The Eighth Sunday after Trinity
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The goal of the Christian life is that one might know Jesus and be known by Him. Saint Paul affirms the importance of knowing Christ when he describes the central aspect of the Christian life in Philippians chapter 3, saying: …that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being confirmed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:10-11). For it is in knowing Jesus that the resurrection of the dead and eternal life are given. But it is also true that being known by Christ is the necessary complement to knowing Him. If one is not known by Christ, he cannot receive the gift of eternal life either. This is why, at the end of today’s Gospel text, our Lord gives His rationale for sending away the workers of lawlessness to their eternal damnation. He says: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23). So it is that: Knowing Christ and being known by Him is the most important thing in life.
Our Gospel text for today is founded on an important premise: A person can know Christ at one time, but over time he can drift away to the point where he no longer knows Christ or is known by Him. Said simply, it is possible to lose one’s faith and therefore to forfeit salvation. Scripture repeatedly teaches this truth as a warning that anyone who thinks that he stands might take heed, lest he fall (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:12). The precious gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation earned by our Savior Jesus Christ upon the cross is a gift which can be despised and discarded, even after a lifetime of church attendance. For Christ says: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). According to our Lord’s own words, it is possible to claim Christ as one’s Savior and yet to lack true faith. This can happen because such a person never possessed saving faith in the first place. But more frequently, this happens when one has drifted away from the faith which he once held. He may still claim to be a Christian, but he is no longer known by Christ.
Now, the most common stage in life that we associate with losing one’s faith are the adolescent years. We have all seen it happen—probably more than once—that a child who was once active in church and Sunday School begins to drift away in the middle school and high school years until, when they reach college, they never set foot in a church again. It also happens that dedicated Christian children who possessed a great zeal for the faith in their teenage years can have their faith shaken when faced with the secular ideologies of a college campus. We know these stories all too well. But it’s not only adolescence where things can go wrong. We have all seen the stereotypical mid-life crisis which causes a person to completely change who they are and often to abandon the faith—seemingly overnight. But even after one’s forties and fifties, the loss of faith remains a danger. In fact, it is when a person approaches death that the devil’s attacks are at their strongest. Whether through the death of a loved one or especially when one’s own death is impending, the devil seeks to draw Christians away from faith in Christ by tempting them to doubt the goodness of God, to focus on the pain, or to become isolated as we wallow in self-pity. Through any means possible and at any stage in life, the devil seeks to rob Christians of their faith.
But such a loss of faith does not happen overnight. It’s a slow progression which leads one down the path of apostacy. A lack of grounding in spiritual disciplines such as family devotions and church attendance over the course of one’s childhood are usually the cause of the adolescent departure from the faith. Again, a slow change in habits over the course of several years, where church attendance, reading the Bible, and prayer become optional usually precede a mid-life crisis that results in a loss of faith. To be sure, the onset of death, especially when it comes suddenly, could prove to be an exception to this rule, but a lifetime of godly habits, church attendance, and strong Christian friends are usually enough to withstand the attacks of the devil at this stage.
This threat of losing one’s faith raises an important question—one which is addressed by our Lord in the first part of today’s Gospel. That question is this: Who are you following? Or, to say it differently, who is catechizing (or instructing) you? As independent Americans, we would like to believe that we are strong and self-sufficient. But the fact of the matter is that God has not made humans to be self-sufficient. We are always dependent upon others. From childhood through the very end of our lives, we are always learning from and being instructed by someone. The formal instruction by teachers and professors eventually gives way to less formal mentorships or self-guided learning. But even self-guided learning in our adult years is still subject to the instruction of another. Do you use YouTube to learn how to do a DIY home project? If so, you are learning from the creator of that video. Do you listen to the news to stay in the loop on current events? If so, you are learning from the producers and news anchors who are conveying a certain narrative to you. The point is, at every stage of our lives, we are always learning from others. So, the question remains: Who is catechizing you?
Our Lord provides an important warning for Christians when He says: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). Our Lord’s teaching is clear: One is either catechized by the devil or by Christ. There is no neutral third option. There are only two options for catechesis. Either you are being catechized by the devil, or you are being catechized by Christ. But there is a dire warning here. For Christ is clear that the devil’s catechesis is deceptive. He works through false prophets who disguise themselves as sheep while in reality they are ravenous wolves set on your destruction.
So, how do we tell the difference? If the devil’s efforts are disguised, if, as Saint Paul says to the Corinthians: “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), if this is true—and Holy Scripture is clear that it is—then we need a measure by which to judge false prophets and satanic catechists, for they often seem believable and even godly. Our Lord gives us such a measure. He says: “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16a). The primary fruit of any teacher is their words. And when a teacher’s words do not line up with Sacred Scripture, they are of satanic origin. To be sure, false prophets often have lifestyles which are contradictory to the Christian faith as well. But the tell-tale sign that one is a messenger of Satan is that his words will contradict the Word of Christ.
We must take particular heed of this warning in our day and age. We live in a world where the internet gives a platform to anyone and everyone to promulgate their own thoughts and ideas. While there are certainly benefits to this technology, there are also real dangers. The devil is at work in all corners of the internet and media sphere to undermine Christian catechesis and to rob you of your faith. Christians must be particularly diligent and careful in who we listen to, always checking what we hear against God’s Word, to determine whether or not we are being catechized by Christ or by the devil.
All of this is founded on one important Christian obligation. Christians must know God’s Word. For knowing God’s Word is, first and foremost, the only way to know Christ. And, as we said, knowing Christ and being known by Him is the most important thing in life. If we do not know His Word, we will never know Him and thus inherit eternal life. And because of the dangers of false prophets and satanic catechists in our world, it is even more imperative that twenty-first century Christians know and read the Bible regularly. And by regularly, I mean every day. Some days are busy and you don’t feel like you have time, but even spending two minutes reading a Psalm is better than nothing. Plus, this sets you up with a positive habit which will make it easier to read more deeply at other times.
Dear friends in Christ, the antidote to false prophets and satanic catechists is Christ and His Word. For in the same way that we will know the false prophets by their fruit, so too do we know Christ by His fruit. For the fruit of His Word teaches us what He has done for us poor, miserable sinners. He has redeemed us from the gates of death and hell by the shedding of His precious blood. He has justified us before the Father and granted us the hope of everlasting life by virtue of His glorious resurrection. And He continues to give us His Word and Sacraments so that we might know Him and be known by Him.
Our Lord promises in our Gospel text that to those who have lost the faith, He will say to them: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23). But for those of us who know Christ, who cling to His Word, who discern false prophets, and who rid ourselves of the world’s satanic catechesis in favor of the hope of the Gospel, we joyfully look forward to hearing Christ say to us on the Last Day: “Come to Me, you who are known and loved by My Father, and I will give you eternal rest.” God grant it.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
