Yesterday we began a new discussion series on the topic of holiness. If you missed this beginning you can find it
Scriptures like the passage from Matthew we shared yesterday are called “hard words”.
In I Timothy 2: 7 Paul the Apostle says,
And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth.
As preachers of the gospel, pastors are called to deal with the entirety of Scripture. We are told to preach the “sweet words” of faith and the “hard words” of truth. We are to encourage men and women with the mercy of God and at the same time warn our generation that while God is merciful, He is also the judge of all the Earth sworn to bring justice. We are called to preach the healing words and the words of Scripture that assault our senses. We are to remind men and women that the same God who will say, “Well done good and faithful servant enter into the joy of the Lord” to some, will say “Depart from me I never knew you.” To others.
Our generation is one which by nature and according to prophecy wants its ears tickled.
“Bring me a good word preacher man.” is on the lips of so many.
Our generation is the generation of unlimited do overs and no consequences.
I have actually had it said to me “You’re a pastor. You are supposed to love and support me in whatever I do like God does. You are not supposed to try to change me.”
To which I reply, “I cannot change you but God MUST CHANGE YOU if ever you are to see Heaven.”
I have struggled with this message because the words from Matthew 7 are hard words. Words of judgment. Words that remind us not everyone will be entering Heaven. Harder still because these verses indicate that not even everyone who calls themselves a Christian will enter into Heaven.
The people in our story from Matthew Chapter 7 are not Buddhists; They are not Muslim; They are not Hindu. They call Jesus Lord. These people would call themselves Christians. They believe in Jesus. More than that these people are not just pew warmers. They are active in their churches. They are active in ministry AND they are active in supernatural ministry…And yet they do not make it to Heaven. Why?
Well Jesus gives us two reasons in these verses.
First reason…Jesus says, “I never knew you.” Ma 7:23:
It is possible to believe in Jesus as God; It is possible To believe in the historical Jesus; It is even possible to believe in His resurrection and not have a relationship with Jesus.
It is possible to work for the church; It is even possible to perform miracles in the name of Jesus and still not have a relationship with Jesus.
Paul, the Apostle said it was possible to do all the works of ministry and still miss Heaven. He said it this way in speaking of himself.
I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Cor. 9:27
And that leads us to the second reason these people are rejected
Jesus says they are rejected because… they broke God’s laws and because they did not do the will of the Father in Heaven. Ma7: 21,23, 26
Do you think there is a difference between breaking God’s laws and not doing the will of the Father in Heaven?
Lillie-Put 
So Pastor J, I see your not going for the popular preacher award this year. Amen dude. It’s a tricky question. Takes me to Jesus and the pharisees in Matt 23 where He decries them for tithing of their herbs (keeping the law in minute detail) and omitting the weighty matters of the law (seems like not the laws themselves but the aim of the law) justice, mercy, and faith–or faithfulness.
Seems like keeping the laws you could still fall short of the intent of the law – those weightier matters – because as Paul says – the law is powerless to make us righteous. So doing the will of God is the proactive side of the equation. There is a relationship between the two, but I think they are but cousins.
I’d love it if you include a link to the sermon if it’s on line.
Good word.
Thanks Brother Ben. I spoke to our sound tech after your last request. He used to post them on our website weekly but he has gotten away from that. He said he would work on it this week. As soon as it is up I will link it up with the blog.
This was/is a hard message to preach. Partly because there is such a delicate balance between the mercy of God and the justice of God. I also find as you do that there is a fine line between legalism and the necessity of “doing the Father’s will”. I believe the balance is found in our understanding and application of grace as well as our heart attitude toward God. IN the end it all comes back to the strength of our relationship with Jesus not our “will worship.”
That it! It’s a relationship not a checklist, or to do list.
I keep talking to my wife about doing a weekend in MA to see the fall foliage and visit your church, but life has been pretty crazy.
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