How to Know for Sure that Jesus Knows You

Introduction: This past summer, our family was blessed to vacation in Pensacola Beach Florida. When on vacation, one of my favorite things to do is visit old forts. At one end of Pensacola Beach is Fort Pickens. Built in 1834, Fort Pickens was operational during every major US war for over 100 years until it closed in 1947. It was fun to explore the original structure and see how they kept adding onto it throughout the years.

My favorite part about going to Fort Pickens was pulling up and seeing that the Blue Angels were flying over! They were on maneuvers out of the naval air station at Pensacola. The Naval air station houses the Naval Aviation Museum, and I couldn’t wait to go!

The next day, I looked up directions how to get there and we headed off. Along the way there are signs telling you how to get there. I’m listening to the GPS and following the signs. I get to the base and there’s a soldier at the gate, he’s got a gun, and wants to see my ID. I give him my license and tell him I want to go to the museum, he told me no, and he wasn’t nice about it either. He told me to turn around and go away, like I was just a nobody. I didn’t like that, so I went to another gate.

At that gate, there was a police officer, he asked me who I was, wanted to see my ID, and then told me to turn around and go back, because I couldn’t get onto the base. Can you believe that? Twice I was turned away- a responsible, law-abiding, tax-paying citizen, couldn’t enter one of the most prestigious and secure facilities of our military, and you want to know why- I didn’t belong there. I didn’t have the right identification, the right qualifications, or meet the right conditions for entering the base.

In the text we’re looking at today, Jesus is going to tell us that not everyone who tries to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is going to get in.

Matthew 7:21–23, “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. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

CONTEXT: This section of the Sermon on the Mount begins in vs. 13- Enter by the narrow gate… Enter what? we might have asked. Now it is apparent he is talking about entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Just prior to this (15-20), Jesus told us to beware of false prophets; now he is telling us to be sure that we are not false professors. It’s not enough that there are some who seek to deceive us, we need to be concerned that we have not deceived ourselves, and fooled ourselves into thinking that we will enter the Kingdom of Heaven when we actually will not. How can we know for sure that we are not like the false prophets, or someone who falsely professes Christ, makes big claims, but to whom Jesus says- depart from me, I never knew you?

- How can we know for sure that Jesus knows us?

1. We need the Right IDENTIFICATION- Jesus is Lord.

It may surprise you to know that not everyone who calls Jesus ‘Lord’ is a Christian? In Jesus’ day, the word ‘Lord’ could mean “master, owner, ruler” or a formal title like ‘sir’ (e.g. ‘mister’). It was after Christ’s resurrection that the title ‘Lord’ became descriptive of His deity and a designation for His worship. Matthew’s audience would have understood it like that, as well as Christ’s disciples, and we understand it like that, but not everyone does.

In his book, Facing the Change, Terry Coy discusses several different misidentifications of Christ’s Lordship:

- among world religions, Jesus is just one Lord, among many.

- Philosophers, Jesus is a good, moral teacher, or mythological figure

- various groups & cults, someone to pick and choose from, an enlightened manifestation of God, that you can have your own way

- American spirituality, He is the Consumer Jesus- here to give me what I want; Therapist Jesus- there to make me feel better; Ideological Jesus- there to fight my cause

All such notions fall far short of the biblical Jesus, who is the Eternal Son of God in the flesh, who lived a perfect life, died a righteous death, who rose from the dead vindicated as Lord.

We have no hope of entering the Kingdom of Heaven if we misidentify Jesus, or misunderstand Him. Entering Heaven is not like going in some back-alley speakeasy, where if you say the right thing, i.e. if you know the magic password word, then they open the door for you. It’s not merely calling Jesus ‘Lord’ that opens the door to the kingdom but obeying Him as Lord that opens the door of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In a parallel passage, Luke records Jesus saying- “why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say (Luke 6:46)?” You see how this is different from just calling Him Lord, right? It is the exact opposite of calling Him Lord for what you can get out of Him- e.g. a get out of hell free card, a genie in a bottle that grants all my wishes, etc… No, identifying Christ as Lord begins with the intention of doing what He says.

Taking hold of eternal life is not paying lip service to Christ’s Lordship, but turning from our self-ruled lives and surrendering to Him. Calling Him Lord with no intention to obey Him is exactly what God means when He says “These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8).

It’s what Paul means in Romans 10:9-10,that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. True confession of Christ’s Lordship comes from a heart of faith that seeks to follow Christ as Lord- i.e. does the will of my Father in Heaven.

So, we need the right identification- Jesus is Lord, and we need the right qualifications- doing the will of God.

2. Right QUALIFICATIONS- Doing the will of God.

There is a stark contrast between what Christ wants (Will, 21) and what we expect He wants (Wonders, 22). Jesus is saying do the will of my Father in Heaven, and they are saying “but look at what we did in your name!”

o We prophesied in Your Name; exorcised demons in Your Name; & did many miracles in Your Name

These three activities are associated with the prophetic office (15-20), and false prophets/followers claim them as their qualifications for entering the kingdom of heaven. Now, did they really do them?

Probably. We should remember that many have done these kinds of things that were not from God- Balaam & Saul both prophesied, Judas Iscariot & the 7 Sons of Sceva performed exorcisms, etc… Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. The question is not- did they do them, but is this what God is looking for, the will of the Father in Heaven? It’s not.

The right qualifications are not what great things we do in His name, but what great things He does in us!

Very early in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus set the expectation for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 5:20, “unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

That was a big deal, because everyone assumed that the scribes (lawyers- they studied & interpreted God’s law religiously) and the Pharisees (supposedly kept the law perfectly) were the standard for entering the Kingdom of Heaven. If anyone were going to make it, surely, they would!

What Jesus went on to explain is that it’s not merely keeping the laws- don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t take false oaths, love your neighbor, etc… but doing them from a heart that’s been changed.

- It’s not as easy as don’t murder, we must not hate in our heart.

- It’s not as simple as don’t commit adultery, we must not lust in our heart.

- It’s not only loving our neighbor but love our enemies & do good to them.

Jesus hits us where it hurts- in the heart. He ends by saying- Matthew 5:48, Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

In chapter 6, Jesus goes on to talk about true acts of righteousness- they are not the ones that we do outwardly, for others to see and fawn over us about, but they are matters of the heart- we give, we pray, we fast, we trust God, we seek His Kingdom, and we don’t judge others harshly.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that all we have to do is be righteous, be perfect, & do all the right things to enter the kingdom.

No, I’m actually saying the opposite- we can’t do those things! The Bible says that all our righteousness is like a filthy rag (Isaiah 64:6). Romans 3:10, there is none righteous, no not one. Titus 3:5, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…

Throughout this sermon, Jesus has been telling us the will of His Father in Heaven and showing us the way to get there- the narrow gate. Enter by the narrow gate, He says, & he is talking about Himself.

Our righteousness will never surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, apart from Jesus. We will never be perfect, like our Father in Heaven is perfect, apart from Jesus. We will never do true acts of righteousness, seek the kingdom, or enter the Kingdom, apart from Jesus.

The right qualifications for entering the kingdom of God is doing the will of God. The will of the Father in heaven is knowing the Son of God.

3. Right CONDITIONS- Personal Relationship with Jesus.

Many of us can think of examples of people we thought we knew, only to find out later that we didn’t really know them at all. They fooled us into thinking they were one thing when they weren’t like that at all. We are at a disadvantage. We can’t see inside another person’s mind, or heart, we have to trust their words and take what we can get from their actions.

Jesus is not like us. He cannot be fooled by words and deeds that are not aligned with the true condition of the heart. We might fool our family & friends, our spouses & coworkers, our parents, and children, but we will not fool Jesus. On the day when we stand before Him and all the secrets of our hearts are laid bare, it will be made apparent whether or not we have made a profession of faith but haven’t followed Jesus; that we’ve done great things but not God’s things; that we’ve said we know Jesus but He doesn’t know us.

I cannot imagine a scenario sadder than this one- to call Jesus Lord, to claim to have done great things in His name, and yet not really know Him.

Jesus said they are guilty of lawlessness. Why? Because, while they may have done great things in His Name, they did it for themselves, for what they could get out of it, & not because it was the will of God.

God’s will was for them to know God’s Son! They knew His name, but they didn’t know Him. Jesus will send them away and they will not enter the kingdom of Heaven. What an utter tragedy!

This will be the case for so MANY people. It could be the case for many people we know. It could be the case for many people listening online, it could be the case for many people in here, it could be the case for… you.

I plead with you to consider your eternal destiny and to make sure that it matches the direction of your life. Please examine yourself:

Your Profession of Faith in Christ. Is it real? Do not suppose that you can trust a decision you made long ago. Are you currently following Jesus as Lord?

Your Confession to Christ when you die. What will you say to Him? Will you stand before God and make great claims about what you have done for Him, or will you talk about He has done for you in Jesus?

Your Relationship with Him right now. Can you say that your growing closer to Christ Jesus or farther from Him? The end of our salvation is that we become like Him. Are you in an intimate, growing relationship with Jesus?