Don’t Be Surprised on Judgement Day!

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’.” Matthew 7 ESV

This should get your attention! “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven.” On Judgment Day, there are those who will claim a relationship with Jesus, but Jesus will have nothing to do with them.

It is interesting that these people will plead their case with the Lord by claiming to have driven out demons and done many mighty works in Jesus’ name. Jesus doesn’t argue with the validity of the “mighty works” but says that in the end they were “workers of lawlessness [sin].” Performing signs and wonders is not proof of salvation, and Jesus will cast them away on Judgment Day.

What can be worse than believing you’re saved and finding out otherwise on Judgment Day? How do we avoid being one of those people? The Apostle Paul told the church of Corinth to “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5) Better to test yourself now than be surprised on Judgment Day.

How do we test ourselves? I can think of at least two ways:  First, do you love Jesus? Jesus is not a religion nor is He a means to an end. He is the living, risen, Son of God!  The Bible says we are to love God with all our heart (Luke 10:27).  We are to have affection for Christ. This manifests itself in love for His Word and love for His people. Not having affection for Christ should raise a huge red flag!

Another test follows the context of the passage. Is sin diminishing in your life?  Jesus denied knowing the people in Matthew 7:21-23. The one thing He said about them was that they practiced lawlessness. No believer attains sinless perfection, but there is a turning from sin. Where we once ran toward sin, now we run from it. When we do sin, we hate it.

   

Jesus teaches a significant number of people will be surprised on Judgment Day. They’ll find out they have no real saving relationship with Jesus. The time for self-examination is now. The good news is that if you’re reading this and feeling a sense of conviction about having a real relationship with Jesus, you can turn to Him now and follow Him. As long you are alive, it’s never too late.