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I do want to read beginning in 
verse 13 of Matthew 7. 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. 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, 
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, for He taught them as one having authority and not 
as the scribes. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, as we come to this sober passage of Holy Scripture, we 
pray for the ministry of Your Spirit. We pray that He would 
be at work in each and every one of our hearts. that You would 
just cause us to reflect upon these things. Cause us to think 
in terms of a judgment to come. Cause us to reflect on the fact 
that we will all stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. And God, 
may this indeed promote fear. May it promote comfort in Your 
people. May it promote encouragement. And God, may it promote holiness 
in each one of us. We ask now, Father, that You 
would be glorified in our assembling together. And we pray through 
Christ the Lord. Amen. Well, if we judge by the 
media, I think we can all agree that everybody has an interest, 
or at least most people have an interest in a good court case. 
I come from Southern California, and I remember when O.J. Simpson 
was on trial. There was a devotion to that 
trial that was almost religious in nature. I mean, people were 
watching. People were reading about it. People were following 
it every single step of the way. And I think there is in us that 
desire for justice, that desire for righteousness, that desire 
for God to right the wrongs that have happened in His world, whether 
it's just for a vain curiosity or whether we have a vested interest 
in things concerning justice. Will the judgment seat of Christ 
ought to be an issue or ought to be a topic that should concern 
the Christian and the non-Christian. When we consider verses 21 to 
23 and what the Bible says concerning that day, we learn that each 
and every one of us will stand before the Lord God Almighty. 
Each and every one of us will stand before Jesus Christ. And 
I think understanding that puts things into perspective. We can 
put a lot of effort and a lot of energy and a lot of time into 
those things, which in the big grand scheme really don't matter. And we often neglect those things 
which are most important. I have this idea that people 
who sell things think that their product is the most important. 
Somebody came to your house and told you, I want to sell you 
a fire alarm. Well, you would say, well, I 
really have no interest in that right now. What do you mean you 
don't have an interest in that? That's the most important thing. Don't 
you care about your family? Marketers use this. The most 
important thing about your vehicle is your tires or your brakes. You really ought to take a vested 
interest in those things. Next time somebody says that 
to you, say, what do you think about eternity? Where are you 
going to stand when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ? What 
answer will you give when the judge of all the earth asks you 
why you should enter into His holy heaven? That is really what's 
important. That is really what demands our 
attention. And I want to direct your attention 
to these verses, verses 21 to 23, under three considerations. First, the event. We need to 
locate the event that he is speaking of here biblically. Secondly, 
the plea. The plea is an official argument. 
The plea is when the plaintiff or the defendant comes in and 
registers what it is he wants to be remembered for or what 
he wants the court to consider. And then thirdly and finally, 
we'll look at the verdict this morning. and what the judge pronounces 
in terms of these particular people. Now, there are other 
passages that speak to this judgment. There are other issues involved. 
We are focusing our attention primarily on verses 21 to 23 
this morning. There are questions that no doubt 
you'll have that will not be answered here. I apologize at 
the outset, but I hope you get the gist of our Lord's words 
in Matthew 7, verses 21-23. Notice first the event. He says, Not everyone who says 
to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. This event 
concerns entrance into the kingdom of heaven. There's a sense obviously 
right now where we believe the Gospel, and we are born again 
by God's grace, we will see the Kingdom of Heaven. But the entrance 
to the Kingdom of Heaven here, I take it as a reference to the 
consummate glory, to that end of all things in terms of this 
world, in terms of this life, in terms of this phase of our 
existence. It is entering into the presence 
of God Most High forever and ever and ever. This is confirmed 
by what he says in verse 22. He says, many will say to me 
in that day. This is biblical shorthand for 
the judgment day that all men will stand before God on. That day is referenced in Acts 
17 and verse 31 where Paul tells a group of philosophers that 
God will judge all men by Jesus Christ on that day. It is spoken of in 2 Corinthians 
5. We must all stand before the 
judgment seat of Jesus Christ. That day is referred to in 2 
Thessalonians 1 and 2 Timothy 4. It is spoken of or referred 
to in Hebrews 9. It is appointed unto men once 
to die and then comes judgment. So, the event that the Lord is 
ending His sermon on is a consideration of eternity. It's a good thing. You all need to think about eternity. 
Some of you young people, for instance, never give a thought 
to what's going to happen when you die. That's wrong. That is 
incorrect. You are here for a span of time. 
In fact, as Moses, the man of God says in the Psalter, says 
we might appear for 70 or by way of strength for 80 years, 
but then we will fly away. Where will you fly away to? You 
need to consider this. Your life consists in more of 
where you're going to go to school or what job you're going to have. 
Whether you're going to get married and have children. Those are 
all legitimate and healthy concerns to be sure. But where will you 
spend eternity? Where will you dwell forever 
and ever? Are you going to be with God 
in blessed, beautiful existence? Are you going to be consigned 
to everlasting punishment? That's what this text calls us 
to consider. Notice the presiding judge here. 
He says, many will say to me in that day, to me, the Lord 
Jesus Christ. He is the one that has judgment. He is the one to whom we will 
answer. It isn't a lawyer. We don't hire 
somebody to stand in our stead. It's not a parent. It's not a 
loved one. It's not a friend. We don't tell 
them and they put in a good word for us. There is one mediator 
between God and men. It's the Lord Christ. On that 
day of judgment, He will function as the judge. You can read more 
about that in John 5, 22 to verse 30. God has given judgment unto 
His Son, Jesus Christ. He is presiding. You will answer 
Him alone. It's a thing we need to consider 
as well. I suspect most of you hear sermons 
every week. I suspect most of you hear some 
form of Bible throughout the week. And you give a little thought 
or attention to the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't factor in 
your decision making. He doesn't factor into your daily 
activity. He doesn't factor into how you 
roll. He doesn't factor one bit. But 
know this of a truth, that the eyes in your head will one day 
look upon Him to give an account for things done in the body, 
whether good or evil. It's 2 Corinthians 5. Every single 
one of us will stand before this judgment seat of King Jesus Christ. We won't be able to buy Him off. 
If we have a great big bank account, He won't say, well, I'm just 
going to look the other way on these few indiscretions. If we 
have done good things that sort of outweighed the bad, He's not 
going to grade on the curb. He will judge the world in righteousness, 
Paul says in Acts 17. And he has furnished proof of 
this by raising Jesus from the dead. You know, when Jesus came 
forth from the dead, a lot of things happened there. A lot 
of things were signified. But one thing you need to consider 
is that that empty tomb demands your judgment. Christ will render 
judgment. Notice, the statement of offense 
Before they come in and make their plea in verse 22, Jesus 
sets forth what they are being tried for. He says, 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. 
That's how He's judging. That's the standard by which 
He is looking at these people. And it would almost appear here 
that Jesus is saying it's how you perform. It's what you do. It's the works that you engage 
in. It's the manner in which you've lived. And some would 
take that and even pit it against Paul. Because Paul says that 
we're justified by faith alone. Here Jesus talks about doing 
the will of the Father. And Paul speaks of believing 
the Gospel in order to be saved. Some actually see some discrepancy 
here. In fact, many commentators sound 
popish when they come to this particular passage. They see 
a place for good works at the bar of judgment in terms of our 
right standing before God. Now, mind you, and listen carefully, 
that someone justified by faith alone will obey God. Not because He wants to be saved, 
but because He's saved by grace. Remember the progression. The 
Law comes to us. And the Law comes to function 
by provoking us and showing us our sin. And it shows us that 
we stand naked before a holy God. And then the Gospel comes 
and we believe and we're saved. And then what does Jesus do? 
He points us back to the Law as a pattern for our sanctification. But it's His blood, it's His 
righteousness, it's His doing and His dying that brings us 
into heaven. Those works simply evidence what 
He's done in our lives and in our hearts. And specifically 
here, what's going on, the contrast between verses 21 and 22 argues 
against the idea that Jesus is specifying a work salvation. We'll get back to that will of 
the Father in just a few moments. But notice, secondly, the plea. 
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?" You see what's happened 
here? What happens if we read verse 
21? Be honest, ok? Just be honest. That's what I 
want from you this morning. Be honest. Trying to think about 
things of eternity. Standing before the Lord Jesus 
Christ. I really don't care about a whole bunch of other stuff 
right now. This is the most important thing in your life. You must 
give heed to these things. Notice in verse 21, not everyone 
who says to me. What's the natural inclination 
of our hearts? Not everyone, but most people. Not everyone, 
but certainly me. What does Jesus do in verse 22? 
Many will say to me in that day. Do not delude yourselves that 
you will sneak by. Do not fool yourselves that you 
might go around another way. Do not deceive yourselves into 
thinking that there is an alternate path to eternal bliss. Christ 
moves from not everyone to define fuller, verse 22. Many will say 
to me in that day. Notice, they acknowledge His 
Lordship. There was a Lordship controversy, 
a Lordship debate several decades ago. People taught that you could 
have Jesus save you from your sins, but you didn't have to 
yield to Him as Lord. That's hogwash. You yield to 
a full Christ. You believe on a whole Savior. 
But notice in this text, confessing Jesus as Lord doesn't necessarily 
mean they're going to heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 
Lord, Lord. They acknowledge His Lordship. Notice that these are probably, 
if I can use the term, church leaders. These are the guys out 
front. These are the movers and the 
shakers. These are the leaders. This is leadership. Now, that's 
not to say that the guy who works 40, 50, 60 hours a week can't 
prophesy in the name of Jesus, cast out demons in the name of 
Jesus, and do many wonders in the name of Jesus. But those 
three activities take some time. Don't they? These are probably the leaders. 
The guys who to everybody else's appearance look like, they've 
got everything together. Notice what they say. They do these works in Jesus' 
name. They're not humanitarians. They're 
not good atheists that like to do nice things for people. They're 
not doing it in the name of Buddha. They're not doing it in the name 
of Muhammad. They're not doing it in the name of Shintoism. 
They're doing it in the name of Jesus. They prophesy in His 
name. They cast out demons in His name. 
And they work mighty wonders in His name. And notice that 
Jesus does not deny this fact. He doesn't say, out with you, 
you liars. That's not the case. That's not 
the issue. They really did do these things 
in His name. Notice they appeal to Jesus Christ. What's important in a court case? 
Your testimony and your witnesses, right? I've got 15 guys who will 
stand with me in court and tell you that I wasn't there at that 
time. You bring your witnesses. You 
might pay a professional witness. You get some leader in his field 
and you grace his palms so that he'll sit in the courtroom under 
oath and testify on your behalf. These guys appeal to Jesus. He's their expert witness, isn't 
it? Many will say to me in that day, 
Lord, Lord, have we not? They're appealing to the testimony. 
They're appealing to the witness Christ. Notice the nature of their argument. And this is what we really need 
to appreciate. What are they resting upon as 
the ground for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven? Their 
works. their performance, their doing. This is not a case of a genuine 
believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, who at the end of his days has 
done some good works, and our Lord says, well done, good and 
faithful servant. It's not the case of a Christian 
resting and receiving upon Christ alone for His pardon and for 
the imputation of righteousness, who by God's grace and sanctification 
obeys His law, does good things, loves God, loves his brother. 
These are men who are committed to the doing of their own hands. And I want to give you an encouragement 
today. If there's one piece of advice 
Pastor Butler can give you from the Free Grace Baptist Church, 
when you are eyeball to eyeball with the Lord Jesus Christ, do 
not plead your works. You will lose. Think about your 
work. in comparison with their works? 
Do you prophesy in His name? Have you ever cast out demons 
in His name? Have you ever done wondrous works 
in His name? I mean, by comparison, our works 
are pretty measly, pretty minor, pretty small. If these works 
don't avail with the Lord Jesus Christ, what makes us think that 
our works will avail with Jesus Christ? Christ is condemning 
these people. They're not called liars. They're 
not said to have never done these things, but their appeal is to 
what they did. In just a few moments, you're 
going to sing, while we change our clothes, number 421 by Augustus 
Toplady. Augustus Toplady wrote, Nothing 
in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. These guys 
say everything in my hand I bring. I want nothing to do with the 
cross. That's what's being condemned here. That's what's being anathematized 
here. One man says, far from teaching 
a message of works, Jesus warns us that anyone who comes before 
Him at the judgment and offers his works, his covenant faithfulness, 
or his life as a defense, will be sent to hell. You put your 
emphasis, you put your grounding, you put your hope and your soul 
and your eternal life upon what you've done or what you did, 
you will go to hell. That is the clear testimony from 
the beginning to the end of Holy Writ. This man goes on to say, 
far from teaching that our works are necessary for our salvation, 
Jesus here teaches that all our works contribute not one whit 
to our salvation. See, the Protestant Reformers 
were right. Our confession is right. Justification by faith 
alone. We are not popish. We are not 
papists. We are not of those who say that 
God begins it in us and we must make it up. We must complete. We must contribute. No. Many will say to me on that day, 
Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? Lord, did we not cast 
out demons in Your name? Lord, did we not do wondrous 
works in Your name? Now notice thirdly and finally, 
the verdict. The solemn pronouncement. Jesus 
says, and then I will declare to them, I never knew you. That's probably one of the most 
terrifying phrases in all of Scripture. You know, imagine 
young people or a child. Imagine if you did something 
really heinous and you had to tell your parents. They'd be grieved 
or upset or they might yell at you or they might scream at you, 
depending on their place of sanctification at that given time. Imagine having 
to call a mom or a dad from jail. I just got caught doing something. 
Can you come bail me out? I tell you, whatever your father 
or your mother has to say will pale in significance to these 
terrifying words that the judge of all the earth will declare 
on that day. And I will say. Notice Christ's commitment to 
God's law. If there was ever a judge who 
didn't need to listen to testimony, it was Christ. If ever there 
was a judge who could sort of bypass due process, It was Christ. Man says, notice the and then. Jesus pronounces judgment only 
after hearing the pleas. After hearing the pleas and defenses 
of the men on trial. If any judge had ever had the 
right to condemn a defendant without hearing his defense, 
this judge has. But he is so scrupulous about 
God's law. He loves it. The law is not the 
problem. It's our sin that's the problem. He said that he is so scrupulous 
about God's law, and his law became the model for due process 
in civilizations influenced by Christianity, that Jesus does 
not pronounce judgment until after the defendants have presented 
their defenses. We might be sitting on the sidelines 
saying, Jesus, why do you need to listen to them? They're wretched. 
They're sinners. They're evil. Because God has 
ordained that it's right to hear witnesses. God has ordained that 
on the basis of two or three witnesses, every fact is established. And Jesus operates within that 
law. And then notice what he says. 
Jesus says, I will declare to them, I never knew you. It's 
important that you get that. There's a brand of covenant theology 
out there that says we can enter into the new covenant and receive 
all the benefits thereof and be finally lost. That's not the 
new covenant of the Bible. The New Covenant of the Bible, 
those participants who come by God's grace alone, by His sovereign 
calling and election, by His predestinating plan, who in God's 
timing are convicted of their sins and look to Christ and live, 
those participants in the New Covenant are safe and secure. They have received the forgiveness 
of sins. They are brought into a relationship 
of the knowledge of the Lord. They are, for all intents and 
purposes, eternally secure. Christ is not saying, you were 
in the covenant and now you're out. Christ is not saying, you 
were a Christian and now you're not. Christ underscores this. He says, I never knew you. In 
all your going out and prophesying in My name. In all your going 
out and exercising in My name. Not exercising like calisthenics, 
but exercising demons. In all of your wonder-working 
in My name. This thing was never in place. 
You had never believed the gospel. You never entered in savingly. 
I never knew you. How many of you think that based 
on what you do, you're in? based on your position perhaps 
in a family or in a church, based on your performance of certain 
rites and rituals. Men are committed to vanity and 
futility. It's not just in Jesus' day. We can go out on these streets 
right now and ask somebody, why do you think you ought to enter 
into the Kingdom of Heaven? You know what kind of answers we get? 
Because I've never done anything really bad. God's loving. He'd never send anyone to hell. 
Nothing about believing the truth. Nothing about the gospel of Jesus 
Christ. Nothing about a bloodied, crucified 
and risen Savior who fulfilled God's law and was a surety of 
a better covenant. Nothing about that. And I suspect 
some of that mindset might be present here today. Why do you 
think you should enter into the Kingdom of Heaven? Because I've 
not done this, because I've not done this, because I've not done 
this. Or because I have done this, or I have done this, or 
I have done this. You need to learn from Top Lady. 
Nothing in My hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling. Better 
yet, you need to learn from Paul. Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. You must 
learn from the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice how He defines the will 
of the Father. John 6, verse 40. We go back 
now for just a moment. Not everyone who says to me, 
Lord, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but 
those who are doing the will of my Father. Jesus saying, go 
out and not steal, go out and not kill, go out and do this, 
go out and do that, and then you'll have enough merits to 
outdo your bad and you'll enter a place into heaven? Is that 
the will of God for you? If any gospel preacher ever tells 
you, here's the will of the Father for you, go out and do good. 
He's not a gospel preacher. He is not a gospel preacher. 
Sinai can tell you what you ought to do. Calvary tells you you 
couldn't do it. And Jesus did. John 6 and verse 
40. 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. There's that day. That 
last day. Everyone who sees the Son and 
believes in Him That's the will of the Father for you. The will 
of the Father for you this morning is not, try harder. The will 
of the Father is not, I'm okay, you're okay. The will of the 
Father isn't, He grades on a curve and He'll wink at your rich wretchedness. 
The will of the Father is, look to His Son who obeyed in the 
stead of sinners. Who died in the place of sinners 
and who rose again for sinners. The will of the Father is cast 
your belief in Him. He will save you from your sins. 
And then you'll approach His law. You'll approach those commandments 
and you'll say, oh, how I delight in the law of God in my inner 
man. This is the will of the Father 
for you. I don't care how old you are today. In fact, some 
of you little guys may not have heard anything I've said. It 
might have just went whoosh. I understand that. I get that. 
I know how things work. But listen to this. God is telling 
you through His Word that this is what He wants. This is what 
He calls you to do. It says that everyone who sees 
the sign and believes in Him may have everlasting life. You're 
not to look to what you do. You're not to look to how you 
perform. You're not to look to your obedience. You're to look 
to Jesus. That's the message. That's what 
Jesus is enforcing in Matthew chapter 7 verses 21 to 23. He's 
highlighting two ways of approach to the Lord God Most High. Faith 
or works. And then you go back for just 
a moment to verse 23. He mentions something very interesting. 
Verse 23, And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart 
from me, you who practice lawlessness. The practice of lawlessness. 
Yes, lawlessness is doing externally the things God commands without 
any faith in Jesus. That's lawlessness. You see the 
guy out there who's doing all these religious works? If he 
is banking on those for his acceptance with God, it's lawlessness. It's wretchedness. It's looking 
to something other than the cross. It's looking to something other 
than the Savior. Do you know what else? I think that these verses go 
with what preceded. I don't think there's a strict 
cutoff between the warning concerning false prophets and this statement 
here. I actually think that this is 
an illustration of the fruit of the false prophets. Look at 
the text for just a moment. Not everyone who says to me, 
verse 21, 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? 
Who does that? Prophets. He's just warned them 
about false prophets. Notice in verse 20, Therefore, 
by their fruits you will know them. Now here's where we do 
err sometimes. When I say fruit, you think of 
behavior. You think of conduct. Fruit is 
also doctrine. In a passage condemning false 
prophets, fruit is bad doctrine. Beware the leaven of the Pharisees 
and Sadducees, Jesus would tell His disciples. What is the fruit 
that Jesus is here condemning? Anybody who will come to you 
and tell you, you can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven based on 
your performance. on your practice, based on your 
works. You answer. by grace alone, through 
faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. That's the point of the 
passage. So lawlessness here means, yes, 
doing those external works of God without any faith in the 
Lord Jesus. But lawlessness is also when 
men desiring to be teachers of the law use that law unlawfully. They start telling men. that 
in order to enter into the kingdom, they must, they must, they must. No, you need to look and live 
by God's grace alone. A few thoughts in conclusion. The first, if you haven't got 
it yet, the inevitability of judgment. It's easy to forget 
that, isn't it? It's easy to forget every morning 
when you get up, man, I'm going to be judged someday. We just 
don't think that way. Probably none of us wake up in 
the morning and say, my house is going to burn down today. 
I'm going to get run over by a truck today. I'm going to ingest 
poison today. All manner of bad things are 
coming. We don't think that way. It just isn't how we function. Why does Jesus end the Sermon 
on the Mount on this note? Because He wants these people, 
when they walk away, to be thinking, I'm going to see Him again. I'm 
going to stand before Him again. I'm going to render account for 
what I've done to Him again. Please keep that in mind. As 
sure as you sit here this morning, as sure as your mind is wandering, 
as sure as you may be bored, as sure as you may be hungry, 
as sure as you may want to go home, as sure as that, perhaps 
much surer, you will stand before this Jesus. Secondly, The reality of self-deception. If you would have asked these 
men, how do you think it's going to go for you on that day of 
judgment? What do you think they would have said? Hey, I've prophesied 
in His name. I've cast out demons in His name. 
And I've done mighty works in His name. I'm as good as flame. 
I'm in. Set. Dialed in. Don't have to 
worry. That area is taken care of. They 
were self-deceived. Right? Paul says that to the 
Corinthians. Do not be deceived. In fact, 
1 Corinthians 6, you can look there, verses 9 to 11. Do you 
not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom 
of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, 
nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor 
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will 
enter the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But 
you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified 
in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 
Self-deception is a reality. You can think you're set with 
God. They ask you, what are you looking 
to? What are you trusting in? And 
you say with another hymn writer, Edward Mode, who said, My hope 
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. He says, I dare not trust the 
sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. I love that line. 
Because we're often tossed to and fro by our sweetness of frame 
or our lack thereof. When we have a sweet frame, we 
think all is well between us and heaven. When we have a sour 
frame, we start to get worried. Our entrance into the Kingdom 
of God is not ultimately dependent upon our frame. It's dependent 
upon the doing and the dying and the rising of Jesus Christ 
the Lord. What are you looking to? Thirdly, this text condemns self-righteousness. Self-righteousness. You have 
nothing to offer God. You're a sinner. The best you've 
ever done is tainted with sin. I don't think it's an accident 
when Isaiah the prophet is bemoaning the sin of Israel, he says all 
of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags before God. He doesn't 
say our abominations. He doesn't say our murder, our 
lies, our deception. He doesn't say our thievery. 
He doesn't say our adultery. He doesn't say our homosexuality. 
He says all our righteousnesses, our performance of duty, our 
religious observance, our conformity external to the law of God. All 
those things are like a menstrual cloth in the sight of God. That's 
the language the prophet uses. I know it's offensive. I know 
it calls up images that we'd rather not think about. Sin is 
something offensive to God. And it just doesn't go away by 
your wishing, hoping, or outperforming it. It goes away one place only, 
in the doing, the dying, and the rising of Jesus. Remember 
Romans 4.25, He was delivered up because of our offenses, and 
He was raised because of our justification. The Son of God 
went to the cross because our sin is that bad. It is such an 
offense to God. And if you think for a moment 
that you're the one exception, that you're not as bad as the 
rest of us, that you can shimmy your way past this judge of all 
the earth, you are self-deceived and must repent. Look to Christ. Look to Jesus. He alone cleanses 
from sin. The top lady goes on to say, 
naked come to Thee for dress. Helpless look to Thee for grace. 
Foul I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Savior. or I die. And look at verse 23. This is 
what we'll end on. I know we don't think about this. 
Depart from Me. That's the essence of hell right 
there. What's hell going to be like? Will there be flames? Will 
there be punishment? Will there be torture? Yes, the 
Bible says all those things. And it's a casting away from 
God. Think with me for just a moment 
right now. If you're here and you don't know Jesus Christ as 
Lord and Savior, you get a lot of good stuff from God. You get 
a lot of good stuff from God, don't you? Think of this day. Isn't it beautiful? The sunshine. 
You had a drink of water this morning. Maybe you had coffee. 
You had a bagel. I don't know how good that is 
in the grand scheme of things, but we get good things from God. The most wretched, the most wicked, 
the most evil man occupying earth today still gets to smile sometime 
in his life. May get to touch somebody in 
a less than offensive way. May get the grip of a hand. May 
get the encouraging word. Every one of us here gets many, 
many good things. But on that day, that depart 
from me, that means that all good ends. Every blessing ceases. Everything you've enjoyed and 
taken advantage of for your entire life will stop. The essence of 
hell, brethren, the positive infliction of God's punishment 
is a reality and it's not to be dismissed, but as well it's 
the withdrawal of all that is good in God. Oh, He's in hell. He is the one who sustains it. 
He is the one who has created it. Again, we don't like to think 
about this, but God is the active agent in the punishment of the 
wicked throughout eternity. So it's not as if you'll be away 
from Him completely, you'll only experience His wrath. You'll 
only experience His fury. You'll only experience His anger. But one way to avoid that come 
to Jesus Christ, who on the cross took that wrath, who on the cross 
cried out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It was as if the Father had said 
to the Son, depart from me. And the Son says, why hast thou 
forsaken me? You cannot enter into the Kingdom 
of Heaven based on your doing. You must believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the sober warning 
that we find in Matthew 7, 21-23. We thank You for the wonderful 
grace that we see displayed throughout the life and the ministry of 
our Lord Jesus. We thank You for the explanation 
throughout the Scriptures of Your way of justifying sinners. And our Father, we pray that 
today as Your Gospel is preached, that as men are called upon to 
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you would send forth your spirit, 
you would bring conviction for sin, and you would bring that 
grace that men need to believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 
We thank you for this time to meet together We thank you for 
the occasion that brings us here. We thank you for your work of 
mercy displayed in the lives of Ray and Andrea. We just commit 
them to you and to the word of your grace and pray that they 
would be of benefit to this local body and we to them as well. 
We ask these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.