Sayers But Not Doers

Introduction: At this point in Jesus’ sermon He is calling people to leave the broad way which leads to destruction and instead to seek out the narrow gate that is difficult to find yet leads to life. First, He is warning all who will listen of the ravenous wolves (false teachers) who will deceive them and lead them down the path to destruction. “Examine their fruits,” Jesus says, “Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?” Obviously not! So you will know which teachers are true and which ones are false; not by the words that they say but by the life that they live.

Now Jesus turns to a second reason why many will not enter in by the narrow gate and it is vastly more terrifying than the first one. Many will not enter in by the narrow gate because many are self-deceived. J.C. Ryle put it this way:

Matthew: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Chapter 44: Empty Words and Empty Hearts (7:21–29)

“The Lord Jesus winds up the Sermon on the Mount by a passage of heart-piercing application. He turns from false prophets to false professors, from unsound teachers to unsound hearers”

It is possible for false teachers to lead us down the path to destruction, but it is even more possible that we will lead ourselves down that very same path.

Read

In verses 21-27. Jesus speaks about two methods of self-deception: verbal profession and intellectual knowledge. Tonight, we will focus on verses 21-23 and how it is possible for us to deceive ourselves when our faith is limited to a profession of the mouth.

However, before we get into the text itself, it would probably be good to ask ourselves this question: do we have a need to be warned about self-deception in evangelicalism in the United States in 2018?

There are three reasons why I believe we do.

1). False Assurances Have Been Given

There are many well meaning teachers and counselors who have given false bases for assurances of salvation. Many are told to make a profession, or walk an aisle, or raise a hand, or say a prayer and then to never doubt again that they have been saved. Now, I want to be careful here because these are not bad things and can be used as good tools to identify and disciple those who are making genuine Biblical decisions. Unfortunately, they can also be used as easy answers to the question, “How can I know that I am truly a Christian?” “How can I know that I am truly a Christian?”, someone might ask, and then a counselor then might reply, “Well, don’t you remember walking the aisle, or saying the prayer, or the little note you wrote to yourself in your Bible? If you took those actions, you can be confident that you are saved.” I, for one, am thankful that I am not staking my eternity on those things, but rather I am anchoring my eternal destiny to the person and work of Christ who promises to produce fruit that can be evaluated, and it must be evaluated. Peter says in that our calling and election can be made sure because we increase in the qualities of godly excellence. We can be confident in our salvation because Jesus promised to change us and we watch amazed as He adds to our faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, and to self-control perseverance, an to perseverance godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. We must be careful because the quick and easy answers can deceive.

2 Peter 1:3–11 NKJV

as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2). A lack of self-examination

It is possible to view God’s grace as a fire escape rather than a life changing promise, and when we presume to have the liberty to go about sinning we are in danger of deceiving ourselves of the genuineness of our salvation. Again, I want to be careful here. I am not saying that Christians do not sin, but I am saying that Christians are deeply troubled by their sin and make a practice of confessing their sin.

1 John 1:8–9 NKJV

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2 Corinthians 13:

2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

Self-examination is necessary. It is necessary for us to use the mirror of God’s Word and look deeply into our hearts and consider whether or not our desires and motives are towards God Himself. In short, do I do what I do because I love God or because I want to be seen?

3). Religious Activity

We will not spend much time here, but it is also possible to mistake religious activity (going to church, attending Bible studies, hearing sermons, etc . . .) for saving faith. We cannot trust in religious institutions or practices, but must trust in Christ alone.

Not All Who Profess Will Enter into the Kingdom

Now, let’s turn our attention to the text itself.

Read

It is important for us to notice that these people who are coming to Him in that day (the day of judgment) are religious people. They are not atheists or members of a strange cult. They are religious people, and they appear before Jesus in that day professing to know Him. They come and say, “Lord, Lord.”

The word Lord was a common Jewish substitute for Jehovah or YHWH. So to come before Jesus (Me) and address Him as not only “Lord” but “Lord, Lord” indicates that they really really believed that they knew Him.

In that day they will know that they are before God, and in that day they will believe that they knew Him.

Now there are some who will come in that day and their profession will be genuine but not everyone’s.

So the question for us is: what basis can we legitimately build on in order to have confidence before the Lord as we await that day?

An Illegitimate Basis

Those who will not enter into the kingdom of heaven will appear before Jesus, profess Him to be Lord, and say, “Lord, didn’t I prophesy in Your Name? Didn’t I cast out demons in Your name? Didn’t I do many wonders in Your Name?!”

The common thread in all of these statements is, “Lord, didn’t I . . .” In that day they will believe that they knew Jesus because of who they are and what they had done.

Their basis will be way off. So Jesus will answer, “I never knew you.”

Jesus is not saying that He has not idea who they are, but to know was a Hebrew phrase that communicated marital intimacy. It is also a phrase used to communicate God’s special intimacy with His people, and so Jesus is saying, “No. We do not have an intimate relationship. I know of you and I know you pretended to know me, but you never actually chose me.”

And so the final judgment is depart from Me, and the proof that Jesus gives that they did not know Him is that they practiced lawlessness.

Practice lawlessness is a present participle indicating continuous action. The identifying factor of those who do not know Jesus is that the pattern of their life is lawlessness. They do not obey Him because they do not love Him and they do not love Him because they do not know Him. A profession of Christ and a life of lawlessness are totally incompatible, and we hear an echo of the question asked in verse 16: “Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?” Obviously not! “If you knew me,” Jesus says, “you would not have lived a continuously lawless life.”