People say a lot of things, sometimes things that are not necessarily true. Sometimes people stretch the truth about their education or their careers. Sometimes they claim to know some celebrity, a special friendship with someone that they have never even come close to meeting. That lie might not really matter, but imagine how embarrassed or shame-faced they would be if, in their presence, that celebrity denied knowing the person. There is Someone that many will claim to know, but will be told, quite emphatically, that this Person does not know them at all. That mistake will have a much more serious, eternally serious result than just embarrassment! We read about this in our Scripture today from the Gospel of Matthew.
Our Scripture today comes at the close of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave. The Sermon on the Mount contains very important teachings of the Lord Jesus, and these verses are ones that people need to take seriously. Let’s take a good look at what Jesus says here.
As our passage opens, the scene Jesus describes looks to be on Judgment Day, when people will stand before Him and receive judgment. The Lord tells His audience here that there will be some who claim to know Him, but He will respond that they were mistaken, that even though they went around claiming to know Jesus and be His followers, that their claims are wrong, that He doesn’t know them (vs. 21-23).
Not everyone who talks about heaven really belongs to God’s kingdom. This includes both those at church who stand behind the pulpit, and those seated in the pews. A genuinely saved person is one who believes and follows God’s Word, which we find clearly in the Bible, and then does what His Word says. Many people who call themselves Christians, including “Christian” leaders, rewrite the Word of God, replacing it with a humanistic gospel, filled with many good-sounding lies. Or they preach a perverted gospel, saying one can have both sin and salvation. Jesus will cast these ones out.
Jesus exposes those who sound religious, but who actually have no personal relationship with Him. On Judgment Day, only our relationship with Jesus, our acceptance of Him as our Savior and our obedience to Him will matter. All sorts of “religious talk”, and even loads of good works, will not mean anything on that day. These people can claim all they want that these works were done in His Name, but if they have never accepted Jesus as the only way to get to heaven, and believe that His Word is true, Jesus will say to them “Depart, I never knew you!”
As we continue on in our Scripture passage, Jesus speaks about what we are building our spiritual house, our life upon (vs. 24-27). Obedience to God creates a firm foundation for our life. Those who love and obey God build a solid life of strength and endurance. They are building upon the Rock, which is Jesus Christ. Terrible storms may hit them, but they can never destroy them. Only the one who builds on the foundation of God and His Word, the Bible, will stand.
Those who have never turned to God, and those who rely on their own devices, build their house on sand. What happens with that house? It comes crashing down! Outwardly these houses look the same, but the foundations, which is what matters, are different. While the sun shines, both houses look good, but when adversity comes, only genuine faith in Jesus will stand.
Although the world may change and crumble, God’s Word and His promises remain forever. They are the rock on which we need to build our future and hope. God and His Word will not fail.
Don’t be deceived about your salvation! There are those who appear to be walking the narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14), but have never truly made a genuine decision to accept Jesus as Savior. Jesus is calling everyone to do some self-examination. Is my faith genuine? Am I on the right path? Do I really know Jesus? Does He really know me?
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