Are you a Follower of Jesus? Are you truly a born again believer in Jesus Christ? Or can we be charged with being a counterfeit? For a lot of us, as Christians we dismiss this question because it almost feels redundant or unnecessary. “Of course I’m a Christian. I filled all the squares. I walked the aisle, shook the hand of the preacher; said the sinner’s prayer; been dunked in the baptismal pool." These are good things and they are all important, but is that all there is to being a Christian?
If we were put on trial for being a Christian, what is the evidence that will convict us? What do we show the world? Having the Jesus Fish on the back of the car? Going to church, regularly (at least when there is not a sporting I must attend)? Owning more than 3 Bibles? Having a praise song for the ringtone on my cell phone? My picture in the church directory? Listening to Christian Radio in my car? Some may even say, “I teach Sunday School.” Others may say "I’m a deacon, I chair numerous church committees, I give regularly and give to all the special offerings during the year." Some even make the claim, "I vote republican as evidence of being Christian."
The real test, the real indicator of life that has been saved by the grace of God, is a life that is changed. A life that reflected a daily relationship with the savior. A life that lives obediently to the will of God. Today, we are not looking at who the world says we are, but whose we are. Who do Jesus say we are.
Matthew 7:21–23
ILL.- A lot of people do not like to wear seatbelts in their car even though it is the law.. According to the Associated Press, a New Zealander named Ivan Segedin took it to an extreme. The police ticketed him 32 times over five years for failing to use his seat belt. Even though this was costing him big money, Segedin refused to buckle up. Finally, instead of obeying the law, the man decided to rely on deception. He made a fake seat belt that would hang over his shoulder and make it appear that he was wearing a seat belt when he was not. Ivan was a counterfeit seatbelt wearer. But he was eventually exposed as such.
His trick worked for a while. Then, he had a head-on collision. He was thrown forward onto the steering wheel and killed. That man’s disobedience caused his death, but disobedience to God can cause even more trouble and a worse death! [1]
Today’s passage is from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, from chapters 5,6, and 7 in Matthew. In context to our verses, Jesus warns about false prophets (verses 15-20). The last verse of that section is key.
Matthew 7:20 (NKJV) Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Jesus calls us to be fruit inspectors, to spot false teachers and prophets. But what about us? What kind of fruits are we producing. Will people accuse us of being Christian by the fruit they see produced by us?
Matthew 7:21 (NKJV) “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.
Calling Jesus “Lord, Lord,” is not a bad thing. Our test for belonging to Jesus is not based on the church vocabulary we use. The key to today’s message is this: “but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Warren Wiersbe comments: “How easy it is to learn a religious vocabulary, and even memorize Bible verses and religious songs, and yet not obey God’s will…. Words are not a substitute for obedience, and neither are religious works. [2]
We have Bible studies, and we discuss, debate, praise, and admire the Word of God, but it is not the theological discourses of the Word of God that matters, what matters is if we do what the Word of God says.
James 1:22 (NKJV) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
We fool ourselves if we believe God’s will is accomplished by merely discussing and analyzing His word. We must be doers of the word. Jesus said:
Luke 11:28 (NKJV) But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
The question is often asked, ”Just what is the will of God?” I would answer, "Are you doing the will of God that you know?" If you are not doing what you know, why would God reveal anything further to you? Jesus makes the comment:
Luke 6:46 (NKJV) “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
That’s a very serious question. If we call Jesus Lord, is He really Lord? Or are we giving Him just lip service? Jesus, speaking to the pharisees and scribes said:
Matthew 15:7–9 (NKJV) 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
Where is your heart? Is your love for Jesus more than lip service? We claim we know Jesus, and indeed, we are saved by grace and not by works, but where is the evidence of our salvation?
Jesus said:
John 14:15 (NKJV) “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John tells us:
1 John 2:3–5 (NKJV) Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
If we claim we know Jesus, then would be busy doing what he commands. But what about doing these religious things? Religious activities can never take the place of actually obedience to Jesus commands.
Matthew 7:22 (NKJV) 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 what day is that? This clearly indicates Judgment Day. The Judgment indicated by the passage is the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) where the condemned is judged. One day there will be many surprised so-called Christians (including preachers, Deacons and Sunday School teachers) appearing before that Great White Throne. The truly saved will not be there. Religious activity by itself does not demonstrate salvation. Preaching and prophesying in the name of Jesus, casting out demons in the name of Jesus, performing miracles in the name of Jesus. None of these activities are disputed by Jesus. Look at Judas. He preached, prophesied, cast out demons and performed miracles just like and alongside of the rest of the disciples, yet he was not saved by these activities. Neither are we. It is all about doing God’s will.
I would tell my children when they were young, to clean your room and they would reply, “I took out the trash and emptied the dishwasher.” As nice as those things are, they still did not do what they were told to do and that was to clean their room.
You can busy doing the Lord’s work and still not obey Him.
"I teach a great Sunday School Class, but I will never forgive my brother for what he did to me."
"I work with poor and homeless, but I just cussed out the clerk at Walmart."
"I volunteer for every mission trip and would go to the ends of the earth for Jesus, but I won’t witness and share Jesus with my next-door neighbor."
Performing signs and wonders is not enough prove you belong to Jesus. You may fool the world around you, you may even fool yourself, but you cannot fool Jesus.
There is something more important than knowing Jesus. Does Jesus know you?
Matthew 7:23 (NKJV) And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Will Jesus declares that He knows you? Notice the language here. Jesus did not say I knew you previously, but rather he says, I never knew you at all. Some people Jesus will not know because they may not claim they know Him before the world.
Matthew 10:32–33 (NKJV) “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Are we confessing Jesus before the world? There are those who have played the part of a Christian for years, yet are unsaved, yet do not know Jesus personally, and Jesus would say that He never knew you. These are the counterfeit Christians. How does Jesus refer to these counterfeits? He calls them: “you who practice lawlessness!” (NKJV). The NIV has “evildoers” and the HCSB has “lawbreakers.” Being good (in our eyes) will never be good enough for God. Only Knowing Jesus and Jesus knowing you will do.
It is not up to me as your pastor to expose those who are the Christian counterfeiters. PTL – I was not given any discernment in that regard. The responsibility I have been given is to “Preach the Word” (2 Tim 4:2). It is each of our individual responsibility to examine ourselves.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV) Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
As we approach this Lord’s Table, we each are called to make such an examination. To see if we are really in the faith.
Are we routinely showing the fruits of the Spirit that dwells inside of us. Are we living our faith in real and tangible ways. Do we have a relationship with Jesus that is ongoing day in and day out. How do we show that we truly love Jesus? Repeating the verse we viewed earlier:
John 14:15 (NKJV) “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
Obedience is the one single sure indicator of true salvation. We do not obey to be saved, in fact, it is impossible to be faithfully obedient unless we are truly saved. We are obedient because we are saved. Jesus said,
John 15:5 (NKJV) “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Without true salvation in Jesus, without truly knowing Him and Jesus knowing you, it is just an act, fooling the world, fooling yourself and you will be exposed sooner or later. As we approach this Lord's supper in a few minutes, we must of a time of self examination. Paul warns us not to partake in the supper in an unworthy manner (1 Cor 11:27). This is a time of examination. Paul writes:
1 Corinthians 11:28 (NKJV) But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
We come to this Lord’s Table, having examined ourselves, knowing that we are in the faith. If you are not sure, please, do not partake. Make sure you are right before God, knowing you covered by the blood of Jesus, that you possess His Spirit enabling you to be the obedient servant He has called you to be.
[1] www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/tis-the-season-to-submit-steve-shepherd-sermon-on-christmas-152466?ref=SermonSerps
[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 31.
