You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.
Good morning. It's good to be here at Southwood this morning and I want to say thank you for
giving me this opportunity to preach and bring God's Word this morning and also worship.
And so, with that being said, if you have your Bibles or you can look up at the screen,
you'll see that we'll be looking at Matthew chapter 7, verses 21 through 23.
And as always, this is God's good and holy Word. It stands over us. It is for our good and for our benefit.
Therefore, let us give our attention to it.
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
And cast out demons in your name?
And do many mighty works in your name?
And then will I declare to them,
I never knew you.
Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
This is God's Word. Let me pray for us and pray for our time this morning.
Let's pray.
Jesus, as always,
as always, we need you.
We need your grace.
We need your mercy.
We need your kindness to us.
Especially
where we are sitting under your Word.
Lord, we ask that you would be with us this morning,
that you would soften our hearts,
that we might hear you and hear your Word.
We ask that you would unstop our ears
and again shine the light of your grace upon us,
that we might take in these hard but good words,
that we might see you as beautiful,
as glorious,
that we might see your gospel as it really is,
the good news for us.
our prayer this morning, Lord,
is that you would be our teacher,
that by your Spirit,
you would teach us.
For we,
your people,
we do not need to hear from a man,
but we need to hear from you.
And so we ask,
kindly,
humbly,
begging,
that you, God,
would be gracious and kind to us
and speak to us,
that we might be changed,
that we might leave this place
differently from the way we came in.
We ask,
Lord,
that you would use me,
a sinner,
to proclaim the goodness
and the excellencies of your kingdom.
We pray all these things in Christ's name.
Amen.
Growing up,
I was a part of about six friends
who were really big into WWF wrestling.
So much that I pretty much used to say
that Hulk Hogan was my dad.
I don't know if you can see the resemblance.
But we really loved wrestling.
We would talk about it all the time.
It would consume our lives.
It consumed everything we did.
And these circle of friends,
we would,
you know,
a lot of times just try to emulate
what we saw on WWF the night before.
Well,
there's one friend in this group
who in particular was a friend
who made us comfortable in a lot of ways.
And the reason why is because
whenever this friend would come around,
we knew to be on our guards.
We knew that we better watch out.
And the reason why is because this friend,
instead of greeting you like a normal person would,
you know,
like a handshake or a hug,
this friend would greet you with a wrestling move.
And so we would be standing in a circle
and we would see this guy coming
and immediately we'd start trembling
because we knew,
okay,
he's about to put one of us in a full Nelson
or he's about to dropkick one of us
and we're just going to have to take it.
And the thing about it was
that was his way of saying hello to us.
And so it got worse over time.
The more we saw him coming,
the more immediately in our hearts we would tremble
because we knew that this could be the day
that you would be suplexed on concrete
or you would be putting the figure four leg lock.
And for those of you who are like me now,
a little jaded about wrestling,
is you know it's not real,
but if you do these moves in real life on people,
they actually hurt.
And so this friend was an extreme source
of anxiety and discomfort for me.
And when I think about that story
and that experience growing up,
there are very few times
where I feel that sense of angst
and anxiety and discomfort.
And one of those ways in particular
is at times when I read the Word of God.
That you're reading in your Bibles,
you're having your personal time of devotion with God,
and then you stumble on a passage
like this one we read this morning.
That Jesus is speaking to his disciples
and talking about what it means to be in his kingdom.
And then he says this,
Not everyone who says to me,
Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.
Not everyone who says to me,
Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.
That as I think about these words,
that immediately they unsettle me.
That these words bring to mind
the words of C.S. Lewis
in his work,
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
if you're familiar with.
The first time the children are going to meet Aslan,
who's this God figure.
And they are inquiring to figure out
what is Aslan like?
And they're asking Mr. Beaver these questions.
And Lucy asks this question,
Is he safe?
And you can remember Mr. Beaver's response,
Safe?
Who said anything about safe?
But he's good.
Safe?
Who said anything about safe?
But he is good.
And that's what I want you to come away with this morning.
That Jesus says hard things to us.
Things that make us feel unsafe.
But it is for our good.
It is for our benefit.
That Jesus in this passage is talking about
what it means to enter the kingdom of heaven.
And he shows us,
for our purposes this morning,
these three things.
That Jesus shows us
that entrance into the kingdom of heaven
is not through right theology.
Secondly, he shows us that entrance
into the kingdom of heaven
is not through right works.
But thirdly, he shows us that
entrance into the kingdom of heaven
is through him and him alone.
So not through right theology,
not through right works,
but through him and him alone.
So as we consider this passage
in light of this first point,
you might be familiar,
this is the Gospel of Matthew.
This is one of the five major teaching sections
of the Gospel of Matthew
where Jesus has began to speak about his kingdom.
And in Matthew 5,
he begins what we know as
the Sermon on the Mount.
He begins with the Beatitudes.
He begins by talking about
how the law speaks to our hearts,
how it shows us our sin
and our need for God's grace.
He continues in talking about
what it means to pray
and what it means to trust God
and not be anxious.
And then as you get into chapter 7,
he begins to talk about false prophets
and trees that do not bear good fruit.
And then we get to verse 21
and he says this,
Not everyone who says to me,
Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but the one who does the will of my Father
who is in heaven.
And if you think about those words,
Lord, Lord,
in the context in which this passage is given,
that what Jesus is teaching us
is that for these people
of whom he's speaking,
they really do understand
and get some things about him.
That, for example,
they get the fact
that he is Lord.
They get the fact
that he is master
and ruler over all things.
They get that he is sovereign
and in control of all things.
Now, I know it's easy for us at times
to miss the significance
of the word Lord,
especially in Southern culture
because it's ingrained in our culture.
But I want you to take a step back
and try to imagine
what it would be like
for a first century Jew
to call Jesus Lord.
that for one thing,
they would be guilty
of one of the greatest sins
in the eyes of Jewish religious leaders.
That you don't call a man Lord.
That is blasphemy.
That is wrong.
And in some cases,
it's punishable by death.
But also,
that this group of people
were under Roman authority.
That is,
they were taught
that only one person was Lord.
And it's not Jesus.
It's Caesar.
Caesar is Lord.
And any threat to his lordship
was a crime
that was punishable by death.
And yet,
Jesus would say
of these people,
listen,
you really do get
who I am.
That you call me Lord,
and rightly so.
And yet,
we see
that he says
these hard words.
not everyone
who says to me,
Lord, Lord,
will enter
the kingdom of heaven.
It shows us
that even though
these people,
theologically speaking,
knew things about God
that were right,
that that,
in and of itself,
was not enough.
That that alone
did not save them.
And especially
being a ordained minister
in the Presbyterian Church
in America,
I think this is something
we need to hear.
That you and I
need to hear
over and over again
that
reformed theology
does not save us.
That the five solas
don't save us.
That adherence
to the Westminster standards
do not save us.
That our perfect theology
does not save us.
Jesus saves us.
Jesus alone saves us.
And he is saying,
not everyone who says to me,
Lord, Lord,
will enter the kingdom of heaven.
And I know
when we hear these words,
as I so often do,
I just immediately think,
well, he's not talking
about me.
He's talking about
those other people.
And I'm going to ask
that you not do that.
I'm going to ask
that you not run to
the Westminster Confession
of Faith,
chapter 17 and 18,
on the assurance
of grace and salvation
and perseverance
of the saints.
I'm going to ask you
to be vulnerable
and let the words
of Jesus cut.
and let them
do their good work.
Because what he is
saying to us
is that is
not enough
to save us.
And that's not to say
what we believe
doesn't matter.
It's not to say
just throw all our theology
out the window.
But it is to say
that if we are resting
in and on that,
it will not save us.
We will be sorely
disappointed
on the last day
if that is our hope.
Jesus saves us.
Martin Lloyd-Jones,
as we wrap up
this first point,
says that orthodoxy,
that's right belief,
is absolutely vital
and essential.
Unless we believe
that Jesus of Nazareth
is indeed
the Son of God,
unless we recognize
him as the eternal Son,
substance of the eternal substance,
made flesh
and dwelling amongst us,
unless we believe
the New Testament doctrine
that he was sent by God
to be the Messiah,
the Savior of the world,
and that because of that
he has been exalted
and is Lord of all,
to whom every knee
shall eventually bow,
we are not Christian at all.
We must believe that.
To be a Christian
is a matter
of believing certain truths
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
In other words,
believing on him.
There's no such thing
as Christianity
apart from that.
To be a Christian
means that we rest
our entire case,
our whole salvation,
our whole eternal destiny,
entirely upon
the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is why
a true Christian
says,
Lord, Lord.
That is the content
of the statement.
It does not just mean
saying the right words.
It indicates that we mean
those things
when we say them.
It is not just saying
the right words.
It indicates that we mean
those things
when we say them.
Jesus shows us
that not through
right theology
that is the way
that we enter
the kingdom of heaven.
But secondly,
he shows us
that it is not
through right works.
And I think
this is the part
of these three verses
that are equally troubling
or more troubling
than those first words
because Jesus says this
in verse 22.
On that day,
many will say to me,
Lord, Lord,
did we not
prophesy
in your name
and cast out demons
in your name
and do many mighty works
in your name.
And you see this clause
in your name.
In your name.
It comes up three times.
And I think
that is terrifying.
That what Jesus
is communicating
is that there are
actually people
who are laboring
in his name
and don't know him.
That there are
actually people
who are serving him
and don't know him.
that if Jesus
were telling
this story
in light of
our day and age
and in light of
our culture
in specific terms,
that he wouldn't say
did we not
cast out demons
in your name
because we don't do that
in the Presbyterian church.
If you're in a Presbyterian church
that does that,
run.
So,
but what he might say
and the way
that he might
word this
is that
did we not
preach the word
of God
faithfully
in your name?
Did we not
worship you
faithfully
in your name?
Did we not
serve your church
in your name?
Did we not
give to the work
of your church?
Did we not
give our tithes
and offerings?
Did we not
baptize our children
in your name?
Did we not
love our spouse
in your name?
Did we not
do all those things
because we loved you?
And that is troubling
to see
that Jesus would say,
I don't
know you.
I don't
know you.
that even
as a minister
of the gospel
that I have
many times
where I
question
what in the
world am I
doing?
That God,
why in the
world would
I do
RUF
and have
to raise
support
and
labor
for the
good news
and the
kingdom
on the
campus
of Alabama
A&M?
and
I think
it's a foolish
way to live
if I'm
humanly speaking
that if I
would say
to God
was I
not
was I
not
doing
all that
for you
and to
think
that on
the last
day
Jesus
will look
at me
and say
I never
knew
you
that that
is
terrifying
that what
God is
asking
all of
us
is that
are you
sure it
is God
you are
serving?
Are you
sure that
you are
resting in
Christ
and not
in all
the stuff
that you
are doing
for God?
Are you
sure
that Jesus
wants to
show us
over and
over again
that he
alone
saves?
I had a
friend in
seminary who
went on to
be a church
planner who
in the
middle of
our preaching
class he
became a
Christian he
was converted
in the middle
of our
preaching
class and
for the
kids who
are here
and think
it's tough
to sit
through one
sermon
just imagine
being in
seminary and
listening to
five sermons
in a row
and that'll
give you
some
perspective
on just
long
suffering
but this
friend
was
you know
if you
had asked
me if
there was
anybody
who knew
God and
was faithful
and was
a Christian
I would
definitely
have said
before that
moment that
guy is
definitely a
Christian
that guy
definitely
gets what
it means
to walk
after God
and here
he was
in the middle
of this
preaching
class he's
standing
before us
and he
makes this
confession
hey I
don't know
if I'm
really a
Christian
in the
middle of
seminary
and today
I want
to accept
Jesus as
Lord of
my life
I want
to submit
myself to
him
and his
reasons for
not coming
to Christ
earlier
was that
he had
already been
in youth
ministry
he had
already been
involved in
the ministry
of the church
and he
had heard
the gospel
preached at
a youth
conference
and was
deeply moved
to confess
his sin
and turn
to God
and yet
out of
shame
he didn't
because
who wants
to be
the youth
minister
who goes
to a
conference
and gets
converted
and he
shared that
with us
that he
needed
Jesus
and he
trusted
Jesus
and I
think it
is better
that he
stood
before us
that day
some years
ago
and confessed
Christ as
Lord
than for
him
to wait
at the
last day
and have
Jesus say
to him
I never
knew you
depart from
me you
worker of
lawlessness
that what
God wants
you and
me to
do
is to
consider
our hearts
consider
what it
is
we think
makes us
right with
God
and if it
is anything
other than
Jesus
himself
then it
will fail
us at
the last
day
and that's
where Jesus
takes us
finally
in these
three verses
that
in verse
21
he says
to us
and not
everyone
who says
to me
Lord
will enter
the kingdom
of heaven
but the
one who
does the
will of
my father
who is
in heaven
and
that last
clause
where he
says but
the one
who does
the will
of my
father in
heaven
we've
just seen
that it's
not a
matter of
just doing
the right
things before
God
and so
it must
mean something
else
and in a
passage that
I think is
strikingly
similar to
this passage
is John
6 you can
turn there
if you want
to but if
not I'll
read it
for you
but in
John 6
Jesus is
again
teaching his
disciples what
it means to
follow him
what it means
to trust him
and the
reality of
it being a
very hard
thing
the reality
of it being
that kingdom
life is
hard
and in
John 6
in verse
verses 28
and 29
his disciples
ask him
this question
what must
we do
to be doing
the works
of God
what must
we do to
be doing
the works
of God
and this
is the way
Jesus responds
to them
in verse 29
Jesus answered
them
this is the
work of God
that you
believe in
him
whom he
has sent
this is
the work
of God
that you
and I
believe
in him
whom he
has sent
that God
has set
his seal
upon his
son
Jesus
that God's
will for
your life
and my
life
is that
we would
believe
and rest
in the
person
and work
of Jesus
that you
and I
would know
that
the good
news
is really
good
that Jesus
really
paid for
our sin
that Jesus
really
makes us
righteous
that Jesus
is enough
for us
and what
that does
whenever the
Bible talks
about belief
it is not
just
these cognitive
things
or these
rational things
but it always
is wedded
with
action
that what
we think
about God
influences
what we
do
what we
think
about
Jesus
influences
all of
our
living
and because
you and
I believe
in Jesus
then it
should affect
how we
think about
him
that we
should study
God's word
more
that we
might think
rightly
about God
that our
theology
might be
good and
helpful and
true of
the way
God
declares
and shows
himself to
be
that our
actions
should be
influenced
by Christ
and what
he has
done for
us
and that's
a subtle
difference
but a
significant
one
in this
that you
know that
your right
theology
and your
works are
not the
things that
save you
but Jesus
himself is
the one
that saves
you
that he
is the
one who
has come
to us
and this
is all
by his
grace
not because
you and I
deserved it
but he
has come
to us
by his
grace
and given
us the
kingdom
and given
us everything
we need
to honor
him in
our thoughts
in our
words
in our
deeds
that God
has made
us daughters
and sons
that God
really loves
us
and he
has done
that through
Jesus
and Jesus
alone
and that's
what Jesus
is showing
us
that this
is how
you get
in
this
is how
you enter
my
kingdom
it is
through
me
it is
reason
why
heaven
won't be
just
Presbyterians
sorry if
that's
big news
to you
or shocking
news to
you
but it's
because
Jesus
really
saves
as we
wrap up
our sermon
I want
to close
with
this quote
from
Alec
Motier
and he
says
this
the grace
has made
them citizens
of a heavenly
city
in their
far off
land
they are
the heavenly
homeland
in miniature
heaven's laws
are their
laws
and their
privileges
its privileges
the life
worthy of the
gospel
is an
inescapable
obligation
it is the
essence
of the
homeland
where the
lamb
standing
as though
it had
been slain
forms the
focal point
of all
life
that the
work
the person
of Jesus
informs
all of our
lives
and that
is my
hope
that is
your
hope
that Jesus
gives us
these hard
words
that we
might again
come back
to him
and rest
in him
and trust
him
that the
work of
God is
that you
and I
believe
in Jesus
whom he
has sent
for us
let's pray
father we
we confess
the many
ways
that we
would love
to get
beyond
our need
for grace
our need
for Jesus
we
confess
that
many
times
we
don't
think
Jesus
is
enough
we
find
or we
think
that Jesus
is lacking
that our
salvation
is lacking
and we
we ask
that you
would forgive
us for
that
we ask
that you
would help
us
to treasure
our savior
to prize
him
highly
to love
him more
we thank
you
that you
speak to
us
through
your word
we thank
you
that you
continue
to
build us
up
and encourage
us
and make
us more
like him
and
we pray
that it
would never
be said
of us
at the
last day
that
Jesus
you don't
know us
we pray
that it
would be
said of
us
well
done
my good
and faithful
servant
we thank
you for
the joy
the peace
and the
hope of
the gospel
we thank
you for
the kingdom
we thank
you for
for
your loving
us
please
continue to
bless us
and keep
us
we pray
in Jesus
name
amen
you
we favor
we honor
you
we
can
we
you
we
you
we