Entering the Kingdom

Sadly, it is really quite easy to accorded the status of an evangelical Christian without actually being spiritually regenerate. The process is essentially cultural. That is, if you can display certain cultural traits, you will be accepted.

First, one must develop the requisite vocabulary. Words like fellowship, brother, sister, amen, hallelujah, et. al. Use these words with just the right inflections and you are in. Second, one should emulate certain social conventions. It is most effective to share similar attitudes about alcohol and tobacco, modesty in dress, etc. If you show the appropriate likes and dislikes [with an emphasis on the dislikes], one can likely pass as a Christian. And now that so many evangelicals have aligned their lifestyles with the secular culture's materialism, pleasure-seeking, entertainment, economics and fads, it has greatly facilitated the ease with which one can assume the social conventions of the faithful.

Third, it is best if one has the right heritage. If one's parents are respectable Christians, or even better, full-time Christian workers, it will be almost a given that this person is a believer. This is especially true if this person affects some civilities associated with a godly heritage, such as attending evening and midweek services and tithing. Often the desires of overly anxious parents to see their children become believers has contributed to the heritage = salvation delusion and as a result multitudes of unregenerate evangelicals are comfortably ensconced in their churches. And no one questions the authenticity of their faith!

The question is, why would anyone willfully take up the so-called "narrow way" apart from actually being "born-again?" For too many it is the path of least resistance. To do otherwise would impair comfortable family and social relationships. And over the past thirty years there has evolved quite an excellent repertoire of Christian media ... music, movies, books, children's literature and DVDs and even artwork. Being born-again can be quite profitable. Jesus saves, but He also sells!

We should not discount the fact that the Biblical lifestyle is a good way to live. Families that subscribe to it tend to be happier and healthier and stay together longer. It is not all that surprising that Christianity, being so wholesome, would attract a number of people who would practice its lifestyle without knowing its inner reality. The human race has an incredible capacity for self-delusion. It was none other than wise King Solomon himself who commented on "those who are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not cleansed of their filth" [Proverbs 30:12].

So it is that Jesus anticipated the problem of false profession by those in the church and dealt with it at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. His was a driving warning against being sidetracked from the true faith. In vv. 13-20 He warned of the dangers that come from the outside and now in vv. 21-27 He warns us of the dangers that come from ourselves.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" [Matthew 7:21-23].

Jesus holds up the example of people who give a spectacular profession of belief as they stand before Him, but they will be rejected on the day of judgment. John Stott notes that this confession is remarkable on four points. First, it is polite. They address Christ as "Lord." Even today that is a courteous, tolerant way to refer to Christ. Second, the confession is orthodox. The word "Lord" [kurios] can mean "Sir," but it is also a divine title. Third, the confession is fervent. And finally, the confession is public. So what is wrong with it? Nothing! But there is a problem. Correct orthodox belief will not give us eternal life. This is not to say that correct belief is not necessary for salvation -- it is. Paul makes that clear in Romans 10:9, 10: "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

A man who refuses to say "Lord, Lord" will never enter the kingdom of heaven. All true believers say, "Lord, Lord." But not all who say "Lord, Lord" are true believers! Intellectual orthodoxy does not necessarily indicate saving faith. We can be absolutely correct in our belief about Christ's nature and person, His substitutionary atonement, His resurrection, and His return, and we may have even fought against heretics, and yet not be truly saved.

Furthermore, zeal and fervency do not bring eternal life. And lastly, remarkable works do not bring eternal life. Prophesying, preaching, teaching and healing do not prove anything. Balaam gave an accurate message but was a hireling and a sinner. Saul was used by God when he was under the spirit of prophecy, but he himself was lost. Fervent proclamation of the truth does not prove spiritual reality. Jesus warned specifically about this later in Matthew [24:24], "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect -- if that were possible." So in other words, a man may be able to do great things and get great results, but that says absolutely nothing about his salvation.

How can this be? Note that Jesus says that "he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" will enter the kingdom of heaven. Multitudes of religious people, evangelicals included, are lost because they do not do God's will. Is Christ now referring to salvation by works? No. In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is referring to the Beatitudes and the deep ethical, spiritual obedience found in God's kingdom. He is referring to a heart obedience that is not only on the surface but permeates our inner being. "The will of my Father" indicates the character and the conduct of the kingdom of God.

The way to test ourselves is to look below the surface. Scary I know, but we must look to see if our lives conform to the character of the kingdom -- the Beautiful Attitudes of the kingdom of God. Are we poor in spirit? Are we meek? Do we have that positive quality of strength in saying, "Yes, we are sinners. No matter what others do to us, will we stand up for truth and for God and for others?" Do we have merciful spirits? Are we compassionate to those who are hurting and lost and in physical need? Do we forgive or do we hold grudges? This is what Jesus is saying.

We all know the story about the house built on the rock and house that was built on the sand. We also know that the houses are metaphors for two men's religious lives. The houses, the lives, looked exactly the same. In our day that translates to they both have 3 bedrooms, hardwood floors, open kitchen with granite countertops, heat and air conditioning, shuttered windows, freshly painted walls and nicely landscaped yards. So it is with the edifices of their lives -- they look the same. The two men attend the same church, sing the same songs, send their children to the same schools. But one has been wise, and the other has been a fool [the Greek word used here is moro, from which we get moron]. The wise man excavated down to the bedrock and grounded his house upon it. The foolish man built the seemingly identical house upon sand. The foundation of one man's life is solid, and that of the other is nonexistent.

If we heed Jesus' soul-penetrating words, if we measure ourselves by His standards, if we evaluate our ethics by His ethics, if we strain after the Sermon's great teaching in prayer and piety, we are building upon the rock. The foolish man is shallow in his thinking and lays a shallow foundation on the sand. He cannot be troubled with thinking things through. He is concerned with having a house [life] that simply looks nice. It looks like his church friend's life, but it is all outward, it is all style, all fluff. It is not our cultural distinctions that save us. It is not our evangelical civilities. It is not our Christian experience. It is not our heritage. It is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is so profound and growing that is produces His character, the character of His kingdom, in our lives. It is not just on the surface, though it can and ought to be seen. This is both radical and the difference between life and death.

Jesus says that the storms will reveal whether we have the true foundation or not. According to R. Kent Hughes, His primary reference here is to the final judgment because in the Old Testament and elsewhere in Hebrew writings the storm serves as a symbol for God's judgment [see, for example, Ezekiel 13:11]. The storm can also refer to the difficulties of life. Sometimes a gracious, dark, hurling storm hits the house on the sand, and its owner finds out that he is lacking. How tragic to find this out only in the final judgment. Many will cry, "Lord, Lord" from beneath the rubble of their life's house, and He will say, "I never knew you." There is probably nothing more tragic.

Note that Jesus believed in Heaven and Hell ... so much so that He spoke twice as much about Hell than about Heaven ... and He came to deliver us from Hell. He desperately wants us to take note of our lives and where they are going.

And then "When Jesus had finished with these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes" [Matthew 7:28, 29].