Danger of a False Conversion

I want us to examine ourselves today before God and be honest enough with ourselves to see if the foundation we are resting upon is on the solid rock of Christ's blood. This is a very somber message on true salvation and it's a solemn warning to all those individuals who mistakenly believe themselves to be saved and on their way to heaven, when in reality if they died today, they would die in their sins and bust hell wide open. I want us to take the time, friends, to study the story of the wedding banquet as related by Christ in Matthew's gospel.

We will be in chapter 22. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. Christ spoke often on the dangers of a false profession.

He mentioned two foundations, the wise and foolish virgins. He spoke of the weed and the tares, the dragnet of the good fish and the bad. And here in our passage today, Jesus relates a story of a wedding banquet where a certain guest is found out to be an intruder and a hypocrite.

But this striking passage of scripture has a powerful significance to me personally as I was a unconverted church member for years. It's easy to be deceived by the modern gospel and have a false assurance. But we'll listen carefully now, friends, as we begin this message entitled, The Danger of a False Conversion.

And may the Spirit of the Lord attend the reading of his holy word. And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables and said the kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which made a marriage for his son and sent forth his servants to call them that they were bidden to the wedding and they would not come. Again he sent forth other servants saying, tell them which are bidden.

Behold, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come unto the marriage. Let me pause here, friends, to say the gospel call goes out to all, but it falls on deaf ears because men lie in darkness and have no interest in things of eternal worth.

Only God can raise a dead soul to life by his effectual call. Well, let's return to our text. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise.

And the remnant took his servants and treated them spitefully and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth, and he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, the wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.

Go ye therefore to the highways and as many as you shall find bid to the marriage. So those servants went out to the highways and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good, and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there was a man which had not on a wedding garment.

And he saith unto him, friend, how comest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen.

Listen, friends, the unconverted church member who rests upon an empty religious profession will comfortably sit at the banquet table of the church, enjoying the fellowship and eating the feast, fitting in and taking part in all the festivities, completely accepted by the other members, until death brings him before the king. Then will be a time of great shock and horror to him, as he is exposed as a sinner, resting in his own merits of self-righteousness. He will be revealed to be a hypocrite without Christ's robe of righteousness against his will.

He will be bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness of hell and its miseries. Let me ask you, friend, when you die and your soul goes back to the God who gave it, and you stand before that king, whose robe will you be wearing? Your own, or will you be clothed in Christ's righteousness? Repent and get to Christ before it's too late.