Who do you know? – Matthew 7:21-23
Who do you know? – Matthew 7:21-23
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 16, 2019
There are those who think they are Christian because they were born in America; there are those who think they are Christian because they are nice people and do nice things; and there are those who think they are Christian because they have a relative who was a believer, a pastor, or a deacon in a church -- yet, none of these beliefs makes one a Christian! And like my father used to say, “It’s not who you think you know, it’s who you actually are that matters.” Jesus understood this as well.
Jesus knew that there were those in the crowd that day and perhaps his own disciples who thought that those who expressed piety or those who regularly observed all the festivals, ate the right foods, and kept their selves pure were God’s people. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Jesus knew that even being part of the High Priest’s family did not guarantee your relationship with God! We discover here that the better question was “Who do you know?” and not what have you done or who are you related to? Let’s see why…
READ: Matthew 7:21-23
“He is his father’s son.” Have you ever heard someone use that expression to describe a young boy who emulates their dad? We probably all have. Here we discover Jesus teaches us that it is more than knowing about God…
I. It is about doing the will of your Father in heaven! (v. 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.
1. As I have shared before there are those who erroneously think that by simply being baptized as a baby, having a family member who is a pastor, priest, nun, or deacon, or by simply thinking about God once in a while makes them a Christian. Of course nothing could be further from the truth. After presenting the true way of access into his kingdom, Jesus gave a warning about false prophets. He referred to these advocates of the broad way as ferocious wolves who appear outwardly harmless as sheep. Now Jesus turns to the fact whereby these wolves may not enter his kingdom at all: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven”! I am sure that those hearing this sermon must have wondered about their religious leaders, who seemed to be good pious men on the outside, teaching spiritual truths about Messiah and his kingdom, but in fact they were the very inner wolves Jesus had just spoken about! Not everyone who says they are godly people, are who they say they are at all! For Jesus saying to him “Lord” meant that you were willingly submitting to his rule and reign as the Messiah in your life. You were willing to recognize who he was, publicly acknowledging the fact, and were willing to give your life to him as his servant! So those who were quick to say “Lord, Lord” were not as pious as everyone thought and would not “enter the kingdom of heaven”! Who then could do so if those who seemed on the outside to be good enough? Jesus immediately teaches that it would only be “he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” We learn that what constituted the Father’s will was to love him unconditionally and to love others as you love yourself. Jesus knew it was all about doing the will of your Father in heaven!
EXAMPLE: One of the last things my dad used to tell my siblings and I was, “Be good and obey your mother just as if I were here.” For my father it did not matter to him whether he was present or not we had to respect and be obedient to our mother when he was absent. This is what doing the God’s will is about. Jesus knew it was all about doing the will of your Father in heaven!
When I was younger I called my Aunt and she was shocked at how much I sounded like my dad on the phone. My brother’s voice is very similar as well and in fact his dog often would confuse us because we sounded so much alike. Jesus knew that fine sounding words or saying godly things did not make one a child of God and so…
II. It is not about the words you use or the things you do! (v. 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?”
1. Jesus also knew that trying to second guess God does not work and neither does trying to bluff your way into his good graces. God never winks at sin. Trying to fool God into thinking you love him when in actuality one hardly ever acknowledges his existence at all in one’s life is foolish thinking. There are those who think that by simply entering a church building once in a while God will honor their bogus religiosity. Just as entering a Safeway doesn’t make you a bottle of milk neither does entering a church building, once in a while, make you a Christian. Jesus knew the hypocrisy of people and that they would try to claim some kind of relationship with him on the final Day of Judgment but it would not work. God sees us for who we are, why we are making the excuses we are, and what we do as a smokescreen. Jesus bluntly related that “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord’” perhaps thinking that by doing so they would illicit some kind of sympathy from God. They are going to be in for a big disappointment. Notice too that it was “Lord, Lord” and not “my Lord, my Lord” because there is no intention on their part to acknowledge his actual lordship in their lives. Instead they continue by compounding their faulty thinking by trying to bring up what they felt justified in their lives by relaying: “did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” False prophets and false Christians actually think that by doing good things is enough but in God’s economy it is not. When the risen Jesus showed himself to his doubting disciple Thomas and had him place his fingers in the wounds on his side and hands, Thomas responds by declaring, “My Lord and my God! (John 20:2-28 NIV)” Thomas showed by his declaration of Jesus being his Lord and his God who he was giving his life to. False Christians and prophets try to fool God and others while never giving their lives or allegiance to Jesus. This is why Jesus taught that is it not about the words you use or the things you do, it is about who you trust with your life!
EXAMPLE: I’ve heard others describe people they know as “the salt of the earth” or being “a good person who would give you the shirt off his back” but as nice as this sounds it does not mean they know God personally. A lot of “nice” folks are going to end up separated from him for eternity. My dad once quipped, “niceness does not mean you’re near to God, it just means you’re nice”. And he was correct. As one old-time preacher put it, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Jesus taught that is it not about the words you use or the things you do, it is about who you trust with your life!
My father would tease me by pretending he didn’t recognize me when I wanted something like an ice cream cone or a certain toy. I would hug his leg and sternly remind him, “You know who I am!” And this is exactly what Jesus was trying to convey to his listeners. Jesus knew that…
III. It’s about who you know as Savior and Lord! (V. 23)
Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
1. The one thing anyone can plainly see in the gospel depictions of Jesus is the fact that he always told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. He never tried to soften it or make it more palatable. Jesus knew that if he did, he could falsely convey to his listeners an ungodly notion that he was not who he said he was or that God did not send him for the purpose he came for. This is why Jesus spent a lot time teaching about his kingdom and about hell. When a person dies they will either spend eternity with fellow believers in the presence and purpose of God or they will spend eternity separated from others and him! Jesus taught: “When the Son of Man”, meaning himself, “comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. (Matthew 25:31-33 NIV)” Those who try to fool God he will tell them plainly, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (v. 41) In fact those who tried to fool him “will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life”! (v. 46) and sadly there is hardly any teaching about this anymore. There is a reason Jesus came “to save what was lost”! (Matthew 18:11) Paul wrote, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 NIV)” So here Jesus bluntly tells the crowd, “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” This tells me that it is Jesus who will ultimately judge us and it is Jesus who knows exactly who we are and what we believe or not. To believe otherwise or to think we can fool God he depicts as “evil”. Jesus knew it’s about who you know as Savior and Lord!
EXAMPLE: When you look at photographs of me when I was younger and my father when he was the same age you know immediately whose son I am. In fact all of my siblings resemble my father and no one would ever make the mistake in thinking that we weren’t siblings and our father’s children. Even though there are those who desperately try to fool others into thinking they are the children of God, believe me he knows exactly who belongs to him or not. Jesus isn’t fooled. Jesus knew it’s about who you know as Savior and Lord!
Conclusion:
Jesus knew it was all about doing the will of your Father in heaven! Jesus taught that is it not about the words you use or the things you do, it is about who you trust with your life! And Jesus knew it’s about who you know as Savior and Lord!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2019 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
June 16, 2019
There are those who think they are Christian because they were born in America; there are those who think they are Christian because they are nice people and do nice things; and there are those who think they are Christian because they have a relative who was a believer, a pastor, or a deacon in a church -- yet, none of these beliefs makes one a Christian! And like my father used to say, “It’s not who you think you know, it’s who you actually are that matters.” Jesus understood this as well.
Jesus knew that there were those in the crowd that day and perhaps his own disciples who thought that those who expressed piety or those who regularly observed all the festivals, ate the right foods, and kept their selves pure were God’s people. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Jesus knew that even being part of the High Priest’s family did not guarantee your relationship with God! We discover here that the better question was “Who do you know?” and not what have you done or who are you related to? Let’s see why…
READ: Matthew 7:21-23
“He is his father’s son.” Have you ever heard someone use that expression to describe a young boy who emulates their dad? We probably all have. Here we discover Jesus teaches us that it is more than knowing about God…
I. It is about doing the will of your Father in heaven! (v. 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.
1. As I have shared before there are those who erroneously think that by simply being baptized as a baby, having a family member who is a pastor, priest, nun, or deacon, or by simply thinking about God once in a while makes them a Christian. Of course nothing could be further from the truth. After presenting the true way of access into his kingdom, Jesus gave a warning about false prophets. He referred to these advocates of the broad way as ferocious wolves who appear outwardly harmless as sheep. Now Jesus turns to the fact whereby these wolves may not enter his kingdom at all: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven”! I am sure that those hearing this sermon must have wondered about their religious leaders, who seemed to be good pious men on the outside, teaching spiritual truths about Messiah and his kingdom, but in fact they were the very inner wolves Jesus had just spoken about! Not everyone who says they are godly people, are who they say they are at all! For Jesus saying to him “Lord” meant that you were willingly submitting to his rule and reign as the Messiah in your life. You were willing to recognize who he was, publicly acknowledging the fact, and were willing to give your life to him as his servant! So those who were quick to say “Lord, Lord” were not as pious as everyone thought and would not “enter the kingdom of heaven”! Who then could do so if those who seemed on the outside to be good enough? Jesus immediately teaches that it would only be “he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” We learn that what constituted the Father’s will was to love him unconditionally and to love others as you love yourself. Jesus knew it was all about doing the will of your Father in heaven!
EXAMPLE: One of the last things my dad used to tell my siblings and I was, “Be good and obey your mother just as if I were here.” For my father it did not matter to him whether he was present or not we had to respect and be obedient to our mother when he was absent. This is what doing the God’s will is about. Jesus knew it was all about doing the will of your Father in heaven!
When I was younger I called my Aunt and she was shocked at how much I sounded like my dad on the phone. My brother’s voice is very similar as well and in fact his dog often would confuse us because we sounded so much alike. Jesus knew that fine sounding words or saying godly things did not make one a child of God and so…
II. It is not about the words you use or the things you do! (v. 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?”
1. Jesus also knew that trying to second guess God does not work and neither does trying to bluff your way into his good graces. God never winks at sin. Trying to fool God into thinking you love him when in actuality one hardly ever acknowledges his existence at all in one’s life is foolish thinking. There are those who think that by simply entering a church building once in a while God will honor their bogus religiosity. Just as entering a Safeway doesn’t make you a bottle of milk neither does entering a church building, once in a while, make you a Christian. Jesus knew the hypocrisy of people and that they would try to claim some kind of relationship with him on the final Day of Judgment but it would not work. God sees us for who we are, why we are making the excuses we are, and what we do as a smokescreen. Jesus bluntly related that “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord’” perhaps thinking that by doing so they would illicit some kind of sympathy from God. They are going to be in for a big disappointment. Notice too that it was “Lord, Lord” and not “my Lord, my Lord” because there is no intention on their part to acknowledge his actual lordship in their lives. Instead they continue by compounding their faulty thinking by trying to bring up what they felt justified in their lives by relaying: “did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” False prophets and false Christians actually think that by doing good things is enough but in God’s economy it is not. When the risen Jesus showed himself to his doubting disciple Thomas and had him place his fingers in the wounds on his side and hands, Thomas responds by declaring, “My Lord and my God! (John 20:2-28 NIV)” Thomas showed by his declaration of Jesus being his Lord and his God who he was giving his life to. False Christians and prophets try to fool God and others while never giving their lives or allegiance to Jesus. This is why Jesus taught that is it not about the words you use or the things you do, it is about who you trust with your life!
EXAMPLE: I’ve heard others describe people they know as “the salt of the earth” or being “a good person who would give you the shirt off his back” but as nice as this sounds it does not mean they know God personally. A lot of “nice” folks are going to end up separated from him for eternity. My dad once quipped, “niceness does not mean you’re near to God, it just means you’re nice”. And he was correct. As one old-time preacher put it, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Jesus taught that is it not about the words you use or the things you do, it is about who you trust with your life!
My father would tease me by pretending he didn’t recognize me when I wanted something like an ice cream cone or a certain toy. I would hug his leg and sternly remind him, “You know who I am!” And this is exactly what Jesus was trying to convey to his listeners. Jesus knew that…
III. It’s about who you know as Savior and Lord! (V. 23)
Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
1. The one thing anyone can plainly see in the gospel depictions of Jesus is the fact that he always told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. He never tried to soften it or make it more palatable. Jesus knew that if he did, he could falsely convey to his listeners an ungodly notion that he was not who he said he was or that God did not send him for the purpose he came for. This is why Jesus spent a lot time teaching about his kingdom and about hell. When a person dies they will either spend eternity with fellow believers in the presence and purpose of God or they will spend eternity separated from others and him! Jesus taught: “When the Son of Man”, meaning himself, “comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. (Matthew 25:31-33 NIV)” Those who try to fool God he will tell them plainly, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (v. 41) In fact those who tried to fool him “will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life”! (v. 46) and sadly there is hardly any teaching about this anymore. There is a reason Jesus came “to save what was lost”! (Matthew 18:11) Paul wrote, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 NIV)” So here Jesus bluntly tells the crowd, “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” This tells me that it is Jesus who will ultimately judge us and it is Jesus who knows exactly who we are and what we believe or not. To believe otherwise or to think we can fool God he depicts as “evil”. Jesus knew it’s about who you know as Savior and Lord!
EXAMPLE: When you look at photographs of me when I was younger and my father when he was the same age you know immediately whose son I am. In fact all of my siblings resemble my father and no one would ever make the mistake in thinking that we weren’t siblings and our father’s children. Even though there are those who desperately try to fool others into thinking they are the children of God, believe me he knows exactly who belongs to him or not. Jesus isn’t fooled. Jesus knew it’s about who you know as Savior and Lord!
Conclusion:
Jesus knew it was all about doing the will of your Father in heaven! Jesus taught that is it not about the words you use or the things you do, it is about who you trust with your life! And Jesus knew it’s about who you know as Savior and Lord!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2019 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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