Title: Closing
Text: Matthew 7:21-23
Matthew 7:21 ΒΆ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
As Jesus begins to close out his discourse on the sermon on the mount I believe he begins to clarify some issues that the church was bound to deal with. It is the Issue of truth and falsehood. The church has always been plagued with the prophet, the leader, the preacher, the member or just the attender who calls themselves a Christian yet were not.
This is evidenced amoung Jesus closest confidants. Judas, who walked with Jesus, who met with Jesus, who saw the miracles of Jesus first hand, betrayed him. It would not be long in the history of the church would we see people like Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 or Simeon the sorcerer, who seemed to become a Christian, yet we soon see him being rebuked by Peter for trying to buy the Holy Spirit Acts 8.
So this idea of carrying on the false salvation is not new. Yet we are still faced with the same task and the same questions, How can we know the difference? We look around us and ask the question, How can we know?
I believe it is as simple as opening our eyes and reading this passage. We must look at what Jesus says and obey it.
So what does he say.
I. Lord Lord: Word confession is not the final evidence
So we look into this passage and read, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven”. Lord Lord is supposedly a profession of faith. It is supposedly a profession that Christ is the Lord of our lives.
Yet he says that this is not the final evidence. These are the same words used by the ten virgins in Matthew 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. Yet because they were not obedient to the instructions then the bridegroom had to say, “ Matthew 25:12 Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
Oh how important it is that we leave here tonight with a realization that it is not what we confess with our mouths but it is what we confess with our heart that gives us eternal life. It is not that we can say the words that are supposed to be said. Or that we have ever said the words we were suppose to say but that we walk in obedience to the heavenly father.
II. Works: Prophesy, casting out devils, miracles are not the final evidence
Next Jesus tells us that it is not the great works that we do for him that will carry us into heaven. It is strange that he would include these in here. Because in our mind set we would think that these constitute being a Christian. Prophesying, casting out devils, miracles. It would seem that these could only come from Christ.
But could it be that a person could not be of God and do these. From the scriptural evidence the answer has to be yes.
Prophesying-to utter forth future events
Casting out devils
Miracles.
Can the devil work miracles? Good question. 2. Can God use someone who poses to be a part of him to save and heal others? Yes
III. The final evidence is foundation on Christ and obedience to the father
The final evidence is obedience to the will of the father. Faith without works is dead.
Wise and foolish Builders
Jesus now leads his listeners into a challenge. All would be lost and wasted expect that there would be a challenge to his listeners. Some people take the Sermon on the Mount and try to separate it from the Christian. They make all kinds of excuses and reason for us not to obey. It is said that it applies to the future time. A time in the Millenium when we are all perfect. It is said that it is an idea but not a practical guide yet Jesus in these last verses prove that it is something real.
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,”
How important these words are. The sermon on the mount is not there as just words to be spoken or even for future prophesy but for today’s obedience.
Yet the person will cry but how? How can I do this? Well it goes back to the beginning, “you can’t but you and Christ can”. Oh this is so important.
This is where we see the foundation. The wise and foolish man.
The foolish man says it will be by works. The foolish man says it will be by my foundation and if the foundation is not strong enough it will falter. If the blind leads the blind they will both fall into the ditch. If the foundation you have for salvation is no stronger than you then you both won’t make it.
So many people put their faith in man to get them through.
Wise man
IV. We are to listen.
We should listen to what he is saying and obey the truth.
