The Scariest Verse in the Bible
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘ I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
In 2013 a zoo in China seemed to have fallen on tough financial times. To save their struggling zoo they decided to replace some of the exotic animals with some more common ones. All of this was going well… until the lion started barking. The customers were understandably angry at the zoo for pretending to have something they really didn’t and it ended up going viral on social media.
Pretending doesn’t go well in life and it doesn’t go well with Jesus.
Matthew 7:21-23 is known as the “scariest verse” in the Bible. And rightly so right? No one has “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” on a coffee mug. What makes this so scary to us is that these people don’t seem bad!
These are people who seem to be doing all the right things. First, they call Jesus “Lord” so we know they have good doctrine. They appear to know all the right things theologically. Second, they appear to be emotionally invested as well. Their cry of “Lord, Lord!” is emphatic and written this way it is a way to show an urgency in the tone. Third, they are actively serving! They are prophesying, speaking a word from the lord, casting out demons. They are even performing many miracles. When’s the last time you performed a miracle right?
Despite all of this, Jesus’ rejection at the end seems shocking. How could they not be in the kingdom of God? I like how one writer put it,
“The absence of these three traits demonstrates you’re not a Christian, but the presence of these three traits does not demonstrate you are.”
This isn’t news to us, Jesus throughout the entirety of the sermon on the mount has been hitting this theme over and over again. Public displays of religiosity are not enough to enter the kingdom of heaven. Most of the time when Jesus talks about the public displays of religion it's to point out the hypocrisy of it. So if being a good person and doing all these good works isn’t enough what is?
I believe some questions will help us discover the warning and invitation that Jesus offers.
Question 1: Am I just giving lip service?
This is what knowledge without faith looks like. Knowledge without a relationship with God. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…”Just because you know God doesn’t mean you’ll enter the kingdom of heaven. Is your walk with God really yours? Or is it borrowed? Maybe it is inherited from your family of origin. This is why it is written,
“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.” - James 2:19
The question isn’t do you know God, or do you know about God? The question is does God know you? He has revealed Himself to us, through his word and through Jesus who is the Christ. His message is simple, “I love you, what is your response?” Do you reveal yourself to God? Do you open up who you truly are to Him?
Question 2: Am I trusting in the wrong things?
My daughter and I built a sandcastle at the beach and when the tide rolled in it washed it all away. Of course, she was distressed by this but I reminded her that’s what happens with sand castles. At three years old, however, she was convinced that this sandcastle should be structurally sound. She believed what she built would last.
When we trust in a life of good deeds to earn God’s favor it is like trusting in the structural soundness of a sand castle. It cannot withstand the incoming tide. The truth is you can do all the right things and still not have entered the narrow gate - and still not have walked the narrow road that leads to life. Why? Because entering the gate isn’t about becoming a good person. No one is good but God alone.
Look at Adam and Eve, They’re a great example of Humanity’s first and prevailing response to the reality and conviction of sin. What do they do when they sin and discover their nakedness and shame? They cover up their shame and guilt with fig leaves and then hide from God.
Being a Christian is not about becoming a better person! Otherwise, the central message of the Gospel would be, get better. But it is not. The Central message of the Bible is not get better but get Jesus!
What am I trusting in? My good deeds? My self? It’s all sandcastles and fig leaves. They are insufficient when compared to the weight of sinning against a Holy, blameless, pure, eternal, and perfect God.
Action without faith won’t save us in the same way that knowledge about God doesn’t yield a relationship with God. So…
Question 3: Where can I find Assurance?
The only way to enter the kingdom of Heaven is to be in perfect fellowship with God. It means doing the will of the Father Who is in Heaven perfectly and without fault. Blameless.
It is written, “There is no one righteous, not even one;” Romans 3:10 and “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23 Without faith there is no relationship. And so we come to the CRUX of the issue, as the theologian Dallas Willard puts it, “The Christian life is what you do when you finally realize you can do nothing.”
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I know live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:20-21
When you put your full faith and confidence in the Lordship, death, and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, You can live with the assurance that when you come to the kingdom of heaven he will say, welcome home.
That is the only way to Heaven, that is the only way to eternal life. Through Jesus Christ. His gift of forgiveness, by his mercy and grace. Rely on nothing else for security. Only rely on the grace of Jesus. It may be our only Hope, but it is a firm foundation.
