it seemed like thousands of people from our town came forward or raised their hand. Churches swelled up after that event. We were all on cloud nine because we had this emotional event where a lot of people made an orthodox confession of faith. Any body else remember this?
Church what concerns me is that there are a whole lot of people in our culture, in our city, and maybe even in this room, who are staking their eternity off of an emotional event in which they said some words. Do not be deceived. Just because you believe the right things and feel the right way does not mean you are a Christian. It does not mean you are a Kingdom Person. The demons do the same thing.
But if it’s not our confession that saves, it must be our works, right? That’s the second thing Jesus addresses and our second point.
The Danger of False Works
The Danger of False Works
Look back with me to Matthew 7:22
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?’
Church, on that day many people will cry this. Many people are going to look at their works and go Lord!?! Jesus!? We did all this stuff in your name. The day of judgment will carry with it many surprises. All those good people who said the right stuff or did the amazing things won’t enter.
They prophesied. What’s that mean? We looked at that a little bit last week. “The verb “prophesy” means “to proclaim an inspired revelation” or “to foretell something that lies in the future.”” It’s someone who teaches something or foretells something. You would think that someone who has the ability to tell the future or proclaim inspired revelation in the name of Jesus would be in, right?
“Acts 16:16-19 tells of a slave girl who was inhabited by a demon who granted her the ability to foretell the future.” However, Paul later casts out that demon and she loses her abilities. Just because someone has a prophetic gift, even an authentic one; just because someone is a really good teacher does not positively identify that person as a true Kingdom Person.
Ok, maybe we can be deceived by our prophetic gifts, but demon casting out? That’s gotta be a genuine sign, right? Just a few chapters later in Acts 19 the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were casting out demons. I find this story kind of funny, Acts 19:13-16
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Here we have people casting out demons, or at least attempting to, in the name of Jesus but they weren’t actually Kingdom People.
So we have prophecies, demon casting out, and “many mighty works.” In Matthew 24:24 Jesus warns,
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Jesus describes these three different types of people who do amazing, even miraculous things. They foretold divine revelation, they helped people who were demon possessed, they did many mighty works “in Jesus name.” Surely their works prove their salvation, right?
Be warned: good works, charismatic activity, can be demonically empowered in Jesus name. Good works, and you have to point to those 3 things and go those are some pretty next level good works; good works even done in Jesus’ name, can be forms of self deception.
But these are just examples. If you stand before Jesus and your argument as to why you’re a part of the Kingdom is because you were baptized when you were 8 years old after VBS then you’re faith is really in the good work you’ve done through baptism.
If you were to stand before Jesus and argue that he should let you into the Kingdom because you were a faithful Sunday School teacher, or VBS volunteer, or even preacher who could handle the Word of God well and teach and apply it affectively to people’s lives, then you’re trusting in your good works and your abilities.
If you think that Jesus will allow you into the Kingdom because you’ve done so many good deeds—you give back to your community, you help the widow and the orphan, you meet with those who are in need and you give extravagantly and generously, then you’re trusting in your good works.
If you think that you’re guaranteed entrance because you like to surround yourself with “Christian” people and you talk like they talk and walk like they walk or because you were born into a certain family or raised a certain way or into a certain country—then do you know what you’re trusting in? You! And your background.
Or if you think that since you’ve been good and you’ve read your Bible daily and you’ve been fair and equitable in business and it appears that God has blessed you financially and you’re well off—if that is what gives you peace then you’re trusting in you and the work of your hands for salvation! Your works. Your deeds.
Everyone of those things that I just rattled off, every one of them—your perspective, your belief on those things shows what your heart is really trusting in. If you’re resting in your confession or your works then you don’t really know Jesus. Sure, you might be able to rattle off all the stats about him. You might be the most theologically knowledgeable person in the room who can articulate and argue exactly how God’s sovereignty and your choice play out. You might have the most impressive resume to present of all the things you’ve done for Jesus. If that is where your hope lies, do you know what Jesus would say to you? Matthew 7:23
And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Back at the beginning of chapter 7 we’re instructed not to judge with a final judgment of people because that is a role reserved for Jesus. And here in Matthew 7:23 we see Jesus as the final judge. There is coming a day in which you will face him. What will his response be to you? Will you stand there and point to your mental ascent to who Jesus is? Will you cry ‘Lord, Lord’ like the demons did? Will you point towards your resume of all the things you did ‘in Jesus name’ for the sake of the church and even his glory? If so, be prepared to hear, “depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
What then is our hope? If it’s not in our confession or in our works? What do we do? Just try our best and hope we get into heaven? Do we abandon it all and pursue a life of hedonism—eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die? Should that be our motto? I don’t think so. Jesus gives us the answer here. Our third point this morning is the question,
How can we be certain?
How can we be certain?
The key to the certainty of our hope is found in verse 23. What does Jesus say? Matthew 7:23
Matthew 7:23 (ESV)
And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you’
You see the key to certainty in our salvation and our standing before God is not in what we know, or in what we’ve done. It’s in who we know, or more importantly, in who knows us. Now you might go, wait a minute, Jesus is the omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (all places at one) God. What does he mean when he says, “I never knew you.” Doesn’t he know everything? Let’s talk about this word “know” for a second.
In the Scriptures the word to know can actually carry a lot of connotations. In Gen. Adam knew Eve and they had a baby—so there can be a level of intimacy behind it. It can also mean to just know something like you know your multiplication table. Now, from the context here Jesus doesn’t mean either one of those extremes. However, it is closer to the personal intimacy found in Gen. 3 than it is the multiplication tables. But still, if Jesus knows the motive of our hearts, what then does he mean he never knew them?
The idea here is that of relationship. It’s the difference between me knowing Patrick Mahomes and me knowing Patrick Mahomes. You know who Michael Jordan and Tom Brady are, but you don’t know MJ or T.B.12. One thing I read this week stated it this way. You’ll either encounter Jesus and have a of course this is who you are moment like being reunited with your best friend or you’ll have an encounter in which he says, I know everything about you, even the motives of your heart, but I don’t know you. Depart. So then, if our certainty is found in our relationship with him then the next question is how do we have a relationship with Jesus?
The irony of the situation is our relationship with Jesus is found in two things (are you ready for this?) It’s in our confession and our obedience to doing his will. Now, I know, don’t throw rocks at me. I realize I just spent 20 minutes arguing that it’s not what we do or what we confess that saves us and now I’m going back and saying it actually starts with your confession that leads to your obedience. Let me try to show you.
A relationship with Jesus starts with your confession. The confession we see in verses 21-22 is a mental ascent to a theological truth. It’s what the demons do. They see Jesus for who he is and they have an emotional reaction. But the confession of a Kingdom Person is different. As a matter of fact, confession is essential to the initiation of your relationship with Jesus. Paul shows us this in Rom. 10:9
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Again, though, what’s different about this confession and the other? You see the heart of a true confession is ultimately a surrender of the will. It’s one that doesn’t say, Jesus is good and I like his moral teachings and the community of people he has, and the way they talk and act and live, and so I’ll stick close to them and live like they live because it’s what I grew up with or am comfortable with or it’s how I want my kids to be raised. That’s not a confession of the will; it’s an imposing of my will. It’s a confession of convenience or comfort or even control.
Whereas a true confession points us back to the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. It points to the beatitudes in which we see that it’s impossible to will a relationship with Jesus because of the sinfulness of our hearts. Jesus in his holiness and us in our brokenness can’t coexist with each other. But it’s not just the fact that we’re sinful and we do and say bad things, the heart of it is that we’ve overthrown the throne. We’ve imposed our will on God. We’ve said, “Jesus, I know better. I want better. I can do better. I’ll do things my way and if you fit what I want then I’ll do it.” When you recognize that that is the natural position and disposition of your heart and you compare it with what God requires you see that you’re poor in spirit. And if you’re poor, you can’t help but mourn the state you’re in. But the beauty of the gospel is found in that moment. 2 Cor. 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
When you confess the poorness of your will and submit to the richness of his you’ll have entered into a relationship with Jesus. True confession begins with acknowledgment, and ends in submission.
Then you live your life in submission to his will not out of an effort to earn his love or approval, but out of your love for him. This is why Jesus says in John 14:15
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Notice, it’s an obedience out of love, not for love, because at the heart of a relationship it’s not duty. It’s love. Isn’t that the heart of the Scriptures? Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. We love because he first loved us. If we love him we’ll keep his commandments. This doesn’t flow out of an effort to earn his love, but rather out of us truly loving him. That’s what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus. It’s to see Jesus for who he truly is, to see ourselves for who we truly are, and then in our love and adoration of him to submit to him and live a life that he’s called us to and created us for.
I’ll be honest with you, one of the least favorite things to do in my house is the dishes. None of us like doing it. Now, if I go and do the dishes so that my wife will cook me dinner or do my laundry or clean the house, then I’m living transactionally. If I do my dishes because it’s my role as the paterfamilias, then I’m functioning out of duty. But if I do the dishes because I love my wife and I know that this serves her and I expect nothing in return then I’m living relationally. I’m functioning out of my love for her and knowledge of her. That’s what it means to live in relationship.
Our confession leads to a life of obedience, not out of duty, not for a transaction, but because we see and love Jesus. So church the question then for you is this: have you made this confession? Not a confession of mental ascent just affirming the deity and work of Jesus. But a confession in which you recognize your poorness in spirit and see the richness of his and then in your asking him to save you are submitting yourself to his lordship over your life. Has Christ actually become the Lord over your life and the love of your soul?
If not, the call for you is to right now stop and look to him. Don’t listen to another word I have to say and look to Jesus. Communicate with him and make that confession in which you admit your a sinner in need of saving and then turn from your sin and submit to him.
Now even after this you still may be uncertain as to whether or not you can be certain whether or not you’r living in a true relationship with Jesus and haven’t just made a false confession or are trusting in false works. Maybe the question still remains in your heart and in your head, how can we know that we truly know Jesus, or more importantly, that Jesus knows us? Well the call of this passage is one of self-examination. I hope that as we’ve walked through these things the Spirit of God has been bringing things to your mind that reveal the state of your relationship.
However, if not, I was listening to a podcast a couple weeks ago on biblical counseling and the pastor being interviewed gave 3 really helpful questions to serve as an indicator of the state of our heart and its relationship to Jesus. So I want to give you these 3 questions to help you examine your own heart and gain some understanding as to where you are in your relationship with Jesus. Here’s the first: How do you view sin? Is it a sorrow or a delight? You see if you live in a relationship with Jesus you’ll have a really strong perspective on sin. Think about it for a minute: what did sin do to Jesus? Sin is what killed him. In particular, it was your sin and my sin that cost him his life. If we love Jesus, how could we tolerate, let alone delight in the sin that either we commit or the sin that we’re around. Those who know Jesus hate sin. So how do you view sin?
Second, how do you confess sin? This one may seem a little more subtle, but it’s really important. When you confess your sin are you seeking God’s forgiveness to appease a guilty conscience or are we seeking God’s forgiveness to kill your sin? There’s been times when my wife have been in an argument and I’ll go and apologize to her for what I’ve done. But really the heart of my apology isn’t so that I will stop doing whatever offended her, it’s so that I’ll feel better about myself. That’s not a true confession or apology, is it? That’s a self-serving confession. So when you confess your sin is it to acknowledge your brokenness and resubmit to the Lordship of Jesus, or is it your attempt to make you feel better about yourself? Those who know Jesus confess their sin to turn away from it.
Third, how do you combat sin? How do you fight it? If you view sin rightly and you confess sin honestly, then your desire will be to kill it. Do you have a zeal to fight your sin to the death or do you love your sin and tolerate it’s presence? Rattlesnakes in the attic??
When you have encountered Jesus your view of sin is drastically changed, your confession of sin is authentic, not self-serving, and your zeal for killing sin and living as he has called you to is sincere. I love what author Greg Morse had to say on this passage: “Thus, while requiring us to think (true doctrine matters), saving faith is not merely about thinking; while requiring us to feel (we must love the Lord with all of our hearts), it does not terminate in our passions; while affording great displays of power and wonders, it calls for private fruits of a holy life to corroborate public showings. [Saving faith] produces men, women, and children who, in union with Jesus and given new hearts, happily do the will of God with a new, childlike aim: to please him (2 Corinthians 5:9).”
Kingdom People are known by Jesus. Are you? When you encounter Jesus will you see him as a judge in which he says to you, “I never knew you; depart from me?” Will you look back at him and point toward your confession and your works and your heritage and your knowledge and your relationships and say but Lord, I did all these things for you? Are you a part of the “many” who have been deceived by their false confession and their false works? The good news of the gospel is those things don’t save you, Jesus does. Don’t trust in what you’ve said; don’t trust in what you’ve done; trust in Jesus. When you truly confess your sin, surrendering your will to him, he is faithful and just to forgive you of your sin. When you conceal your sin he will expose in that last day in wrath, but if you confess it he will cover it in grace. Don’t be deceived by a false confession or false works. Instead walk in the certainty of the relationship you have with Jesus—knowing and being known by him. Kingdom People are known by Jesus. Are you?
I want to go ahead and invite the music team up. If you would like to to meet and talk through this more then I’m going to head straight to the back after I pray. When we all stand to sing here in just a second just slip to the back and we can step out. If the Lord is pressing on your heart this morning don’t resist him. But submit to him and obey. Let’s pray.
