Scripture References (NKJV):
Matthew 7:23 "And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"
Matthew 28:19-20 "19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
What did Jesus mean in Matthew 7:23 when He said, “Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness”?
When everything is said and done, we will find ourselves standing in the Presence of God's throne scared. I'm sure that if it happened today, my knees would be shaking. Jesus made that statement to “confident” religious folk adamantly proclaiming, “Haven't we cast out demons and performed miracles in your name?” Touting their accomplishments! The real question here is what was missing in their hearts and lives? More importantly, in our own hearts and lives?
Jeremiah 19:9-10 reveals that “9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his DOINGS.” It would appear that I could simply lean on verse 9 as an excuse for the life I've lived. But, what it all boils down to in the end is - what did I DO in service for my Lord Jesus Christ? In Matthew 4:19 Jesus says, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” And then in Matthew 28:19-20 He says, “GO therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and I'm the son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
A clear directive comes in John 14:15, “If you love Me KEEP My commandments.” And the greatest of those is found in Matthew 22:37-39, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Looking at my own life experience as a Christian, and I'm trying to mold it somewhere between Matthew 4:19 (“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men”) and Matthew 28:19-20 (“GO therefore and make disciples”). I find an abundance of wonderful intentions, a zillion I-can't-believe-I-missed-thats, and a huge void in my obedience to the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20. As a child I heard many times that “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” James 4: 17 delivers a shock - “Therefore to him who KNOWS TO DO good and DOES NOT DO it, to him it is SIN.” 2 Peter 3: 9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness but as longsuffering toward us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Taking all of these verses into consideration, I can conclude that IF I am a fisherman and love Jesus, and IF I follow Jesus obedient to His commands, THEN I will learn to love God with all my being and desire to WORK towards the repentance of all men by living out the Great Commission - Matthew 28: 19-20. This is reasonable service.
Right now, this moment, each of us needs to examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). “Examine yourselves as to whether you (really) are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified.” True, we are saved by God’s grace through faith, but our WORKS (our “fruit”) are the clear indicator of the authenticity of our faith. As Jesus said it, “You will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:20. Likewise James made it clear, “I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18
In Matthew 7:13 we find, “Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” Matthew 7: 21, “Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES the will of My Father who is in Heaven.” There is nothing complicated about any of this. It comes full circle and is easily digested. “But he who DOES the will of My Father who is in Heaven.” That will is that no one should perish but that all will come to repentance.
In Matthew 7:23 when Jesus said, “depart from Me…”, it appears He was telling them that what they were doing in His name was actually done in pridefulness with no concern for advancement of the Kingdom of God. They were not hitting the mark to “GO make disciples of all nations.” In simple terms, these men were doing things in their own power for the recognition of SELF - without any consideration of the will of God. Perhaps Jesus sending out his own disciples in pairs was a message to everyone that we cannot do anything in and of ourselves.
“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” “GO therefore and make disciples of all nations.” “If you love me keep my commandments.” “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.” “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
In that cluster of verses lies the key to Christian responsibility, a clear-cut course of action to follow, add a no-nonsense directive of how we are to live every second of our lives. Someone once said, “God doesn't want us leaning on our shovels and praying for a hole.” There are 215 million people in the United States alone claiming the banner of Christ. I suggest that is an unrealistic parallel to “and there are few who find it.” Each of us will be held responsible for “WORKING out our own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12.
As followers of Jesus, we hold the privilege – and responsibility - of a higher calling. Everything we do should be in reverence and remembrance of what Jesus did for us. Having faith and applying it to how we live is really not that complicated. Where I personally falter is in clinging to grace as though it's an "out" for my poor performance. It's OK to take a break, ease up, and slack away from my mission for a season. But that can easily put me in the category of the “recliner liners" who sit back resting, “assured” of their salvation because they said “that prayer.”
One thing you don't find in your Bible is a reference to other books. It stands on its own as the authoritative word of God. It is the only book that God has breathed upon. You will also never find anything indicating there is a simple prayer we must pray to become a resident of Heaven.
Last week, I had the honor of attending an outdoor service where the preacher, pastor Joe, ended the message with these words, “Where is YOUR disciple?” The plain and simple truth which is that we cannot be disciples of Christ if we have no disciple(s). If we are not living the Great Commission, it is virtually impossible to be doing the will of the father. We are mandated to reach out into the world with the word of God to offer hope to others that they might be saved. This is the will of the Father. Lead others to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and repentance. This is our command – “GO”!
Musings by Joseph Walling Sr. (with comments from Jeff Wheldon)
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