Shiny happy evildoers
This week is on Matthew 7:21-23:
These are scary verses if you take them seriously. Being mistaken about whether or not you're a true Christian will be a common thing among Christians in the end. Imagine, thinking you're all set, even being confidently so, even having everyone you know assure you of how "saved" you are, only to have God say "I never knew you. Get away from me, you evildoer."
And this isn't just talking about "lukewarm" Christians, or traditional denominations. This is talking about people with what we would consider to be proven ministries. These are people who cast out demons, who perform miracles, who can prophesy, who proclaim that Jesus is Lord. These are people who would be in the top percentile of Christians, as measured by modern evangelicals. They might also have said "I published best-selling books about you! I'm all over YouTube proclaiming your gospel! My church was huuuuge!" These people have credentials. Looking at them, you would have no reason to believe they would be rejected.
These poor mistaken people call Jesus their Lord, but don't obey him as Lord. They know God, or know about Him, but God doesn't know them. These people have His gifts, and do work for Him, but they're not with Him.
I'd love to describe how to tell if you're one of these rejected Christians or not, but the point is that these people themselves didn't even know. We can't just assume we're not counted among them. We can't list our ministry credentials, or our goodness, or our church membership as a reason why we're not among the rejected counterfeit Christians. We can't even look at our spiritual giftedness. That's what makes these verses scary. The unsuspecting rejected Christians could be any of us.
These people have credentials, but they don't have relationship. But what is a relationship? And how can a relationship be one-sided? How is it that these people were convinced they had a relationship with God, but were strangers to him? How could they have known?
How do human relationships work? You spend time with someone and you're real and vulnerable. You learn what they like by being around them, not by reading about them or watching them on TV. When they ask you to do something, you do it. When you tell them you'll do something, you do it. If they ask you a question, you answer it truthfully, even if they won't like the answer. You share life, and do things together.
One of the things you hear from people who divorce is "I never really knew him (or her.)" They have occupied the same space, but didn't live together. The same thing with when someone is caught in a horrific crime, or betrays someone. Their friends and relatives are always like "Wow, I guess I never really knew who they were." And we all know people we've known for years who we don't really know at all because they only make smalltalk and they're never really vulnerable.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone where they just nod their head constantly without really listening to what you're saying? We do the same thing with God when we say "Yes, Lord, Yes Lord" in our prayers, but don't find out what it is he's actually asking.
Or have you had someone who never does what they agree to do, whose help is unreliable? Are they really doing your will? Is that someone you'd want to trust with authority over your stuff?
Or what about people who always lie about their faults, or who never talk about anything that isn't safe and meaningless? Can you really say you know them significantly better than you'd know a stranger?
Are we like that with God? Not listening to his voice, or reading his word? Not doing what He says? Not confessing our sins? Just not putting the effort in to get to know Him and to be known by Him? That's a scary thought.
Jesus calls these people evildoers. Like people who are doing evil. Not even mildly good. Evil. Not talking with God, seeking his desires, and doing what he asks of us, is evil. Even if everyone else says it's good, if it substitutes for our connection with God, it's evil. Even if we wield great authority, and have powerful spiritual gifts and a great ministry, if we're not doing what God wants of us, it's evil. Don't be evil.
“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!’
These are scary verses if you take them seriously. Being mistaken about whether or not you're a true Christian will be a common thing among Christians in the end. Imagine, thinking you're all set, even being confidently so, even having everyone you know assure you of how "saved" you are, only to have God say "I never knew you. Get away from me, you evildoer."
And this isn't just talking about "lukewarm" Christians, or traditional denominations. This is talking about people with what we would consider to be proven ministries. These are people who cast out demons, who perform miracles, who can prophesy, who proclaim that Jesus is Lord. These are people who would be in the top percentile of Christians, as measured by modern evangelicals. They might also have said "I published best-selling books about you! I'm all over YouTube proclaiming your gospel! My church was huuuuge!" These people have credentials. Looking at them, you would have no reason to believe they would be rejected.
These poor mistaken people call Jesus their Lord, but don't obey him as Lord. They know God, or know about Him, but God doesn't know them. These people have His gifts, and do work for Him, but they're not with Him.
I'd love to describe how to tell if you're one of these rejected Christians or not, but the point is that these people themselves didn't even know. We can't just assume we're not counted among them. We can't list our ministry credentials, or our goodness, or our church membership as a reason why we're not among the rejected counterfeit Christians. We can't even look at our spiritual giftedness. That's what makes these verses scary. The unsuspecting rejected Christians could be any of us.
These people have credentials, but they don't have relationship. But what is a relationship? And how can a relationship be one-sided? How is it that these people were convinced they had a relationship with God, but were strangers to him? How could they have known?
How do human relationships work? You spend time with someone and you're real and vulnerable. You learn what they like by being around them, not by reading about them or watching them on TV. When they ask you to do something, you do it. When you tell them you'll do something, you do it. If they ask you a question, you answer it truthfully, even if they won't like the answer. You share life, and do things together.
One of the things you hear from people who divorce is "I never really knew him (or her.)" They have occupied the same space, but didn't live together. The same thing with when someone is caught in a horrific crime, or betrays someone. Their friends and relatives are always like "Wow, I guess I never really knew who they were." And we all know people we've known for years who we don't really know at all because they only make smalltalk and they're never really vulnerable.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone where they just nod their head constantly without really listening to what you're saying? We do the same thing with God when we say "Yes, Lord, Yes Lord" in our prayers, but don't find out what it is he's actually asking.
Or have you had someone who never does what they agree to do, whose help is unreliable? Are they really doing your will? Is that someone you'd want to trust with authority over your stuff?
Or what about people who always lie about their faults, or who never talk about anything that isn't safe and meaningless? Can you really say you know them significantly better than you'd know a stranger?
Are we like that with God? Not listening to his voice, or reading his word? Not doing what He says? Not confessing our sins? Just not putting the effort in to get to know Him and to be known by Him? That's a scary thought.
Jesus calls these people evildoers. Like people who are doing evil. Not even mildly good. Evil. Not talking with God, seeking his desires, and doing what he asks of us, is evil. Even if everyone else says it's good, if it substitutes for our connection with God, it's evil. Even if we wield great authority, and have powerful spiritual gifts and a great ministry, if we're not doing what God wants of us, it's evil. Don't be evil.
Comments
Post a Comment