Jump Start # 184 

Matthew 7:23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

  We return to our passage from yesterday. Here the Lord reveals the shocking surprise that some will receive that they will not enter Heaven. They counted on it. They thought it was a sure thing. They even defend themselves and build a case as to why they should be allowed in. They claimed that they had prophesied, cast out demons and performed many miracles. By their thinking they should be in Heaven. Jesus declared that they did not do the will of the Father. They were lawless. Remember, Jesus was lawful. He was obedient in all things, even the death on the cross, is what the Philippians were told. He did the will of the Father, not His own will. Lawless people do not impress the lawful Jesus.

  In response to their declaration that they knew Jesus, we find our verse today. As with so many Gospel passages, it is full of contrasts. They claimed to know Jesus. They even called Him, “Lord, Lord.” It was in His name that all these deeds were done. Jesus declared: I NEVER KNEW YOU.

  Wow! That silences them. There is no reply. The Lord didn’t say, I once knew you but we grew apart. Or, it’s been so many years that I’ve forgotten you. Rather, I never knew you. They don’t have a relationship. They don’t have a friendship. I am not the Lord to you. You have been on your own and now you will be on your own forever.

  Two thoughts come to my mind:

  First, it is possible for me to think I know the Lord when He doesn’t know me. Lawlessness will do that. Jesus wants us to follow Him. His way is to be obedient to the word of God. Jesus never broke or violated the commandments of God. He was without sin. The Lord knows me through a relationship as I walk with Him in obedience. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). The Hebrews were told, “He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation” (Heb 5:9). Then in 1 John we find, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 Jn 2:3). How does a person have a relationship with Christ? It is obeying Jesus through faith. It is walking with God. Doing religious activities not found in the Bible is nothing more than lawlessness.

  Secondly, some will find out too late that they will not be in Heaven. That is the thought in this passage. They are shocked. They cry out their defense. Too late. Not everyone who talks about Heaven is going to be in Heaven. Not everyone who thinks they are going to be in Heaven will be there. It is those who obeying Christ through faith. Most people believe when they die they will go to Heaven. Most funerals are preached that way. But this passage turns those thoughts on its head.

  So this brings us to a very honest thought: Are you going to Heaven? What’s your answer based on? Hope? Wishes? Because you are a good person? Because you go to a certain church? Do you think the Lord knows you? How? Is it a feeling? An intuition? The passage brings us back to doing the will of the Father. Paul told the Ephesians, “So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (5:17). Are you walking with the Lord in obedience? Are you doing what the Bible tells you to do? Do you treat others the way God says to? Do you manifest purity and holiness as God wants you to? Do you unfairly judge others? Do you follow the narrow path of God? Only you and God can answer those questions. And most importantly, you need to answer as God does.

  Why write such serious stuff? Why is this passage in your Bible? Possibly to awaken us from our sleep and to get us off auto pilot and to take seriously the words of God. Our Lord is good and merciful and kind but He will not save us if we are not serious about obeying Him. Grab hold of the wheel before you crash! Spend some time this weekend in your Bible. Get to church and connect. Pay attention. Be diligent. Call for a Bible study. Do the will of YOUR FATHER!

Roger

Jump Start # 183 

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven will enter.”

  Entering Heaven—what a wonderful thought! Can you imagine! Have you ever thought about what it will look like? Have you ever considered who you will see? Amazing. There is so much written about entering Heaven. It seems everyone has their own take on it. I tend to let the Lord say because, most of all, it is His house and He determines who will be there.

  The context of this passage continues with the next two verses. Let’s read them: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast our demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Mt 7:22-23).

  Notice several observations here:

First: the repeated words. Twice (21, 22) the expression, “Lord, Lord.” This is used for emphasis. Actually, the people who will speak these words are stunned. They are in shock. They thought they’d be in Heaven with Jesus. The reason: look what they did. Prophesied, cast out demons, preformed miracles. That’s incredible on a resume. I don’t know anyone who could attest to that.

Also notice among the repeated words, “In Your Name.” They say that three times in verse 22. It is as if they think the Lord owes them Heaven. It is in YOUR name, not OUR name that we did all these things.

  Second observation: see the connection from verse 21 & verse 23? Not doing the will of the Father is the same as lawlessness. These were free spirits that were bent on doing things their own way. They were not bound nor conformed to any set rules, just moving and doing as their heart led them. That appeals to a lot of people. Some are tired of old ways. Some don’t want restrictions. Just let me worship and love the Lord how ever I am compelled. As wonderful as that sounds, God hates it. It is lawlessness to Him. Those free spirits and attitudes were cast out away from Heaven. It’s not about us, it’s about God. It’s about humbling ourselves and doing things the way He says it. God never says, “surprise me.” God never says, “do something original.” He wants us to follow His way. He has designed the way to be worshipped. He knows what pleases Him. What we like, obviously from this passage, is not always what He likes. He knows. Can we submit to Him? Can we bow to Him? Can we do things His way?

  Those that can’t will be cast out. Cain and Abel remind us that there is a way to worship correctly and a way that displeases God. Which will we do?

  There is another thought from this passage, but we will leave it for another day.

  Entering Heaven. How bad do you want it? So much, that you will do what the Bible says? No matter what it says? It’s not the missions overseas…it’s not the great things we do for the homeless, it’s humbling our will and doing the will of the Father. Remember, on the cross, Jesus said, “Not my will be done, but Thine.” That is what we must come to as well.

Roger

Jump Start # 180 

Matthew 7:12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

  This week, Jump Starts will take a look at Matthew 7, the third chapter of the Sermon on the Mount. We start with one of the best known verses from that chapter, what we call the golden rule. The Bible actually doesn’t use that expression, “golden rule,” but we can understand where it got that expression. It is the best rule. It is above all other rules. It is the rule that would change the way people treat one another.

  This “rule” of Jesus is proactive, instead of reactionary. It is based on a theory not a reality. Here is what I mean. We typically are reactionary people. If someone is kind, we are kind back. If they are in our face, our defenses are up and we back off. We respond to the way they treat us. This “rule” doesn’t do that. Without saying the word, Jesus is showing us Biblical love, the Greek word, AGAPE. This love isn’t a feeling or an emotion, it is a choice. A person choose to be kind, or nice, or helpful, or forgiving. This love is not based upon the other person’s attitude nor reaction. It is one directional. This is what is beneath the surface of the “rule” of Matthew 7. It means you choose a behavior instead of responding to a behavior. That’s hard! But it is what God desires.

  Secondly, this “rule” is based upon a theory. Jesus said, “treat people the same way you want them to treat you.” The way you want them to treat you, not the way they ARE treating you. This is a theory. It may never happen to you, but you can make it happen to others. We’d love for people to be forgiving when we mess up and are wrong. Often we get our heads chewed off, at home, at work and at the store. We’d like people to give us a second chance. That doesn’t happen very often. We’d like people to be kind, generous and good to us. Instead we get grumpy, dumpy and stupid as bosses, waitresses, and store clerks. We wonder at the end of the day, “is there anybody nice anymore?” And the answer is “yes.” We are. We are to treat people the way we would like to be treated.

  Now doing this necessitates grace on our part. Because, first of all, most people do not deserve to be treated kind and nice. A swift kick would probably do them more good. But this is exactly what God did for us. We were not deserving of His grace and yet He offered it to us. Romans says, “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Being kind to rude and grumpy people is hard. At the best, we’d like to ignore them. At the worst, we want to throw the same attitudes back at them. But that’s not what Jesus expects of His disciples.

  Treat them the way you would like to be treated! Three things often happen when you do this:

1. First, grumpy and mean people soften up, even if for just a moment. It’s hard to be a grouch when someone goes out of their way to be nice.

2. It definitely makes you feel better. When you get down in the mud with someone and have a cat fight, the result is ugly. Being kind, gracious and generous warms the soul. Jesus said, it is better to give than receive. That works in so many different ways.

3. Some people remain mean. They seem to be stuck on that and content to be miserable everyday God has given them. Not everyone is changed by the golden rule. That is not reason for us to stop or give up. We are to do this, because Jesus wants us to.

  Do you remember the ultimate expression of the Golden Rule? It’s found in the gospels. Jesus is dying on the cross, and He looks down at the very people who drove the nails into His hands and feet and prayed, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” That’s GOLD!

That’s Jesus. And He wants His people to follow that example!

  Try it today. Try treating people the way you would like to be treated. It changes things and it changes you!

Roger