“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 | NIV84
Have you ever read these Scriptures and became concerned about your own salvation? I have. In fact, these Scriptures kind of scare me, actually. I’ve heard all kinds of different explanations of what these Scriptures mean, but it seems to me those explanations didn’t really set my heart at peace. I’m not going to get into discussing doctrine and the different theories of where each denomination stands as I believe those are empty arguments. I will, however, remind you of these words spoken by Paul:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8 | NIV84
So, all I really want to say is I believe in order to truly understand those words spoken by Jesus, but we must first look to the nature of God. Who is God and who is Jesus?
“God is Love.” 1 John 4:16b (NIV)
Scriptures says that God is love. That was easy. So, if I use that explanation of who God is, let’s take a look at what love is or what His character exemplifies:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a | NIV84
Wow… God gives of Himself to the benefit of others and is not about Himself one bit. Now, let’s look to who Jesus is.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. Hebrews 1:3a | NIV84
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15 | NIV84
Jesus is God personified. Now what about Jesus’ character? What is He like?
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:3-8 | NIV84
Jesus was completely humble and obedient to God. Jesus fully trusted God and loved God with all of His heart. So, what does that have to do with us? Jesus tells us to do the same:
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40 | NIV84
Jesus basically explained that the entire Bible is all about completely devoting yourself to God and loving others above yourself… to become like Him. The Bible was written to teach us about God’s love and His Spirit helps enable us to live a selfless life as Jesus did. All throughout Scripture, God directs us to be humble, kind-hearted and loving. (I have only included two scriptures, but there are many more to consider).
Be completely humble and gentle;
be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2 | NIV84
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 | NIV84
God directs us to be obedient to His way and the most wonderful thing that He has done is that He has given us His Spirit to dwell within us to give us the ability to do such things.
But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Romans 8:10-11 | NIV84
So, what does all this have to do with Jesus telling those who prophesied in His name and performed miracles to depart from Him? I assume that those who were doing such wonderful things thought they knew Jesus, but ended up in fact not truly knowing Him at all. How can that be? I believe it’s connected to a prideful and selfish heart… two things that are completely opposite of who God is. God is humble and selfless.
Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor. Proverbs 18:12 | NIV84
Pride and selfishness are traits that can be hidden under the surface of a person rather easily. In fact, they can be hidden so well that the person may actually come across as humble and selfless. Their self-centeredness can be wrapped up in the middle of performing good deeds for others, but the motivation of their heart is not ultimately for the good. The believer, however, walks in humility and within their heart, they are truly selfless. These traits tend to also be hidden as well, but they are not hidden to God who knows everyone’s heart.
I could include every single Scripture in the Bible that talks about humility, but I don’t for two reasons; one, I don’t know them all and two, there are too many. I believe there are a great number of people who proclaim Christ as their savior and do in fact, perform many wonderful and amazing miracles, who don’t really know who Jesus is, but that’s not really all that important. It doesn’t matter that they don’t know Christ because what’s truly important is that you know Him personally.
Lots of people get all up in arms about false teaching and whatnot and I’m sure there’s a good reason to, but I want to present just two Scriptures about such things to you:
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Philippians 1:15-18a | NIV84 (underline mine)
“Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” Jeremiah 23:28-29 | NIV84
You see, God can use His Word to reach those who are truly seeking Him in any way necessary. God’s Word is strong and powerful and will ultimately crush the false teachers and their malicious motives. Those who teach for selfish reasons will suffer in the end, but what you need to be concerned about is, where is your heart? Do you know the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Are you living a humble life in complete obedience to the Lord God?
You see, it’s all about Love and loving others. This life is all about something that does not naturally come from a self-centered human being, but if you humble yourself before the Lord, He will lift you up and give you the grace and ability to walk in His way out of His great love and mercy. God is all about helping others, but they must first humble themselves and seek Him wholeheartedly because without willingness, God will not impose Himself upon anyone. He is not a taker. He is a giver.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10 | NIV84
This life is about learning how to walk in love, humility and obedience to the Lord God.
Selfless Surrender 