01.24. The Sermon on the Mount (32)
The Sermon on the Mount (32) A Worthless Profession
Matthew 7:21-23 False and True Profession
’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’ (Matthew 7:21).
We are reaching the end of the Sermon on the Mount the Lord Jesus is addressing the consciences of the disciples in a very serious way. He had spoken of entering into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20). And now He comes back on to this important matter. A mere confession of lips is not sufficient to have part in the blessings of the kingdom, be it now on earth or in a future day in heaven. Likewise a mere acquaintance with the name of the Lord Jesus or an infrequent use of that name will not do. Man’s religion falls far short of what is needed, and by it many have been deceived and lost for eternity. Our faith in the Lord Jesus and our love for Him ought to be recognised by our keeping His Word and by doing His and the Father’s will from the heart (cf. John 14:21; John 14:23; Ephesians 6:6). Every disciple who honestly professes to follow his Lord will admit that he is often falls in doing so, but the Lord knows our hearts and our desires to serve Him as we should.
We sometimes cannot say with certainty if someone who professes the Lord Jesus is a true believer or not. But the Lord is not only the saviour of sinners but the one who knows the heart and will one day be the incorruptible judge. Not only does he see the outward appearance but also the inner reality.
We are not say that profession does not have any importance. However, it should go further than this, ’For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation’ (Romans 10:10). A true disciple of Jesus will confess his Lord wherever he can. But in our verse in Matthew the Lord is warning about mere profession without true faith.
More than once the Lord Jesus has been talking to his disciples about God as their father (Matthew 5:16, etc.). In our Matthew 7:21 it is the first time the Lord Jesus calls God ’my Father’. It was grace alone to bring the disciples into this relationship, riches of which the Lord opened up to them after his redemptive work on the cross. But as the Son of God only He knows God as His Father from eternity. He is and will always be the Son of His love. He was so when He came from heaven and being man upon earth revealed God and accomplished the work that was necessary for our salvation in greatest humility. Can the Devil Perform Miracles?
’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?’ (Matthew 7:22) The Lord Jesus warns those who are lead religious lives, and even perform great deeds in His name and yet are lost for eternity. He does not speak of a few in this connection but of ’many’ who have performed extraordinary things by calling upon his name and yet have to be condemned by him as wrongdoers.
Many believing readers of the Scriptures may ask, ’How is such a thing possible? Is it possible for men who are not born again but who wear a religious garment to perform miracles in the name of the Lord?’ or they say, ’Is it possible for men doing great things in Christ’s name to be lost?’ The Lord had already spoken of false prophets in verses 15 to 20. Balaam (2 Peter 2:15-16), Saul (1 Samuel 10:11) and Caiaphas (John 11:51-52) were prophets who had not been born again. And among the Lord’s own disciples we find Judas Iscariot! (Note that the Lord Jesus had given his disciples power to cast out unclean spirits. See Matthew 10:1). Even amongst the Jews were such who cast out demons (Matthew 12:27). In Acts 19:13-16 we are told that seven sons of the Jewish high priest Sceva called on those who had wicked spirits in name of the Lord. In this case the wicked spirit was not submissive but prevailed against the ’would be’ exorcists. But in how many other cases Satan has brought men under his spell! As Paul mentions in one of his letters, ’...false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works’ (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
These things have not been restricted to the beginning of Christendom only. In our days we will find - and especially so in charismatic circles - false prophets, healers and preachers, who perform miracles ’in the name of Christ’. And yet these men are not truly converted. The source of these miracles - if they are miracles at all, is none else than Satan himself. Every child of God should be most careful in judging extraordinary phenomena in Christian circles. By writing this we do not want to give the impression that all who distinguish themselves by sensational doings are not saved. Satan is able to beguile the heart of a believer also. The Judgment
Men who have performed sensational miracles ’in the name of the Lord Jesus’ but have not been converted will one day stand before him as their judge. Then it will be clear where that stand in regard to Him.
’That day’ is not a single day but the whole time in which Christ as Son of man will execute a just judgment. In the Old Testament this day is called the day of the Lord (Isaiah 2:11; Zechariah 14:1-9). As we study through the New Testament we learn that ’that day’ includes the whole time from the believers’ appearing before the judgment seat of Christ up to the end of the millennium:
The raptured saints will be made manifest in ’that day’ before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 4:8).
The Lord Jesus will come on earth ’in that day’ and His glory will be seen in all His saints (2 Thessalonians 1:10).
’In that day’ He will execute judgment upon earth over the living. These will include mere professors who are without the life of God and who will receive their judgment (Matthew 25:31-46).
The 1000-years reign of Christ with it’s blessings and joys belongs to ’that day’ as well (Matthew 26:29; cf. Mark 14:25).
Lastly all unbelievers will receive their eternal and just sentence to damnation ’in that day’ (Matthew 7:22).
’And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’ (Matthew 7:23) This awful moment will take place when these false professors will appear before the throne of Christ to receive their final sentence to damnation (Revelation 20:11-15). The judge is the Lord Jesus to whom the Father has given all judgment because he is the Son of man (John 5:22; John 5:27). He will no longer be the gracious Saviour of sinners but the Judge seated upon a great white throne. The sentence will be as follows, ’I never knew you.’ It is not that these men are not known to the omniscient Lord but that He cannot accept them and their deeds. They may often have used his name and therefore in a certain sense have ’professed’ Him but He will testify to them that they have not believed in him and therefore have no relationship with him.
What a proof these words are that a true believer cannot be lost again, for otherwise the Lord would have to say to them. ’It is true that I have known you but now I do not know you any more.’ But no, he will say to these people:, ’I never knew you.’ On the other hand He will say to those who have taken refuge in faith with Him, ’I know those that are mine and am known of those that are mine’ (John 10:14, N. Tr.). The righteous judge will pronounce the terrible punishment, ’Depart from me’. Those who have made a false profession and pretended a nearness to Christ will be seen to have always been a stranger to him and will receive their punishment: eternal damnation from the presence of God and his glory (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
Here the Lord calls they who are eternally damned ’ye that work iniquity.’ Literally it means ’workers of lawlessness’. For the Jews listening to His words in this passage are disregarding and trespassing the law of Sinai. Such is also the meaning of this word in Hebrews 10:17 where it is mentioned together with ’sin’. In other references lawlessness signifies more than that, for example in 1 John 3:4, where we read: ’Sin is lawlessness’ (N.Tr.). Lawlessness in this verse is rebellion against the will of God which is binding upon every man. Lawlessness therefore is the true character of every sin. So ’those who work iniquity’ are not the only guilty ones but all who do not want to submit to the will of God even if they have accomplished great things in the name of the Lord during their lives.
What a serious warning for the whole of Christendom!