July 20, 2024
Matthew 7:21-23 - "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. 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?' Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Those are strong words: “I never knew you.”
They are also pretty straight to the point. It is possible to claim to be a Christian. Go through all the motions of being a Christian and yet, have no saving relationship with Jesus.
It seems many Christians want the benefits of being a child of God, but without the responsibility, accountability or relationship.
All of us, if we’re honest, can say that we have known people (or maybe we ARE that person) who knew their Bibles backward and forward, paid more tithe than they needed to, ate all the right food, etc., yet were the meanest, self-absorbed, gossips in the pew.
“The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians--when they are somber and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths…..” ? Sheldon Vanauken (American author)
Hard to hear? Good.
It should be hard to hear.
It should make us uncomfortable.
It should make us squirm just a little bit.
It should cause us to pause and ask ourselves, “What sort of a Christian am I?”
God does not want people who simply listen – comfortable in their pews.
• James 1:22 - Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.
He wants people who are changed by what they hear.
• Do what it says…..
• Romans 12:2 - Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
You say, what does this have to do with triangles and squares. Well…… a triangle isn’t a square, no matter what it claims.
A square is a square BECAUSE it meets the criteria for a square.
A Christian is not a Christian just because they say they are. A Christian actually FOLLOWS Christ. They say what Christ said. They live how Christ lived. They treat people the way Christ treated people. They love the way Christ loved. They obey the way Christ obeyed. They have the depth of faith Christ had.
Metamorphosis is the process a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. The caterpillar doesn’t just sprout wings – it BECOMES something completely different.
John Ortberg, in his terrific book, “The Life You’ve Always Wanted” puts the transformational process this way:
“When morphing happens, I don’t just do the things Jesus would have done; I find myself wanting to do them. They appeal to me. They make sense. I don’t just go around trying to do right things; I BECOME the right sort of person.” (23)
That is to be the experience of the Christian life – a metamorphosis from alienation:
• Colossians 1:21 - Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
To reconciliation:
• Colossians 1:22 - But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--
To transformation:
• 2 Corinthians 3:18 - And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
• John 15:4-5, 8 - Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing….. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
• Galatians 5:22-25 - the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
The life and words of Jesus were not intended to be purely informational.
They were not intended for doctrinal argument.
They were intended to be transformational.
They were intended to be taken into a life – the food and drink of God – and consumed.
The goal of the Christian life is to become like Jesus:
• 1 John 2:5-6 - But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
This what I want you to take away from today: Be a square – not a triangle masquerading as a square.
Be a follower of Christ in word and action.
Be one of those people whose life is one of the best arguments for Christianity.
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Philippians 1:9-11 - And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -- to the glory and praise of God.
