Sometime ago I was down in the West Indies for some speaking engagements. While there I had one of the most unusual yet amusing things happen. Upon arriving on the first island, endeavoring to be a friendly guy, I began engaging in conversation with the people who live there. In those moments we talked about everything from the palm trees to the people and everything from the seashore to the sun. But after finishing my conversation I would look at them and say "good night" and begin to walk away. Each time, they would look at me like I was one strange person -- a fresh arrival from another planet. After doing this for several days and getting some weird reactions, I sat down with a friend who had lived there for years. We began talking to one of the people who lived on the island. When we finished our conversation with this person and started to walk away, he said nothing but I said, "good night." Then not only did the man to whom I was speaking look at me like I was strange, even my friend looked at me like I might have some undiagnosed problem. After we were away from the person, he laughed and laughed and laughed. You can imagine my first question. "What are you laughing about?" He said, "Well, Larry, it just dawned on me. No one has explained something to you. Down here we don’t say ’good night’ to end a conversation. We say it to begin one. All you do is walk up to this person, say egood nightf and begin talking to him. So the people are trying to figure out why you are saying ’good night’ after you have already conversed with them. Then as soon as you do, you turn and you walk away." Well needless to say, I learned quickly that a word as simple as ’good night’ can mean different things to different people. To some it closes a conversation, to others it commences one.
But not only is that true of a word so simple as "good night" it is also true of a word as simple as "Christian." This word means different things to different people. If you were to ask the average person, "What is a Christian?" you would get a variety of answers. Some would say, "A Christian is someone who goes to church every Sunday." Others would say, "Oh no, a Christian is a member of a church because after all some go every Sunday who are not members." Then others wouldn’t even mention the word church in their definition. They would say a Christian is a person who loves the Lord and tries to do what is right. Whatever God says, they do it. Others would say a Christian is a person who lives by the Ten Commandments „Ÿ not one, not five, not six, but all ten. Then others would disagree with all those, at least in part. They would say, a Christian is someone who is baptized and no one is a Christian until he is. But if you were to ask 100 different people the question, "What is a Christian?" it is safe to say that you would get at least ten different answers.
But when you really think about it, it doesn’t matter what you or I think. That is, God won’t examine me by your definition and He won’t examine you by mine. Instead, the important question is, what does the Lord say? How does God define a Christian? There was a man on trial for committing a felony. Various witnesses gave their testimony. During a recess, he was asked, "What did the witnesses say?" The man responded, "The witnesses? It really doesn’t matter what they say. The only thing that will matter is what the judge says." In a similar way, it does not matter what you or I think. God will not examine you by my definition and He will not examine me by yours. The important question is what does God say? How would God define a Christian?
If the answer surprises you as much as it did the people in Jesus’ day, you are in for the surprise of your life. Look at verse 28 of this same chapter which says, "And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching." "Astonished" means spellbound. A hush went over the audience. Children stopped their play. Adults ceased conversation. And even though it was at the end of one of His messages and all the people were free to go home, they were so frozen by his words they could not lift a foot or more a finger to go anywhere.
And the thing that astounded them the most was not only what He said but the authority with which He said it. Look at verse 29, "For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
I read about a woman who was stopped by a policeman for going through a stop sign. He walked up to the side of the car, looked at her and said, "I’m going to have to give you a ticket you for going through a stop sign." She said, "You’ve got to be kidding. I didn’t drive through any stop sign. I just drove up to it slowly, looked both ways and then I ’oozed’ through it." The policeman responded, "But the sign doesn’t say ’ooze.’ It says ’stop.’" As she continued to speak to him, he weakened and decided not to give her a ticket but instead just issued a warning. But before letting her go he said, "From now on, if you see a sign that says ’ooze’ you ’ooze.’ But if it says ’stop’ you ’stop.’" It was not only what the sign said. It was the authority that was behind it. In a similar way, it is not simply what Christ said. It was the authority with which He said it.
But now before we answer the question, gHow does God define a Christian?h I’d like to first answer the question, g How does God not define a Christian?h In verse 21 he says, "Not every one that says to me ’Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of My Father in heaven." The first five words of that verse "Not every one that says" is a New Testament way of saying, "It is not the people who say ’Lord, Lord’ who shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." Then in verse 22 He explains what He means when He says, "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 and Your name?’"
Now notice several things.
First, He begins with the word "many." In other words, sad as it is to say, it’s probably going to be closer to a few million than a few hundred.
The second thing to notice is that He is referring to people who recognize Him as Lord. The beginning of verse 22 says, "Many will say to Me in that day, ’Lord, Lord.’" They sincerely believe He was the One He said He was. For that reason, they talk the way Christians talk, they read the things Christians read, they go the places Christians go, they sing the songs that Christians sing. They look like Christians. They act like Christians. They talk like Christians. It doesn’t matter if you saw them in church on a Sunday morning or at work on a Monday morning; your conclusion would be, "That man is a Christian." Yet He says many of these will never see heaven. It doesn’t matter how often they mention the Lordfs name or how enthusiastically they do it. In other words, it is possible that some who are members of this church will never see heaven.
The third thing to notice is that whatever they do they do in Christ’s name. Verse 22 says, "Many will say to me in that day ’Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, done many wonders in Your name?’" That phrase ’in Your name’ means ’to your glory’ and ’by your authority.’ In other words, whatever happens they want God to get the glory for what takes place. Whatever occurs, they want Him to get credit for its occurrence. They want the glory to go to the Master not the messenger. They want the credit to go to the Savior, not the servant. Notice, Christ does not deny that they do everything in His name. Yet He says "Many of these will never see heaven."
Some people are concerned about recognition. Because as someone observed you usually only get your name in the newspaper two times „Ÿ when you come into this world and are too young to read it the other is when you leave this world and are too dead to read it. But these people are not concerned about recognition. They wanted the credit to go to the Master, not the messenger and the praise to go to the Savior, not the servant.
But there is a fourth thing to notice that is the most disturbing of all. That is, everything they do is good. First, some prophesy. Verse 22 says, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name?" "Prophesy" means to proclaim a divine revelation. In other words, when I stand up here before you this morning and present a message there is a sense in which I am prophesying. I am proclaiming to you something which has already been foretold. Secondly, He says in verse 22, "And in Your name have cast out demons." Who would deny that it is a good thing to cast out demons „Ÿ to release one from the power of Satan? Thirdly he says, "And done many wonders in Your name." In other words, their good works have been many, not meager. It doesn’t matter if it’s been acts of mercy or acts of miracles.
Now Jesus Christ did all three of those things. At times He prophesied. At times He cast out demons. He did many wonderful works. Therefore, they were following in the footsteps of Jesus and yet He says, "Many of these will never see heaven."
Now I don’t think Jesus intended to list everything anyone would say to Him in that day. No doubt, had He continued He would have said things like, "Others would say to me in that day, in Your name did I not go to church? In Your name did I not raise my children well? In Your name did I not help the poor? In Your name did I not experience physical healing? In Your name did I not teach Sunday School? In Your name did I not serve as a deacon?"
In other words, the people this paragraph it is not addressing those who are not here today. He is speaking to those who are here. It is not those who only go to church two Sundays a year „Ÿ Christmas and Easter. It is directed at those who only miss two Sundays a year. It is not those who never read a portion of the Bible. It is for those who read a portion every day. It is not those who do not ask a blessing on a meal. It is for those who would not have a meal without having a blessing. It is not directed at those who are embarrassed to mention His name. It is for those who frequently refer to Him in conversation. It is not talking about those who cannot name one of the Ten Commandments if their life depended on it. It is for those who can. It is not those who would not give a dime out of a dollar to the Lord. It is for those who would give at least 10% of their income to the Lord.
But what Christ was saying is, you can’t determine if a person is a Christian by the places they go, the way they talk or the things they do.
Sometimes I hear people say, "I’m certain so and so is a Christian. Look at the way he treats his neighbor. I think he even has devotions with his kids. And when Sunday morning comes, his garage is always empty." Christ was saying, you cannot determine if a man is a Christian because he has the right conversation, right conduct, proper language, or proper life. Many who say and do the right things will never see heaven. They are sincere in thinking they are going there but they are sincerely wrong.
Years ago, when my wife and I finished a speaking engagement we went to the airport to catch our return flight to Dallas. When I presented our tickets at the ticket counter, he said, "That flight will leave from Gate #12 at 2:00. Be there by 1:00." So at 1:00 we made our way to the gate, but I noticed when he put the sign on the board saying where the plane was going it did not say Dallas, Texas. I walked up to the counter and said, "Is this plane not going to Dallas?" He said, "No, that plane left from Gate #8 30 minutes ago." He sincerely apologized for the mistake and told me how I could catch the next plane to Dallas. But I sincerely thought I was headed to Dallas and I was headed to no such place. There are those who sincerely believe they are going to heaven and are headed to no such place.
Look at verse 23. "And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice this lawlessness."
While they are making all kinds of professions to them, He will make one profession to them. That is, "I never knew you; depart from Me." Becoming a Christian is not a matter of saying or doing something.
So that raises the question, How does God define a Christian? What must you do to get to heaven? Well again, the answer might surprise you.
Many times the answer is more simple than we think. Reader’s Digest told about a professional photographer who does a lot of work with children. During one session he was taking pictures of a five-year-old boy and remarked, "You have the nicest blue eyes. Where did you get them?" The boy so simply said, "They came with my head." Sometimes the answer is quite simple.
Look at verse 21. "Not every one that says to me ’Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of My Father in heaven." In other words, to get to heaven, you have to do the will of the Father. And if you want the will of the Father defined in Christ’s own words all you have to do is turn to John 6:40. There it says, "And this is the will of Him that 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."
That word believe means to trust, depend, rely on. In other words, becoming a Christian is not a matter of saying or doing something but trusting Someone. It is not what you have said; it is not what you have done, but who have you put your trust in as your only way to heaven. And that someone has to be Jesus Christ.
Because it doesn’t matter what you have said or what you have done, you are still a sinner and sin has to be punished. But what the Bible is saying is „Ÿ Jesus Christ the perfect Son of God took your sin and my sin, placed it upon Himself, and He died upon a cross in our place. He was our substitute.
I heard the story of a 31-year-old woman in Massachusetts who learned she had cancer. She was treated and they were in hope that all would be well. She got married, became pregnant but the cancer reoccurred, and shortly afterwards she died. The reason she died is that she refused treatment and therapy until the child was born. Once the child was born, the treatment was too late. She died in her baby’s place. She saved it by dying for it. The Bible is saying that Jesus Christ came into the world, took your sin and my sin, placed it upon Himself. He died in our place and rose again the third day. Therefore, He is the only basis on which God can accept you. You have to simply come to Him as a sinner, recognize Christ died for you and arose, and trust in Christ alone as your only way to heaven.
I mentioned when I started that I spoke in the West Indies. When I got to the island of Nevis the people were having a memorial service because just one year earlier a ship called the Christina had sank with more than 400 aboard. More than 300 had died. I had the opportunity to speak to one of the 90-some survivors. I asked, "How were you able to escape and yet so many others died?" He said, "Larry, it was simple. We were taking hundreds of containers to the next island on our ship. As soon as that ship overturned all those containers were thrown out into the water. I knew I could not save myself. So I took one of those containers and pulled it under me, rested my weight upon it, and trusted it to save me „Ÿ and it did. My friend did the same thing. He yelled ’Help, I’m drowning!’ So I threw him one of those containers, he pulled it under him, rested his weight on it, trusted it to save him and it did." Then he said something I’ll never forget. He said, "But there were enough containers to save everyone on the ship. But everyone was trying to save themselves instead of trusting the only thing that could save them."
Christ’s point is this: There are those who are trying to save themselves by saying or doing something instead of trusting the only One who can save them. Because the moment you trust Him as your only way to heaven, you enter the relationship with Him in which He knows you and you know Him. And John 1:12 says "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His name." Becoming a Christian is not a matter of saying or doing something but trusting someone.
Martin Luther was ordained to the priesthood. He studied Scripture, had a doctorate of theology degree. He lectured on books of the Bible like Psalms, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, Titus. If someone asked him, "Do you believe in the divinity of Christ?" he would have said, "I sure do." If you would have asked, "Do you believe that Christ died on a cross?" he would have said, "I sure do." If someone would have asked him, "Do you believe Christ is coming again?" he would have said, "I sure do." And yet at that time in his life, by his own admission, he did not know Christ personally because he was trusting things he had done to save him.
When it comes to getting to heaven, it is not the will of God that you go to church. When it comes to getting to heaven is not the will of God that you say your prayers. When it comes to getting to heaven, it is not the will of God that you love your neighbor. When it comes to getting to heaven, it is not the will of God that you keep the Ten Commandments. When it comes to getting to heaven, it is not the will of God that you live a good life. When it comes to getting to heaven, it is not the will of God that you be baptized. When it comes to getting to heaven, it is not the will of God that you take the sacraments.
It is the will of God that you come to God as a sinner, recognize Christ died for you and arose and trust in Him alone as your only way to heaven. If you have missed that, you have missed the whole message. It is not what you have done. It is not what you have said. It is who you put your trust in as your only way to heaven. Becoming a Christian is not a matter of saying or doing something but trusting someone.
Jesus Christ makes one of the most unusual promises recorded in the Bible. He says, "Many will say, in that day ’Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your named, cast out demons in Your name,and done many wonders in Your name?’" and then I promise you I will declare unto them, "I never knew you. Depart from Me; you who practice this lawlessness."
I know of a man who went to a city in the south for a conference. When he checked into his hotel they told him that due to the demand for rooms they could only accommodate him for three days. He would then have to go somewhere else but they had no idea where because every hotel was filled. A businessman who knew the man called and said, "After three days, go to this particular hotel. There will be a place waiting for you." Three days later, he went to that hotel. There was a long line of weary people waiting at the desk. As each one approached the counter they were told, "Sorry, no room. Sorry, no room. Sorry, no room." My friend walked up, gave his name, the man behind the desk looked the register and then said, "Yes, we have a room for you." He got that room because he knew the right person. Becoming a Christian is not a matter of saying or doing something but trusting someone. It is not what you’ve said. It’s not what you’ve done. It’s who have you put your trust in as your only way to heaven?
So let me ask you, what are you depending on to get you to heaven? Someone or something?
