Saved or Self-Deceived, Part 1 (Selected Scriptures)
Matthew 7:21-27: The Shocking Truth About Salvation
As we begin tonight, let’s return to the Word of God and read Matthew 7:21-27. These are powerful, often unsettling words from our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy or preach in Your name? And in Your name cast out demons and perform many miracles?’ And I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'”
Jesus continues, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not fall because it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall.”
This passage is one of the most tragic in all of Scripture. Many will stand before the Lord, thinking they are about to enter Heaven, only to be told they are headed to hell. This is the worst deception—being mistaken about one’s eternal destiny.
