I Never Knew You

I Never Knew You

Sermon on the Mount Series

Matthew 7:21-23

            If I asked you what the saddest passage in the Bible is, what would you say? The passage where Christ was arrested? Betrayed? Crucified? When JBAP was beheaded? When the apostles were persecuted? When Stephen was martyred? For me the saddest passage of scripture is Matthew 7:21-23. It just so happens to be the passage we will be studying tonight, the second to last passage in our Sermon on the Mount Series.

            I was flipping through the channels the other day and saw Randy Travis on the Christian station. It was the movie, “The Wager,” which inspired me to do the Sermon on the Mount series all those many months ago. In the movie, Randy Travis plays a movie actor whose life turns completely upside down very quickly after a series of unfortunate events. As he struggles with the decisions he is trying to make he keeps having this recurring voice played over and over in his head. The voice asks, “Can anyone live out the Sermon on the Mount in today’s world?”

            That’s the question I have been asking you over and over again. Can you live out Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount at Milton High School? King Middle? Hobbs? Home schoolers in your day to day encounters with society? In order to answer that question, you need to know what is in the Sermon on the Mount. So far we have discussed “The Beatitudes,” being salt and light, Christ fulfilling the law, murder beginning in the heart, adultery beginning in the heart, marriage being sacred and binding, oaths, going the second mile, loving your enemies, doing good to please God, how to pray, how to fast, storing up treasures in heaven, the lamp of the body, not serving both God and riches, not worrying, not judging, asking, seeking, and knocking, the narrow way, and inspecting fruit.

            Tonight we’ll talk about disappointment. Have you ever been really excited to go some place and then for whatever reason were not able to go? I can’t really remember a time in my life when that has happened to me, but for some reason I have always had this huge fear that I won’t be able to experience whatever it is. Even to this day, if we’re going to see Casting Crowns or some other concert or event I can’t relax until I am in the arena. I will even check my ticket about a hundred times just to make sure I didn’t forget it. It’s crazy, but for as long as I can remember I have always felt that way. Amusement parks, professional baseball games, NFL games, watching the Blue Angels, catching a flight at an airport. Is there anyone else like me or am I weird? Well I know I am weird.

            Matt 7:21-23 Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. ²² On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

            This is the saddest and scariest portion of scripture because it means people who thought they were going to heaven will not. And where do you go if you don’t go to heaven? Hell. For some reason people think that Heaven is for good people and Hell is for bad people, and in-betweeners just kind of hang out. This passage is exceptionally sad because people who were doing “churchy,” “Christian” things and thought they were going to heaven ended up at a place Jesus described as a place where there will be great weeping and gnashing of teeth. Pretty vivid word picture. In this passage it says they prophesied (which simply means preached), cast out demons, and performed many miracles, all in Jesus’ name. Put differently it very easily could say, “Lord, did we not preach, teach Sunday school, help in the nursery, sing in the choir, stay over night at the cold weather shelter, donate money to the Compassion child?” None of this matters. What we consider good deeds, God considers filthy rags. Our great and glorious gifts to God’s kingdom, (leading Bible studies, prayer groups, being a pastor, or youth pastor) just cannot stand up next to God’s holy standard. It’s like standing in line all day at an amusement park to ride one ride and when you finally get there you find you are too short to ride the ride. But you just banked your entire day to ride that one glorious ride. It’s absolutely impossible to meet God’s holy standard. Romans 3:23 says “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” If you want to go to heaven—if you do not want to be one of those to which Jesus said “depart from me I never knew you,” then there is only one thing that can secure your place there, and that is having your name written on the Book of Life.

            To have your name written on the Book of Life, you need to come face to face with your own sin problem and realize that you cannot make it to heaven on your own best efforts. It’s like standing on the Florida coastline and trying to jump to Cuba. You can’t do it. The best long jumper in the world—the world record holder—may only get about 10 ft further than you but still miss it by miles. The second thing you need to do is accept Christ as your savior. Scripture calls Him the sin bearing servant. He did what you could not (live a perfect life), bore your sins, and died a sacrificial death satisfying God’s wrath. The third thing you need to do is make your decision public. There are no secret believers. If you are a believer then it’s no secret. If it’s a secret then you’re no believer.