Lord, Lord

Matt 7:21-29

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Introduction: As I sat down to dinner with my family one evening the telephone rang.  I picked up the phone, and at the other end was a solicitor for a long-distance phone company. He offered a great deal, much better than our present plan, and I switched over imme­diately. Several days later I received a letter in the mail from that same company explaining in writ­ing the exact details of my new phone service. It turned out that the solicitor had lied to me about the rates, and I was actually going to pay more than I did with my previous plan.

I became angry that I had been deceived, and my wife and I vowed from that time on that we wouldn’t buy anything over the phone. Not that all solicitors practice deception, but we need­ed to see the words in writing first. Oftentimes others can deceive us by their words, even though they might appear reputable. Other times we can deceive ourselves, thinking or believing something that isn’t true. Not only do people deceive others in the name of a company, but also many deceive oth­ers and even themselves by misusing the name of Jesus, saying, “Lord, Lord.”

1. Those of a false confession—a different spirit.

A.    The wolves in sheep’s clothing.

(1) They sound and act like Christians, but they lead many away from Christ by tak­ing them into a religion of works-right­eousness. This can be true of any spiritual leader in any denomination who detracts from or subverts the glorious work of redemption accomplished only and completely by Christ on the cross.

(2) Their “fruit” will give them away. “Fruit” here cannot refer to their good works because it is precisely that in which appearances can be so deceiving. In fact, they could even “drive out demons” and “perform miracles.” No, rather, their doc­trine must be tested.

Illustration:          Luther once said:

Everything depends on doctrine. Where doc­trine is right, everything is right: faith, works, life, suffering, good and evil days, eating drink­ing, hungering, thirsting, sleeping, walking, standing, etc. Where doctrine is not right, everything is in vain, everything is lost, and everything utterly condemned: works, life, suf­fering, fasting praying.. . . For life is fathered and fashioned by doctrine. (What Luther Says [St. Louis: Concordia, 19591 no. 1266, 1229).

(3) The sad fact that confronts the church today is that far too many people do not understand the Bible’s message (of grace) and do not know its doctrines.

(4) The best way to spot false teachers is to know your Bible. Watch what is said and what is left unsaid. Sample the fruit. Be alert. Be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

B.     The sand builders.

(1) From very young we are taught by the popular media that we are to build a life on the basis of success—money, power, fame, looks, and so forth. Our culture teaches us to rely on our own strength— our wealth, intellect, or even connec­tions we have with other people (we observe the pride of the Jews who appeal to their ancestry).

(2)  The pursuit of the American dream usu­ally leaves little room for spiritual pur­suits. Children are brought up knowing many things about sports heroes, musi­cal entertainers, and cartoon characters, but they are being deprived of the one thing needful—Jesus Christ.

(3) Even those who attend church regularly (who say “Lord, Lord”) may make an appeal on judgment Day to their own piety, their church attendance, offerings, their good citizenship, good education, nice homes, even to their Lutheran her­itage or sincerity.

Illustration:            “Angela Atwood was one of the hard-core gang members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. Six of them were killed in the seventies in a fiery shootout with law enforcement agents in Los Angeles. At her funeral at St. Paul’s Church, Prospect Park, New Jersey, a Roman Catholic priest stated: ‘Angela Atwood was a dear, honest, sincere girl who—like Christ—died for her beliefs.’ Charles Whitman was sincere when he picked off sixteen people with his rifle from a University of Texas observation tower. So was Sirhan Sirhan, Adolf Hitler, Benedict Arnold ... and Judas” (Donald Deffner, Seasonal Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching [San Jose: Resource Publications, 1992] 131).

2. Those of a true confession—the Holy Spirit.

A.       Continue in the Word and Sacraments.

(1) The Holy Spirit, working through the means of grace, that is, the Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, will lead us to a true and lasting confession of who Christ is and what he has done for us. The Sacraments proclaim the pure Gospel, ridding ourselves of human works of righteousness and leading us to complete confidence of Christ’s obedi­ence, suffering, death, and resurrection as our only foundation for faith and a life lived in response to the Gospel.

(2)  It is the pure Word of God and the Sacraments that will sustain our lives even through the storms of life: pain, ill­ness, brokenness, separation, loneliness, and death itself.

B.        Continue in faith in Jesus as the rock.

(I)  Christ did the will of the Father in heav­en. He fulfilled all the requirements of the Law so that all people have a foun­dation for standing in the judgment.

 (2)   Christ poured out his blood so that all may stand on the rock of forgiveness.

(3) God the Father accepted his Son’s death as being completely sufficient. By Christ’s resurrection our death sentence has been removed.

(4) The Holy Spirit convicts hearts to believe that the Father has declared them “not guilty” through the very Word of God. This certainty leads to true confession (of word and deed) and a strong, vibrant faith that will weather any storm.

C. Continue in this confession—Kyrie eleison!  “Lord have Mercy” (1) It is the cry of faith and trust as we con­sider God’s creation. It is a cry of humble dependence on the mercy of God as we con­fess with confidence this mercy revealed in Christ. It is a cry of hope especially in the midst of suffering and dying. It is the cry of confidence that Christ will hear us. Lord, Lord, have mercy!

(2) The cry is a prayer. It is the prayer of a person who knows that Christ has over­come Satan. It is a prayer of praise and adoration as it confidently expresses what we believe and confess. It is Trinitarian, that is, our confidence comes only in the true God and that we can entrust all things to him. Lord, Christ, Lord, have mercy!

(3) It is a cry to the One who can offer life. It is repeated because Christ is our sole hope in our living and our dying. Christ, Christ, have mercy!

Conclusion:        We must all understand that the cry Lord, Lord is one that comes from a profound sense of repentance and remorse over our sins.  To those who make it a demand for God to become their puppet Jesus says away from me you evildoers.  But to you and me who cry out in the anguish of our sin, Jesus responds with Grace and mercy.