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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 the 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 in pieces. Ask, and 
it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, 
and it will be opened 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 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 
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 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 
seven, which is connected to chapters five and six, 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 two 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 rendered. 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 come. That is a reality, and that's 
the event that our Lord Jesus is speaking to. So the two verbs, 
future tense, 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, 2 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 1 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 wide 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 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, six, seek the Lord while 
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 deals 
with them 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 one to four, it's the selection of the 12 apostles. 
And if you look specifically at verse four, Simon the Canaanite 
and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. And then in verse 
five, 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 is 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 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 hymn concerning our attachment to Christ. It says, nothing in 
my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. 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 through 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. 
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 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 1 Timothy 
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 going to, 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 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, I'm sorry, Matthew, where was it? 
21, sorry, 2110. No, not 2110, 21 somewhere, I'll 
find it. 2128, but what do you think? A man had two sons, 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 and said likewise, and 
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 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 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 R.C. Sproul. Everybody here probably 
has heard of R.C. Sproul. He was a fantastic teacher 
of scripture. a wonderful theologian. He took 
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 a major influence in his life. Listen to 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, 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 a heathen or a harlot walks in, 
we're all gonna look and say, wow, that lawless one has entered 
in the house of God. But 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 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, uh, 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 to 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 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 works. 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, unacquainted 
with grief. We esteem him stricken, smitten, 
and afflicted by God. Verse 11, it pleased Yahweh to 
bruise him, to crush him. This was all the initiation by 
the initiative of God Most High. So why all that if we can work 
our way into heaven? 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 
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 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 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 that 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 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? Is it just a few 
sins? 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 them. 
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 for 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 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. 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 one, 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 
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's 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 640, 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 wholly 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 heart, 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 cling. 
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 
to hide behind the Savior King, to hide behind the one that lived, 
that died, and rose again. I mentioned that Sinclair, I 
think it was Sinclair, no, it was Alistair Begg 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. Alistair Begg says, you 
know, when you talk to that man in heaven and you said, you know, 
can you describe for me justification by faith alone? Well, no, I didn't 
take that catechism class. Can you sort of work out what 
eschatology looks like? Well, eschatology, what? I don't 
know what you're talking about there. Can you tell me the relationship 
between the old and the new covenant? Well, no, 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 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 he no 
longer knew them. These were never true believers 
to begin with. 1 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 condemns 
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, 
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, an 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 to 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 
identify 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 interpreted. 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. What do 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 
don't do several good things? Guess where your assurance is 
gonna be? It's gonna be in the gutter. Guess where your assurance 
should come from? Anybody want to venture a guess? 
It's Christ and his gospel. It's the Lord Jesus. Samuel Petto 
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. Yea, and consolation also coming 
in as 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. Seek, 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, will 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 in the stead 
of sinners, and Christ now sits enthroned 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, 
and God may it 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.