True and living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there is no God like You. You have the Word of eternal life. It is in Your Word that we find, by Your Holy Word, through the power of Your Holy Spirit, that You would show us all where we stand before You before the time is too late. May masks fall to the floor today. before your holy word. In Jesus' name, amen. Matthew chapter seven. Verses 21 through 23. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Lord Jesus Christ has been warning us since he ended his sermon. Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and many there be who find it. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they're ravenous wolves. He's repeating himself with these warnings again and again and again. We have to say why. Why the need for the repetition of warnings Because he knows some will hear these warnings, his pleading, and still enter the broad gate. Some will hear his passionate warning and still neglect to read their Bibles for themselves, fall under the deceptive teaching of these wolves in sheep clothing. The love of Christ is on full display here. It's out of love that He's telling you and I these words that we just read. This has to do with your eternal soul. This has to do with the glory of God. This has to do with everything that really matters. If you lose your soul, no other gain matters, even if you were to gain the whole world. If your soul is lost, there is nothing that you have gained. You go on to live the most enjoyable, the most exciting, the most envied life that could ever be lived, and you perish. You have gained nothing at all. He knows better than all. This is the Son of God. He knows about the wrath to come better than any preacher could ever proclaim it. He knows about the beauties of eternity that are to be gained better than any vision anyone has ever had. He knows about the splendors and the pleasures of being at his father's right hand better than words could ever express. He knows what it is that will be gained and what will be lost. He is speaking from infinite knowledge, perfect sight from the truest and most informed eternal perspective that has ever been held. Listen to Him. It's almost as though you can hear the booming voice of the Father on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him. Listen to Him. He warned us about false prophets. They would not tell you the truth, but here's the truest prophet who ever walked the face of the earth, and he's telling us. He's telling us what is going to happen in the future. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, The child of God says, Lord, Lord. In fact, if you don't say Lord, Lord, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who deny the Lordship of Christ, those who do not confess Christ as Lord, those who do not believe the gospel, those who have a false Christ, who hold to a salvation that is by works will not be saved. If you do not believe the essential pillars of the Christian faith, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. What is Romans 10, nine telling us? If you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. If you don't say Lord, Lord, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Martin Lloyd-Jones put it, To be a Christian is primarily a matter of believing certain truths concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, believing on Him. There is no such thing as Christianity apart from that. To be a Christian means we rest our entire case, our whole salvation, our whole eternal destiny entirely upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians are those who do say, Lord, Lord. Amen? We proclaim His Lordship. He is our King, our Ruler, our Master. We embrace and celebrate His sovereign authority over all things. Our salvation over this world, over judgment, over truth, over right and wrong. In other words, we say He determines what is right and wrong. He determines what is good and bad. What was the issue in Eden? They already knew what was right and wrong, because if God told them to do it, it was right. And if He said, don't do it, it was wrong. They ate from the tree. They said, we want to make decisions for ourselves. We want to come up with a scale of morality. No, no, no. We recognize He is wrong. He determines what is and what is not. So we side with Christ over the critics that find fault with Him. for flooding the world. We side with Christ over the mobs who point fingers at Him and say, you are wrong for letting all the evil be in this world. We stand with Him and say, He is right. Let God be true and everyone be a liar. We link arms with the Lord against such notions. He is God. He is the potter. We are the clay. He has a right to do with his world as he sees fit. He owes us nothing. He can do no wrong. There is no one good, but God, as we heard in the children's moment, no one deserves life, happiness, or pleasure. We have all sinned and all fallen short of the glory of God, and all of us deserve judgment. He would do none of us wrong if he gave all of us wrath. He has given mercy. We side with him. He is not obligated to keep us from pain or misery or any such thing. He is Lord. And we embrace that and proclaim. But we understand that this idea of Lord, Lord is not just proclaiming that he is sovereign and ruler. The repetition has to do with emotion, affection. There is a repetition because of what he means to us. It's with affection and emotion that we proclaim these things. Think of the songs we are singing. We emphasize His Lordship and what He means to us in the passion in which we sing these words. We say, Lord, Lord, in our theology, in our doctrine, in our speech, the child of God talks about Christ not as some historical figure, but with a love and a passion and an emphasis that comes from an emotion that it evokes from us. Our mouths are filled with words of the works of God, for who He is and what He has done. It is not with a dry, cold, matter-of-fact manner of speaking. No. The words of the Bible are words that are soaked in gasoline that burn within us before the spark of our emotions. We feel our hearts burn within us when we hear about Christ, right? We say, Lord, Lord, because of what he means. The child of God talks differently than the world, speaks about the things of God with a real and meaningful air about them. The sobering truth that is in this verse is that someone can speak in the same way, with the same affection, proclaiming the same truths, and yet not be a Christian at all. Notice, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord. So we start with all of humanity. Everyone who is and will be, all of humanity. And then we realize among those people, there are some who will never say, Lord, Lord. So we separate them. And if they go their entire life without ever turning, they will say Allah is Lord, they will say Buddha is Lord, they will say I am Lord, but they will never say Christ is Lord. Those people, if they do not repent, they will perish. And then you have the rest, those who are left, who do say, Lord, Lord. And what Jesus is saying is from that group, not everyone in that group is truly Christian. Not all of them will go to heaven. Which means some will shout the holy doctrines of the Bible and not truly be changed by them. Some will say all the right things, preach the right things, sing the right songs, defend the right doctrines, teachings, theological positions, and yet be lost. Isaiah 29.13 says, and it's repeated by our Lord Jesus in the gospels. This people draws near to me with their mouths and honors me with their lips. They are saying what is right. They are speaking what is right. All of it sounds good. But what's the problem? While their hearts are far from me and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men. There is an honor. They honor me. They're not saying dishonorable things about me. What they're saying is absolutely true, and good, and holy, and pure, and yet their hearts are far. Nothing beyond what is said. James 2.19, you believe that God is one, you do well, even the demons believe. What do the demons believe? Do they have false doctrine? Do the demons not know that God is triune? Do the demons not know that Jesus is Lord? Do the demons not know the plan of salvation? Certainly they do. They believe, and yet they tremble, shudder, that we know what's going to happen to them. The parable of the soils reveals someone who said Lord, Lord for a while, and with joy, and yet they were not truly a Christian at all. Luke 8, 13. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. Think about that. The Word is preached. They receive it with joy. They're not stiff-arming you. They're not throwing your track away. They're not telling you, I don't want to hear that. No, you tell them the Word. With joy they receive it. But these have no root. They believe for a while. In time of testing, fall away. Titus 1, 15 and 16, to the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess, say, confess, profess, it's all coming out of their mouths to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good. They profess to know God, they hear the word of God, they receive it with joy, they believe, even as the demons believe, and yet they are not citizens of the kingdom of God, they are not members of the family of God, they do not know Christ. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord. Jesus said it again in the parable of the virgins, Matthew 25, 11. Afterward, the other virgins came, also saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered, truly I say to you, I do not know thee. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Luke 6, 46, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I tell you? It's a terrifying reality. There are people in our world who say, Lord, Lord, who are given to intellectual arguments. They're impressed by them. the cosmological argument of God's existence. The evidence of the resurrection is breathtaking and staggering. The archeological evidence, you can literally go. We were at the men's breakfast and I was talking to Chris and he was telling me about Israel. You can stand on the steps, you can touch the buildings, you can go to the places. They're uncovering all these digs. This is where this happened. This is where this happened. The eyewitness accounts, it's impressive. It's powerful to think of the facts. Only Christianity gives real, consistent reasons for the four main questions in life. Origin, meaning, morality, destiny. How do we get here? Why are we here? Why are things the way they are and where are we going after we die? Only Christianity answers these questions in any consistent way. Any true way. Any precise way. You can look at the Bible. You can look at all these things that we believe and say there is clearly supernatural fingerprints all over this. The Bible is an amazing book. And the intellect and the scholar would nod their heads to all of these. It makes sense to them. Many of them have said things like, I was left with no choice after I looked at the evidence. You just have to conclude, if you're an honest person, that this is true. Jesus did rise from the dead. The Bible is truly the Word of God. Jesus was crucified. He is the Son of God. You can look at all the manuscript evidence. I won't get into all of that. It's pretty deep. But just understand this. There is no other work in antiquity, no other ancient writing that even begins to come close to the reliability of the Bible. And yet, someone can look at all that evidence, conclude the Bible is really the Word of God, compare Jesus to other prophets and other holy men throughout history and say, Jesus is better, Jesus is Messiah, Jesus is the Son of God. They can hear the gospel and the manner of salvation and conclude the gospel is the plan of God and never truly be a child of God. It can all be in their heads. It can all be through intellectual reasoning. They can say, no one loved like this man. No one spoke like this man. No one did what this man did. What love, what beauty. Fascinated by Jesus and never be known by Jesus. Maybe you've heard these names before. John Wesley, Charles Wesley, George Whitfield, In the early 18th century, John Wesley, Charles Wesley, and George Whitfield attended Oxford University, where they formed what came to be known as the Holy Club. It was a religious society built around extreme discipline. Together, they created a great stir at Oxford as they applied rigorous standards of discipline in Bible study, communion, prayer, and fasting. To be part of the Holy Club, you had to rise very early each morning, carry on rigorous devotions. At night, you had to make notes in your journal. You had to fast twice a week. You had to visit prisoners. By their own testimony, however, not one of them was converted to Christ until after leaving the Holy Club. It was not until two years later, as he lay ill in his bed, that George Whitefield became born again. Meanwhile, Charles and John Wesley went to Georgia from England, where they tried to establish an orphanage, then tried to establish a religious colony at Savannah. They failed at both, returned to England. John Wesley was asked, do you know Jesus Christ? He replied, I know he is the savior of the world. He was asked, but do you know he is your savior? Unable to answer, he began to doubt his salvation. He is quoted as saying, I went to America to convert the Indians, but who will convert me? You may have heard me speak of Charles Templeton before. If not, Charles Templeton was not only a contemporary of Billy Graham, but really his mentor, John MacArthur. writes this about him. Charles Templeton overshadowed Billy Graham. He was the better speaker, the more effective speaker. The two of them went on an evangelistic tour. They went on an evangelistic tour in Europe. They preached in England, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, and a few other places. They alternated as they went, preaching to large audiences. Charles Templeton in the 1950s was given an opportunity, listen to this, to have weekly television programs on NBC and CBS. Imagine that these days. He preached in the United States to as many as 20,000 people a night. Across the country he preached in youth rallies again and again with thousands of young people. He became a church planter He became a pastor. He attended Princeton Seminary. He was an evangelist with the Presbyterian Church. That's what theology by the way He had a week of gospel preaching ministry at Yale University How did he die an atheist? He said Lord Lord He preached, Lord, Lord. He sang, Lord, Lord. He taught, Lord, Lord, and yet he perished. Others are not so much drawn to the intellectual argument. It's more of the emotion that gets them. The zeal, the fervor, the passion. Some of you know that I used to do Christian rap, and I have been to many, many, many youth Conferences, youth groups, youth meetings. I've seen this again and again. Youth camps. And here's what basically happens. You get these young people that come back from these camps and these meetings and they're fired up. The speaker was dynamic. The music was moving. The altar calls, tear jerking. The shame of their sin is heavy upon them. They want relief. And Jesus is the relief that they are given. They really want to stop being a bad person. They want to stop doing these sinful things. They feel guilty, so they weep, and they cry. And at the altar, at the front, with their friends, they promise never again. They buy the Christian t-shirt. They come home. They throw away the secular music. They stop going to R-rated movies. They put blogs on their internet. They attend youth groups. They start telling everyone they know about Jesus. But something is happening that they notice. The emotion is fading. They don't know why. Their commitment level is weakening the further they get from the camp, from the event, from the meeting, from the experience. So they can't wait to get to the next camp, where they rededicate themselves and they get it all back. And it's this continual cycle of going and fading and rededicating, not knowing what is wrong At this last U Camp that I was at, I spoke to a young man who said, I've been coming to these things since I was 12 years old. I'm 20. This has been the normal pattern every time I come. What's wrong with me? Because it's all emotion. It's all the flesh, the preachers, the music, the entire event. is seeming to cater to their feelings. And an entire religion built upon the feeling of a sinner is going to fail. It's like the drug addict. They inject themselves, they inhale, they snort, they take the pill, whatever they do, they feel it. It's there. But then they notice that it begins to fail. So they need the next phase, and the next. But it's not just youth groups. It's not just the youth who fall prey to this kind of thing. Many adults in church are presented with the Jesus who can fix it. There's even a hashtag fix it Jesus. What is it? My marriage is messed up. My child is wayward. I need a promotion. I'm looking for the blessing. I need a breakthrough. I'm looking for victory. I want this stuff. How do I get it? Jesus will give it to you. So what is the drive? I don't really want Christ. I want what he can give me. But the emotion is there, the zeal is there, and they're driven by this hunger for what they've been promised, unaware that what they've been promised is invitation to the broad road that leads to destruction. They cry out, Lord, Lord. You can see them, hands lifted. You can watch it on YouTube. Thousands of people, hands lifted, shouting the songs of Zion. I don't know how many times I have seen this, where they're there, the tears are streaming, and then I go to approach them to talk to them after, and they're talking about the things of the world without a concern for what the Bible says. Martin Lloyd-Jones talked about a time when he was preaching, and after the meeting, there was this man who was up front, and the tears were just flowing down his face, and he's talking to a lot of people, and he wanted to go talk to him, but he didn't get an opportunity. He was visiting the city, so the next day, he saw the man. He never got to talk to him that night, but he saw him the next day. And he approached him, and the man had a bottle in his hand, and he was obviously drunk, And he said, hey, let's go, let's talk about the things of the Lord. And he said, you know, if you would have talked to me last night, if you would have invited me last night, I would have gone. He said, well, I'm here right now, let's go. He said, no, no, no, if you would have invited me last night, I would have gone. He said, if what you had didn't last more than a night, it was not from God. There is an emotional reality that causes people to cry out, Lord, Lord. There's an intellectual impressiveness that the things that we believe can draw in people. But not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, that day, that day of judgment, Brother, that day is a breath away for all of us. There's only one day that separates, one breath that separates you from the day of judgment. That's amazing. It is coming. And it is the day that the Bible in the Old Testament calls the day of the Lord, which is a terrifying day for those who don't know God. Jesus tells us in that day. The Bible throughout gives us descriptions of what's going to happen on that day. Revelation 20 verse 11 through 15 tells us about that day. 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. You know, you're looking at yourself in the future when you read these words, all of us will be here. The rich and the poor, the Republican and the Democrat, the conservative and the liberal, every nation, every tribe, every tongue, celebrities, all souls are there. More importantly, you are there. before the all-seeing, all-knowing, mighty, holy, holy, holy God. Make it and expose before Him. This verse is telling us about books being opened and you being judged according to what's written in the books. And if your name's not in the book of life, then there's a throwing into the lake of fire. And this is terrifying. And you try to imagine what it's like to be there. Think of what that looks like, what it sounds like, what it feels like, what is that picture like to be there? People talk about, oh, on that day, I'll say to God, well, you didn't give me enough evidence. Or, God, you knew my heart. There's these foolish notions of a debate, of a discussion with the king of kings on his mighty throne as they stand there naked and exposed with everything that they've done in the book before them. And we know that that's ridiculous. There will be no debate at the throne. The only sounds that we think may be heard at all would be the sounds of anguish, cries, and despair. So much so that you can hear the pin drop silence as the judgments are made. And yet, our Lord here, Matthew 7, 22, tells us that it won't be silent. On that day, many will say to me, There will be sounds. There will be voices. There will be words. There will be a discussion. What is that sound? The cry of the confused. On that day, many will say to me, He's prophesying. He's telling us the future. This isn't hypothetical. This isn't a parable. This is going to occur. On that day, the day of judgment, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? There are gonna be people who talk back because they can't process what's happening. Now how many? He tells us, many. Let's say it. Many. Not one or two, not a few, not a portion. Not just the fringe groups, not this weird extremist group, not just the, those weird fundamentalists with the signs, God hates this group and that group or whatever we want to call them. No, he says many. Many. These are the same many from verse 13. The many who are on the easy road that leads to destruction. The many who think they're on the narrow path, but have been deceived by the false prophet to think they can have Jesus and their sin. They can add something to the cross. They don't have to repent. They don't have to believe. They don't have to endure hardship and tribulation and persecution. Those are the many. He says, many will say to me, Lord, Lord. Now, we may say, yes, of course. Why will he say to them, you're not gonna get in, the one who does the will of my father. The problem is that they're just saying, Lord, Lord. Not everyone who says to me. Their religion is just a religion of words. But listen to what he says. Listen to the response of the people. Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? Those aren't just words. Those aren't just phrases. Prophesy in your name. What does this mean? It literally means to tell forth. To speak forth God's message. These are not people who never spoke up. These are not people who are too scared to tell people the truth. No, they preached in the name of Christ. They proclaimed that he is Lord, Lord, passionately, fervently, zealously, accurately, taught, sang, preached, lectured, explained, and admonished others about the Bible, about God, about the Spirit, about the Savior, they prophesied. Preachers, evangelists, open air preachers, Sunday school teachers, family devotion leaders, VBS volunteers, Bible study leaders, Christian musicians, televangelists, pastors, deacons, missionaries, whoever is prophesying, preaching, proclaiming, Can you hear him? But Lord, I preached every Sunday. But Lord, I taught the kids in my neighborhood. But Lord, I went overseas. But Lord, I led a book study. I passed out tracks. I made Christian music. I acted in Christian movies. I sold and wore Christian t-shirts. I wrote books about you. Casted out demons in your name. Now certainly this includes true exorcisms. There are people who would cast out demons. In Matthew 10, Jesus sent out His 12 and He sent out the 72. In Luke 10, Matthew 10 says this, And He called to Him His 12 disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out. And to heal every disease and every affliction, the names of the twelve apostles are these. First Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddeus, Simon the zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. He gave them authority to cast out unclean spirits. These are their names, Judas Iscariot." He doesn't say everyone but Judas had this authority. Matthew 10, 8, he tells them, Jesus tells his disciples, which includes Judas, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons, You receive without paying, give without pay. He had another group of disciples called the 72, Luke 10, one. After this, the Lord appointed 72 others who would call them disciples and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. When they returned, they said what they did. This is verse 17 through 20, Luke 10. The 72 returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And yet what was the fate of many of his disciples who once followed him? John 6, verse 66. After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. The same ones who returned, these 72, all of them returned saying, the demons are subject to us. along the walk with him after some time. And he warned them. This is the rest of that week 17 through 20 passage. He warned them because of their excitement. He said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." That's where the hope and the confidence needs to be, not in the supernatural works that are done by your hands. Now, in our day, people are not necessarily casting out demons as often. There are people who say they do, but often most of it is false. There are some who still do. But what does it mean for a demon to be cast out? What is the work of the demonic host? 2 Corinthians 4, 3. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. What are the demons doing? They're veiling the gospel so that people won't be saved. They're blinding the eyes of the unbelievers. So what is the true reality of demons being cast out? It would be conversion, wouldn't it? The realist sign of demons leaving, no longer being bound by the power of Satan, is to be freed and be filled with the Spirit of God. Another way to hear the cry of those before the throne is this, but Lord, people were saved by my preaching. I have converts. Demons were cast out and your spirit moved in. They've been set free from darkness. I have people who were born again by my work, by my ministry, by my efforts and labor. It was all in your name. Look at all the people. Look at all the souls, all the chains that are on the ground. Didn't we do many mighty works? Many mighty works. This is the word we get, dynamite. Greek word sounds like dynamite, dunamis. It's the word for power, for miracles, for strength, for amazing, wondrous things. It's almost as if everything else was summed up. What would you call a mighty, wondrous, many mighty work? Bible reading, memorizing scripture, planning churches, donating money, suffering in the name of Jesus, sacrificing freedom and comfort, health for Jesus, praying powerful prayers, writing amazing books, adopting children, speaking in tongues, healing the sick, having visions, dreams, hearing voice of heavenly beings, seeing angels, discipling people, raising godly children, having a ministry in the inner city, working with orphans and widows, traveling the world, telling everyone about Christ. But Lord, I live my life doing this and that, giving all I had. I was even in prison for you. I was tortured for you. I left all for you. I preached, I wrote, I sang. I was even killed for your name. And it's all in your name. In your name, in your name, in your name. This isn't the supernatural witchcraft that we see in Exodus. Remember, there's Moses, and then there are Pharaoh's magicians. They weren't doing that in the name of the Lord, right? Exodus 7, 11, then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. They didn't do that in the name. The sons of Sceva, They were not doing that in the name of Jesus. Acts 19.11, God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hand of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims. Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you? And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. First, they were not known for doing their exorcisms in the name of Christ. Second, when we do see an example, they didn't exorcise anything, they got beat down. That's not who this would include. These are people who are Christ-centered in your name. They did so much, they performed so much, they said so much, and they are utterly confused. What does the Lord say to them? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you to depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Notice he doesn't argue with them, he doesn't call them liars, he doesn't say, you didn't do this, that didn't happen, you have it wrong. No. He doesn't disagree with anything that they said. The assumption in all the commentaries that I went through is, yes, you did all this. Everything you claimed, you did. And yet the response doesn't change. Then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. For we preached in your name. I never knew you. But people were saved by my ministry. I never knew you. But Lord, look at all this work I've done in your name. I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. He doesn't say I knew you, but you left. This ends all ideas of losing salvation. People do not lose salvation. They may trust in a salvation that's false. They believe they have life when they don't. They think they have peace with God when He's still angry with them. I never knew. What a thing to hear. The very one you preached about says to you, I never knew. Are you known by God? Does He know you? Now, Jesus is Lord. He's omniscient. He knows everything. He knows how many hairs are on your head. He knows every blade of grass. How can there be anything that He doesn't know? Well, the know here is the idea of the biblical sense of knowing. It is a much deeper word than facts and knowledge. This is an intimate acquainted word, the same term that's used in Genesis 4.1, Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived. Genesis 4.17, Cain knew his wife and she conceived. It was said of Joseph and Mary that he did not know her until after she gave birth to our Lord. Nothing closer, nothing more intimate. This communicates communion. Fellowship. This is the salvation. Being immersed in Christ. To know about Christ is nowhere near the same thing as knowing Christ and Him knowing you. As He put it in John 6, 53, So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him, as the living father sent me, and I live because of the father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. There is nothing closer than consuming the very food. That's how close the two become one. It is a trusting, it is a reliance, it is a total dependence. And he says to them, I never knew you. You were not mine. You claimed to be mine. You talked about me. You sang about me. You wrote about me. You did all these things in my name, but you were not mine. You are not one of my sheep. I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep." Think of the terms for the Christian. The Bride of Christ. The Body of Christ. Building of God. Him being the Chief Cornerstone. The Flock of God, with Christ as our Shepherd. The Family of God, as God is our Father and Christ our Brother. 1 Corinthians 1-9, God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Called into the fellowship. All these illustrations carry the same picture. Intimacy, closeness, communion, fellowship, unity. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Do you know him? Jesus said, do not rejoice that spirits are subject, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Is your name written in heaven? Of those who are not his, he gives them a command. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Where, where do they go? Where are they to depart to? Matthew 25, 41, that he will say to those on his left, depart from me. You curse it into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Luke 13, 27, but he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil. In that place, they will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. You think about the fact that hell, this lake of fire, this is created Not for human souls, as he says here, but for the devil and his angels. It's been prepared. It was made for angels. No human being can compare with the weakest angel. All the armies of men would fall before the smallest angel. And this punishment was prepared and reserved for the likes of them. What would men and women do in such torment? This is the lake of fire. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever. So, why? Why are they called workers of lawlessness? What was it about their life that was so lawless? Why are they not permitted to enter? What was wrong with them? Why didn't they know Christ after everything they did? So let's examine their plea again. I skipped over some things, so I wanted to come back to it now. Matthew 7, 21 through 23, and let's read it again. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name? and do many mighty works in your name. And then will I declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Question, what is their confidence in? Lord, Lord, I said what was right. I felt what was right. That's not gonna save you. Lord, Lord, I preached and taught, I helped and healed, I gave and served. What are they clinging to for hope? Their works, their efforts, their deeds, their one plea, think about this, before the perfect throne of Christ is what they said, how they felt, and what they did. This is problematic in every way. Because remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5.48, you therefore must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. And anything short of perfection is not good enough. Let's replace what they said with something else. I kept your law. I loved my wife. I went to church. What could you put in place of cast out demons, prophesying your name, and many mighty works that would qualify for heaven? Is there anything? No work of man. Your best works, your best deeds, your best efforts according to the word of God are not good enough. Isaiah 64, we have all become like one who is unclean and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garden. The word for polluted garment is the word for a woman's menstrual cloth. That's what that word filthy, rag, or polluted garment means. That's your good deeds. Those are your good efforts before the Holy God. James 2.10, for whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point, has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, do not commit adultery also said, do not murder. If you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. You have become a law breaker. You are lawless. That's the word he uses, lawlessness. You workers of lawlessness. In other words, you lived as though he never gave you a law to live by. Galatians 3.10 says, for all who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, cursed to be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them. He talked to us about the Pharisees who had this outer shell of, I will not murder and I will not commit adultery. But inwardly, the reality is you are still a lawbreaker. You are still lawless. You are still a worker of iniquity. You stand before the judgment seat of Christ, holding up your filthy rags of good deeds. He will say, depart from me. So where do we run to? What do we rely on? Christ alone. Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. And if you've been following through the Sermon on the Mount, do you remember the very first thing he said in the sermon? It's an open book test. Matthew 5, 3. What does it say? Blessed are the poor in spirit, for what? Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That's the exact same language he used. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Who will? The poor in spirit. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? It is to say, I have nothing to offer, I have nothing to give, I have nothing to To earn, I am empty, I am bankrupt. Romans 4, 5, and to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. Just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one whom God counts righteousness apart from works. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sins. He said, only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. What is the will of the Father in heaven? John 6, 40. Listen to this. For this is the will of my Father. For all ears, Lord. What is it? That everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. What is the will of the Father in heaven? That you look on Christ and believe. Not that you try to earn, or try to work, or do a whole bunch of ministry, or do a whole bunch of stuff, and say, look, let me in. What do you mean you won't? Look at all of my works. No, that's not the gospel. From the very beginning of the sermon, he's laid down the foundation that you must be poor in spirit. Only those who have nothing to offer, we come with empty hands, will be permitted to come in. The Christian has one hope. One plea, one confidence, the child of God would never stand before the throne of God and say, look at all that I've done, Lord. No, if the question comes, why should I let you into my kingdom? We have one word, Christ, Christ, Christ. He's my one hope. He's all, he's my all in all. That's the very reason. It isn't that what we sing, my faith has found a resting place, not in device or creed. I trust the ever-living one. His wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me. Or this one, not the labor of my hands. can fulfill thy law's demands. Could my zeal no respite know? Could my tears forever flow? For these for sin could not atone. Thou must save, and thou alone. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Nay, it come to thee for dress, helpless, Come to thee for grace. Foul I to thy fountain fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die. We have one hope, one confidence, one ground that we stand on. Christ is the solid ground that we stand. Have you believed in Christ? Are you trusting in your own works before the throne of God? Now, the devil has no problem with you saying, Lord, Lord. He doesn't want you believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. But if you truly believe in that, if you truly believe, there will be a flow of works that come. True faith always produces work. True pregnancy always produces evidence. Even if it's not the showing of the baby, there will be a baby that comes. When Christ saves a sinner, they are different, they are new, they are changed, they are transformed. There must be holiness in the life of the true believer. Not to earn eternal life, but because God has given eternal life. It's always freedom, then works. They were freed from Egypt, then they were given the law. You cannot start with works in order to get life. In other words, you don't put apple peels in the ground and expect an orchard. You don't pour wine into the soil and expect a vineyard. You must plant seeds. You must have faith, and faith produces work. Likewise, it is belief, it is faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ that produces true holiness, true life, true obedience. So what will you hear on that day? on that day that is coming for us all. Will you hear depart from me? If you are relying on your works, if you are relying on your efforts, if you are relying on what you can do and what you can offer to God, then certainly you will hear depart from me. But if your one confidence, if your one hope, if your one reliance is what Jesus Christ has done in his life and his death and his resurrection, And the spirit of God will produce the righteousness that is required for without holiness, no one will see the Lord. And he will bring you to the end. Father, your son has been telling us throughout this whole sermon, unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees. It's been showing us such a standard of holiness and righteousness, the very perfection that we must be as perfect as you are perfect. That's the only way to enter into life. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Father, I pray that there will be none here who think themselves rich in spirit, but that we would all come and buy without price, that we would come with empty pockets, we would come with empty hands, we would come only with our need, only with our thirst, only with our hunger, to you who supply all that we need, Christ, the sufficient savior who poured out his blood to rescue those who could not save themselves. Father, I pray that you would indeed Spare us all from those terrifying words on the day of judgment. Depart from me, I never knew you. In Jesus' name, amen.