RELIGION OR RELATIONSHIP?
Karl Barth was a famous theologian. He lived in Basel, Switzerland. One day he was on a streetcar. A tourist to the city climbed on and sat down next to him. The two men started chatting with each other. "Are you new to the city?" Barth inquired. "Yes," said the tourist. "Is there anything you would particularly like to see in this city?" asked Barth. "Yes," he said, "I'd love to meet the famous theologian Karl Barth. Do you know him?" Barth replied, "Well as a matter of fact, I do. I give him a shave every morning." The tourist got off the streetcar quite delighted. He went back to his hotel saying to himself, "what luck, today I met Karl Barth's barber."
You can know a lot about a person without actually knowing or even meeting them. When I was in Kuwait it was a large church with many different congregations. Many people would come up to me and start talking like they knew me. They seemed to know all about my family and my life. They ‘knew’ me but I didn’t know them. You can also know a lot about the truth without ever really accepting it and making it your own. Likewise we can know a lot about Christianity without ever having a personal relationship with Christ.
Matt. 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Christianity is based in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not a religion but a relationship with the creator God of eternity.
1. WORDS are not enough (vs. 21) – knowing all the right stuff
Many shall come to Jesus on the Day of Judgment and say “Lord, Lord …” – acknowledging that Jesus is God. However, that will not be enough. Being a Christian is not just about knowing the truth. You can understand and know what the Bible says and yet not be saved.
I have spoken to many Muslim leaders who would meet with me to debate Christianity. They would quote what the Bible said. They knew it better than many Christians. That didn’t mean they accepted it. Even the devil knows that Jesus is Lord
James 2: 14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds ? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds ." Show me your faith without deeds , and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.
James is saying here that true faith has legs on it. True faith is not just believing something but stepping out and putting your hope and trust in it. It is not enough to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord – you must make Him YOUR Lord. It is one thing to know that salvation is a gift and another thing to accept that gift.
Jesus said unto them: "Who do you say that I am?" And they replied: "You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the kerygma in which we find the ultimate meaning of our interpersonal relationships." And Jesus said: "What?"
There are many people who are very wise and have studied and know the scriptures in great detail and yet they are going to hell. A few years ago I watched this program called the Great Resurrection Debate. In it a very smart person with all kinds of educational degrees was making not so smart conclusions. It does not matter what you know but what you do with what you know.
It is not what we eat but what we digest that makes us strong;
not what we gain but what we save that make us rich;
not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned;
and not what we profess but what we practice that makes us Christians.
A bus driver became annoyed with his job because he had to wait several minutes after every run near an open field which 'litterbugs' had made into an unofficial dump. He thought that somebody should do something about that unsightly mess. One day he himself decided to get out and pick up some of the tin cans and other debris which were lying all around. This improved things so much that he soon was eager to complete his route and spend all his free moments in cleaning up the area. When spring came, he was so enthusiastic about this project that he decided to sow some flower seeds. By the end of the summer people were riding to the end of the line just to see what the driver had accomplished by doing what he and others had only talked about before." The article reminded me of the tremendous gap that often exists in many churches between preaching and practice! Many who know what they believe cause us to wonder if they really believe what they know! An intellectual awareness of the truth is not enough. Belief must take fruit in actions.
How about you? How is your walk with Jesus going these days? In Revelations we read the letter to the church in Ephesus congratulated them for their orthodoxy. They had tested those who claimed to be apostles but were not. They believed the right things. Yet they had lost their first love. The warning was that God would remove the lampstand – He would remove his Spirit. We see in the city of Ephesus that this is exactly what ended up happening.
2. WORKS are not enough (vs. 22) – doing all the right things
Jesus went on to say that MANY will come to Him on the Day of Judgment and point to their religious works as the basis for their acceptance to heaven. Being a Christian is not a matter of just doing the right things. The religions of the world are based on the works righteousness idea. The problem is that it does not make any sense.
Muslims believe that there are 2 angels that sit on your shoulders. One writes down all the good things you do and one writes down all the bad. When you stand before God the lists will be compared. The problem is that the person with 1 more good than bad is really no better off than the person with 1 more bad than good. God’s standard for each of us is perfection.
Suppose that God were to simplify matters and reduced the Bible to one command - you must jump so high in the air that you touch the moon. You would say, "that's not fair God" or "that's impossible". But to save ourselves we would need to be perfect.
Matt 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Some may only jump 6 inches. Some might be able to jump six feet. All of us would still be 230,000 miles short. Because we can't make the distance we begin to compare ourselves with others thinking that if we can just jump higher than someone else we are better off. Sometimes kids think “if I can get dad more angry at my brother than me then I will be OK”. It doesn’t work. None of us reach the mark.
Salvation should lead to good works - but it does not work the other way around. Good works does not lead to salvation. Our response to God for His saving grace in our lives prompts us to live for Him. Our faith is not something we do to earn our way into heaven. It is our response to what God has already done for us in saving us. There is a HUGE difference between the two.
How about you? Are you basing your relationship with God on externals or internals? When you think about your faith are you quick to point out your deeds, or your relationship.
3. Does Jesus KNOW you? (vs. 23) – It’s all about relationship
Jesus will say to many “I never knew you”. Being a Christian is about having a relationship with Jesus. It is getting to know Him and making yourself known to Him. The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. You can know the truth and even live the truth but if you do not accept the gift then you do not own it.
There are many words for KNOW in Greek. One is the word EIDO which means to understand by seeing or perceive through the senses. Another is the word EPISTAMAI which means to understand or focus your attention. There is also the word SUNIEMI which means to put things together in understanding. The word used here is Greek word GINOSKO which denotes more than just an intellectual assent. It is the same word used by Mary in Luke 1:34 when, after being told she would have a child, said “how can this be since I have never KNOWN a man.” Obviously she had ‘known’ (in the intellectual sense) men before – just not intimately.
Let me ask you this morning, do you KNOW God. Maybe you have been coming to church since before you were born. You have heard the stories and sung in the choir. Do you know Him? Not just intellectually but do you KNOW Him intimately – is your relationship marked by times spent together in conversation? Do you walk together and talk together? Do you hear His voice?
The expression "face the music" is said to have originated from a story from Japan. There was a man in the imperial orchestra that couldn't play a note. Being a person of great influence and wealth, he had demanded that he be given a place in the group because he wanted to "perform" before the emperor. The conductor agreed to let him sit in the second row of the orchestra, even though he couldn't read music. He was given a flute, and when a concert would begin, he'd raise his instrument, pucker his lips, and move his fingers. He would go through all the motions of playing, but he never made a sound. This deception continued for years. Then a new conductor took over. He told the orchestra that he wanted to audition each player personally. One by one they performed for him and then came the flutist's turn. He was frantic with worry, so he pretended to be sick. However, the doctor who was ordered to examine him declared that he was perfectly well. The conductor insisted that the man appear and demonstrate his skill. Shamefacedly he had to confess that he was a fake. He was unable to "face the music." In the realm of Christian service, many professing believers go through the motions, but they are only pretenders. Someday they will be called upon to stand before the Judge of heaven and earth, and their deception will be revealed. God will then separate the "phonies" from the real Christians. No one will be able to hide in the crowd. Each will be made to "face the music."
