The Peril of Deception

Introduction

A salesman was far away from home, driving down an unfamiliar country highway. All of a sudden, he came upon a barn which had a huge bull’s-eye painted in the middle of it. He could hardly believe his eyes. There in the middle of the bull’s-eye were hundreds of arrows. Every arrow was inside the bull’s-eye. As he drove on down the highway, his curiosity got the best of him. He turned his car around and drove back to where the barn was, to take another look. He spotted a farmhouse nearby, so he drove to where it was and met the farmer. After they got acquainted, he said, “Say, could you tell me who the excellent marksman is who shot all those arrows inside the bull’s eye?” The farmer almost laughed out loud, then he explained, “That was the work of the village idiot. He had shot all those arrows at the side of the barn, then he climbed up there and painted a bull’s-eye around all the arrows to create the false impression he was a great marksman.”

Moving the mark.

Adjusting the rules.

Leveling the playing field.

This is what many do. Many desire to make the rules what they want them to be.

Many of us are just like this village idiot. We tend to want to live how we want to live and then draw the circle of Jesus around us.

It is a deception that is used to make one look good. To make us feel good. To say “Oh, Yes, I believe and am saved.” All the while shooting our arrows wherever we want them to land and then drawing the bull’s eye around them.

Not only is this done, but it is done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is done for our own desire and purposes, but Jesus is tacked on, so we look good.

We fake many things in life. But to fake this is not only bad but it is damnable.

It is not a good thing to fake.

We may be able to fool some people, just as the village idiot fooled the salesman. But we are deluded to think we can fool God with fake holiness and false statements.

The problem is, many do not even realize they are fooled and doing just this. They think they are saved because they were told to say a prayer and they were good. They think that they are alright with God. They have been leaders in the church for 50 years. So, they are automatically good.

They say I believe in God and Jesus, so I am good. The problem is that they have been deceived by wolves in sheep's clothing. They believe in a caricature of Jesus. They believe in a Jesus after man’s own making. They have not believed upon Jesus Christ who came and died and rose again on the third day for the forgiveness of sins. This Jesus is the only Jesus who offers eternal life to all who believe upon Him for it. He offers it freely because He has already performed the work necessary for salvation.

Many have believed upon a Jesus that says I have done a lot, but you must do also. You must work hard your whole life to keep your salvation. You must do, do, do, do, do, do, and do some more to keep your salvation.

This is blasphemous and a sure ticket to hell for the one who believes this. They are working for their salvation and not resting upon Jesus Christ. They are placing their salvation upon themselves and not Jesus.

It has become a man earned salvation rather than a supernaturally blessed and freely given salvation of God.

Simply, the main thrust of this section we will be looking at is; If you do not want to hear depart from me you must KNOW Jesus.

You must be His as He has ordered it to be. Not by works or words but by intimately KNOWING Him.

With that let us turn to the text.

Turn in your Bible’s to Matthew chapter seven. We will focus mainly on verses 21-23 but we will read starting in verse 13 and end in verse 27.

With the reading of this text we see three points within verses 21-23, the first of these being the...

Situation

This is that of not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom.

This is not saying everyone who says Lord, Lord will not enter, but that not everyone.

Anyone can profess loyalty but not mean it. Just as we saw back in verses 13-14.

The way is narrow and hard that leads to life but the way that leads to destruction is broad and easy.

The gate is narrow meaning it is a very exclusive entry. This exclusivity is only to those who are truly Christ’s. It is not open to all other religions and cults.

Everyone, I am sure, has seen the coexist bumper stickers. It has multiple religious symbols together on it. The basic assumption of this sticker is that every religion is worshipping the same God just differently. This is about as far from the truth as it can get.

Some liken worship of all religions to the elephant analogy. This states that several blind men are turned loose, and each feels a different section of the elephant.

One feels the tail and says it is a rope. Another feels a leg and says it is a tree. Another feels the side and says it is a wall. Another feels the trunk and says it is a snake. Yet another feels the tusk and says it is a spear.

Those who push this analogy say that although each man stated something different, they all were feeling the same elephant. They say this is what it is with other religions. Though they say it is the sun, sky, Allah, or it is Hinduism, Buddhism, or whatever; they are still worshipping the same God.

This is wrong because the elephant is still an elephant in whole regardless what the men thought they felt. God is God and He alone is God and nothing else is and nothing else can be considered beside Him. He alone is God, and one must worship Him and believe upon Christ alone as the way for salvation. Nothing else will do it and nothing else added to this will do it.

There will be many of those who are in this situation in that day saying but Lord, Lord did we not do all these things for you? But what is sadder still than that is the fact that many people who said they were Christian will be standing right there with those of the false religions and cults.

Many will have looked at the broad and narrow and say they went the narrow but really took the broad. They will speak and act as if they were on the narrow, but really be on the broad.

Salvation is free but very narrow. Only those who place their faith in Christ alone will enter this narrow path. Many will say they have only to continue the broad path. These are the ones who will be found in this situation. These are the ones who will find themselves in the Peril of Deception.

Only those who have done the will of the Father will enter.

This will be to believe upon Jesus Christ for salvation. To have believed that Jesus paid it all and through Him alone is everlasting life found. This is to Know Christ. To be in communion with the Lord. To be His and His alone. To have that intimate relationship that we will speak of in a moment.

Do you have this relationship, do you have this eternal life, have you truly believed upon Christ as your savior, as the one who has completed all that is necessary for your eternal salvation? That is THE question. If you have, then you have done the will of the Father.

Many Scriptures speak of that being the will of the Father, namely John 3:16; and 2 Peter 3:9. God’s will is that you would believe upon Jesus for everlasting life and then be able to enter the kingdom. It is that simple and that easy.

Yet, many do not do this, and they then find themselves in the next point which is the...

Declaration

Many will say. That is a devastating sentence. Many will say. It is so because these many are those who will be declaring that they were Christ’s when they were not. They will be trying to make a case before the eternal and all-holy God that they were His when they were not.

These many have been deceived by the false prophets warned against in verses 15-20. Those are the ones who are seeking their own glory, own fame, own status and not God’s or yours.

There are many of these men, and women, out there. All you hear from them is how God wants you wealthy and healthy. If you only have enough faith you will be those. If you only give them so much money you will be blessed tremendously.

Those kinds are easily recognized. The dangerous one is, the one’s in sheep’s clothing, are those who are so close to the truth but not true.

One must beware of these and not be deceived by their teaching. Their fruits are what will warn you. This is in their words and actions.

They will say some things that make you wonder and that will be a warning. They will act in certain ways that make you wonder, that is a warning.

Seek the Word of God above any word of man. See what Scripture says. Learn the Word and cherish it. As Psalm 119:105 states, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Not only this but Jesus tells us in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus that we have Moses and the Prophets to hear and tell us (Luke 19:31).

Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that all Scripture is profitable to all parts of life. You must know the Word to avoid the false teachers.

If you do not know the word you will be deceived and be on that day declaring to Christ all these things that you did for Him that were not for Him.

John Stott states it clearly what is meant by on that day when he wrote:

our final destiny will be settled, Jesus insists, neither by what we are saying to him today, nor by what we shall say to him on the last day, but by whether we do what we say, whether our verbal profession is accompanied by moral [change].

Whether we do what we say means whether we have believed upon Him alone to give us eternal life. If one has not done that then everything else is nothing more than lip service.

Just like a clip from the news where I saw Jim Caviezel calling out lukewarm Christians. He has recently made a movie called infidel and it is about a Christian who has been captured in a country for his proclamation of Christ. In this interview he slams false believers and lukewarm believers. He calls them to take a stand for their faith and act out what they believe.

I agree completely with him. Too many these days are lukewarm and need to become an inferno for Christ. Most, though, that are lukewarm are probably not even truly Christians. They are these here making this declaration.

They claim something that they are not a part of. They say they did all these deeds in the name of Jesus. They have prophesied–spoke/preached in the name of the Lord, cast out demons–exorcisms in the name of the Lord, and done mighty works–miraculous works in the name of the Lord. What blasphemy. Even if it is true that they did, it is blasphemous and using the name of God in vain.

This is taking the Lord’s name in vain. We too many times think that taking His name in vain is saying “Oh my God.” Or saying, “Jesus Christ you scared me.” Or any number of other ways.

Yes, that is taking His name in vain. But to say you did acts in His name, to evoke His name along with the actions you have done that were not of Him is an extreme form of taking His name in vain.

It is utter blasphemy and extremely dangerous.

These are the people who have taken the broad road. They have gone the way of the world but tried to tack on Jesus. These are the ones who go to church on Sunday for their “Little Sprinkle of Jesus.”

They are the ones who have built on shifting sand and not the rock, as verses 24-27 speak of. These people have built on their own beliefs and say it is Jesus. They have not taken the Word of God and applied it to their lives in a salvific manner.

No, they have taken the Word and used it to look good. They have given to the church, served the church for fifty years, donated money, taught Sunday school, been the first to act on something when needed, and many other things but they have not built on the Rock but sand.

They will wash away. They will fall. They will be making this declaration on that day.

There will be many who are like this man from a book written by David Jeremiah. The book is The Agents of the Apocalypse. In this book we are shown many characters from the book of Revelation. This character is a man who was wealthy and gave all kinds of money to the church, he taught Sunday school, was a deacon of the church, was involved with the youth, taught them to be moral and upright, to avoid sexual deviance, was what one would consider a solid believer. Yet, he used his being a deacon to gossip about people, he gave money but to receive the glory himself, he broke the law all the time by speeding and driving recklessly, cussed like a sailor, told nasty jokes, cheated on his wife while saying one must remain pure, treated his children as by-products rather than children. Simply, he was a Christian in name only, he had not really believed. He only gave lip service and was trying to work for his salvation.

These are the ones who will hear the...

Condemnation

Oh, the heart shattering, soul shaking, and devastating words of this condemnation. It breaks my heart to know that many will hear these words on that day.

“I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Such horrendous words to hear. These are very scary. Heart wrenching words for anyone to hear. I do not wish these on anyone. Oh, that all would believe upon Christ for eternal life. Oh, that they would not hear these words on that day.

This should push all believers to seek to reach others. This should push all people to truly desire to Know Christ.

Here is that intimacy that I mentioned earlier.

This intimacy of knowing Christ is that of the biblical use of knowing. Such as Adam knew Eve and she conceived a child. This type of intimacy. It is a true knowing of you and me by Christ. Christ saying, He never knew you is not saying He has not known of you because that is impossible. It is saying there has never been that intimate relationship that you and I must have with Him to be His and enter the kingdom.

The people who will hear these words are those who were not truly intimate with Christ. They are those who have tried to earn their salvation.

These are those who were like those in Israel who felt that their sacrifices would make them right with God.

God has some striking things to say about those who think their sacrifices/works can earn them a right place with him.

Hosea 6:6 He says, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt sacrifices.:

1 Samuel 15:22 He says, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

In Jeremiah 7:21-23 He says that to obey Him is The command He gave to Israel when He brought them out of Egypt.

God wants you and not your works. Your works are not worthy enough to earn you His salvation.

We cannot do it. We must Know Christ Jesus. We must place our faith in His salvific works at the cross. We must know that it is through Jesus Christ alone because of what He did at that cross, that we can have eternal life.

If we try to live for the world as the world, we will not be his. As I stated earlier, “We are deluded to think we can fool God with fake holiness and false statements.”

If we think we can, and we think we can work our way into the kingdom, we will be judged by those works.

We see this clearly in Revelation 20:11-15:

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

That is a terrible situation to be in. Your declarations will not save you in that moment. If you are found here all you will hear is the condemnation of “depart from me, I never knew you.”

That is not something I want anyone to hear. Sadly, though, many, many, many will hear this exact thing.

Conclusion

I will conclude with this illustrative story.

There was this actor at a fundraising function. He was asked to recite a story at this function. When he stood up, he wanted to be gracious and let the listeners decide on what he would recite. He said he would recite anything they asked of him. Silence met him. No one would make a suggestion. Finally, an old preacher sitting in the back stood up and said, “I’d like to hear you recite the Twenty-Third Psalm.”

The actor was a bit shocked and taken back a bit by the request. But he had opened himself up, so he had to do as the man asked. He happened to know the Psalm so he said he would do it.

So, he repeated the Psalm with eloquence, masterfully delivered. His diction was beautiful. A brilliant recitation. At the end he was met with spontaneous applause.

The actor figured he would get back at the old preacher said, “Now, sir, I’d like to hear you recite it.”

The old preacher had not bargained for this. But because of his love and devotion for Christ he stood up and quoted the Psalm. His voice cracked, it broke, it was not exceptionally beautiful. His delivery was not really that good. When he finished there was no applause. But there was not a dry eye in the room.

The actor sensing his own emotion stood up and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I reached your eyes and ears, and he reached your heart.” And he said, “the difference is this. I know the Psalm; he knows the Shepherd.”

My question today to you is this, “Do you know the Shepherd?”

If not, then now is the time to place your faith in Him and His works for you to have eternal life.

If you thought you knew Him but do not, now is the time to place your faith in Christ for your eternal life.

It is that simple. Christ did it all and because of that you can have eternal life with Him that begins right this instant. Just believe in Jesus Christ for it. He did the work; all you do is believe that he did all that was required and that by that you have eternal life.

Believe today so you do not hear, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

Let us pray.