My subject today is four terrible
words from Christ. Four terrible words from Christ. And they're found in verse twenty-three. I never knew you. I never knew you. Well, our Lord started out there
in verse 21. He says this, Not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven. But he that doeth the will of
my Father which is in heaven. 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, in thy name done many wonderful works?
Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from
me, ye that work iniquity." Our Lord Jesus here gives us a picture
of how some will appear on that day. Have we not, many will say
to me, in that day, that day, we're all going to go to that
day. that day. He's telling us how lots and
lots and lots of people are going to appear before Him in that
day. And one of the best tests of
everything that we ought to view in this world and handle in this
world is what will it appear in that day? How will it appear
in that day? How will our wealth appear in
that day? How will our property appear in that day? What will
our possessions appear in that day? What about all the honors
that we get in this world, how will they appear in that day?
What about the things that we find pleasurable, and our pleasures,
how will they appear in that day? Our successes, how will
they appear in that day? And oh, may God put it in our
hearts to set all, all that we are, all that we think, all that
we do, all that we possess, in light of that day. Because that
day is going to be the day when God judges the secrets of men's
hearts by the gospel. That means you keep Matthew 7.
Look over with me to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1. I love this verse of Scripture
here. The Apostle utters a prayer here, and he utters a prayer
for a particular person. In 2 Timothy 1.16, the Lord give
mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus, for he offers fresh and was not
ashamed of my change. But when he was in Rome, he sought
me out very diligently and found me." Now listen, "...the Lord
grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day." Oh my! Find mercy of the Lord
in that day. In that day. Paul knew that that
day was coming. We're all going to go to that
day. And may God put it in our hearts to set all in light of
that day. All of our religious professions,
all of our religious experiences, all of our religious thoughts,
all of our religious opinions, set them in light of that day
and see if they'll stand the test right now. Because if they
won't stand the test now, they certainly won't do it there. And all of our religious duties
should be put to this test. How will they appear in that
day? All the religious duties that we have and perform in this
world, how will they appear in that day? That day is going to reveal all.
It's going to reveal all about me, all about you. Now, our Lord here reveals to
us and shows us some very, very religious people. Very, very
religious people. And there's lots of religious
people in this world, and they want you to know how religious
they are. They put bumper stickers on, Hulk if you love Jesus. Put
crosses around their neck. Fish on their cars. Clergy, if
they're clergies, crosses all over them. All of those things. There are
some very religious people, and our Lord Jesus here talks about
some religious people, and He says He disowns them in that
day. Depart from Me. I never knew
you. Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. He disowns them
in that day. It'd be an awful time to be disowned,
wouldn't it? That'd be a horrible time to
be disowned. To stand before the Lord. And
the Lord said, I never knew you. I never knew you. And the people
our Lord is speaking about here, they were not open sinners. They
were not liars and cheats and adulterers and murderers. They
weren't unpatriotic. They weren't gross sinners. What
we'd call gross sinners. To the outward lie, they were
very, very good people. Very good people. I mean, they
was working for the Lord. They was busy for Jesus. I mean,
they was doing some things for Jesus. I'm telling you they were.
Very religious. And they were dedicated to their
profession. Dedicated to it. They said, Lord,
look at all the things we've done. I mean, they worked at
it. that, oh my, it wasn't how everybody
else viewed them that counted. It was how Christ had viewed
them that made the difference. Everybody else looked at them
and says, boy, them folks, if anybody's going to heaven, they
are. Look what they're doing for the Lord. But our Lord, when
He saw them, He said, depart from me. I never knew you. I
never knew you. But four terrible words to come
from the mouth of Christ. And let me give you a few things
about these folks here. First of all, they went a long,
long way in religion. They went a long, long way in
religion. They made an open profession.
It says here in verse 23, they said, Lord, Lord. They made an
open profession. They said, Lord, Lord. They made
much of Christ as Lord. They've been paid for billboards
to be put up. When you come into town, it says,
Jesus is Lord over Causton. Jesus is Lord over Morgantown,
West Virginia. Jesus is Lord over Jamestown. They put up all these signs to
let everybody know that Jesus is Lord. Put things up and say,
well, prepare to meet thy God. Where will you spend eternity?
I mean, they're dead serious about their religion. I mean,
they spend money on it, and they want everybody to know that Jesus
is Lord. Oh, these fellas wasn't ordinary
professors either. Look what it says there in verse
23, Have we not prophesied? That word prophesied means we've
preached. We've done some preaching. We've
really done some preaching. But I tell you something, if
preaching would save a man, Judas would have been saved. Demas
would have been saved. If preaching is not all it takes
to save a man, there won't be a preacher in hell. But they
prophesied. They preached. And not only that,
but they said, we've cast out death. They worked miracles.
They said, we've done many wonderful works. Many wonderful works. Worked miracles. And they served
the Lord. They rolled up their sleeves,
fit on their hands, and they went to work. I told Brother Tommy last week,
I said, you know these fellas going around and being able to
heal all these people? Fill up these big, huge stadiums
and stand and people just flip their hands like that and folks
just fall out and they throw their crutches away and get out
of their wheelchairs and all that. I said, if one of those
fellas was real, real, They'd be in hospitals getting folks
out of hospitals. They wouldn't be doing it out
in public. Hell is not half full. And the
other half is going to be them kind of fellas. They're serving
the Lord. They rolled up their sleeves.
And oh, listen, I'll tell you not only that, but they have
some success. They have some success. Look
what it says here. And we cast out devils. Devils own their power. Devils,
evidently, all of their power says, we've cast out devils.
And oh my, they had practical energy. I mean, beloved, they
put their religion in practice. They were active in many ways.
They said, oh Lord, we've cast out devils, we've done some preaching,
and we've done many, many, many, many wonderful works. They said,
we've done not just one or two, we've done a lot of them. Said,
many of them. I mean, they were so hard to
track, beloved, that they'd done many things for the Lord. They'd buttonhole people at the
gas stations, buttonhole them in the hotels. I mean, wherever they'd get somebody
hemmed up, they had to tell them about Jesus and try to get them
to accept Jesus. I mean, they'd done many wonderful
things. They were diligent. They were orthodox. And listen
to what it says. They done everything in the name
of the Lord. Look what it says there. In verse
3. Excuse me, verse 22. They said
the Lord's name twice. And they said in thy name, and
in thy name, and in thy name three times. In thy name three times. This was the name. This is the
magical name. This is the name that's just
almost like open sesame. This is the name that everybody
wants to listen to. This is the name that peoples
make their personal savior. This is the name that peoples
open their hearts to let Him in. This is the name that folks
has come to the front to let Him enter their heart. This is
the name that folks has bowed down to and said, Oh Jesus, Jesus,
Jesus, please let me, let me do something for you. Oh, listen here, not only do
they go a long, long way in religion, but they kept it up for a long
time. Look what it says. And they, in that day, in that
day, oh, nobody found out that they were false. Nobody found
out they were false. They didn't even find out until
they met the Master. No one found their inconsistency. I read something this morning
that sure blessed my heart, and it's like this. Our Lord said
in John 10, verse 5, He said, A stranger they will not find. The Lord Himself, and this is
the frightening thing to me. This is a frightening thing to
me. The Lord Himself didn't openly disown these people during their
life. He let them go on. That is scary
to me. He let them go on their whole
life and never exposed them to themselves or anybody else. Now
that's scary. That frightens. That's frightening
thought, ain't it? That's scary thought. I don't know if it would frighten
you. But to go through this whole
life and then not find out you're not one of His until you face
Him in that day. And I'll tell you what, whenever
they faced devils, they weren't made a laughing stock. No, no,
they used the Lord's name, and they had some results. It says
there the devils were cast out. There was a people, look over
in Acts 19, there was a people that were ridiculed when they
tried to cast out devils. The devils themselves were ridiculed
in Acts 19, 13. But they weren't made a laughing
stock. No, folks didn't ridicule them, the devils didn't ridicule
them, no. No, they weren't made a laughing
stock. But it said here in Acts chapter 19 verse 13, these fellows
have made a laughing stock out of it. Then certain of the vagabond
Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil
spirits the name of the Lord Jesus. See that? They're using
the name of the Lord Jesus. Saying, We adjure you by Jesus
whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of
one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which gives hope.
And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul
I know, but who are you? And the man in whom the evil
spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed
against them, so that they fled out of that house aching and
wounded." I'm telling you, one man with seven people. Oh my. And this was known to
all the Jews and Greeks dwelling at Ephesus, and fear fell on
them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified." These folks wasn't that way.
No, they wasn't beaten, they wasn't ridiculed, they wasn't
made a laughing stock yet. And not only that, but over here
back in Matthew, they expected the Kingdom of Heaven. Our Lord
said in verse 21, Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. They said, We're going
to get in the kingdom of heaven. I mean, we're just waiting to
walk on those streets of gold. We're just waiting to walk on
them streets of gold. And oh, beloved, listen, they
clung to that false hope right to the very end. Oh my, the gates
of hell are going to swing open wide and we're going to walk
in there and when we get there the Lord is just going to brag
on us and we're going to get our reward. We're going to get,
I don't know how many, I don't know how many times I've heard
preachers talking about rewards and how about you're going to
get this reward and that reward, you want another reward, you
get so many crowns, and you know that like Christ is not enough.
That Lord Jesus said He'd come with His reward with Him, and
His reward with Him is life, and righteousness, and justification,
and forgiveness, and pardon, and to be accepted of God. That's the reward. And when you
find people that do get to go to glory, the only thing they're
interested in is seeing the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the only reason. He's
as straight as the gate and as the way that leads to where?
Life. Where's life? It's in Christ.
And oh, they say, oh, we're going in. I tell you what, we're going
to walk them streets of gold and I tell you, I'm going to
have my mansion right next door to Jesus because I've done so
many things. And oh, and they dared, and listen
to this, they dared to say to the Lord Jesus Christ himself
in that day. Ain't that what he says? Many
will say unto me, will say to me. Look him in the eye and say
to me. And Steph said to him, instead
of, I, Lord Jesus, like you told the thief on the cross, today
thou shalt be with me. He spoke to him and said, today
you'll be with me. Here these folks said to him,
look what we've done. But, oh, beloved, you're talking
about a fatal mistake. A fatal mistake. Their lives,
their lives betrayed their tongues. Their lives betrayed. Our Lord
starts talking here about trees. Trees. And He says, you know,
that's impossible for a good tree to bring forth corrupt fruit.
If you've got a good tree, you're going to get good fruit. If you've
got an old, sorry, corrupt tree, you ain't going to get no good
fruit off of that. Ain't that what He says? But their lives
betrayed their tongues. They said, Lord, Lord. Ain't
that what He said? Look what He said there in verse John chapter 6. I'll try to show
you what God's will is. What is the Father's will? Oh, they wasn't interested in
the will of the Father. They was interested in their
name. They was interested in their
profession. They was interested in their works. They was interested
in casting out devils. They was interested in miracles.
They was interested in an awful lot of things. But they wasn't
interested in the will of God. They didn't say, Our Father which
art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. Work your will in me. Cause me
to bow to your will. Make me to do your will. Enable
me to see what your will, and by your grace I will do your
will. They never said that. They wasn't
interested in the will of God. They was interested in their
will. And look what it says here in John 6, 37. This is the Father's will. All
that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast him out. Now he's casting these folks
out. Depart from me. Hear this and hear said, here's
some people he's not going to cast out. But David sinned and
committed an adultery and murder. I'll not cast him out. When he
got ready to leave this world, you know what he said? It may
not be this way with my house, but God has made with me an everlasting
covenant order and all things, and sure, this is all my salvation. Huh? And oh, and he comes on
down there and said, For I came down from heaven, not to do mine
will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's
will, which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me
I should lose nothing. But should raise it up again
at the last day, and listen to it, and this is the will of Him
that sent me that everyone which sent the Son, and it's God's
will. Now listen, it's not our sight
that caused us to see the Son. It's the will of God that caused
us to see the Son. And this is the will of Him that sent me,
that everyone which sent the Son, and believeth on Him, have
everlasting life, and I'll raise Him up at that time. Look back over in Matthew with
me right quick. Matthew 12. Matthew 12, 46. Oh,
watch the Father's will. The Father's will is, you know,
and when our Lord Jesus prayed, He says, Father, I will, I will
that they whom Thy has given me be with me where I am, that
they may behold my glory. And oh my, here in Matthew 12,
46, this is what it says, while He hath talked to the people,
Behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak
with him. Then one said unto him, Behold,
thy mother and thy brethren stand without, they desire to speak
with you." They want to talk to you. They want you to come
out. They want to have a conversation with you. That's his mama now.
This is the one that the Catholics and so many people revere and
make statues to and kiss her feet. This is the one they pray
to. His mama, if she had any special
power, Christ would have went out and talked to her. But look
what it says. He answered and said unto them
that told him, Who is my mother? Who are my brethren? He stretched
forth his hand toward his disciples. Oh, it's just the crowds, you
know, gathered up like we are here. And He stretched forth
His hands toward His disciples. Behold, my mother! Behold, my
brethren! For whosoever shall do the will
of my Father, which is in heaven, the same is my mother and my
brother. Huh? Oh, my. They never said, oh, they never
prayed, Lord, may Your will be done on this earth. If it's your
will for us to have a vestment, we'll have a vestment. If it's
your will for me to be in jail, I'll be in jail. If it's your
will for me to have cancer and die, I'll take your will. If
it's your will, Lord Jesus, to let me be sick. If it's your
will that you never save my children, help me to bow to your will.
Whatever your will is, Whether it's in the dust, whether it's
on the throne, whether I'm contented, whether I'm poor, whether I'm
rich, whether I'm sick, whether I'm well, in life, in death,
O God, Your will be done! These folks wasn't interested
in that. No, they was interested in it. That's why our Lord asked
this question. How in the world can you believe
which receive honor one of a kind, and seeketh not to honor? How
can you do it? And let me tell you something,
beloved, back over here in our text. They used the name that
His disciples used. They used the name of the Lord
Jesus. They just said, Lord, Lord, and
in Thy name, in Thy name, in Thy name. They used the name
His disciples used, but they did not possess the nature of
His people. They used the name, but they
didn't have the nature. Oh, they not only didn't seek
His will, Like his people do, but his people even love his
will. They prophesied. They done a lot of preaching.
But it never said a thing here about praise. They never sought
the Lord. They sought their own aggrandizement. They cast out devils, but the
devils were never cast out of them. And they were really interested
in marvels and miracles. Ain't that what they said? Oh,
we've cast out devils. And we've done many, many. Oh, we've done so many we've
lost count of them. Wonderful works. You know what
David said over in Psalm 40? He said, Lord, if I were to reckon
thy wonderful works toward me, I cannot reckon them up in order,
and I don't know where in the world I'd start. They're talking
about the works they've done for Him, the wonderful works.
David talks about the wonderful works God's done for him. They
were interested in marvels and miracles, but they weren't interested
in the essentials. You know, that's what our Lord
told the scribes and the Pharisees. He says, You paid tithe of mint,
anise, and cumin. And you leave off the weightier
matters, judgment and mercy and truth. And these folks were interested
in miracles and works, but they weren't interested in repentance.
They weren't interested in repentance. They weren't interested in a
change of mind. Their minds were never changed.
Their wills were never changed. They weren't interested in faith.
They never talked about faith being the gift of God, faith
that unites you to Christ, faith that makes you call on God, faith
that makes you bow to Christ, faith that makes you believe
His Word, faith that makes you bow to His promises and rejoice
in His promises, faith that makes you trust in His faithfulness,
not yours. And they never talked about a
new birth. They never talked about a new heart. They never
talked about a new spirit. They never talked about God giving
them a new mind. They never talked about the time
of love when I was cast out and I was polluted in my blood. And
God said it's the time of love when he passed by. And he spread
his skirt over them. They never talked about my comeliness. It's made perfect through thy
comeliness. They were calling on devils,
but you don't hear them calling on Christ until that day. They
never called on Christ until that day. They never called on Him and
told Him anything until that day. And that was too late. They worked wonders. But you
know what our Lord called them here? Verse 23. They worked wonders. But our Lord says they were workers
of iniquity. How could you work iniquity out
here doing something for Jesus? People are doing it all day,
every day. Oh, they're doing iniquity and lawlessness. Rebelling. Interested in everything but
God's Word, God's will, God's ways, His Scriptures, His people. And oh, beloved, listen now.
They found just out just how wrong they were in the most awful
way that could be imagined. They found it out from the very
one they called Lord. They found it out from the very
one that they used His name. They found it out, the very one.
I can see them, soul winners, standing before the Lord. And
all them myriads of souls, myriads of souls. There was a fellow up in Chicago,
outside of Chicago, old Jack House. I'll tell you, I don't
know if he's still living or not. But he had, he bussed them
in. He had buses, and they'd go out
and bring them in by the thousands. And they baptized them in. They
had a great big stick, and they'd just walk them out there. Just as sure as God's on His
throne, that's a work of iniquity. It's a work of iniquity. Listen
to me. I'm telling you the truth now. It's a work of iniquity
to stand and tell men that God has no power unless you give
it to Him. It's a work of iniquity. to tell
people that they can be saved by their free will and not by
the will of God. It's a work of iniquity to tell
people that you need to open your heart and let Jesus in.
That's a work of iniquity. It's a work of iniquity to tell
men that they can be accepted of God and will get rewards for
the things that they do in this life, and that when they get
there, That God will have to reward them for the things they've
done and never talk about Christ, what He done for them. That's
a work of iniquity. It's a work of iniquity to ever
bring Christ down to where men are. As old Barnard used to say,
you want Him for a dollar? Oh, is a dollar too much for you?
Don't cost you too much? Don't cost you too much? Don't
cost you yourself? You certainly don't want to deny
yourself, do you? You don't want to deny your own
righteousness. You don't want to deny your self-confidence.
You don't want to deny your power. You don't want to deny your rights.
I tell you what, you don't have to do that. You can have Him
for a dollar. All you got to do is come up
here. Just come up here. Oh, you don't want Him for that
way? I tell you what, I'll let you have 50 cents. Just raise
your hand. Just raise your hand. We'll make him that gene. Just
raise your hand. I see that hand. Oh, bless your
heart. Just imagine what our Lord thinks
of that. When He says, they that are lukewarm,
He said, I'll spew them out of my mouth. He said, I wish it's
hot or that you were cold. But this idea This idea, and
I'll tell you why, we get cold. There's nothing wrong with being
cold. Our Lord didn't say that, you know, we're cold. We get
cold sometimes. Just like we have seasons in
our spiritual life, like there's seasons in life itself. We have
times when we're cold. We have times when it's hot,
and like the dog days, we're just sluggish and slothful. And
then we have times, beloved, in the spring, like spring, you
know, we're just full of life and sap, and just full of them
and vigor, and we're like, sometimes in the fall, we're just so relaxed
and so enjoying the goodness of God and the grace of God in
these beautiful days. We have all those things going
on. But our Lord didn't think He'd cast us out for that. And
sometimes we're that hot, oh, we're running so hot. But it's
those ones in between that's just lukewarm. That's the beauty
out of my mouth. And oh, they found out the awful
way and the awful solemnity of what our Lord Jesus said here.
And listen, I, I, the Lord of glory, I, The eternal God, I,
who shed my blood, I, who was on a cross, I, who bore iniquity
and bore sin in my own body on the tree, I, who bore the judgment
of God, I, who bore the wrath of God, I, who was a sacrifice
for sin, I never knew you. And oh, he had been left out
of the religion. And oh, and listen to the terror
of what it meant when he says this in verse 23, Then I will
profess unto them, I never knew you. Then he says, Depart. Depart? Depart from who? From me. Depart from me. This is departing from all hope. All hope. And the awful truth of what he
said, and this is what's so awful, they were utter strangers to
him. Utter strangers to him. Why were they utter strangers
to him? Because he had not chosen them. He had not elected them.
They were not his elect. They were not those that he chose
from all eternity. He was not those that were chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world. He never communed
with them. He never came and had fellowship
with them. He never came and made himself
known to them. He never approved them, or cared
for them, or loved them. The solemnness of what He said.
Their state was fixed for eternity. Depart from Me, ye workers of
iniquity. His sentence would never be recalled,
never be altered, and never be ended. It stands for all eternity. But bless his holy name. There
are some he does know. You want to see John 10? I know
my sheep, and I know mine. Let me show you something over
in 2 Timothy 2.9. I want to show you a couple of things and I'll
quit. 2 Timothy 2.19. Oh, there are
some he does know. You know, I just read to you
there that those that's given to him by the Father, he'll never
cast them out. Never cast them out. And oh,
look here in 2 Timothy 2.19. He talks about some who concern
of the truth have heard already, saying that the resurrections
have passed and overthrown the faith of some. Some people's
faith is overthrown, but nevertheless, The foundation of God, do you
notice that? God's foundation. The foundation
of God, standing sure, having been sealed. The Lord knoweth him that he
is. Look at Hebrews 2.11 right quick. You know what? He calls them
this. He calls them My sheep. He calls them vessels of mercy.
He calls them His elect. He calls them those He foreknew.
That means He foreloved. He says, oh, He loved them from
all eternity. And oh, look what it says here
in Hebrews 2.11. For both He that sanctifies and
they who are sanctified are all abhorred. That means that Christ
sanctified us and they're all sanctified together. They're
both one. Us and Christ are one. Now watch
this. For which cause he is not ashamed
to call them brothers. If I don't have to know you, these
are my brothers. These are mine. And let me show
you one more. Romans 10. Romans 10, verse 11. Oh my, chosen, accepted in the
beloved, complete in Christ. And how can we tell the difference?
How can we tell the difference? How can we have assurance that
we won't hear those four terrible words from the Lord Jesus to
us? How can we tell? I'm going to
tell you the quickest and easiest way in the world to tell. We
never ever talk about what we've done for Him. Has anybody here ever talked
about what they've done for the Lord? All we ever talk about
is what He's done for us. That's the difference. All we're
ever interested in is Him and what He's done for us. And that's what I'm interested
in. That's what we sing about. He did it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain.
He washed it. He washed it. He saved us. He saved us. He has made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. And all of what is
said here in Romans 10 and 11, for the Scripture saith, out
of Isaiah 28, The Scripture said, Whosoever believeth on him shall
not be ashamed. And you know what that means?
That means that in the judgment we won't be brought to shame. We won't be shamed like these
people are. When we stand before God,
and we'll stand before Him at this minute, all we've got to plead, all we've
got to talk about, It's what You did for us, Lord.
It was You that bore our sins, or we'd have to bear them ourselves.
It was You who bore our judgment, or we'd have to bear it ourselves.
It was You that saved us, or we'd have never been saved. It's
You that gave us eyes, or we'd have never seen You. It's You
that gave us ears, or we'd have never heard You. It's You that
called us to Yourself, or we'd have never come. We was dead. You gave us life. We was lost. You found us. We had hearts of
stone. You put in hearts of flesh. Our
understandings were dark. You enlightened them. We were rebels, and You made
us sons. Bless this holy man. Not unto
us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name be glory, both
now and forever. Amen? Our Father, O gracious, gracious
God, we come in Your holy name, Your
righteousness, Your merit, utterly and absolutely still unable to
do anything without your grace, without your mercy, without your
strength. We don't want a moment without
you. And oh God, forgive us if we
ever think that we're anything, know anything, can do anything,
have anything without you. Oh Lord, we need you. We embrace
you. We don't want, O Lord, to dishonor
You in any way. And I know we do often in thought,
word, and deed. But we bless Your holy name for
Your wondrous grace, that fountain that's so deep, that fountain for uncleanness that's opened.
And so, Lord, we come, casting ourselves on You once again,
In your blessed name, and O Father, receive us for Christ's sake.
Amen. Amen.