“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.’” [1]
He spent his working life wearing the clerical vestments prescribed by his church as he carried out his religious duties. He performed multiple weddings and presided over more funerals than anyone cared to remember. He faithfully preached sermons that followed the liturgical calendar, counselled countless worried and confused individuals, and visited in local hospitals week-by-week throughout his days of employment as a reverend minister. He was respected around the town as a good person and as a friend to many. When he died, everyone agreed that if anyone had earned a place in Heaven, he surely was the one. But the reality was far different.
As was true for all preachers, this cleric had on appropriate occasion used as a text the pericope that describes Jesus contrasting the life of a rich man and a man so poor that he begged for scraps that might fall from the table of that rich man. You undoubtedly remember the passage, which reads, “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side” [LUKE 16:19-23].
In the story Jesus told, we can only imagine the shock that the rich man experienced; he expected to be received into Paradise and instead found himself in torment in Hades. This is the dreadful reality discovered by the cleric described earlier in this message. That account is an extrapolation derived from the warning Jesus delivered at one point in the sermon delivered one day while seated on the side of a hill. And no doubt all who were present that day must surely have wondered at what His words could mean! Imagine, Jesus stating that there are people who engage in religious service throughout the days of their life on earth who will hear the jolting words delivered by the Son of God, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
Are we surprised that people in that ancient day held attitudes mirroring those that are regnant in contemporary society? We seem convinced that everyone, regardless of how godless their lives have been, goes to Heaven at death. We have convinced ourselves that God is so “nice” that He can’t turn anyone away; He just accepts everyone even though they have ignored Him and eschewed righteousness all their lives. We have created a religion that minimises sin, needs no Saviour, and rewards man’s mere existence. But contemporary religion is not an anomaly in the sweep of history.
Truth compels me to caution all who hear me speak this day. Being religious, being a nice person, is futile if we are not prepared upon our death to meet the God Who gives us our being. You know that it is a certainty that this life is temporary, and beyond this moment we call “now” lies eternity. The issue is not “if” we shall die, but it is “when” we shall die. You will recall that the statistics on death are pretty amazing—one out of one die! You and I now stand on the precipice of eternity. This present life is but the vestibule where we are awaiting eternity. And each of us is destined to spend eternity either in the presence of the God Who gives us our being or separated from Him. The days we have now are on loan, allowing us to prepare for the inevitable meeting. Let us, then, use our days wisely as we take a long view of what lies before us.
“LORD, LORD!” “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” [MATTHEW 7:21a]. Well, now, that’s a bummer! Jesus isn’t going to let everyone into Heaven! How does that happen? Isn’t Jesus too nice to turn people away? Doesn’t He really, really want people in Heaven? I thought Jesus eagerly awaits every starlet, every singer, every “good” person; I thought Jesus couldn’t wait for them to be in His choir! That is the consensus of popular theology in this day. However, if this text is accurate, our Lord is quite clear that not everyone will be welcomed into Heaven. In fact, even many religious people will be unwelcomed in Heaven. And that is shocking!
Some whom we were certain were following Him as Lord are going to be excluded from Heaven! And that leaves only one viable alternative for such people. What does God want? What does He expect of people? Apparently, just saying His Name is not enough to move Him to accept an individual. I believe it would be fair to conclude that joining the church, or arranging to be baptised, or taking the Communion Meal, or doing any of the multiple religious acts one might imagine would not be enough to compel the Master to accept you as one of His own. What does God want?
Though Jesus had not yet called His disciples, you can be certain that those who heard Him as He spoke that day were as confused as many are in this present day. People are often confused about what is required to please God. That seems apparent from the many who live as though a passing acknowledgement of Jesus’ existence will suffice to compel Him to accept them. We know what is written in the Word, but in a practical sense, we often make assumptions that simply do not reflect reality. So, we make a cursory attempt to perform some religious act—going to church, participating in a religious rite, saying a prayer, reading a passage in the Bible, and so forth.
In our text, we read the exclamation of people who will plead for mercy when at last compelled to appear before Jesus Who is the Judge of all mankind, and we can imagine the surprise in their voices—surprise exaggerated by anguish. Throughout their days on the earth, these individuals pursued their own interests, having no time to think of God or of the date before God Whom all must surely face. The power they thought they held will have no impact on the Judge of all mankind. The wealth they accumulated in their days on the earth will not avail them when they are before His Judgement Seat. The fame they once craved will not have any value in determining their fate. Indeed, they will learn too late the reality of the prophecy that declares, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” [PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11].
Let me be pointed as I recall the warnings I have given in multiple churches throughout the years of my service, warnings that were not always welcomed by those seated before me, but warnings which were needed, nevertheless. It is not some particular act that ensures you are saved—it is a decision. It is receiving Christ Jesus, the Living Lord of Glory, as Master over your life that brings the forgiveness of sin and secures the new birth. Many people claim they walked the aisle, but if they did not put faith in the Risen Christ, their effort was meaningless.
On a June evening in Pasadena, Texas many years ago, my wife and I responded to an evangelist’s invitation. Lynda made the decision to believe the message of life. More out of embarrassment than out of conviction, I followed her as she walked to the front of the church building. The evangelist, no doubt meaning well, but acting clumsily, announced to the congregation that two young people were coming to rededicate their lives. Before he had even spoken with us, he sought to claim another notch on his Bible. It would be some months and in another community before I was confronted by my need to believe in Christ the Lord. You see, one cannot rededicate what has never been dedicated; and if that life was dedicated to Christ, there is no need for a rededication.
A jailer in Philippi was about to take his life, when the men whom he had treated brutally and jailed stopped him from taking his own life. That jailer, humbled by the fact that those for whom he was responsible, had not fled, blurted out a question that every person should ask: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved” [ACTS 16:30]? He received the answer, the only answer that will give salvation from condemnation, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” [ACTS 16:31]. Not only would believing in the Risen Son of God secure the forgiveness of sin for this man, but when he was saved, he would have influence over his household, just as the Apostles said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” [ACTS 16:31].
Others will claim they were baptised, though they really can’t recall the event; and because they were subjected to an ecclesiastical rite, they believe they are saved. You see, a mother or a father made the decision that they needed to make their baby fireproof, baptising the child as insurance against eternal condemnation. During the rite, someone—perhaps the father of the child or the mother—voiced assent to the cleric’s questions before a splash of water was dripped onto the infant’s head or before the presiding cleric wetted his finger in a bowl of salt water and made the sign of the cross on the baby’s head. Having done this, the parents were comforted, believing they had done what was necessary to ensure that the child will avoid condemnation and go to Heaven.
Later, the child went through a ceremony in that church, and as result of that ceremony the child was said to be confirmed as a church member. They are told that this rite makes them a full member of the church and admits them to the rite of the eucharist. Again, because they can share in the ritual, they are comforted that they are Christians, that they are doing what God expects, and that they are thus assured a place in Heaven. We should hear the Apostle when he writes, “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’ (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” [COLOSSIANS 2:20-23]. Transformation requires Christ, not a rite.
Among evangelical churches, you will hear still others who state that they “prayed the sinner’s prayer.” Someone told them they had to recite a particular prayer if they wanted to be saved. This idea is based on a parable Jesus told of two men at prayer. Here is the account. “[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted’” [LUKE 18:9-14].
I know that I react strongly to the concept that saying a prayer saves an individual. When I served as Director of Encounter Missions at Criswell Center, the students were required to give a report of their labours each week. Before my appointment, it was common for the students to report three to five thousand people “saved” each year. Something seemed amiss as I first began to receive these reports, and I instituted the policy that the students could not claim that someone was a “convert” or “saved” unless they provided a name and the church that received the confession of the convert.
It should not be surprising that the numbers of reports of people saved through the students’ efforts dropped immediately and precipitously. At the end of the first year the students reported only a couple of hundred people ushered into the Kingdom of God. There was considerable grumbling from some of those young preacher boys, but they admitted that it was better to preach to people than merely to preach to numbers.
Later, while serving at an old-line congregation in New Westminster, one man who identified himself as “the chairman of the church” was prone to boast in each service of the substantial numbers of people whom he had “saved” during the week. I found his phraseology to be arrogant, even if I had been willing to grant that he meant to indicate that he had been present when the Spirit of God had drawn some individuals to faith in the Risen Saviour. I would have been pleased to think had he understood that he was an instrument of God’s grace. But I didn’t have such confidence because his pronouncements betrayed what appeared to me, and to many others as well, to be a sense of self-importance, an air of superiority to the remainder of the congregation. Having heard this man’s repeated boasting of his prowess in making converts to the Faith, I asked him where all these people were. He responded that where they were wasn’t his concern because they had all “prayed the prayer.” They were the Holy Spirit’s problem now.
This man was quite put out when I reminded him of the wording of the Great Commission, in which the Master charged us who follow Him, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” [MATTHEW 28:18-20]. If I am not discipling, I am not fulfilling the Great Commission. If I am not incorporating those who are redeemed into the church, I am failing to obey the Master’s charge. If I am not teaching those who are now twice born, I am disobedient to the charge Jesus gave. Boasting of winning souls when there is no visible fruit is fallacious—it is unreasonable, it is self-delusional.
Greater still is the damage done in the lives of those who are told that all is well with their souls when they are estranged from the grace of God and under eternal condemnation! They placed their hope in their own efforts, in a rite—a rite that they may not have even accepted for themselves, in some words mumbled at the insistence of some well-meaning but misguided soul. Consequently, though on that awful day when they must appear before the great assize they may cry out, “Lord, Lord!” it will be to no avail, for it will be too late for mercy when people appear before the Judge of all the earth. Lost souls will have squandered the mercy that is extended while they live on earth.
MANY? “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’” [MATTHEW 7:22]? How many? Let’s get back on track. Scope in on the adjective Jesus used, which is translated “many” in the text. Many! That word should give pause to each one hearing Jesus’ words. Many? Many people who convinced themselves that they were okay will attempt to argue with the Son of God that they did everything expected and they should be accepted as righteous.
Can it be that people will attempt to justify themselves before the Living God, before the All-Seeing, All-Knowing God of the universe? Imagine someone arguing with the Risen Lord of Glory, the Son of God appointed to judge the whole earth, that they “walked the aisle,” that they “prayed the sinner’s prayer,” that they were baptised, that they performed some religious rite or ritual. And yet, this individual never had faith in the Risen Saviour!
How sad the hymn Philip P. Bliss has left us, and how true the lyrics of the final verse of that hymn of invitation.
“Almost persuaded,” harvest is past!
“Almost persuaded,” doom comes at last!
“Almost” cannot avail;
“Almost” is but to fail!
Sad, sad, that bitter wail—
“Almost,” but lost! [2]
The hymn is sad because it speaks of a finality, a time when all hope is lost, when all opportunity has ceased. It is sadder still because each of us knows someone—a brother, a mother, a friend, a colleague, of whom the hymn becomes a final dirge as they pass from this life into eternity, separated from the love of God and forever banished from the blessings of life in the Son of God. Those whom we know become part of that vast throng who are eternally damned.
One of our members told of attending a funeral at which she was given cause to wonder about the spiritual condition of the officiant. Being recognised as forthright, our member asked the man if he was born again. The answer she received was, “Well, I’m an ordained minister.” Well, that settles the matter, doesn’t it! A best-case scenario is that that minister gave an inexcusably lame answer to an otherwise serious question. His attempt to deflect by giving a non-answer to the question exposed that man—ordained or not—as a fraud.
That man needed to put the words of Scripture into action, and he failed miserably. You do remember that Peter taught us, “Set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess” [1 PETER 3:15 NET BIBLE 2nd]? Hearing the account related by our member, one is left with the unpleasant suspicion that that preacher was merely pretending that he had a relationship with Holy God when in fact he could give no reason to suspect that he even knew God. Consequently, that is an excellent question that should be asked of every cleric! “Are you born again?” Those who are born again will be honoured to tell you, and those who are mere pretenders will deflect the question, attempting to move along.
With all my heart I believe that those who are saved are saved eternally. God gives us eternal life in Christ, and not provisional life. We sometimes hear this teaching referred to by the concept of, “Once saved, always saved.” I admit that I prefer to say “Once saved, always safe,” but this is a true representation of the teaching of the Word. The problem with that position is that many distort what is taught. Distorting the intent of the Word, these souls promote the strange position that if you but confess Christ you can live without thought of God or of living righteously ever after. That concept is foreign to the Word of God. The redeemed want to honour God and are not able to live in sin while still being accepted by the Father. Certainly, those who are saved are subject to discipline when they ignore righteousness and ignore honouring God.
Surely, we have heard the words penned in the Letter to Hebrew Christians. “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.’
“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears” [HEBREWS 12:3-17].
Those words serve to caution us against thinking that we can ignore God. If He is our Father, as is the case when we are twice born, He will not allow us to simply live a godless life. He is intimately involved in our lives, and He will discipline us as necessary. God will not permit His child to embarrass Him. He will intervene in the life of His child to correct that child, even going to the extreme of forcing the child to come home if necessary! What else can be meant when the Apostle of Love writes, “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that” [1 JOHN 5:16]. The saint may lapse into sin, but he will loathe it, whereas the sinner will leap into sin and love it.
That this is the case becomes evident from several passages of the Word. For instance, think of what Paul has written in the Letter to the saints in Rome. The Apostle cautions, “If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” [ROMANS 8:13]. Is it not apparent that this presents the identical position as that presented in the Hebrews Letter when that writer points to Esau who is seen as unholy because he despised his birthright? Esau demonstrated who he was through his actions. Though he was Isaac’s son, he despised his birthright, selling it for a bowl of lentil stew. In the same way, the godless person who imagines he is a saint because he once performed a rite or because he once recited a prayer demonstrates who he is by his life. If there is no room for worship of the True and Living God, it is because he does not love God.
Allow me to point to another word from the pen of the Apostle as he writes under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. In the Letter to the saints in Colossae, Paul writes, “You, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister” [COLOSSIANS 1:21-23].
Here, the Apostle affirms the goal of the redeemed, to stand holy and blameless and above reproach before the Saviour. However, Paul wrote a conditional sentence, stating that achieving the desired condition it is necessary to continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel. If one is truly saved, that one will persevere in faith and good works. When one wanders from the truth, refusing to worship God while pursuing her own desires, she is revealing who she is by the choices she makes. This becomes evident if there is no divine discipline, for the Lord does not discipline the devil’s kids. Again, this hearkens back to the thought that relationship ensures discipline; and that discipline is certain whenever a child of God attempts to follow her own desires and attempts to ignore her Father in Heaven.
In a comparable manner, the Master cautioned us, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” [JOHN 15:4-8].
Those abiding in Jesus, those who continue walking with Him, are those who are redeemed. Because they are redeemed, they walk with the Saviour. Those who are mere pretenders will drop away, thus revealing that they never were among those belonging to Him. They do not prove to be His disciples because they seek their own interests and not the interests of the Father.
Consider yet another cautionary statement from the pen of the Apostle. Writing Timothy, Paul peers into the days ahead of that day in which he was writing. He warns, “The Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” [1 TIMOTHY 4:1]. There will be significant, widespread apostatising as the Age progresses. This will become pronounced because many (there is that indefinite, though marked adjective) will have devoted themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons. I fear that the day of which the Apostle warned has arrived.
I’m not speaking of the multiplicity of congregations peopled with those who seek entertainment, or even of the growing number of weird cults that adopt new religious writings that present unholy teachings; I’m concerned about the growing number of “Christian” congregations that are willing to compromise the faith to get a crowd. These congregations were willing to adjust the gospel to avoid offending the lost, bringing condemnation upon themselves.
Remember Paul’s warning when he wrote, “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” [2 THESSALONIANS 2:7-12].
People positioned themselves and God has given them what they want. At last, they are incapable of believing the truth because they refused it as something intruding on their pleasure in unrighteousness. Perhaps there is a hint of this judgement taking place now when the Apostle warns the Corinthians, “There must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognised” [1 CORINTHIANS 11:19]. Dear people, many will think to trade on religious acts, to plead their own goodness, or to argue that they said a prayer, but it will be to no avail. “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity’” [2 TIMOTHY 2:19].
“I NEVER KNEW YOU!” “Then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” [MATTHEW 7:23]. As judge of all mankind, Christ warns that there are many people to whom He will attest, “I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!” We are taught in the Gospels, and we who know Christ are assured of the truth of His statement, “As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him” [JOHN 5:21-23].
That Jesus is Judge of all the earth is asserted when Jesus testifies, “[The Father] has given [the Son] authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” [JOHN 5:27-29].
Jesus designated those whom He will turn away from entering the sacred precincts of Heaven as “workers of lawlessness.” The reason “many” will be turned away is in part because in the last days “lawlessness will be increased” and “the love of many will grow cold” [see MATTHEW 24:12]. We see evidence that this is taking place now. Moreover, the lawlessness we see is witnessed in the religious leaders in far too many instances. You will recall that Jesus exposed such hypocrisy and lawlessness when He confronted the religious leaders in His day when He said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” [MATTHEW 23:27-28]. In doing this, He laid the groundwork for exposing such inward lawlessness until the end of this age.
Lawlessness, workers of lawlessness—the concept is straightforward and yet surprising. Somehow, lawlessness doesn’t seem all that terrible in our view. But in the estimate of the Living God, lawlessness is dreadful. We need to adopt the attitude revealed in Scripture when the Apostle of Love writes, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” [1 JOHN 3:4].
Paul exposes the ultimate lawless one in a revelation given as he writes in his Second Letter to the Church in Salonica. In that missive, the Apostle to the Gentiles writes, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” [2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-12]. The final days of this Age will be marked by lawlessness. Even as he wrote, the Apostle spoke of “the mystery of lawlessness.” And he warned that a malevolent individual he identified as “the lawless one” and as “the man of lawlessness” will be revealed. Those of this earth will be awed with demonstrations of power and awed with inspiring signs and wonders, so that those who are destined to be condemned will be deceived.
Dear people, we who have put our faith in the Risen Lord are delivered from lawlessness. This is just as Paul has written, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” [TITUS 2:11-14].
What we were and what we once tolerated is in the past. How great is the encouragement we are given when we read, “By a single offering [Christ] has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
“And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,’
then he adds,
‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin”
[HEBREWS 10:14-18].
We who are delivered from the consequences of our lawless past are blessed indeed. Paul notes this when he reaches back to the pages of the Old Covenant, writing, “To the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 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 to 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 sin.’”
[ROMANS 4:4-8]
Blessed, indeed! And the blessing is offered freely to each one who will receive it, just as it is written, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” [ROMANS 6:23]. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Philip P. Bliss, “Almost Persuaded,” 1871
