You can turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7. I'm going to look at a familiar passage this evening, specifically verses 21 to 23. I do want to read it in its context, however, so I'll pick up reading in chapter 7 at verse 13 and read to the end of the chapter. while you're turning there i do want to extend my thanks and gratitude to the elders of the association for inviting me this evening to preach it is a blessing to be able to see how god is prospering the churches here in southern california we in chilliwack do pray for you we counted a blessing to be a part of a much larger whole and we praise god for confessional churches we praise god uh... the truth of scripture and those things most surely believed among us so it is a delight to be with you this evening so as i said i want to begin reading in chapter seven at verse thirteen enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. 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. 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? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it fell, and great was its fall. And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our God and our Father, we thank you for the Sabbath day. We thank you for the fellowship of the saints. We know that you love the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. And we rejoice in this, Father. We trust that you are in the midst of your people here. We thank you for the camaraderie that we have, the tie that binds us together. We thank you for common truth. And we pray that as we gather together tonight, you would be glorified and exalted We pray that you'd fill each and every one of us with your Holy Spirit. As we consider ourselves before a holy God, we pray for cleansing in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know, Father, that we do not always live as we ought. We look at your law. We see our transgression. As Christians, it grieves us. We have remaining corruption. We plead the merit and the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for any and all who have come here tonight. God, as we face a very sober passage of scripture, those who are outside of Christ, we pray that your spirit would be at work, that you would bring conviction for sin, and that you would cause us all to see that it's Christ alone that brings us to safety. And we ask in his most blessed name. Amen. Currently in Chilliwack, it's been sunny and it's been warm, but not quite as warm as it is here. So if you see me licking my lips, I apologize at the outset. It's a lot drier here than it is in Chilliwack. Somebody said, what's it like there? It has been sunny, but I trust it's going to rain sometime this day, sometime this week, and it won't stop till May. So that's essentially the sorts of things that we have. It's a lot more humid, it's a lot more a wetter climate. As well, I do want to say that Pastor Barcelos is very gracious in his introduction this evening. He was much kinder than he was this morning. He made the statement that you would never guess by looking at Jim that he's a husband. He followed that out. He said, and a father and a grandfather. So I guess I understand he means I'm a young grandfather. At any rate, I do appreciate our fellowship together. It's been a blessing to be able to attend the conference, the pastor's conference. It's been a blessing to be able to see people, brethren, that I don't see very often. Well, having made that announcement or make that introduction, I want to look at this section in Matthew 7, verses 21 to 23. I'm not much for long introductions, so I want to jump right into the text. I want to look tonight at three particulars, the event described, the parties identified, and the verdict rendered. Those three elements, I think, are conspicuous in the passage set before us. In the first instance, the event described. The context, as you know, in chapters 5 to 7, it is the Sermon on the Mount. The Lord Jesus Christ goes up on the Mount, there's great multitudes, His disciples are present, and it's there that He begins to teach. In chapters 5 to 7, we see the authority of Christ asserted in His doctrine. In fact, in verse 29, at chapter 7, we see that, for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribe. So the larger context, Sermon on the Mount. The more immediate context is the conclusion of the sermon. If you look at chapter 7 at verse 13, Jesus speaks of two ways, He speaks of two trees, He speaks of two claims, and He speaks of two builders. And in the language of R.T. France, He says the resultant, four sections, therefore. press increasingly closer to home. In other words, what Jesus is doing is bringing His sermon to what we would call application. He's bringing it to bear on the people. He doesn't just set forth doctrine in chapters 5 to 7 and then say, I want you to go home now and do whatever it is you do or enjoy your golf game. No, he brings the truth to bear upon the hearers. He causes them to look at themselves and to examine themselves. So I think France is right. In these four concluding statements, he says, they therefore press increasingly closer to home. He says the first is a simple contrast between saved and lost, the two ways. He says the second concerns outsiders who merely pretend to be insiders. These two trees, they're outsiders who are pretending. The third, and that's what we're going to focus on this evening, looks at those who think they are insiders but are not. So this is a passage relevant to the church. It is a passage relevant to the professing people of God. And then he says, and the fourth draws a line even within the group of insiders who hear Jesus' words between those who respond and those who do not. So that's the specific context with reference to the event. But then notice what Christ says here in verse 21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. And then he says in verse 22, Many will say to me in that day. And then in verse 23, he banishes the lawless ones. And so what Christ is pointing to is that day of judgment, that day wherein all men will stand. Each and every one of us here, along with every other image bearer of the living and true God, is going to stand before the Judge Christ. We are all going to stand and give an account of deeds done in the body, whether good or evil. Christ is speaking of that day. Christ wants His hearers to understand that day is coming and Christ tells us this so that again we will examine our hearts. If we are the lawless ones, we will flee to the Lord Jesus Christ. So what Christ is dealing with is acceptance with God into the eschatological kingdom. I mentioned to the brethren this morning, I used the word pericope, and here I use the word eschatological. Mind you, I've been with doctors all week, and they like to use those, I don't know if they like to, but they do use those big words. So, eschatological means the end times, the last thing, the kingdom of heaven, consummate. So, Christ is dealing with that particular. And I want you to understand that Christ is not here speaking necessarily about the life of sanctification that flows forth from those who have been justified freely by His grace. As we move through the text, He is dealing with acceptance into the kingdom. What is the basis? What is the foundation? What is the ground by which sinful man stands before a holy God? So I hope that you'll appreciate that as we move forward. Now notice, secondly, the parties identified. And I think the stress falls, or the emphasis lies, on the false professor. So we'll spend a little more time on the false professor than the true professor. If you can turn this down a little bit, I know I speak loudly. We had an older lady in our church, when her grandson visited one time, he shielded his ears and he said, can someone turn him down? I don't know why that is, but if there's an ability to turn that down, I think the brethren, at least in the front, would be very appreciative of that. I'm mindful of this loudness, and I'm sorry. Try to bring it down a little bit. But notice the false professors. And I want to look at five things here. First of all, their number. He 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. Verse 22, he says, many will say to me in that day. Again, I think there's a scary element to this passage. One of the sisters texted Pastor Barcelos and asked what I was preaching on this evening, and he texted back the text of the scripture, and she said, that's a heavy passage. It is a heavy passage. Make no mistake about it. We're dealing with eternal truth here. We're dealing with eternal bliss and glory in the presence of God Most High or we're dealing with banishment into everlasting darkness. He says, many will say to me. This indicates that self-deception is in fact a reality and that there are those who are deluded. In fact, go back to verse 13. He says, Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. B.B. Warfield indicates that this is more of an ethical pronouncement than as to the number of the saved. But nevertheless, when we come to a passage like this, and I agree with Warfield to one degree, but I also agree with the reality that the way is broad. There are those who will enter into a Christless eternity. There are those who are deluded. There are those who are deceived. There are those who look at what they do and try and think or try and figure that that's going to commend them to God. If you've ever been involved in any witnessing or you go door to door or you pass out tracks or talk to anybody and you ask them the question, most people do not think they're going to go to hell. Most people, when pressed or asked, will say, well, yeah, I know I'm not perfect, but I'm going to go to heaven. But you see, that's what's absolutely crucial. I love the language of our confession. Obedience to the law of God must be personal. It must be entire. It must be exact. It must be perpetual, or else you die without God. That's the beauty of the Christian gospel, because one has rendered that type of obedience. One has obeyed entirely. One has obeyed exactly. One has obeyed perpetually. And in Him we are blessed. In Him we have victory. In Him we have redemption through His blood. We need to understand with reference to this text, there are many who will say to Christ on that day. The second thing, notice their profession. I'm going to argue here that they make the worst plea a person can plea. They bring their works to God on the day of judgment. But it's not just their works. They say, Lord, Lord. They make some sort of a profession. These are not Hindus. These are not Muslims. These are not Buddhists. These are not atheists. These are people found within the covenant community. They know enough to say, Lord, Lord. Notice thirdly, they're surprised. Verse 22, in the way that they plead their merit, verse 22, in the way they plead the fact that they've prophesied, they've exercised, and they've done mighty works in the Lord's name, seems to indicate they're a bit surprised. Almost as if to say, why am I not entering in? What's the deal, Lord? Haven't I done everything I'm supposed to do? Haven't I engaged in obedience? Haven't I been faithful? More than likely, what we have in verses 21 to 23 are leaders within the covenant community. If we work through our passage, we will see that doing the will of God certainly does include exorcism. It certainly does include prophesying. It certainly does involve wondrous deeds. Perhaps not for us on this side of the apostolic age, but in chapter 10 as Jesus selects his 12 and he sends them out, he sends them to do precisely these things. I think these men are surprised. I think these men are dismayed. I think these guys are blown away, if you will. Much like if you or I were to say to someone who prides themselves on the good that they've done, if we were to suggest, if we were to actually say, you know, based on what you're telling me, you're going to go to hell. What do you mean? How dare you? Don't you know how good I am? Don't you know how wonderful a specimen of a human being I've been? Don't you know that my uncle taught Sunday school? This is the kind of stuff you hear out there. I have stood at doors where people have said, well, my father taught Sunday school. Well, there you go. Let's think of Galatians 2.21. If righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. Which interestingly enough, in terms of the debate concerning the imputation of the active obedience of Christ, Paul seems to believe that we need a righteousness. And if it comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. What's the implication? It comes through Christ. They're surprised. Notice, fourthly, their plea. Verse 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? The reader at this point should be alert. I think this passage, unfortunately, is taken to promote more works in the people of God. I've got to do more. I've got to be better. I've got to try harder. Notice that Jesus does not deny they do these things. Jesus does not dismiss the reality that they've actually performed these things. It is their plea. It is their argument. It is their reason as to why they ought to enter in to the eschatological kingdom on the day of judgment. Now, no reformed person would say, well, you know, that's legit. You should have warning bells going off all over your head. This doesn't sound like a top lady. What does he say? Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Now, I realize that that's our first coming to Christ. But brethren, on that eschatological day of judgment, I can't think of anything better to say then either. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Foul I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die. Not these guys. Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we cast out demons in your name? Didn't we do these wonders in your name? Gil says, it may be observed that these men lay the whole stress of their salvation upon what they have done in Christ's name, and not on Christ himself. You see that? There was an instance of a man that was connected to our church. He was the father of one of the families, or one of the brothers, sisters in our church. He struggled with assurance. And this passage troubled him, because he never He always seemed to fall short. And I said to my brother, or the brother said to this man, come, we're gonna hear this opened up. I don't think that this passage is designed to tell you, the Christian, that you need to go do more. Now, I think the Bible tells you as Christians, you probably need to do more, but not this passage. Remember, they're offering as their plea or their argument or their reason why they ought to be accepted into eschatological glory. It may be observed that these men lay the whole stress of their salvation upon what they have done in his name and not on Christ himself, in whom there is salvation and in no other. They say not a syllable of what Christ has done and suffered, but only of what they have done. It seems to me that what's going on here, again, they've got this profession, Lord, Lord, but they marshal their works as the ground or the basis of the reason why they ought to find acceptance with God. I think this was addressed by Dixon. He says, some turn the new covenant into a bastard covenant of works by adding their works' righteousness to faith. I think that's what's going on. And then notice their true condition. The end of verse 23. He says, then I will declare to them, I never knew you. It's not like he knew them and then cut them off. It's not like he knew them and then discarded them. He never knew them. He says, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Look at that. I've already alluded to Galatians 2.21. If righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. Pastor Mark had not read Romans 3.20. For by the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight through the conduct of the law. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. These guys were pretty good. These guys did good things. humanly speaking. Isn't it good to prophesy? Isn't it good to exercise? And I don't mean lift weights, I mean cast out demons. Isn't it good to do mighty and glorious wonders in the name of the Lord Jesus? But yet Jesus says you practice lawlessness. I think the direction goes in terms of 1 Timothy 1. We know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully. It is an unlawful use of the law to try, in our imperfection, in our lack of exactness, in our lack of entirety, in our lack of faithfulness, to use the law as a means to avail God. And it's very intriguing to me. We look at crack cocaine users and we see them as lawless. We look at the harlots and we see them as lawless. We look at people that don't do everything the way we do and we see them as lawless. And yet there's a self-righteousness, there's a mingling of works and faith going on right before our eyes that somehow doesn't seem that bad. Christ calls it lawlessness. I'm inclined to agree with Gershner. The main thing between you and God is not so much your sins. It's your damnable good works. Lord, Lord, didn't we, didn't we, didn't we? Depart from me, I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness. Now notice the true professor. Verse 21, the very end, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. When we ask the question, what is the will of the Father in heaven? It is to obey the entirety of God's law, isn't it? It is to do what the Lord calls us to do. Again, using the language of London Baptist Confession 19, it is to be personal, it is to be entire, it is to be exact, it is to be perpetual obedience. Well, of course, we don't do that. We are sinners. We are undone. Pastor Mark Haddon not only read Romans 3.20, he read beginning in verse 10. There is none righteous, no not one. There is no fear of God before our eyes. The psalmist says that we come from the womb. The wicked go estranged from the womb, speaking lies as soon as they are born. What a description. What an indication of our problem. You can't just throw money at the problems in this world. You can't just fix things up with remedies, or you can't just educate the problem out of people. The problem is sin. The answer is the Savior Christ, and what He means here, comparing Scripture with Scripture, this doing the will of my Father in heaven, means to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who enters the eschatological kingdom of heaven. You say, how do you know that, Butler? I know that from the Gospel of John. You say, well, that's not Matthew. I say, I'm not a dispensationalist. We look at other passages of Scripture to help us understand. In John 6, 29, Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent. In John 6, 40, and this is the will of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise Him up at the last day. You see, if you're here this evening, you want to enter in, even if you don't know what eschatological means, you want to go to heaven, it's not going to be by your works, it's not going to be by a combination deal. Fisher says either Christ saves you fully or not at all. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone and that is what the Apostle develops beginning in Romans chapter 3. It's the glorious truth of Reformation theology. We're not justified by what we do because that could never be. We're justified freely by His grace according to Romans 3.23. God in Christ is reconciling the world to Himself. God has sent His Son in the fullness of the time, born of a woman, born under the law, to do what? To redeem those under the law. His life of obedience, that perpetual, that exact, that entire, because we need a righteousness that avails with God, and His substitutionary, sacrificial death on Calvary. It answers to the twin needs that you and I have. We need pardon from our sins, And we need a righteousness that avails with God. And probably, I told someone recently, outside of the Bible, I don't think there's a better definition than Westminster Shorter Catechism number 33. Justification is an act of God's free grace wherein He pardons all our sins. Isn't that good news? He pardons all our sins, not some of our sins, not 99% of our sins. He pardons all our sins. If that's not enough to make us a happy people, I don't know what is. If that doesn't make us call the Sabbath a delight, I don't know what will. You may have woes, you may have trials, you may have difficulties, you may have struggles, but brethren, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven. wherein He pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. That's what he means with reference to this issue of those who do the will of God. Again, Gill, as the statement applies to private Christians, he says that he sees the Son, looks unto the Son, commits himself to Him, trusts in Him, relies on Him, and believes on Him for righteousness, salvation, and eternal life. He it is that does the will of the Father and He only. He goes on to say, but as these words chiefly respect preachers, the sense of them is this, that only such who are faithful dispensers of the word shall enter into the joy of their Lord. And if Gil is right, and I suspect that he is, that the primary application is to those who teach rather than those who by God's grace and by that high calling and privilege that we have to stand behind pulpits in the final analysis on the day of judgment, it's not going to be how many people we led to Christ. In the final analysis on the Day of Judgment, it's not how pure our doctrine was. And believe me, our doctrine ought to be pure. It's going to be because of the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son. Isn't there a beautiful instance of this in Luke's Gospel? Luke chapter 10, the 70 return, and they're rejoicing. We cast out demons, we did all these things that we find here in our text. What does Jesus say? Behold, I saw Satan fall like lightning. These men are fired up. These men are encouraged. These men, by the grace of God, have been successful in executing their ministerial task. What does Jesus say to them? Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that demons are subject to you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven. That's it. I find that to be quite liberating. As a man called to preach the gospel, You know, Calvinism, I think, you know, when we first come to Christ and then we come to Calvin, I don't want to say it quite like that, but you know what I mean? We understand by the grace of God is truth. There is that element where, you know, we're doctrinal Calvinists, but we still act like Arminians. We still get frustrated. We still get upset. Find this with parents sometimes. You get mad at your child because he's not converted. I mean, get mad at the child because he does stupid things, but don't get mad at him because he's not converted. We believe in Matthew 11. Now, that's not saying we don't press the gospel, we don't tell him to believe, we don't appeal to him or her. What's Jesus say in Matthew 11, 25? I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, but you did reveal them unto babes. We can't get mad at them. You see, our Calvinism has to be practical, and I know for me, when it has, and I'm not saying I've got it all figured out, but there's a calming effect that Reformed theology brings to the soul. There's a calming effect, there's an elixir or a tonic that Reformed doctrine brings, preach, pray, study, labor, work, and praise God that it's by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone that you're going to enter in. And it's that same way for anyone who by God's grace respond to the preaching that you engage in faithfully. So brothers, labor, Brothers, labor hard, but brothers, labor under the knowledge or under the realization that it's not ultimately what we do. Try to explain this to the people of God in Chilliwack. Justification and sanctification go hand in hand, but they are distinct. When we are justified freely by God's grace, we will do good works. We will be sanctified. We will pursue holiness. We will pursue righteousness. We will do those things the Bible enjoins upon us. But when we stand before God on that day, it isn't gonna be our sanctification. It's not the Spirit's work in us. It is Christ's work for us. That's what our confession says. In chapter 11, it is the doing and the dying of Christ. It is the active and the passive obedience of Christ. And now notice the verdict rendered here. He says in verse 23, and I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. The judge is Christ. There's high Christology here. For those brothers who were at the conference this past week, Dr. Beal showed us high Christology from the book of Revelation. There's high Christology here. Who's the judge? Who is the eschatological judge? It's Christ. I will declare to them. I make this pronouncement. He functions as the one who determines the eternal destiny of all men. And that eternal destiny depends on their relation to Him. It really is a huge statement. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. The believer, the one who does the will of the Father, if we take what he says here and we imply, we go the other direction with reference to the believer, he knows them. If he says to the unbeliever, depart from me, I never knew you. What's the implication for the believer? He knows us. Isn't that wonderful? Do you ever just think, I'm known by Christ? I don't think that as I ought. The doctrine of adoption, I remember reading that in Packer's Knowing God. He says, the doctrine of adoption doesn't get the most attention. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but I need to think about it more. That much I'll say. He knows us. Did you read that passage in Romans chapter 8? For whom he foreknew, he predestined. Those he predestined, he called. Those he calls, he justifies. Those he justifies, he glorifies. They call that the golden chain. We call it the ordo salutis. If you find yourself in that blessed complex of events, praise God. I mentioned to the brethren this morning, we need to be a happy people. I'm not talking fake happy. I'm talking what we heard from G.K. Beale. He said, I do believe in the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. I do believe in the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. For those of you who weren't at the conference, you're probably alarmed right now. He says, when we get to heaven, what is it but health and wealth and prosperity? I don't believe in an over-realized eschatology wherein we have those things now. If that doesn't put smiles on our faces or hope in our hearts, 1 Peter 3, we need to always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us. How many times have people come up to you, unbelievers, and said, I notice you have this great deal of hope. Why is that? If they see me, unfortunately, they'll say, why do you look like a hopeless wretch? Jesus knows his people. Jesus welcomes his people. Jesus blesses his people. This is the stuff of practical encouragement. Our church lost a young man this year. I know the brethren in Palmdale have lost a couple of believers. It is a far cry different when they're believers. Yes, we grieve. Yes, we sorrow, but not as the world grieves, not as the world sorrows. I mentioned this morning, sorry to the brethren in Palmdale, you're getting this twice. I teach a Bible study at an old folks home and I mentioned about this young man that went to be with the Lord. I said something to the effect that most believers that I know, when they're at a funeral of the godly, probably in their heart of hearts, they're not, and they're sad because the brother or sister is gone, they're sad in the absence of the brother or sister, but there is this longing in the heart of the believer to be where they are. These old dolls all said, amen, amen. They're getting closer than I was, or I am, so they amen that happily. He knows them, He welcomes them, He blesses them. Upon the lawless, He makes the declaration. It's interesting. They declare confidence in their works. He declares that He never knew them. Again, I think this is some of the most terrifying language in the Bible. And children and young people, I know pastors say that a lot. This is the most scary thing you'll ever hear. This is a scary passage. We will stand before the judge of all the earth. We will stand in his presence. We will give an account. Is it our works? Is it that we weren't as bad as someone else? Is it that we tried really hard? He doesn't deny their claim to good works. He states that he never knew them. He condemns a works righteous approach as lawlessness, and ultimately it is Christ himself who excludes man from the kingdom of heaven. I think this passage, light of 1028, is particularly terrifying. Jesus is encouraging His disciples. Jesus has appointed the Twelve. He has commissioned them to go on a localized missions trip, if I can use that language. He tells them that there will be persecution. He tells them that there will be trials. There will be difficulties. And then He gives them some very encouraging statements so that they will not lose heart, that they will not be paralyzed. He says they are to propagate the truth. Even if there is persecution, even if there is difficulty, even if there is struggle, stand fast. Preach the word. What are you going to do? We don't like what you're saying. Preach the word. Don't you love Paul's logic with Timothy? Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season. He says, convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering. And then Paul gives two reasons why Timothy is to preach the word. The second reason is because Paul's going to die. Paul's a good brother. He wants to make sure there's men in place that are going to carry on the task. For my departure is at hand, he says. But the first reason, he says, now remember, the exhortation, the command, the imperative is to preach the word. Why? Because the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Now, if I would have emailed Pastor Barcelos in year one from Chilliwack, and I'm sure I probably did, Actually, I didn't. The people there, by the grace of God, receive preaching. But if the case was, brother, they're not listening. They don't want sound doctrine. They don't want the truth. What would you suggest? And he emailed me back. He's pretty brief, so I could see him doing this. Preach the word. That would have perplexed me. That would have troubled me. That would have caused me a bit of grief. Wait a minute. I'd probably send back another email, reply back, didn't you hear me? They don't want sound doctrine. Didn't you hear me? They don't want the truth. Didn't you hear me? They're rejecting and refusing. What is your counsel? Preach the word. Since when do we let sinful man dictate when God knows best? 10, 28, you need to understand that man is limited. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Jesus is the eschatological judge. If that connection stands up, he is saying, fear me. Don't fear them, don't fear man, but rather fear me. Well, I want to draw out just a few closing thoughts, and then I'm sure there's some food. I realize that some may struggle. In fact, if I look at my books in my library, and notice I quoted Gil tonight. Gil and Calvin were the only commentators in my library that referred to John 640. A lot of the other commentators, I remember going through this, I emailed Pastor Barcelos and I said, some of these guys would be Vatican approved, I think, because the emphasis is on do more. Do more. So let's just suppose that we didn't have a John 640. Let's just suppose we didn't have a John 6. Let's just suppose when we read, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven, there is a use of this Sermon on the Mount that we need to reckon with. Something that we ought to appreciate as confessional Baptists is the threefold use of the law. the civil use, the pedagogical use, and the normative use of the law. I think, personally, if we understand that, it protects us from some extreme positions out there. The Sermon on the Mount functions pedagogically. If we didn't have John 6, 29, if we didn't have John 6, 40, and we heard Jesus say, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven, You see, by the time we come to the end of the Sermon on the Mount, it ought not to be self-congratulation that we undergo. It ought to be who then can be saved. It ought to cast us on the mercy of Christ. Now, I'm not denying the normative use. Take the Sermon on the Mount and live in a godly manner. The law of God is our rule of life. The Scripture declares that. Our confession affirms that. But that's not the only use. I've often wondered, people that treat Matthew 5 to 7 only normatively, do you really conduct yourself the way that Jesus says? Or as you move through that sermon, are you constantly being thrown back to the foot of the cross? I love what Machen said concerning this. He said, the sermon on the mount, rightly interpreted then, makes a man a seeker after some divine means of salvation by which entrance into the kingdom can be obtained. Listen to this. We are to preach it normatively. We are to understand it's law. We need gospel. He says, the Sermon on the Mount, like all the rest of the New Testament, really leads a man straight to the foot of the cross. Amen. Lloyd-Jones says something similar. He says, there is nothing that so utterly condemns us as the Sermon on the Mount. You ever thought that? You ever read through the Sermon on the Mount and said, I'm doing pretty good. You know, I gotta clean up a few things here and there along the way, but by and large, I'm doing pretty well. There is nothing that so utterly condemns us as the Sermon on the Mount. There is nothing so utterly impossible, so terrifying, and so full of doctrine. Indeed, I do not hesitate to say that were it not that I knew of the doctrine of justification by faith only, I would never look at the Sermon on the Mount, because it is a sermon before which we all stand completely naked and altogether without hope. Absolutely right. Secondly, by way of a concluding thought, the doctrine of justification by faith alone. You say, Butler, you're leaping out of the text a bit. I hope you'll allow me some indulgence. The will of God regarding man's salvation is not works righteousness. It was under the covenant of works, but as you know, we failed in Adam. Under the covenant of grace, the will of God for man's salvation is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Westminster Larger Catechism 31, with whom was the covenant of grace made? The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the second Adam and in him with all the elect as his seed. Praise God for that. John Murray commenting on that section in his commentary on Romans, in Romans 3, 27 to 31. I think this gets at what we're looking at this evening. He says, justification by works always finds its ground in that which the person is and does. You say, well they had faith and works. Paul condemns that in Galatians. Paul condemns that in the book of Romans. It's not supplemental. It's not addition. It's not like we have a bit of Jesus and a bit of us and therefore we will always side with congratulating ourselves. If there's the least amount of us in it, we will seek to take the glory for ourselves. Justification by works always finds its ground in that which the person is and does. He says it is always oriented to that consideration of virtue attaching to the person justified. Didn't we prophesy? Didn't we exercise? Didn't we do these works? He says, the specific quality of faith is trust and commitment to another. It is essentially, I love this word, extrospective. You know what introspection is? It's when you look at yourself. I'm sure we all know what introspection is. I'm sure we all know that one very well. He says, the specific quality of faith is trust and commitment to another. It is essentially extraspective, and in that respect is the diametric opposite of works. He says, faith is self-renouncing. Works are self-congratulatory. You almost hear that from these men. Didn't we prophesy? Didn't we exercise? Didn't we do these things? He says, faith looks to what God does, works have respect to what we are. It is this antithesis of principle that enables the apostle to base the complete exclusion of works upon the principle of faith. Amen. Beautiful. Thirdly, what about assurance? That one brother looked at this passage and got grieved. What do we do when we look at this passage? May I suggest let's not look at how well we're doing, but let's look at how great Christ has done. It is a curious fact that a statement designed to destroy works righteousness is twisted to serve works righteousness. Samuel Petto, he lived in 1624 to 1711, said this. I have often thought if Christians did give more attendance to such direct acts of faith, that is, looking to Christ alone and the free promise of the gospel, and spent less time in questioning their conditions or giving way to doubtings about them, they would find their interest in the covenant cleared up. Yea, and consolation also coming in, as by and by. Michael Brown in his little book, Christ and the Condition, says this concerning Petto. For Petto, assurance of faith comes not from rigorous introspective works. I want to qualify, I want to balance, I am not suggesting that you just sit around like dead, wait. Read James. But in the manner of our acceptance with God, get this right, it isn't by our works, it isn't by our performance, it's by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. He says, for pedo, assurance of faith comes. not from rigorous introspective works, but primarily from an extra-spective faith that rests in the free promise given in the person and work of Christ. Assurance is found not so much by turning inward to look for good works or a mystical experience, but primarily by hearing the absolute promises of the gospel, which calls us out of ourselves to find rest and refreshment in Christ, the keeper of the covenant and the fulfiller of its conditions. That's where we ought to find assurance. It's in Jesus' blood and righteousness. He was delivered up because of our offenses and He was raised for our justification. And then the fourth observation that I want to draw out practically from the text is if you do not profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ tonight, if you are not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, may I say to you, God is good. Grace is amazing. It is wondrous. It is super abounding. It is glorious. Newton wasn't kidding when he says, amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. There is grace in the gospel, there is forgiveness in Christ, there is mercy to be had in Jesus. Look to me, God says through the prophet Isaiah, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. Jesus likens himself in John 3 to that serpent erected in the wilderness. What was it? It was to look and to live. wasn't to look and to drag themselves over and kiss it. It wasn't to look and to suck out the venom from their bite. It was to look and to live. Christ has come. Christ has lived. Christ has died. And Christ has risen. And the Bible says that everyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life. That is good news. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word and we thank you for your grace and for your mercy. We thank you for the life and the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for the covenant of grace. We thank you for election. We thank you for sovereignty. We thank you for all those themes we celebrate in Reformation theology. I pray that you would give us grace tonight as we fellowship one with another. May our conversation be edifying, may it be glorifying unto you, and may there be a sweet disposition upon all the saints of Christ gathered together in this place. We thank you for the churches here represented. I pray for each of them. I pray that you would continue to bless them, bless this work in Redlands. We look forward to hearing good reports and we pray that you would indeed establish a solid church in that part of the world. We thank you for the promise that Christ shall build his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. May these things encourage our hearts and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.