Self-Deceived

Jesus would say in Luke chapter 6 verse number 46 why do you call me Lord Lord and do not the things that I say We don't want you to be in that category. We want you to know for certain that if you were to die tonight, you'd spend eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, this morning we want to talk about self-deception. We want to talk about it by way of introduction and then by way of explanation as Christ begins to explain these people who are self-deceived. And then, by way of condemnation, what happens to people when they finally stand before God who have been self-deceived?

And then, in summation, we will look at what needs to happen in our lives to make sure. We know our eternal destiny is on the right road that leads to glory. First of all, by way of introduction, Verse number 21 says this of Matthew 7: Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

By way of introduction, I want you to notice three things. Number one, the caution of self-deception.

Then the causes of self-deception. And then we'll look at some of the characteristics of self-deception.

First of all, the caution. Christ is concerned that those on the hillside would think that they are on the way to heaven. You see, he's speaking to religious people. He's not speaking to people who are anti-God. He's speaking to religious people. Who go to church on Sunday, people who carry the Torah, people who know and dress like Christians, people who all look alike. See? They're very religious in nature. And so Christ is concerned about them being deceived, thinking that all the externals are going to get them to heaven.

And that's why Christ would say, unless your righteousness Somehow exceeds the religious leaders of your day, you will never enter into my kingdom. They have all the external trappings, they do everything right externally, but because they have not been transformed internally, everything they do. Do on the outside is like filthy rags. So your righteousness must go beyond that. There must be more than just a verbal profession. For many people will say to me, Lord, Lord. See, there's more than just a confession about who Jesus Christ is.

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord. Believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart, man believes what? Unto righteousness. If there's not a righteous characteristic about your lifestyle, then your confession is a sham. You see? That's what's so important to understand. And so he gives the caution over in Luke chapter 13: str to enter. Why? Because few there be that get into heaven. And Christ's emphasis in Matthew 25 is: be prepared.

Are you ready for the Lord to come back? So Christ gives the caution. And as you go through his ministry and the ministry of those who wrote the New Testament, you see the warnings and the caution all throughout the New Testament. Are you sure you got the genuine thing? Because Satan is a master deceiver, and he will do all he can to get you away from the truth and believing that you have a semblance of truth. F the caution we go to the causes. What would cause somebody to be so so deceived, so so wrong in their thinking?

Let me give you three reasons. One is because of what we will call a false Confirmation, a false confirmation. A guy comes to you and says, You know, I'm not sure I'm saved. And so we say, Well, when did you give your life to Christ? And they say, Well, I was at a crusade man, and the guy asked if he wanted to give a life to Christ. So I walked down the aisle. And I signed this card, man. I gave him life to Christ. And so we come al with them, brother. You can't doubt the identity of Christ and the authority of Christ and the security of Christ.

And because you were saved, once saved, All we've saved, and we give them a false confirmation. A false confirmation. I've listened to preachers say, you know, you give your life to Christ, you write the date down in your Bible and you mark it there, and of course. Back in 1972, when I gave my life to Christ, that's what I did. And boy, I broke that date there. And he, Boy, when Satan comes and makes you doubt your salvation, you pull out your Bible and you point to that Bible and say, See, Satan, this is the date I gave my life to Christ, and I'm saved because of that date.

Nowhere in the Bible will you ever see a confirmation of that. Nowhere. But boy, we'll give people a false confirmation. Well, I was there when you walked the aisle. I was there when you said the prayer. I was there when you went to church. I was there when you signed your card. Of course you're saved. Is that what the Bible says?

That's not what the Bible says. No, the Bible says that you got to make sure. his choosing and calling you because the assurance of one's salvation is based in scripture on the continual life that manifests holiness and righteousness as opposed to ungodliness and corruption That's the testimony of the New Testament writers. That's the testimony of God. If there's been a transformation, Because you are a new creation, there will be a demonstration of salvation. Very clear. Very clear. Make sure God's Spirit bears witness with your spirit.

So there's a false confirmation. That's one cause. Another cause is what we call a forgotten exam. A forgotten exam. People go along and you know they talk about being saved by grace and they emphasize forgiveness, but they never examine their lives and they live an antinomian life. Lifestyle, a life free from any kind of law, and just kind of do their own thing. They don't examine their lives. Yet the Bible says you've got to examine your life.

That's why we take communion. That's why the first Sunday of every month we ask you to examine your life.

What does God say? But if we judge ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world. And then. Thirdly, another cause is what we call frivolous particip.

Frivolous partic. These are the people, man, who get involved in the choir and are singing some songs that maybe they'll usher, and maybe they'll be involved in Bible studies and prayer groups. They're doing all the church things. They're coming to the Wednesday night dinners and coming to VBS, even serving in VBS. They just want to participate in everything. They can get their hands on. Man, they're just excited about it. They're like the parable of the sower, the soil, the rocky soil. They hear the word of God and they receive it with what?

Joy. Man, the Jesus bandwagon, that's where you got to be. And so they receive the word of God with joy, and they get all excited about serving God. And all of a sudden, the sun beats down upon their lives, and persecution and affliction come. And Christ says that those people are the ones who.

Who falls away. They def the faith. Why? Because there was no depth to their decision. And then he goes on and talks about the thorny soil, how people again receive the word with joy and get excited about serving God and participate in the things of God, and everybody thinks that they're saved. And all of a sudden, what happens? The deceitfulness of riches, the thorns begin to choke out that frivolous participation, and they too fall by the wayside. They bear no fruit. And they did because, or they did not, because there was no dedication to their decision.

See that? You see, the parable of the wheat and the tares, Matthew 13. They're going to grow side by side in the kingdom age. And it's not going to be to the end of the harvest when Christ begins to harvest. His kingdom, where we begin to see who were really true believers and who were not. So, Christ is what? Examine your life because many will say. I'm not talking about a few, many. When I read statistics, like 1. 9 billion people in the world are Christians. And by the year 2000, there'll be 2.02 billion people.

I'm thinking. Where do you get that from? What's your criteria? When Jesus says, few, few there be that find it, but many are on the broad road.

It is not to Revelation chapter 7, verse number 9, when many people Out of the tribulational age, many people of different nations and different tongues are going to be so saved. Multitudes of people during the tribulational period, but before that, just a few are saved. Someone's sending the wrong message. And Satan's doing a good job of making sure that message gets out. So people find themselves on the broad road that leads to destruction. Christ knew that. Christ says, don't be self-deceived.

Many will say to me, Lord, Lord, in your name, three times, in your name, in your name, we spoke for you, we served for you, and we did the spectacular. For you, and God says, Never knew you.

What a tragedy. And thirdly, this is. All by means of introduction, but the characteristics of those who are self-deceived. One author says it this way. He says, just because this might be a characteristic of your life doesn't mean that you are self-deceived, but those who are self-deceived have these characteristics. He says, Is the person seeking feelings, blessings, experiences, healings, and miracles? This person is probably more interested in the byproducts of the faith than the faith itself.

He seeks what he can get, not what he can glorify God for. He is more interested in pampering him than exalting Christ. He says another characteristic is: is the person more committed to a denomination, a church, or an organization than he is to the Word of God? That person's Christianity may be purely social. He's the kind who says, I've been a Lutheran all my life. I'm a Presbyterian. I'm Baptist, or I belong to the church. He's more committed to the organization than to the Word of God. Number three, is the person involved in theology merely out of academic interest?

You'll find this kind of person in colleges and seminaries. He studies theology. He writes books about it. Theology for him is an intellectual activity. His life is devoid of the righteousness of Christ. Number four, does the person seem stuck on one particular point of theology? This is the person who bangs the proverbial drum for his favorite topic. Sometimes the area he emphasizes isn't even profound. He believes he is close to God. And he has great divine insight, and no one else has. All of his activity is devoted to seeking attention to feed his ego.

Watch out for a person that has a lack of balance in his theology. And fifthly, is the person over in the name of grace, a person who lacks penitence and a contrite heart, is self-deceived? Those are some of the characteristics. But Christ goes on and gives us an explanation of self-deception. He lets us in on what these people are going to do and what they're going to say, so that you don't find yourself in that category. And that's main point number two.

And he gives three characteristics. One is this: a superficial. Worship, a spurious witness, and three spectacular work. The first is a superficial worship.

Verse number 22: Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord. These are people who know about God. These are people who understand about God. We know that you're God. We know of the virgin birth. We know of the incarnation. We know of the resurrection. We know of all those great and marvelous truths. We know about you, Lord, Lord. Great intensity, great sincerity. How can this be? But it was all superficial. It was all external. There was no depth to the commitment. Don't be self-deceived. And then he says, Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

A spurious witness, a counterfeit witness, a false witness. Witness. But Lord, we spoke for you. Lord, I had a Bible study for you. Lord, I stood in the pulpit for you. Just because somebody speaks the word from God doesn't mean they're born again. I mean, if you read Numbers chapter 23, yeah, 23, verse number 5, it says that the Lord. Put a word in Balaam's mouth. But if you read Peter's account in 2 Peter chapter 2, verse number 15, Peter said that he loved unrighteousness, that he was a vile prophet.

For hire, but God used his mouth. Just because someone stands up and says that they are speaking on behalf of God does not guarantee their eternal destiny with God. And then there's a third aspect.

Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? Spect works is the third area.

Man, Lord, we were doing all kinds of miracles. We were casting out demons, man, we were healing people with cancers, and you're telling me now that I can't get into your kingdom? And the Lord's going to say, Yeah, that's what I'm telling you. You're not going to make it. But, Lord, we cast out demons. Just because you cast out demons doesn't mean you're born again. I mean, read about the seven sons of Sceva in Acts chapter 19. They cast out demons. Christ said over in Matthew chapter 12 when they attributed his works to Satan.

He said these words: If I, by Be, cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So evidently, there were people who weren't saved casting out demons. Over in Matthew 24, 24, it says that false Christs and prophets will do signs and wonders. In 2 Thessalonians 2, 8 to 10, it speaks of the Antichrist and the wonderful miracles that he will perform to delude the people to get them to follow him. So just because someone does the spectacular in the name of God does not mean that he's born again.

We must come to grips with the truth of the scripture. Don't be deluded. Don't be deceived. There will be many people in this category. Maybe you're one of them today. Maybe you're here today and you're deceived. I don't know. I don't want you to be deceived. I want you to know the truth. Make certain your calling. Make certain his choosing of you. And then we come to our fourth point: the condemnation. Listen to what the Lord says. Verse number 23. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you.

Wow. Can you imagine going through life, taking short-term mission trips, being involved in Bible study, singing in the choir? Winning Sunday school awards, memorizing lots of verses of BBS, only to wake up one day in glory and to hear the Lord God say, I never knew you. Can you imagine that? And, folks, this is going to be a multitude of people. They're going to be more in this category than any other category known to man. I mean, the blatant, outright rebellious sinners, man, they know they're on the way to hell.

But these are people thinking they're going to heaven. And they're going to stand before God, and they're going to say, I never knew you. And they're going to say, well, if that's the case, man, why did I try to live such a good life while I was here on earth? I could live the bad life. And Christ says, You did live a bad life.

Because all your righteousness is like filthy rags. See? The bottom line is, he never knew him. God's omniscient. How can he not know somebody? What does it mean know intellectually? God knows everything. But it speaks of intimacy, doesn't it? Speaks of intimacy. That's what it means. We don't have a relationship. You were involved in your religion, but you never b to seek me in terms of a relationship where I as your father and you as my son or daughter Could commune and live together in holiness.

I never knew you. That's the statement. From the statement, we move to the sentence. I never knew you. Depart from me. I mean, this is going be a tragic day, folks. People are going be screaming. People are going be crying. Depart from you. Lord, all this was done in your n. And he will say, out of my pres. For the wages of sin is death. Separation, alienation from the God of the universe for all eternity. The Bible tells us in the Old Testament that the soul that sins, it shall die. Depart from me.

What a tragedy. And then the sin. We've seen the statement, the sentence. Here's the sin. You who practice lawlessness. You who practice. Lawlessness. That's why you can't be a part of my kingdom. Because of your sin, because of your unrighteousness. You never obtained my righteousness. You never obtained my life. In other words, instead of doing the will of the Father, you did your own will. Back up in verse number 21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

You did your own thing. Oh, you might have had some external trappings, but you did what pleased you. You did your own thing. Faith. Without works is dead. You had a verbal profession, but you had no deep, deep commitment to me. John would say it this way in his epistle, 1 John chapter 3. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that he who appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins. No one who sins has seen him or knows him.

Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose that he might destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because his seed abides in him. and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious. Anyone who does not pract righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

It doesn't take a 5 bet kappa to figure out what John is saying in 1 John chapter 3. If you live a life of habitual sin, then you are a child of the devil, not a child of God. It's very clear. And Christ says, Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.

You see, Christ judges the intents of the heart, doesn't he? If there's been a change on the inside, it will manifest itself outwardly. But just because you have outward acts does not mean there's been a transformation on the inside. So, point number four, in terms of summation, what do you do? You say, man, I don't want to be deceived. I want to make sure I'm going to heaven. I want to make sure I got the real thing. And some of you will be sitting there saying, well, you know, this is just a hard sermon and you're too judgmental and too confrontative.

And, you know, you shouldn't be telling people whether or not they're saved or not saved. And I have one word for you, or two words for you. You are self-deceived. If you believe that, you're self-deceived. You are. Because the Bible says, exam yourself.

Jesus said these words. Hey, folks, I didn't write this book. I'm just preaching the book. God said it, and He didn't want anybody to be deceived. He wanted everybody to know for certain where they were going, that they were on the narrow road that led to life. So, in summation, let me give you three ways that you know for certain you're going to heaven.

Number one, do you discover the will of God? Have you discovered the will of God? When Christ came and preached his sermon in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, he says, I want you to know the will of my heart. I want you to know what it means to be a child of my kingdom. I want you to know what it means to live like a child of the king. And it goes way beyond the externals, it goes to the internals. He says, Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn over their sin. Blessed are those who are meek.

Blessed are those who are peacemakers. I want to talk about the character qualities of all those people in my kingdom because this is what happens on the inside of these people. And then from there, it branches itself out in every other external activity known to man. But it all begins on the inside. This is the will of God. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to what? Repentance. That's the will of God. He wanted these people to fall on their face and repent of their religiosity.

Repented their pride, their arrogance, repented the fact that they thought they were doing everything right when, in fact, they were doing everything wrong because they abused the law of God. It says over in John chapter 6. What shall we do? That we might work the works of God. And Christ responded, This is the work of God: that you believe on Him in whom He has sent. I want you to believe in me. I want you to believe in me so much that you just abandon everything that you have and give yourself to me.

That's the work of God. See, once you discover what God has for you, you've got to make a decision, right? That's point number two.

Not only do you have to discover the will of God, you've got to desire the will of God. You've got to desire God's will. You want to desire it so much that you will enter the narrow gate. You will abandon your self-resources. You will abandon those things you trust in. You will give it all over and say, God, I'm all yours. Here I am. Take me. Do whatever you want with me. I am yours to be used. In any way I possibly can. But there are many people who discover the will of God, find themselves at a crossroads, and will never desire the will of God because it's contrary to their will.

And they'll say, you know what? I don't want that. Do you desire the will of God to serve Him with all of your heart? To honor Him no matter what? You see, when you don't desire the will of God as you should, what do you do? You ask for forgiveness. So, what does God do? He forgives you. Because a true child of God is a penitent person. They seek the forgiveness of God. They repent of their sins because they grieve the Spirit of God. So you discover God's will, you desire His will, and then you do His will.

It says in John 14:2, My sheep hear my voice. And I know them, who knows the next phrase? And they follow me. The bottom line in Christianity is obedience. Show me a person who's disobedience, and I'll show you a person you can never confirm his eternal destiny with God. You show me a person who's obedient to God, longing to serve Him and desire Him, and I'll show you a person who loves God with all of His heart, soul, and mind, and strength. That's the heart of a person who's not self-deceived. Because in his heart, to the very end of his life, all he wants to do is the will of God.

Psalm 119, verse number 44. So I will keep thy law continually forever and ever. Is that your heart's desire? Is that the pattern of your life? Then you're not self-deceived. You know for certain you're going to heaven because you want God more than anything else. Money can give, the earth can give. You want to serve him. Yet there are so many people who don't understand the phrases of scripture, who don't understand the demands that God gives in scripture. They're ignorant of those things. Please, don't confirm someone in their delusion.

Don't confirm someone who does not live a life of faith and obedience to God that they're saved. Don't do that. Confront them. With the truth of Scripture. Ask them, do you know for certain? For many on that day will say, Lord, Lord, and he will say, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Let's pray.