This lesson was taught during the Sunday school hour by Andrew Hoy as part of the series Tough Teachings of Jesus. The audio for the lesson can be found here. For many people in our time, personal comfort is the number one objective of religion – even of Christianity. Many of us have observed this first hand through churches we have attended, discussions we have had, and the books that you hopefully have not read. This reality has also been demonstrated empirically through the National Study of Youth and Religion, an often referenced study by Christian Smith of Notre Dame University, which described the faith of my generation as "moralistic-therapeutic-deism." While we believe in a general morality, and a general god, the one specific thing that we do know is that religion is supposed to be therapeutic – to bring comfort to our lives. Now, to a certain extent I agree with my general assumption of my generation – religion, specifically Christianity, has comfort as one of its chief ends. And I think that I stand in good company when I say this. The first question of the Heidelberg Catechism, the catechism of the Dutch Reformed tradition, opens with the following question: WHAT IS YOUR ONLY COMFORT, IN LIFE AND IN DEATH? The authors of this catechism understood that comfort was central to the Christian faith. But they also understood something that my generation often fails to recognize: that comfort does not begin with self. Listen to how the catechism answers this question: "That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ." The truth is that there is a paradox to the comfort that comes through Christianity: comfort does not come by seeking comfort, but through seeking Jesus Christ. This same paradox can be seen in Jesus words when he said, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matt 16:25). For many of us, there is a tendency to focus solely on the "comforting" teachings of Jesus, to go to the teachings that we personally like when in distress. But to focus just on our favorite, most comforting teachings is to miss a critical part of Jesus teaching ministry – his tough teachings, the teachings where he confronts our sins, exposes the idols of our heart, shares the dangers of not following him, and the judgment that awaits those who die outside of Christ. It is for this reason that over the next 7 weeks (excluding Easter) a group of us will be focusing on the tough teachings of Jesus during our Sunday school hour. Each week someone will be focusing on a teaching of Jesus that causes discomfort, that addresses unpleasant truths, that speaks bluntly about the consequences of dying in sin. This is not because we are a bunch of stodgy Calvinists (though we may be) or because we get a sense of satisfaction in people squirm in the pews (I hope we don't!), but because we are convinced that to find the comfort of Christ we must have all of Christ, which includes everything that he says, all that he demands, and all that he is. So this week I have the privilege to open this series with the first lesson: Confronted by Jesus – Tough teachings for those who call him Lord "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness'" (Matt 7:21-23). Every text of the Bible should be understood both for what it says itself in its own context, and for how it fits into the context of Scriptures as a whole, so I will begin by just looking at this text, and then place it within the broader teaching of the Bible. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven…." This is possibly the most explicit place where Jesus cautions people that professing him as Lord is not sufficient for salvation. Throughout his ministry he frequently implies this in the ways that he interacts with others, but here he leaves no guesswork. This principle can be seen when Jesus confronted the rich young ruler who desired to follow him – when Jesus challenged him to sell all that he had, it became apparent that while the man may have been willing to call Jesus good teacher, he was not actually willing to submit to him as lord. The same goes with a series of confrontations in Matt. 8:19-22, which read: "Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, 'Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.' And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' Then another of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' But Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.'" While each of these men were comfortable claiming that they wanted to follow Jesus, when he asked something demanding of them, the demonstrated that they were not actually willing to submit to him. Another way of putting this may be that "Lord" may never be used as a title for Jesus – for those who seek to know him and spend eternity with him, his rule as Lord must be a constant reality. Interestingly enough, this should be evident within the context of entering the "kingdom of heaven," for what else is the kingdom of heaven but the realm where Christ reigns? The kingdom of heaven is not merely referring to Christ's eternal, physical reign after the final judgment in the new heavens and the new earth, but even to this present age, specifically his Church, where his authority as Lord and King is acknowledged and celebrated. Imagine with me the world of King Arthur, Robin Hood, & Ivanhoe. A desperate man has fled his own kingdom because of the dire conditions within it where the rulers were filled with corruption, the people suffered under a heavy hand of injustice and burdensome taxes, and misery consumes the lives of the citizens within. As this man travels through the countryside, visiting in pubs and with fellow travelers he hears continuously of a kingdom where the people flourish and live in peace because of their great king and the justice that prevails in the land because of his rule. Would it be comprehensible that his man could seek to enter this kingdom merely by calling the king his master? Certainly wouldn't more be required of him? Wouldn't it be expected that this man would obey the laws of the land and submit himself to the lordship of the king? This is fundamentally what Jesus is saying – to enter his kingdom, he must be your king. But does it look like to submit to Jesus as king, as lord? "…but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." So words alone are not enough – action is required. Notice, the first clause addresses those who say "Lord, Lord," which is no guarantee of entry into the kingdom, whereas the second clause addresses those who do the will of the Father. But what is the will of the Father – what is it that is required of those who desire to enter into the kingdom? At this point in time I am tempted to jump to Acts 16 where Paul answers the Philippian jailer's plea, "what must I do to be saved?", or to examine Paul's teaching in Ephesians regarding those who were "once dead in their trespasses and sins", or to do a systematic study of the Gospels on what Jesus says regarding the kingdom and salvation. In fact, I am sure that most of you here have already jumped to what you know to be the clear Biblical teaching: that we are saved by grace through faith; that salvation comes through trusting in Jesus as savior and Lord; that justification is by faith alone. And while these things are true – gloriously true – I would like us to set our knowledge of other Scripture passages aside, and look at this verse in itself. What does this text say? What does Jesus mean by "the will of my Father?" Well, in interpreting any text, context is crucial. Jesus doesn't leave us guessing as to what is the will of his Father – these words are part of conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount, only to be followed by the parable of the man who built his house upon the rock. And what is the Sermon on the Mount but Jesus elaboration of the will of the Father? To really feel the weight of Jesus' words when he said, "but he who does the will of my Father in heaven" it would be idea to read through the entire Sermon on the Mount, but since we are limited on time, I have pulled some excerpts as refreshers, especially those which appeared to be the most tough teachings within it: · Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness sake · Unless you are more righteous than the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven · Whoever says, "you fool" will be in danger of hell fire · Whoever looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart · Whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery · Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away · I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you · You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect · When you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret · If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses · Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on While the sermon on the mount is filled with both indicatives – teachings which describe how things are, such as the beatitudes – and imperatives, which are commands regarding how people ought to live, there is little that is said regarding faith or what one must do when they don't measure up to the insurmountable expectations laid out in the sermon – which is where I think that we need to place ourselves as we read this text. We should feel the weight of what Jesus says here, we should feel the expectations that he lays upon those who would seek to enter the kingdom, and we should not be quick to dismiss the weight and gravity of what he says because we are saved by grace through faith. I will connect this teaching of Jesus with the Gospel at a later point, but for now I think that it is worth noting that throughout Jesus teachings in the book of Matthew up to this point, he has said nothing of faith or belief. But before we move on from these words, I would like to point out that Jesus pulled a subtle slip in this last statement – he did not say, "Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does my will"; rather he says, "but he who does the will of my Father." What we have here is a Trinitarian reality being demonstrated in the teaching of Jesus. Certainly Jesus isn't establishing the Father's will as something other than his own will, or as himself being a subservient lord to God the Father; but rather that submission to the Son as Lord is one and the same as submission to the Father as Lord. Yet Jesus himself within the sermon on the mount said that "no man can serve two masters" – so who is it? Do we serve Jesus or do we serve the Father? The answer is yes! Or put in the words of the Athanasian Creed, What quality the Father has, the Son has and the Holy Spirit has. yet there are not three lords; there is but one Lord. So, submission to the will of the Father and the Son (and the Spirit!) is the same, for all three, as God, are Lord, fully united in their will in all things. "Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" Notice that the replies provided all refer to Jesus as 'Lord', yet not a one replied, 'but have I not done the will of the Father?' These people have missed the point: there can be a form of godliness, that may have many great and honorable attributes, but it cannot replace obedience to the Father's will. It is also interesting to note that all three of the actions mentioned are outward and visible acts of piety and submission – prophesy, exorcism, miracles – and while these are good things that Jesus did himself, they are not necessarily at the heart of Jesus teachings. In fact, all three of these things can be done without giving full submission to Christ as Lord. In our context, if these replies are taken at face value, I doubt that anyone would feel much conviction – if anything I imaging that our initial response would be others, more charismatic Christians, that place great emphasis on the miraculous. It is too easy to read these verses and think of those people out there – but are we really off the hook? It seems that what Jesus is really getting at here is that there can be a form of spirituality that seems to have signs of authenticity, yet not matter how much someone may look like a disciple of Jesus, the question remains, are they in submission to the will of the Father? So, while you may not relate to these specific supernatural acts, I think that there are analogs that many of us in the room may relate to: Regarding prophesy, you may not claim to be speaking oracles from God, but do you stand behind your knowledge of the Bible… or Augustine, Calvin, and Hodge? Do you mistake your hours of reading, considering, debating theology for true communion with the triune God? Do you stand behind them fail to submit the will of the Father in all things? Regarding exorcism, you may not be casting out demons, but do you minister to the afflicted and suffering? Do you mistake your time spent listening to, investing in, and consoling those who suffer from psychological ailment with submission to the Father in all things? Regarding miracles, you may not be healing the sick or feeding a multitude, but do you give to the needy and spend time with the poor? Do you mistake your sacrifices of time, comfort, and resources with submission to the will of the Fathers will for your life? Notice that each of the actions listed above are good and honorable and even Biblical, but there is a tendency in our human nature to look to our own external actions and think that we are in the will of the Father, mistaking one set of actions with submission to God in all things. "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness'" Jesus clarifies the error of these men who cling to their own form of spirituality, to their own version of obedience: while their lives give an appearance of spirituality, the truth is that their lives are not in submission to the law of Christ. These people have mistaken their spiritual identity and practices for true submission to Christ and the Father as demonstrated by obedience to Christ. And notice that Jesus claims, "I never knew you." He isn't saying that "once I knew you, but you went astray", or "once you followed my commands, but you have gotten caught up with these other things" -- no, he says he never knew them. I know that for some of us here we have known people who appeared to follow Christ – these people may have shown great zeal for the gospel, great remorse for their sin, or even made great sacrifices for Christ, but the truth is that those who walk away from Christ, and stay in that position, were not at one point in fellowship with Christ and then fallen away. And while the text before us seems to imply this truth, 1 John 2:18 & 19 makes it very explicit, stating: Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. Notice the phrase, "they went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us" – this is one of the most clear statements of a truth that is taught throughout Scripture – those who appear to walk away from Christ never truly did belong to Christ. Our Church stand confidently in the doctrine of the preservation of the saints – that when God has saved someone, given them new life, and given them the faith to trust in His Son, there is no going back, there is no falling away. There may be difficult seasons that require repentance, BROADER CONTEXT – THE GOSPEL So to bring my exposition of this passage to a close, there is a fairly simple, though challenging, truth driven home to us by these words of Jesus: calling Jesus "lord" is not enough – your life must demonstrate that he is your lord as well. And I think that there is one question that should be lingering in all our minds: what does this have to do with the Gospel? I hope that this morning everyone knows that no amount of obedience, no amount of effort, absolutely nothing that we do can make restore us, unrighteous sinners, into a right relationship with a holy God. I also hope that we know that there is great hope, for those that trust in Jesus Christ will be saved. But how do we reconcile this with the teaching of Jesus that we have just heard? If we are saved by grace, why does Jesus say that unless we do the will of the Father we will not enter the kingdom of heaven? This was the exact question that I had about 10 years ago – at that point in my life I had just gone through a season of repentance and returned to the church. I had been living openly in sin and developed many destructive habits, but by God's grace I was granted the strength and the will to repent and return to Christ and the church. I vividly remember reading through the gospel of Matthew and being crushed by the Sermon on the Mount – I didn't like it. Furthermore, I was perplexed with how I was to reconcile the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – with the Gospel – that we are saved by trusting in Jesus death and resurrection for eternal life. I was even further confused by reading verses such as Matthew 4:23, which says that Jesus "went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom…" How was Jesus proclaiming the gospel when he hadn't yet died? How was it that he was "proclaiming the gospel" when so much of his teaching was about God's ways and God's will? Over time, sitting under solid Bible teaching – and reading the Bible myself – it became clear to me that there were two things that the Bible teaches very clearly: that it is only through the righteousness of Christ imputed to me through faith that I will ever stand as righteous before a holy God, but also that obedience is not an option. Here is my attempt to explain the relationship between faith and works: God's law is not bad, it just cannot save. God's law, however, is a reflection of his character and to live according to it is to live "the good life." Sin, however, is much more than simply breaking God's law. Sin runs deep in our hearts, not just causing us to sin, but to love sin and to believe that our ways are better than God's ways, and that God is holding out on us when he tells us not to sin. So, just as sin is more than breaking God's law, so salvation is much more than having our guilt washed away, as though all we need is to have our past record cleared. We are not just good citizens, who happened to commit a couple of crimes in our youth, and need someone to clear them from our record. Outside of Christ, we are more than just guilty. We are enemies of God – in fact, outside of the work of the Holy Spirit every aspect of our being resists God. The Bible talks about this in many different ways – as being slaves of sin, as being at enmity with God, as being dead in our trespasses and sins. So, to be saved is not just to be saved from the guilt of our sin, but to be made a new person; and if you are a new person you will also have new eyes to see the goodness of God's ways and the beauty of his will – and while you will still struggle with sin, you will want to saved from the remaining elements of sin in your heart that draw you away from Christ. Put another way, Christ saved us from sin unto holiness. He didn't just save us and leave us where we were, but he also transforming us into Godly people, and to trust Jesus as savior is to also trust him as Lord, that he knows what is good and right.
I would like to close this morning by returning to our passage: certainly these words spoken by Jesus are tough. To be confronted with the reality that simply calling Jesus "lord" should cause everyone at least a moment of reflection, because we all fall short of actually living as though he were Lord every day. But this is the beauty and joy of repentance. For while we will continue to fail and fall short of God's will as we creep along in this life progressing toward holiness, there is a never ending reservoir of forgiveness because of the blood of Jesus. Let us just never forget that that same blood that cleanses us from sin also sets us free from it power and that as we sin and turn to Jesus to forgiveness that we also turn to him as Lord.
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