Empty Words

Don't believe anyone is easy to become a Christian. It cost God everything, including his own son. It'll cost you the same thing brings out not easy and those who would offer us an easy believe is a much cheap grace is no favor all, it is difficult to come to God on God's term. Matthew Henry said that it ought to be our chief constant care to make our calling and election sure to secure a title to heavens happiness and then get the evidence of it. Sadly there are many today who are absolutely certain they received salvation when the fact is they are deceived there going through the motions there fooling everyone including themselves, might that describe you, what does the Bible say is the main difference between true and false Christians, while John MacArthur's going to take the next few days on grace to you to walk you through what he calls salvation survey John you've actually gone on record as saying that the passage were about to look at is one of the most terrifying portions in all of the Bible, so I want you to expand on that a little bit in order to introduce this series. Well, to be told when you think you're about to enter heaven that you're going to hell.

It is the most horrifying shock that any human could ever experience. That is exactly what Matthew seven says in that day in that day when they finally face the Lord. Many will say to me Lord, Lord, we did this we did that we did it in your name and he'll say depart for me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you know, we know that there are many many people who think they're Christians and they are self deceived. This is a massive number of people who were going to be in that crowd that say Lord, Lord, fits us, don't you know us and he's going to say depart for me. I never knew you workers of iniquity. This is the horror of building your house the religious house. Jesus says in the sermon on the mount on the sand and not on the rock so this has to be the most frightening of all historic moments in in all of redemptive history when you think you're going to heaven and you find out you're going to hell. So we need to confront this we we need to take a look at this and that's why were doing this series on Matthew 721 to 29. Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. What a stunning statement. The series is titled salvation survey saved or self deceived if you ever heard anything from the word of God. You need to hear this.

This is the most important study we could ever air. Nothing could be worse than thinking you're going to heaven finding out you're headed for hell from the response we received when this study was aired in the past.

It is clear that many people have never considered these issues until they heard this as many people have come to true faith in Christ. Through this series so don't miss the next four days on grace to you and take the salvation survey.

What does saving faith look like, how will it change your attitude, your actions, your affections John has answers today helping you know exactly where you stand before God. Now to begin this salvation survey. Here again is John MacArthur turns me in your Bible to Matthew chapter 7 Matthew 721 29. Let me read this to you as the setting for our day and asked the spirit of God would speak to us in these tremendous truths. Not everyone that Seth on the me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that do with the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, that we not prophesied in thy name and my name of cast out demons and my name done many wonderful works and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever here with these sayings of mine, and with them I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock in the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock and everyone that here at the sayings of mine, and do with them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand in the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell.

And great was the fall of it and it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. All through the sermon on the Mount in chapter 5, six and seven. The Lord is been setting forth the divine standards of his kingdom as the anointed Messiah, the Christ the King.

He has certain principles which he has demanded of those who desire to enter the kingdom now. Those principles occupy the thrust of this sermon, but they can all be summed up in one word, the requirement for entering the kingdom is that you be righteous, righteous, and therefore the whole sermon is summed up in chapter 5, verse 20 for I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is God's world.

God's dominion, salvation, eternal life and entrance into that kingdom is dependent upon righteousness.

Now, how righteous are we to be well or to be more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees. How righteous were they when they were as righteous as a man could get on his own terms. They had come to the epitome of human achievement and religion. They were obsessed with religious function. As far as the people around them knew they were exceedingly righteous.

They seem to do all the right things like praying and giving was in fasting, they seem to have all the right standards, like not murdering and not committing adultery in making sure they maintained every minute element of the law. It seemed as though they were the ones who were exceedingly righteous and yet the righteousness that Christ demands far exceeds theirs. In fact, our Lord is requiring a righteousness that is beyond man's capacity a divine righteousness that comes from God standard that man himself is utterly unable to attain Lee's memo to options. You either live your life. You either invent your religion or you come God's way you either come on your terms are his terms, and that is precisely where the sermon climaxes in chapter 7 verses 13 to 14 and there are Lord says enter in at the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way the lead at the destruction, and many their bugle in that way because narrow is the gate and heart is the way which leader than a life, and few there be that find it.

Jesus is our only is two-way, there is the broad gate leads to the Broadway ends up in destruction is the way of easy religion is the way of human righteousness is the way of the scribes and the Pharisees and those who think they're good enough on their own. On the other hand, is the narrow gate in the narrow way that leads to life, and that is the way of those who come with a broken heart with contrite spirit. Those who, no they can't make it, they can't keep God's law. They can't meet his standard. They can't live up to his righteousness. They can't be as perfect as God is, and they cast themselves on the mercy of Jesus Christ who imputes to them his own righteousness only owes two ways and that is the climax of the sermon. Now, having stated that great invitation to enter at the narrow gate we've covered in detail Lord then shows how difficult that really is is not easy.

Don't believe anyone is as it's easy to become a Christian. It cost God everything, including his own son.

It'll cost you the same thing. Putting yourself not easy and those who would offer us an easy believe is a much cheap grace do us no favors all, they delude us. It is difficult to come to God on God's terms. First of all, is difficult because you must recognize your own total inability and that means the death of pride and that's difficult because we are constantly told that we are the most important thing to ourselves. Now, the Lord points out the difficulty of entering in the narrow gate right in verses 13 and 14. First of all it says in verse 14. Few there be that find it in the word find is important, it's difficult to enter the narrow gate because you have to find it, which implies a searching looking and examining an effort, it says the Old Testament says if you seek me with all your heart, you will find me nobody just stumbles along and falls into the kingdom of God inadvertently. It's a searching and the idea is that it isn't easily made visible. Secondly, it's difficult not only because you have to find it. And that means a hard and diligent search. It's difficult because it means it's the opposite way that everybody else is going. Many go in the broad gate fugal in the narrow it. It's what James said what he said friendship with the world is enmity against God. It's what John said what he said if you love the world, the love of the father is not in you. In other words, you have to come apart from the system to enter the narrow gate is difficult because the crowd is going the other way. It's difficult also because it is a narrow gate and that means you come through naked scriptable yourself your sin. Your self-righteousness, you come through absolutely alone. You don't come through the group. You don't come through the family you come through alone and it is a constricted way and you know it's gonna be a narrow life and you must count the cost and Jesus said further is not only difficult because it's hard to find. It's away from the crowd. It's a narrow gate, but because you must agonize to enter it. He said in the gospel of Luke. In other words, there must be penitence and confession and repentance and soul-searching and brokenness.

There is another reason why it's difficult to enter the narrow way.

Another reason why it's why it's difficult to admit that your snow make it. You can't live up to God standard you're not as perfect as you have to be and that is because of false prophets, verse 50 and 50 to 20 Lord says false prophets add to the difficulty because they stand in the way and they chase people onto the broad road. They're the ones trying to divert everybody was Satan's purposes in Satan's ends telling people that go to the wide gate, with all their sin and selfishness and they can flop from side to side water all over great big wide road and there's little price to pay. So the Lord offers a choice in a verdict. The decision, but he says the right decision is to enter the narrow gate and it won't be easy. And he says few there be that find it marked that people few, not many, but few and there's one other reason why the few is only a few not only the deception of the false prophets.

But listen to this self deception. Self-deception keeps people from entering the narrow gate, JC Ryle, Bishop Ryle wrote the Lord Jesus winds up the sermon on the Mount by a passage of heart piercing application. He turns from false prophets to false professors from unsound teachers to unsound hearers and Tasker. The commentator adds is not only false teachers who make the narrow way difficult to find is a man may also be grievously self deceived that adds to the difficulty. In other words, not just the false prophets, but we can deceive our own selves into believing where Christian when the fact is, were not know that precisely is the issue. The Lord takes up in verses 21 to 27 self-deception.

What a fitting climax. It is to the sermon having stated all the principles having warned about the false prophets Lord says no only warning one other thing, make sure you're not kidding yourself.

Are you really a true member of the kingdom of heaven. And the Lord warns us about two categories of self-deception. Number one is a mere verbal profession, and number two is a mere intellectual knowledge in verses 21 to 23 is a verbal profession. Verse 21. Not every one that saith verse 22 many will say to me now these are the people who make the verbal profession. They say their Christian and then the second paragraph is the ones who have only an intellectual knowledge they hear.

Verse 26.

Everyone that hears the same Ellis. Then in verses 21 to 23.

You have the people who say and don't do and in verses 24 to 27. The people who hear and don't do. That's the issue in their deceit. On the one hand, it's a verbal profession.

On the other. It's an intellectual knowledge and I call it empty words and empty parts and that's what we want to speak to in our study today. These deal with the matter of self-deception, mere verbal profession mere intellectual knowledge is as John Stott puts it, a camouflage for disobedience and you will notice that at the end of verse 21 you a key word there but he that do the will of my father who is in heaven is not the ones who say and it is not the ones who here is the ones who, what do. In other words the Lord is saying if you do not live a righteous life. I don't care what you say or what you hear. Your deceit this is a very very strong word. I watch and listen as the spirit of God speaks both of these closing paragraphs. Verses 21 to 23, 24, 27 contrast, a right and a wrong response to the invitation of Christ and they show that our eternal destiny is determined by the choice we make one as I said deals with what you say over against what you do and the other what you hear over against what you do I keep this in mind Lord is not speaking to ear religious people. He is speaking to people who were literally obsessed with religious activity are not apostates and not heretics. They're not anti-God and not atheists or agnostics. They are overly religious people, but their damn because they're on the wrong road, and they are self-deluded. Now maybe their self-delusion.

As a result of sitting under a false prophet or maybe they've actually sat under the truth but have deluded themselves and they are not a lot. Unlike Israel whom Paul said they had a form of godliness but denied the reality of it and I really believe people that this is a message that needs to be spoken today because I am convinced that the church of Jesus Christ is literally jammed full of people who are Christians and don't know. Certainly, Jesus is saying.

Many of those who think therein are then and only if you are this is the ultimate delusion. People you could be deluded about a lot of things but to be deceived about whether you're a Christian that's really getting at your eternal destiny. So Jesus says you better check it very carefully.

We have all kinds of people are connected to the right religion and utterly devoid of the righteousness of God through Christ we have multitudes of deceived people who are in the church who are on the Jesus bandwagon who think everything is well and for their judgment is going to be one big surprise, Frank is no better way to deceive them than by this particular sermon of our Lord. Now some of these people I believe that are deceived are false prophets.

I think some false prophets are deceived. They know their phone but I think some of them probably are self deceived, so we'd see some of them in this group, but I think the many in verses 21 and following is not just false prophets but all of those who are self-deluded and deceived about whether there really redeem the Bible literally is filled with warnings to people who are deceit is give you one other illustration. Matthew 25 and it's very similar I think you get the picture. And the reason there are so many warnings listen is because there are so many people to see.

Many will say to me Lord Lord and say I never knew you. Not a few not an isolated bunch, but many and because there are so many that are deceived. There are many warnings. Matthew 25, one says then shall the kingdom of heaven be like another 10 virgins who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom and of course the virgins are symbolic of people who are attached to Christianity, the bridegroom is emblematic of Christ.

Five of them were wise, and five were foolish like the people who built on the rock in the sand and they were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. In other words, they had a form of godliness, but they didn't have the power they didn't have what they needed didn't have the heart of it, they didn't have salvation. They just had church inanity, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

While bridegroom Terry. They all slumbered and slept in at midnight. There was a cry made, behold, the bridegroom cometh go out to meeting and all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps and the foolish ones said under the wise, give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out the wise answered, say not so lest there be not enough for us and you would go rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they were that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying word open to us but he answered and said, verily I say unto you, I know you not. There is a similar text.

Go back to Matthew chapter 7 that saying the same thing is going to come a day when people are going to expect the door to be open and it's going to slam shut forever in their face. I don't know you want a fearful thing so many people think they're saved think they're safe and judgment for them is going to be a shock when lost people in that deception. What makes people really think there say, only to be several suggestions.

First of all I think many times it's because they have a false doctrine of assurance.

In other words, let's assume that when you were led to Christ. Somebody said you now all you have to do to be a Christian is for additional prayer and citizen formula based on certain statements well you prayed, you said you sign on the dotted line and as long as you said it, and as long as you paraded as long as you went through the thing why you're saying and and I don't want anybody never question that is over, and so on. And that very often happens and you have a full sense of assurance you want know so when you lead a person to Christ. You should never say I know you're saved and don't you ever doubted and don't you ever let anybody else cause you to doubt it while you're say that I've heard people even say if you ever asked Jesus into your life a second time. You are denying something that belongs to God.

You're denying the permanence of his salvation.

Your questioning God's integrity. You are in a sense, casting against God.

That which is set as if it were true. Don't ever do that. Just accept that you set it beside the dotted line and that's a lot of baloney bullet somebody's false assurance somebody's false certification. Take the place of the convicting work of the Spirit of God, and I think a lot of times are vandalism as long as somebody says the prayer and praise the little thing and signs on the line has the card stuck in their Bible we given this little psychological game that they don't ever have to worry about whether they're saved or not.

When the spirit of God never did that in the beginning because they never really right. I can't ever say to someone well now. Boy, I know you're saved and don't you ever doubted and don't you ever ask again.

It's all settled and it's done because you said little formula. If I do that I give them a psychological assurance of something. I don't even know is true. Jesus at the seed of the word is cast on for soils only one out of four turned out to be true.

Don't go around certifying people salvation you give them a false assurance but not given assurance through spirit witnessing with their spirits. They are the children of God and crying up a father, let God give them assurance when they had their faith virtue and as they had their faith virtue and patience and godliness and love, then, shall their election be sure then shall they know they been forgiven of their sin, then shall they not be blind to the reality of salvation. That's God's work, not some certification by some human being. I think a lot of people told her safely believe another thing that I think Lowell's people into this deception is a failure of self-examination, they never really examine himself.

They get into such a grace concept that everything is grace and everything is forgiveness that they never really bothered to face their sin. They hear somebody say well you not to confess your sin, your sins already forgiven us all take care of everything set aside funding worry about that. Just go on. Live your life and almost borders on what is called antinomianism or an an attitude against the law of God and people can get to the place where they don't even bother to examine their lives. Why do you think the Lord brings us to a stable first Corinthians 11, over and over and over and over again in order that a man may examine himself segregates 13 five says you better examine yourself with you be in the faith. If you don't, you're in danger, self-deception, you need to look at your sin need look at your motives. Why do you do what you do and believe me, if you're really genuinely saved, God will confirm that by his spirit witnessing with your spirit. If that confirmation is in their you shouldn't be under the illusion that just because it isn't there. You're okay by some certification by somebody or some little prairie.

Thirdly, another thing I think causes people to be under the delusion that they're saved is a fixation on religious activity. In other words, they go to church. They hear sermons. They sing songs they read the Bible. They go to a Bible study to take a class and because they're all wrapped up in religious activity. They think they're saved but that's that's a very, very great illusion. Very great illusion. There are many in the church that are not tears among the wheat and the fourth area that I think Lowell's people in the deception is what I call the fair exchange approach and this is where whenever you see some wrong in your life is literally dealing with it and examining whether you're really a true Christian instead of dealing with what's wrong in your life you find some right with your life and make a fair exchange. I can't be that bad little rear seat in your eyes treating the negatives and the positives and instead of really evaluating your life.

Honestly, with integrity and saying am I a believer and if I am can I be doing this so I know I do that now look what I did over here you make a fair exchange and you whitewash the deal. You can below the deception by some false assurance by a failure to examine yourself by fixation on religious activity or by a fair exchange approach. But all those cases, your deceit, it's amazing to me how many people are deceit and they can recite the creed and they can tell you that they they were saying.

Make sure the card with her at the line and they can say we believe in Jesus and so for the soil. But the bottom line is this with all of your false assurance with all your failure to self examine lawless fixation on religious activity and with the fair exchange principle in operation. The bottom line and you better examine is this, do you live in total obedience to the word of God. And when you disobey it.

Is there a sense of conviction and remorse that draws you to confess it to God. And if that isn't there is a fair question about whether you're even a Christian. This is grace to you with John MacArthur.

Thanks for being with us. So what do you think so far about John study called salvation survey as it affirmed your faith or convicted you may be a little bit of both. Perhaps you know someone who claims to be a Christian but his life doesn't seem to back that up with her for you or for a friend. This study is helpful to review again to pick up a copy get in touch today. The two CD album costs $12 and shipping is free to order, call 855 grace or visit our website Jide TY.org you can also download both messages from salvation survey free of charge in audio or transcript format@jidety.org and thanks for remembering that it's friends like you help us connect around the world with truth through radio, television, and thousands of online resources, including 3500 full-length sermons available for free download to help bring daily spiritual nourishment to people in your community and beyond.

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You can also donate online@jidety.org or when you call 855 grace that's our toll-free phone number one more time 855 grace. Thanks also for your prayers for John and for the staff. It's really the most important way you can support our ministry now for John MacArthur and the staff. I'm Phil Johnson inviting you back tomorrow to take our salvation survey. That's the title of John study. Don't miss the next 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace to you