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Matthew

Matthew 
Day 
Day 102

All in Vain

Text: Matthew 7: 12 - 29

Can people be so sure that they are saved, only to find out at the end, that they are lost? This was indeed the very picture that Jesus painted for His disciples! Worse is the fact that Jesus used the word “many” in describing the number affected. How could this happen? Let us look at the text once again.

“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? ‘ ”
Matthew 7:22

Let us ponder deeply over how we may understand this text at a deeper level.

1. Note the focus on Self rather than the Saviour!

Yes, there was some kind of acknowledgment of the Lord. They did give the proper greeting to Jesus. They even acknowledged the power of His Name. But there is no mistaking the fact that these people seemed far more concerned about what they have done, than what Jesus had done for them! There was paying lip service to the Name of the Lord. The presence of self, pride etc cannot but be detected in the words spoken to the Lord – and on Judgment Day too!

2. Note the absence of mention of what the Lord has done!

The life of Jesus, His cruel death on the Cross, the sense of unworthiness to receive salvation… none of these things was mentioned at all! Let us consider how the apostle Paul saw himself in an epistle written to Timothy.

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who
has enabled me, because He counted me
faithful, putting me into the ministry,
although I was formerly a blasphemer, a
persecutor, and an insolent man; but I
obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly
in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was
exceedingly abundant, with faith and love
which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptance, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, of whom I am chief.”
1 Timothy 1:12-15

What a stark contrast we have in this testimony. Did not Paul perform wonders and signs? Did he not cast out demons? Did he not write prophetically? Yes, he performed all these things! Yet, when he spoke of his salvation, he was conscious only of the Lord’s grace, mercy and love! The testimony that Paul gave spoke volumes of the true salvation that he received from the Lord Jesus Christ!

THE SAD AND SOLEMN JUDGMENT OF THE LORD JESUS

Jesus cannot be deceived! He who knows all hearts, also knows those who are truly His! To the wolves in sheep’s clothing He made this solemn pronouncement.

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never
knew you; depart from Me, You who practice
lawlessness! ‘ ”
Matthew 7:23

The hearts of the hearers, those judged, must have become lead at these words!

1. “And then I will declare to them…”

This is now Jesus the Judge speaking. This is not Jesus who pleaded for the souls of men speaking anymore. The time of grace is over. The final judgment is pronounced. There is no higher court of appeal!

2. “Depart from Me…”

Banished from the presence of the Lord! This is in effect the words of Jesus when He said, “Depart from Me”. These who claimed that they knew the Lord and had performed wonders in His Name are banished from His presence forever!

3. “You who practice lawlessness…”

In a previous word, Jesus mentioned those who gave alms and those who prayed (cf. Matthew 6:1-5). He noted that some did these things not because of personal faith and piety, but because they wanted to gain the applause of men!

Those who claimed that they performed wonders in His Name, cast out demons etc… were they also doing those things because they wanted to impress people? As we ponder deeply over this matter, we can at least come to this conclusion, that these did not serve in the manner the Lord desired!

The judgment Jesus gave had even more cutting words! The deeds supposedly done in the name of Jesus were to be dismissed! They had not examined an even more important issue – that they had not dealt with the problem of “lawlessness”. They had not dealt with the basic problem of sin in their life! How could they have imagined that they were serving the Lord when they had not even dealt with the most important matter of all – the fact of sin and lawlessness in their lives!

4. “I never knew You…”

What is important now is our proclamation that we know the Lord, not the deeds done for Him. What is of critical importance is His affirmation that He knows us!

Many assumed that God knew them. The Jews certainly thought that since they were the children of Abraham, therefore God must know them and acknowledge them! How wrong they were! Each must acknowledge Jesus as Saviour personally! Do you?