08-31-2025 The Sad Surprise

Text: Matthew 7:21-23

                     Everyone wants to go to Heaven.  But there are many who think they’re going to be there but in the end, will be sadly surprised when they don’t make it.  

                   Our text this morning is found in Matthew 7:21-23 where Jesus says:     “ (21) Not everyone who says unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of My Father which is in Heaven.  (22) Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name?  And in Your name have cast out devils?  And in Your name done many wonderful works?  (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:  depart from Me, you who work iniquity.”

                   There are many disappointments in this life.  Some have to do with family or career failures.  Some relate to dreams that didn’t come true or goals that were not able to be reached.  All of these are painful, but the truth is, the greatest disappointment of this life will be missing out on spending eternity in Heaven.  There’s an old song that says everybody talking about Heaven isn’t going there.  And the saddest surprise will be to expect to go to Heaven but instead to arrive in Hell.  So let’s look at what went wrong for those who Jesus is referring to in our text.

                   We begin with verse 21 and see those who profess Christ but don’t really possess Him.  They say the right words but miss His message.  They call Jesus “Lord,” but actually don’t make Him their Lord of their life.  They accept His title of a Christian child of God but fail to truly trust in Him.  In other words, they’re the ones who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.  They put up a good front but fake their Christianity.  They put all their energy into looking the part instead of knowing and doing God’s will.  They have religion but ignore redemption.  Salvation requires us to face our sins and confess them so that we can receive forgiveness.  And doing God’s will begins with receiving Christ as your Savior as we are shown in John 6:37-40.

                   Jesus doesn’t work independently of God the Father but rather in union with Him.  Having Jesus as our Savior gives us the assurance that we will be welcomed into God’s presence and will be protected by Him.  Jesus’ purpose was to do the will of God, not to satisfy His own human desires.  When we follow Jesus, we are to have the same purpose.  Jesus said He would not lose even one person whom the Father has given to Him.  This means that those who make a sincere commitment to believe in Him as their Savior are secure in God’s promise of eternal life.  Jesus won’t let His people be overcome by Satan or lose their salvation.  So when you put your faith in Jesus Christ you will have help in living a Christian life and then receive the promise of being resurrected from physical death into eternal life with God.  This morning’s question for us all is Have we turned from our sins and turned to Jesus the Savior?

                   Verse 22 speaks of those who work to impress but, in the end, will only earn distress.  These are typically very busy “religious” people.  They know enough about Scripture to explain prophecy and they seem to have answers to questions about the future.  They may also claim to have power over demonic forces and could be called on to help remove them.  And they are bold in their claims to have power over Satan.  They may be honored for their many religious works and use them as a point of pride for what they have done in God’s name.  But the truth is, if good works could get us into heaven, everyone will make it.  We should never forget that our salvation is a gift given to us by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, not by the good works we do.

                   Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9 that it’s grace that saves us through faith and that it is a gift from God.  In other words, we become Christians through God’s unmerited grace, not because of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on our part.  Out of gratitude for this gift, however, our hearts should overflow with a desire to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness.  While no action or work we can do can help us obtain salvation, God intends for our salvation to result in acts of service as a response of what we have been given.  We aren’t saved merely for our own benefit, but to serve Christ and to build up the Church.  Paul also reminds us in Titus 3:7 that because of what Jesus did on the Cross we are able to become justified, or made sinless, before God through His grace and can now become His heirs.

                   Finally, verse 23 of our text speaks of those who claim to be Christians but are still sinners in the eyes of God.  The response of Jesus to these so-called Christians is “I never knew you…depart from Me.”  The Lord sees our hearts and especially the hypocrisy that it contains.  We can’t call ourselves Christians and still live a life of a sinner.  Does this mean we will never sin again after accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior?  Absolutely not.  It means that we will immediately recognize our sin, ask for forgiveness, and then do our absolute best to not repeat the same sin again.  It means that people will likely think we’re strange because of the way we have chosen to live and the values we display to the world so we may also lose friends.

                   Living a Christian life in a world that is controlled by Satan is always going to be hard because he will work very hard to pull every one of us off the path we have chosen to live.  But if we’re sincere in our faith, fully trust in God, and accept Jesus as our Savior, we can and will be able to overcome what the enemy of God tries to do to us every day.  We must work very hard to live as Jesus lived while He walked this earth.  This requires first that we accept Jesus as our Savior.  Then we must study our Bibles faithfully and when we have questions, ask those who share our faith and have overcome the temptations of this life.  We must help others in any way we can and share our faith with those who are lost.

                   The promise to us in the end is that we will have eternal life in Heaven as promised by God in John 3:16.  We must be careful not risk our eternal life by living as a Christian in name only.  Regular church attendance, while a good thing and is necessary, really isn’t enough.  The love of Jesus must fill every aspect of your existence and be recognized by others.  Make the changes necessary now so you don’t risk receiving the sad surprise when it comes time to leave this life.

                   Until we meet again, may God bless you and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.