The Wise Man

Imagine living your entire life working for God and arriving at the gates of heaven to be turned away. We can’t imagine that could be possible but Jesus warned us of this very thing. In both Matthew and Luke those warnings are recorded.

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:22,23

“When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” Luke 13:25-27

How can this be? How could a person prophesy, cast out devils, do many wonderful works, eat and drink in His presence and invite God to teach in their streets and then be turned away? The answer lay in the last part of Matthew 7:22, “In thy name done many wonderful works”. If we are depending on our works to get us into Heaven the reality is we don’t even know Jesus.

There are two doors that call to us come and enter. Both promise us eternal life and both claim to be the way to God but there is only one door and only one way. Jesus said,

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:7-9 (KJV)

There is only one way in and that is through Jesus but what is He the door to, what are we enter in to? When we come to that holy place where Jesus stands and we knock what lay on the other side? Many have been deceived because they did not understand fullness of God’s plan. He is not the door to self sufficiency, wealth, or a wonderful plan for your life. Jesus is the way to God. When we enter we step across the threshold of grace and enter a room that can only be described by that same word. Grace! Amazing, marvelous, wonderful, glorious Grace!

The Grace of God is best defined as favor. In Christ we are moved from enmity to favor. No longer are we separated from God but we have found that place where “His grace is all complete”. The only way to pass through The Door is with a broken heart. The contrite and humble heart is welcome but the proud cannot even find the door. The proud heart cannot kneel and receive the free gift. It desires to find its own worth and strives to enter by birthright, knowledge, or works. The proud heart cannot find satisfaction in the free gift but will always look to self in a never ending struggle for identity. Blinded to the free gift and groping in the dark for answers the proud heart finds another door.

Next to The Door of Grace is another that beckons the souls of men. This door is much wider and there is no kneeling required. Above this door is a sign that says, “You Can Do It”. The words draw the heart longing for validation. Self esteem, self love, and self fulfillment are drawn to this door. Yes, Jesus died for my sins but now it’s up to me. If I can conquer my sins, make my life over, work hard enough, labor long enough then God will love me. We have earned the blessings of others all of our lives. We obeyed our parents and they smiled at us. We worked hard in school and earned good grades. We labored and disciplined ourselves as we climbed the corporate ladder. This door calls to us and everything we have ever known says it must be the way. It is not.

Disguising itself as the door to God, the works based life simply isn’t enough. When we stand before God and begin to tell of all the wonderful works that we did in His name we will hear those fateful words, “Depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you.” I have often wondered how could someone that had done all those things be wrong? How could God not know them? The answer is all about Grace.

Some believe that they are saved by Grace but then they must take over and clean up their lives, work for God, and show themselves worthy of His favor. This thinking is exactly what took you through the wrong door. You have not entered the room. You’re not even close. It is by faith that we enter into this Grace where in we stand. The elements of our salvation are well defined.

Jesus is the Door.
Faith, believing in Him, is the Key.
God’s Favor is the room we enter.

Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be born again. The New Life that we have entered is foreign to this world. We must continually wash our mind and soul with the Word of God because we are walking in the “strange land of God’s promises”. Living in God’s favor does not require you to anything but “be still and know that He is God.”

But what about our purpose, our mission, our work, shouldn’t we be doing something? Of course, we must be about our Father’s business. In that room of God’s grace we receive every good gift. Some of those gifts are the abilities and callings that we possess. Given to us by the Favor of God our work becomes a place of rest. There is no striving, no burnout, no discouragement because all that we are and do, every breath that we take, is a gift from God. We are abiding in His amazing grace. Consider what Paul writes to the Ephesians,

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10 (KJV)

Right after Jesus told His Disciples in Matthew that “Many will say unto me in that day...” and he tells them depart from me you WORKERS of iniquity, He gives them the parable of the wise man that built His house upon a rock. The wise man was able to stand every storm, every wave, every flood, but the foolish man lost it all. Building your life on your works will not end well. Building your life on the Grace of God can’t help but end well. Many expositors have likened the rock in this parable to Jesus. I understand the comparison but in the parable at Matthew 7:24 Jesus says, “The wise man is the one who hears what Jesus is saying and does it.” Now go back and read verses 21-23 again be wise.

The Wide Road

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Romans 1:21 (NIV)

Over the years I have met many people that surprised me with their stories.  You have probably known people just like them.  Those hate filled, foul mouthed, people that you were sure never attended church or heard the gospel message in their life and then when you sit down with them and get to know them you find out they use to be deacons or even pastors some had been raised in church or had very godly parents.  Perhaps they weren’t completely ungodly but they just never spoke of God, church, or the Bible.  In this passage to the Romans, Paul gives us some insight into these lives. 

These Scriptures are often quoted to show the depravity of those that don’t know Jesus, rebels who deny God and are lost in sin.  But this verse surprises us with the declaration that “..They knew God”.  These godless men who have been given over to their sinful desires, that deny the truth and even burn with ungodly desires, at one time knew God!  This is sobering!

Did they just wake up one morning and decide to walk away from the greatest love in the universe?  How could anyone taste of God’s goodness, be humble before His throne, be filled with His Spirit and then walk away.  Is that even possible? First let me remind you that Satan was once an angel.  Not just any angel but an archangel that was intimate with God.  Somewhere in the course of eternity past Lucifer began a journey that led him to the pits of hell.  How is that possible?  He has stood before the throne of God.  He has seen the glory of the Father.  He has heard the voice of many waters.  Created by the hand of God He has stood in the presence of God himself and even carried out His commands as a faithful servant.  What happened?

This week we will be examining the road that leads to depravity and death. It is a road filled with blind people that although they have eyes they cannot see.  It is a place filled with self and pride that although it is thronging with people is lonely and empty. It is a road easily found by those that wander in the dark and never walked by those that live in the light.  It is the wide road where men struggle against unbearable burdens and refuse to look outside of themselves.  It is a place of misery and death parading as self dependence and life where empty people with hollow eyes and souls are deaf to the voice of God.

It is the harvest field.