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you you you you welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our god for our call to worship you can turn with me in your bibles to isaiah 53 i had referenced that several times this morning i figured it would be appropriate to read tonight as our call to worship so isaiah the prophet chapter 53 beginning in verse one who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed for he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground he has no form or comeliness and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him he is despised and rejected by men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we did not esteem him surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by god and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement for our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before it shearers is silent so he opened not his mouth he was taken from prison and from judgment and who will declare his generation for he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of my people he was stricken they made his grave with the wicked but with the rich at his death because he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth yet it pleased the lord to bruise him he has put him to grief when you make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the lord shall prosper in his hand he shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied by his knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many for he shall bear their iniquities therefore i will divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors amen well please turn in your hymn books to psalm 22 number 22 c as in charlie and we'll use a familiar tune that psalm 22 c will stand together [Music] my [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is is [Music] oh [Music] well let us pray our blessed god and holy father it's a joy and privilege to gather again in your house on your day we thank you for the church of the lord jesus christ we praise you for your grace and for your loving kindness and your mercy to us and we see that so vividly displayed in the gospel of our salvation we give praise to you that in the fullness of the times god was pleased to send forth his son born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those under the law thank you for including us in this blessed lot thank you for the salvation that you've given to us freely that forgiveness of sins and that righteousness by which we are accepted in the beloved and we pray tonight that as we sing as we pray as we look to your holy word and as we remember in a special way our lord's death in the supper we pray that you would be glorified as we come to the father through the son in the power of the holy spirit may god be all in all in this glad hour we asked he would forgive us now for our sins as we consider your holiness and your righteousness and your majesty we are mindful that we have missed the mark and in so many ways as we see in isaiah 53 all we like sheep have gone astray and even as redeemed believers even as christians we have that remaining corruption as the hymn writer put it we are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love so even now lord god we pray for forgiveness and for cleansing in the blood of the lord jesus christ we pray father that you would be pleased to bless the word as it goes forth here and elsewhere and we pray that it would run swiftly and be glorified we ask that the holy spirit would be in us in our midst tonight that as we gather together we would make much of our lord jesus christ and god we pray that you would look with favor upon other churches in our community here we thank you for those faithful servants of christ that are proclaiming the gospel and we pray that you would just prosper these local bodies as well god we pray for the church in surrey we thank you for pastor mike and his faithful ministry there and ask god that he would continue to know the nearness of god as his good we thank you as well for the good reports concerning our brother ryan and armstrong we thank you god that you are helping them along and we pray that a faithful church would be established in that community that they would continue to shine his lights in that crooked and perverse place and they would hold forth the word of truth and god bless the brothers and dryden we thank you for their efforts we pray for your blessing upon dan and upon josh we ask god that you would just give these men grace and a firm commitment to the truth of holy scripture and may you indeed establish a good church there and may they see many come to a saving knowledge of our lord and savior jesus christ and god we pray for the church in honduras we thank you for the the unity the solidarity that we have with that local body we pray for pastors carlos and luis she would uphold those men that you would grant grace to them cause them to be faithful servants of god most high in that community and may you just continue to encourage the saints in that church and may you use the ministry there to save sinners and god we pray for your blessing throughout the earth we know that your people gather together on the lord's day where wherever they meet and we praise you for that we ask god that your rich blessings would be upon the church that you would indeed increase the number of those who are saved we pray that you would continue to afford those blessings that that are associated with the gospel of our salvation that you would provide that security and that stability for the church at large throughout this earth and we think in particular of those places where there is great persecution against the people of god we know father that they cannot get to heaven they cannot get to your throne to to cast you down and to destroy you and so they go after your people and this is evident and obvious in the world around us we see this commitment to sexual perversion we see a commitment to abortion and euthanasia we just see godlessness and lawlessness all around us so father bless the word for the saving of sinners and for the glorifying of your great and awesome name and lord we just pray these things now in the name of our lord and savior jesus christ amen well you can turn with me again to psalm 119. 119 letter r so psalm 119 romeo will stand as we sing together [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] yes [Music] is [Music] is is is [Music] well you could turn with me in your bibles to matthew chapter 7 for our meditation tonight before the supper matthew chapter 7 our focus will be on verses 21 to 23 but i'll begin reading in verse 1. so matthew 7 beginning in verse 1 judge not that you be not judged for with what judgment you judge you will be judged and with the measure you use it will be measured back to you and why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not consider this plank in your own eye or how can you say to your brother let me remove the speck from your eye and look a plank is in your own eye hypocrite first remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye do not give what is holy to the dogs nor cast your pearls before swine lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to in pieces ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and it will be open to you for everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened or what man is there among you who if his son asks for bread will give him a stone or if he asks for fish will he give him a serpent if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father who is in heaven give good good things to those who ask him therefore whatever you want men to do to you do also to them for this is the law and the prophets enter by the narrow gate for why it is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves you will know them by their fruits do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles even so every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit a good tree cannot bear bad fruit and nor can a bad tree bear good fruit every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire therefore by their fruits you will know them not everyone who says to me lord lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father in heaven many will say to me in that day lord lord have we not prophesied in your name cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name and then i will declare to them i never knew you depart from me you who practice lawlessness therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them i will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain descended the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it did not fall for it was founded on the rock but everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain descended the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell and great was its fall and so it was when jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at his teaching we taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes amen well let us again ask god's blessing upon the word father we thank you for your word we thank you that you've given it to us and that it's profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness we pray again for the ministry of the holy spirit to guide and lead us into all truth we know that in some ways this passage is mishandled misunderstood pray that you would give us clarity of thought concerning this judgment day to come and the basis for our acceptance with our blessed god forgive us again for our sin and unrighteousness and be glorified now we pray in jesus name amen well at first glance verses 21 to 23 may seem like a pretty discouraging way to treat the lord's supper but i hope that you'll see by the end of the message it's a very encouraging passage that stresses once again the doctrine of justification by faith alone now in this latter part of chapter 7 which is connected to chapters 5 and 6 which we call the sermon on the mount jesus gets very practical so after the prohibition against judgmentalism that we saw last sunday night he then gives that emphasis or that message concerning asking and seeking and knocking and then from verses 13 to the end of the chapter he gives various ways of self-examination he gives four warnings that conclude the sermon he speaks of two ways verses 13 and 14 the broad and the narrow he speaks of two trees in verses 15 to 20 a caution against false prophets he then speaks to two claims which we'll look at in verses 21 to 23 and then to builders in verses 24 to 27. so for jesus the preaching of the gospel isn't simply theoretical he brings it down for practical consideration in other words where are you with reference to the truth as it is in jesus christ so verses 21 to 23 point us to the judgment day to come so we'll look first at the event described secondly the parties identified and then thirdly the verdict render so first of all look at the event jesus says not everyone who says to me lord lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father in heaven and then he says many will say to me in that day many will say to me in that day the two verbs that are utilized by the lord jesus are both in the future tense so he's pointing to a future event and when he describes it as that day we take it as the day of judgment the bible teaches that if we are to die today then our spirit departs and goes to be with the lord but our bodies go into the grave but at the final day jesus will resurrect all the bodies out of the grave and then body and soul will be reunited and there's a great judgment to come in fact hebrews 9 tells us it's appointed for men to die and then comes judgment you often hear the old adage there are two things that are inescapable death and taxes you cannot pay your taxes if you're okay with going to prison but you cannot escape the judgment to god that is a reality and that's the event that our lord jesus is speaking to so the two verbs future tense that he will they will say and i will declare to him and the emphasis here is on christ's role in the judgment to come and this is not an isolated incident you see christ's role in judgment in acts 17 31 romans 2 16 2nd corinthians 5 10 2 timothy 4 8 and then again in hebrews 9 27 it's high christology in fact if you look back or look forward to just a moment into chapter 10 notice what jesus says to the disciples in verse 27 whatever i tell you in the dark speak in the light and what you hear in the air preach on the housetops and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell he's speaking about himself in that particular reference so christ is supreme on the day of judgment and all of us will face him on that day so now let's look at the parties identified there's two groups there's false professors and then there are those who are true believers let's look first at the false professors notice in the first place their number there's not a few of these people there are many that will say on that day the language suggests that self-deception is a reality in other words there are people out there that may delude themselves into thinking that they are heaven bound when in reality they are not self-deception is a reality paul speaks of that in 1st corinthians 6 9. he says do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of god he says do not be deceived now it's one of those things where we always like to think the best of ourselves don't we we always like to think that everything's going to work out for us we're going to get the good job we're going to get the degree we're going to meet the good woman or the good man we're going to have lots of happy and well-adjusted children we always like to believe the best about ourselves but with reference to self-delusion concerning entrance into heaven we ought not to do that we ought to be very careful with reference to this particular thought or this delusion the language as well suggests that many are susceptible to this deluded way of thinking look back at verse 13 enter by the narrow gate for white is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and there are many who go in by it same with reference to verse 22 many will say to me in that day so the number of false professors is not a few it's not just a handful but there are many to be considered now notice secondly their profession on that day verse 21 not everyone who says to me lord lord he is dealing with christian profession he's not dealing with buddhists they wouldn't say lord lord he's not dealing with atheists they wouldn't say lord lord he's not dealing with hindus they wouldn't say lord lord he is dealing with professing christians that's why these are cautionary statements from our lord to make sure that we are not suffering the damning delusion of of a false thought that we're heading into heaven when we're not and then notice thirdly they're surprised they seem to be taken off guard when jesus says you're not going to enter in look at verse 22 many will say to me in that day lord lord have we not prophesied in your name cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name they're surprised lord why would you not let us in why would you not bring us into this heavenly kingdom why would you exclude us from heaven itself why would you send us into hell when we've done all these things again it's better to be surprised now and believe the gospel now than delude yourselves into thinking that you are saved and you're not and on that day be caught by surprise but lord i thought because i did this or i thought because i did that or i thought because i went to church or i thought because i was raised in a christian home or i thought because i went to a christian school no that's not the time to sort of figure these things out remember this morning in the prophet isaiah 55 6 seek the lord wow he may be found call upon him while he is near the implication is obvious there may be a day coming when he's not near when he can't be found when you are ultimately consigned to everlasting destruction so these people are surprised now notice fourthly their argument their argument so verse 21 not everyone who says to me lord lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father in heaven verse 22 is their argument many will say to me in that day lord lord have we not prophesied in your name cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name notice that jesus does not deny this jesus doesn't say oh you're lying you're false you're deluded he doesn't do that he he he deals with them in a on a basis that we'll see in just a moment but he never denies the validity of their claim here and notice what they say have we not prophesied have we not cast out demons have we not done many wonders in your name turn over to matthew chapter 10. you will see one of these particular persons that will be very much surprised on the day of judgment well actually he won't because he found out earlier than the day of judgment that he was indeed a wretch but if you look at matthew chapter 10 verses 1 to 4 it's the selection of the 12 apostles and if you look specifically at verse 4 simon the canaanite and judas iscariot who also betrayed him and then in verse 5 these 12 jesus sent out and commanded them saying do not go into the way of the gentiles and do not enter a city of the samaritans but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of israel and as you go preach saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand heal the sick cleanse the lepers raise the dead cast out demons freely you have received freely give provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts nor bag for your journey nor two tunics nor sandals nor staffs for a worker as worthy of his food we have no indication whatsoever in any place in scripture that judas didn't participate judas did participate he went out with the other 11 apostles he did wonders in the name of jesus he did uh exorcisms he participated in those things the problem with the particular argument that is utilized here in matthew 7 22 is at odds with a hymn that we sang this morning in our confession study that blessed him concerning our attachment to christ it says nothing in my hand i bring simply to thy cross i claim these men don't say that these men say simply to my works i cling i have utter disregard for the lord jesus their appeal as to why they should enter into heaven is not the finished work of the savior it is not the doing and the dying and the rising of the lord jesus it is their own performance it is their own works christ does not deny that they did these things the problem with their argument is that they emphasize what they did and not what christ did that is faulty the apostle paul deals with that very clearly in galatians 2 21. he says i do not set aside the grace of god the grace of christ for if righteousness comes to the law then christ died in vain if we could stand before god and say i exercised demons i prophesied in the name of jesus ca i healed sick people let me into heaven then why did jesus have to come to live to die and to rise again the third day john gill makes the observation it may be observed that these men lay the whole stress of their salvation upon what they have done in christ's name and not on christ himself in whom there is salvation and in no other they say not a syllable of what christ has done and suffered but only of what they have done typically this text is turned over on its head and it's made to teach that you need to do more works that's not the problem here the problem is is that they invoke their works as the ground of their acceptance with god most high we learned this morning in our confession study the purpose of our good works as believers they function as the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith that's not how they're functioning here they're bringing these things before christ and say let me into heaven based on my virtue based on my accomplishments based on my doing and based on my law keeping does everybody see the problem here again this passage is utilized to teach that believers need to do more there are passages in the bible that teach believers you need to do more there are passages in the bible that emphasize stress and encourage more good works on the part of the people of god this ain't it this is not a sanctification passage this is not simply giving evidence or fruit concerning your saving faith these men are arguing based on their accomplishments for entry into the kingdom of god so again nothing in my hand i bring simply to thy cross i cling the hymn writer also says foul i to the fountain fly wash me savior or i die these guys would never sing that because they're upright they're good they're pious they're holy they're wonder workers they've actually healed people they're not like the rest of us who haven't done anything like a in similar fashion their argument is faulty their argument is a rejection of the gospel of the lord jesus christ the works of a true believer are the fruits or consequences of a justifying faith these professors are appealing to their works as the reason for their acceptance with god that's the problem that's the issue they are not resting upon the doing and the dying and the rising of our lord jesus christ now notice fifthly their true condition look at what jesus says in verse 23 and then i will declare to them i never knew you depart from me you who practice lawlessness now these are pretty good guys they exercise demons they do wonders in the name of jesus what does he possibly mean by they are lawless people i would suggest in the first place they are using the law unlawfully paul says in first timothy chapter 1 we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully we're not to use the law as the means by which we're accepted with god because we're sinners we're depraved we're dead in our trespasses and sins god awakens us god regenerates us god gives us the graces of faith and repentance so that we receive the blessings that christ has secured in his doing and dying and rising with reference to lawlessness when we use the law unlawfully we've embarked on a pathway of lawlessness but as well i would suggest that lawlessness and hold on to your seats here because i think we're gonna you know have to be challenged a bit also includes self-righteousness see we often think of the lawless as the crackhead the guy who visits prostitutes the people who sleep outside the church at night and they're whacked out on drugs they're they're the really lawless ones the lawless ones are false professors in churches that are banking on their own accomplishments that are righteous in their own sight again matthew 10. we looked at this passage this morning matthew 10 verse uh uh i'm sorry matthew uh where was it 21 sorry 21 10 no not 21 10 21 somewhere i'll find it 21 28 but what do you think a man had two signs he came to the first and said son go and work today in my vineyard he answered and said i will not but afterward he regretted it and went then he came to the second said likewise he answered and said i go sir but he did not go which of the two did the will of his father they said to him the first jesus said to them assuredly i say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of god before you don't we usually think that that tax collectors and harlots are the really lawless people well yeah they are but god saves them justifies them freely by his grace why don't we think of the self-righteous as lawless why don't we think of persons that bank on their own good works to the exclusion of gospel grace as being lawless individuals notice verse 22 or 32 for john came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him but tax collectors and harlots believed him and when you saw it you did not afterward relent and believe him in other words they are lawless individuals lawless self-indulgence is what we typically see as lawlessness but lawless self-righteousness is lawlessness as well john gershner was the mentor for rc sprole everybody here probably has heard of rc sprole he was a fantastic teacher of scripture and a wonderful theology a theologian he took the the high and lofty doctrines of scripture and he brought them down to every man i mean he was a real benefit a real gift to the church well his mentor was john gershner john gershner was his was a major influence in his life listen what gershner says concerning this issue he says the main thing between you and god is not so much your sins it's your damnable good works think about that we don't think that way brethren he says the main thing between you and god is not so much your sins it's your damnable good works when you rest upon what you've accomplished when you rest upon the demons you've exercised when you rest upon the wonders that you have worked the healings that you have wrought and i mean those are really really good works the most of us you know can't even hold a candle to those particular things but when we rest on the performance of that that's the problem christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance that's what he means there it's not so much your sin that's the business of the savior to save you from your sin it's your damnable good works it's your trust in something other it's your resting upon those performances instead of looking to and receiving and resting upon christ alone and his righteousness that's the problem and that i would suggest is rampant in the professing church today again if a tax collector or heathen or a harlot walks in you know we're all going to look and say wow that that wallace one is entered in the house of god how many times self-righteous people are among us and we never think twice about that lawlessness when we reject the lord jesus christ when we reject the offer of of grace and mercy by him that is to undertake lawlessness so that's the false professors now notice the true professors he describes them in one simple phrase in verse 20 21 he says not everyone who says to me lord lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of my father in heaven and it's usually here that people say well here it is you need to do more works you need to go out perform you know everybody else and and have all these things that's not the point doing the will of the father is to believe the gospel of our lord and savior jesus christ if we can't rest upon the works performed who must we rest upon it is christ and christ alone listen to john 6 28-29 then they said to him what shall we do that we may work the works of god jesus answered and said to them this is the work of god that you believe in him whom he sent and then in john 6 40. very clearly brethren a little comparison of passages will underscore or illustrate what jesus means here when he says he who does the will of my father in heaven he's not saying you need to do more you need to try harder you need to get better again there are passages that teach that under the auspices or in the compartment of sanctification but in terms of our acceptance with god whether or not we enter into heaven above the will of the father is to believe the gospel john 6 40 and this is the will of him who sent me that everyone who sees the son and believes in him may have everlasting life and i will raise him up at the last day same language this is the will of him who sent me so verse 21 but he who does the will of my father in heaven so the works that believers do and if you are sort of unsure on this i would encourage you to attend our study in the confession of faith now you'll have to wait for i don't know a couple of years till we get back to chapter 16 but but nevertheless we're in chapter 16 this morning and it deals with the place of good works it's not the case that a believer believes on the lord jesus christ and then supplements that belief with his own good work so we have a bit of faith we have a bit of works and when we present that unto god and we're accepted no that's not how it works it's either all of christ or it's none of christ it's either all of grace or it's none of grace the moment we try to mingle in our works or our faithfulness we are an affront to the gospel of our lord and savior jesus christ again i do not set aside the grace of god for if righteousness comes through the law then christ died in vain if you can work your way into heaven then why the cross why the shame of the cross why isaiah 53 a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief we esteemed him stricken afflict smitten and afflicted by god verse 11 it pleased yahweh to bruise him to crush him this was all the initiation of the uh by the initiative of god most high so why all that if we can work our way into heaven if we can go exercise demons we can do wondrous things and we can heal a few people along the way well that'll be enough to get a pat on the back and an acceptance into heaven the will of the father is to do or is to believe the gospel of our salvation these good works done in obedience to god's commandments are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith they don't think in that category when asked or rather when they hear they're being excluded they say but but lord didn't we do great things lord didn't we do wonderful things lord aren't we awesome individuals aren't we polished persons aren't we the kind of guys that you're looking for to populate heaven this is a perennial problem in biblical religion look at matthew chapter 9. we looked at this passage several weeks ago matthew chapter 9 the salvation of matthew himself matthew was a tax collector he was hated by everybody he was most likely a thief he was most likely a a traitor remember that there were jews working for the roman government taking taxes from fellow jews and giving it over to the roman government typically keeping a little back for themselves but notice in matthew 9 9 as jesus passed on from there he saw a man named matthew sitting at the tax office brethren never forget that the gospel came to regular sinners just like you and i in those days in luke 15 1 and 2 it says then all the all the sinners and the tax collectors drew near to hear him they had the same sorts of sins in those days they had lawbreakers they had idolaters and blasphemers and sabbath breakers and those insubordinate to authority they had murderers they had adulterers they had thieves they had liars they they had covetous people so when these sinners come to the lord jesus christ they find salvation just like matthew in fact matthew himself illustrates what we see in the previous section notice in chapter 9 at verse 6 but that you may know that the son of man has power on earth to forgive sins then he said to the paralytic arise take up your bed and go to your house i want you to know that the son of man has the power to forgive sins well if we ask the question what kind of sins huh is it just a few sins is it is it just the little sins is it sort of the garden-variety sins or does he really forgive the big ones well matthew was considered one of the big ones matthew was a vile offender of god's holy law and yet jesus says follow me so he arose and followed him verse 10. now it happened as jesus sat at the table in the house that behold many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples and when the pharisees saw it they said to his disciples why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners this was an affront to them this was an offense to that why does he do that they're not like us they're not righteous and holy and pure and pious like us these men are full of sanctimony these men are full of self-righteousness these men condemn others when jesus heard that he said to them those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick but go and learn what this means i desire mercy and not sacrifice for i did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance turn over to luke 19. luke chapter 19 same sort of an emphasis that we see there it's not based on our works or a combination of faith plus works it is god's grace and god's grace alone to get a full sense of luke 19 you need to go back to luke 18 and if you look at luke 18 18 now a certain ruler asked him saying good teacher what shall i do to inherit eternal life so jesus said to him why do you call me good no one is good but one that is god you know the commandments do not commit adultery do not murder do not steal do not bear false witness honor your father and your mother and he said all these things i have kept from my youth so when jesus heard these things he said to him you still lack one thing sell all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me but when he heard this he became very sorrowful for he was very rich jesus is not saying that if you do this then you'll be saved jesus is using the law lawfully he is showing the man that he's a covetous man and that is in his covetousness he needs christ to save him but notice the response of the disciples verse 24 and when jesus saw that he became very sorrowful he said how hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of god for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god and those who heard it said who then can be saved they associated riches with the blessing of god right seems to make sense a man has you know all the cars and all the you know summer homes he has the favor of god that's how they were thinking who then can be saved verse 27 he said the things which are impossible with men are possible with god now turn to luke 19. so he says it's almost impossible for a rich man to enter into heaven but it's not impossible because with god all things are possible look at chapter 19 verse 1. then jesus entered and passed through jericho now behold there was a man named zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector and he was rich and he sought to see who jesus was but could not because of the crowd for he was of short stature so he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him for he was going to pass that way and when jesus came to the place he looked up and saw him and said to him zacchaeus make haste and come down for today i must stay at your house so he made haste and came down and received him joyfully but when they saw it they all complained saying he has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner see that self-righteousness that condemnation we bank on what we've done we have no need for jesus we're we're good we're holy we're pious we're righteous they look down upon these people like matthew the tax collector and like zacchaeus the tax collector notice in verse 8 zacchaeus stood and said to the lord lord or look lord i give half my goods to the poor and if i have taken anything from anyone by false accusation i restore fourfold jesus said to him today salvation has come to this house because he also is a son of abraham notice for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost those people who are righteous in their own sight those people who are righteous in their own eyes those people who will stand before god on the day of judgment and say i gave money to the poor i walked old ladies across the street i mowed my neighbor's lawn i did all these things let me into heaven that is a rejection of god's grace that is a rejection of the gospel of our salvation it undoes everything that god in christ has done in the reconciling of the world to himself i do not set aside the grace of god for if righteousness comes to the law then christ died in vain back to matthew chapter 7 the statement of our lord underscores the necessity of justification by faith alone that's what it means to do the will of my father in heaven it is to believe the gospel john 6 40. just read it edward fisher in his wonderful marrow of modern divinity makes this observation he says if you desire to be justified before god you must either bring to him a perfect righteousness of your own see that's what people fail to understand if we take doing the will of my father in heaven as a reference to more good works that means your works have to be perfect they have to be exact they have to be entire or else god does not receive them fisher says if you desire to be justified before god you must either bring to him a perfect righteousness of your own and holy renounce christ or else you must bring the perfect righteousness of christ and wholly renounce your own christ jesus will either be a whole savior or no savior he will either save you alone or not save you at all it's at this point that the justified by faith alone people at least in their hearts say amen praise god for the gospel praise god for the glorious truth that nothing in my hand i bring simply to thy cross i claim and that foul i to thy fountain fly wash me savior or i die so as i said there are plenty of passages if you want more passages on doing good works give me a call i'll read them off to you and yell at you and tell you to go out and do more but this isn't one of them this isn't a matter of profession without works or profession with works it is a matter of justification by faith alone when we stand before god on that day are we going to point to our works are we going to point to what we've done no hopefully we've learned enough enough to hide behind the savior king to hide behind the one that lived that died and right rose again i mentioned that uh sinclair i think it was sinclair no it was alistair bay talking about that thief on the cross that 11th hour conversion that thief on the cross he started the day blaspheming the savior and the great change came over him god saved him god changed his heart he confessed the lordship of christ he cast himself upon the mercy of christ he says remember me when you come into your kingdom what a blessed profession of faith in the 11th hour aleister begg says you know when you you talk to that man in heaven and you said you know can you describe for me justification by faith alone well no no i i didn't take that catechism class can you sort of work out what eschatology looks like what eska what i i don't know what you're talking about there can you tell me the the the relationship between the old and the new covenant well no i i don't get that either but that man on the cross told me i can come that man on the cross told me i can come that's the emphasis here that's the the the gravity of the situation do we rest on what we've done or do we rest on what christ has done if we do not rest on what christ has done we will never be accepted into the kingdom of heaven and then notice finally the verdict rendered notice what the just judge says upon the believers now we get this by implication it doesn't say as clearly concerning the believers as it does the unbelievers but how he treats the lawless or how he treats the unbelievers we can flip it on its head and see what jesus says concerning the believers in the first place he knows them if he knows the unbelievers the many that will come to him on that day and say lord lord did we not did we not did we not if he knows them i'd like to think he knows us who by his grace and for his glory have believed on him as well he welcomes them he welcomes them if the unbeliever hears depart from me you workers of lawlessness the believer is going to hear well done good and faithful servant and be welcomed in to the presence of god and then he blesses them obviously the curse of damnation rests upon the unbeliever so upon the believer there is blessing and with reference to the lawless he makes the declaration the lord jesus christ who so many today are in opposition against is the one who holds the destiny of all men in his hand it is christ with whom we have to do in the final analysis it is christ we will meet on that day of judgment it is christ we will stand before to give an account of deeds done in the body whether good or ill we are going to meet the savior he is the one that makes this declaration concerning departure or reception he never denies their claim to good works and as well notice he says he never knew them it wasn't like he knew them at one point and then they got proud and arrogant and no he no longer knew them these were never true believers to begin with first john 2 19 says they went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest that none of them were of us he condemned self-righteousness as lawlessness and brethren that is a good tact i'm not saying we need to run around the streets of chilliwack and yell at the self-righteous you lawless wretches but we need to understand that when it comes to standing before god whether or acceptance before god whether we're a crackhead or we're self-righteous we're both going to the same place there's not like well you know you're a little better than the crackhead so i'll just throw you here no depart from me i never knew you and he excludes false professors from the kingdom of heaven john gill says for as it is his presence that makes heaven it is his absence that makes hell he also said an awful consideration is it look at verse 22 again many will say to me in that day lord lord have we not prophesied in your name cast out demons in your name gil says in awful consideration it is that men should be able to cast out devils and at last be cast to the devil so they are surprised because they took refuge in not the lord christ but in their own works their own accomplishment their own merit and that is the issue that matthew 7 21-23 conveys it underscores the necessity of justification by grace alone through faith alone in christ alone not that there aren't good works consequent to that there are but were accepted in the beloved according to the riches of his grace not according to the riches of his grace and the good works that we offer up unto the lord on that day it is alone through christ that we have salvation in conclusion the two parties identified the contrast is not between profession with works or profession without works but rather faith in christ for salvation versus a reliance upon one's own works it's that clear brethren i don't know why this passage is not understood and properly it i don't know why anybody would have an issue seeing very clearly that the problem of verse 22 is that they're resting upon their own accomplishments the text is not highlighting the place of good work subsequent to salvation by grace it is a demonstration of the basis upon which persons enter the kingdom of heaven and then as well remember jesus gives these statements at the end to cause us all to reflect to cause us all to take notice to cause us all to do a bit of self-examination not the kind where you know we're whipping ourselves or out in the wilderness and 120 degrees and we're dying that's not it but you need to look inwardly if i were to die tonight that's the perennial question a lot of people use that in evangelism you go up to somebody and say if you were to die tonight and god were to ask you why should i let you into heaven what would you answer would you say well i've done a lot of good things i haven't been as miserable as my neighbor i've tried my best that's not the basis for acceptance with god it is by grace through faith in our lord jesus christ so this emphasis will hopefully call all of us to examine our hearts before a holy god and then in terms of assurance where do you think assurance comes from do you think assurance comes from oh yeah i've done several good things this week so i'm at a high fever pitch of assurance what happens next week when you do don't do several good things guess where your assurance is going to be it's going to be in the gutter guess where your assurance should come from anybody want to venture against it's christ and his gospel it's the lord jesus samuel peter made the observation i have often thought if christians did give more attendance to such direct acts of faith that is looking to christ alone in the free promise of the gospel and spent less time in questioning their conditions or giving way to doubtings about them they would find their interest in the covenant cleared up yay and consolation also coming in as by the by the by in other words don't look at yourself for assurance don't look at yourself for encouragement look rather at christ look at his gospel look at his life his death his resurrection it's summarized so beautifully by paul in romans 4 25 jesus was delivered up because of our offenses but he was raised for our justification persons looking to christ typically are the persons that have assurance persons looking to themselves are typically the persons that will struggle with assurance so hopefully god will encourage our hearts with this doctrine of justification by faith alone and if you're not looking to christ tonight guess what my point for you is look to christ believe on him and you will be saved that's the promise of god's holy word to everybody who comes to him he says in john 6 37 all that the father gives me will come and the one who comes to me i will certainly not cast out it will never be the case that a sinner comes to jesus and finds himself on the outs we saw that in the middle of matthew 7 ask and it will be given to you see you will find knock and it will be open to you for everyone who asks receives he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be open or what man is there among you who if his son asks for bread we'll give him a stone or if he asks for a fish will he give him a serpent listen to jesus if you then being evil he assumes our depravity he understands our place he knows our sin if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him so don't stay away don't tarry don't wait but rather listen to isaiah and come to the savior king well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for the clarity of holy scripture the consistency of it and what the lord jesus teaches here concerning doing the will of his father in heaven i pray that you would just encourage our hearts and comfort us not because we have a mountain of good works but because christ does because christ accomplished the father's will christ died instead of sinners and christ now sits and throned at the right hand of the father and all who come to him in faith will have everlasting life what a blessing what an encouragement god may indeed spur us on to further good works and to pursue those things that are pleasing in the sight of our gracious god and we pray this through jesus christ our lord amen we can turn to matthew chapter 26 as we transition now into the lord's supper matthew chapter 26 while you're turning there just a few reminders concerning this ordinance or this sacrament there are two sacraments or ordinances in the church of christ we have baptism and we have the lord's supper baptism of course is when persons believe the gospel they are baptized they join the church and they are then hopefully growing in the grace and knowledge of our lord jesus so it's a one-time thing but with reference to the supper it's a it's an ongoing thing as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the lord's death till he comes that's what paul says in first corinthians 11 and that is a a wonderful thing it's a a a good ordinance or a good sacrament for the strengthening of our faith i'll just read a bit from our confession i think it can uh encapsulates well what we have here it says the supper of the lord jesus was instituted by him the same night when he was betrayed to be observed in his churches unto the end of the world for the perpetual remembrance and showing forth the sacrifice of himself and his death confirmation of the faith of believers and all the benefits thereof their spiritual nourishment and growth in him their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe to him and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him and with each other good summary statement so the sacrament of the supper is for believers just like baptism is for believers so is the supper if you're an unbeliever we would ask that you don't take tonight the sacrament as well is for believers who are dealing with their sin we see that in first corinthians 11. there were problems in the church at corinth so paul rebukes them what you're doing is not observing the lord's table not while you have this sort of division among the ranks and then the sacrament is a means of grace to be sure but we understand the the bread and the wine they remain bread and wine they don't become the body and blood of jesus we're not actually engaged in a sacrifice of atonement it is rather these things symbolize and call us to remember in a special way our lord's death at the cross on our behalf so there's no doctrine of transubstantiation that is taught in the roman catholic church there's no doctrine of consubstantiation which is taught by lutheranism but rather jesus is present by the power of the holy spirit and he brings grace and encouragement and strengthening to the people of god so it is a means of grace but it's not the case that the bread becomes something other or that the wine becomes something other and then of course the sacrament points us to christ there's no obviously when we come to the the table we understand our sin confess your sin you know paul says uh that we examine ourselves that we we look in but we don't stay there we we confess our sins we trust in the mercy of god to forgive us of our sins and then we take this because it's a help to us in the fight against sin sometimes people treat this as a reward well i i had a good week so i'm going to come and take the supper that's not the way the reason why you take the supper or conversely i had a really bad week so i'm going to miss church that night do you think that the means of grace god has given to the church may actually help you to not have as many bad weeks that it's calculated to to strengthen you to to encourage you to help you along the the pilgrim way we need to see this as a blessing and as a gift from our god well i'm going to ask the brothers to pass out the bread and while they pass out the bread we will sing a hymn you may remain seated while we do so and then after the singing of the hymn we'll read the appropriate section concerning the bread we'll pray and then we'll take the bread so 349 again remain seated 349. [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] please oh [Music] jesus [Music] is [Music] matthew 26 at verse 26 we read and as they were eating jesus took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body well let us pray our god and our father we thank you for what we read in isaiah 53 that it was pleasing to you to crush the sun we know not in some sick sadistic way but for the salvation of your people we give praise to you for your graciousness we give praise to you for the gospel of our salvation and we give praise that we are able to enter into heaven on that day based on what christ has accomplished we give glory to father son and holy spirit for such a wonderful salvation and we pray now in jesus name amen we'll take together we can turn to 458 again please remain seated uh just a reminder the juice is in the outer ring and the wine is in the middle if you're inclined to take juice outer ring if you want the wine it's in the middle ring and the hem will be 458. [Music] so so foreign oh [Music] so so [Music] you continue reading then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but i say to you i will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when i drink it new with you in my father's kingdom and when they had sung a hymn they went out to the mount of olives well let us pray father thank you for the reality of the blood of christ that cleanses us from all sin we know the first covenant was ratified with the blood of bulls and goats and calves but as the apostle says these could never take away sin but they pointed forward to the lamb of god who does take away the sin of the world and we rejoice in that and we pray god in heaven that this would be something we meditate upon and contemplate each and every day not just once a month in our lord's supper service but help us to live in light of the cross and help us to realize the glory of our savior in terms of his obedience on our behalf and we again thank you and praise you and we pray in jesus name amen we'll take together we can turn to 352 and we'll stand as we sing together 352. [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] gloriously [Music] is [Music] the grace of the lord jesus christ and the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all amen thank you father for this lord's day thank you for this new week we're entering into we pray that you would help us to live in a manner that is consistent with the calling of god upon our lives we bless you and praise you for so great a salvation we pray that as the gospel has gone forth throughout the world today we pray that it would have gone conquering and to conquer to bring glory to you in the salvation of sinners and the growth of your church and grace and knowledge and we pray these things through christ our lord amen well please be seated for a brief time of meditation you