Matthew 7:

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 90:1-2
• Hymn — O God, Our Help in Ages Past (#30)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Recitation — Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 18, Section 3
• Hymn — Blessed Assurance (#693)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Matthew 7:21-23
• Sermon
• Hymn — All the Way My Savior Leads Me (#605)
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

---

Sermon Title: Are You Ready for the Day of Judgment

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-23

I. Hear the Declaration of the Son of God

A. The setting: the great day of judgment

1. Jesus speaks of the future day when he returns, sits on his glorious throne, and separates all people — Matthew 25:31-32
2. This is the culmination of the Sermon on the Mount's two-way distinction: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked — Psalm 1

B. Christ is judge over all people

1. Scripture gives many descriptors of Christ — Savior, brother, friend, Shepherd, Prophet, Priest, King — but also Judge
2. All people bring their accounting before him; the scene pictures Christ in his role as eternal judge

C. The judge's discriminating declaration: "I never knew you"

1. His knowing of a person does not change with circumstances, professions, or decisions — it is eternal
2. "To know" implies a special covenantal relationship: Amos 3:2 — "You only have I known of all the families of the earth"
3. To some he declares, "I never knew you" — no covenant, no special relationship; a damning declaration
4. By implication, to his true people the judge will declare, "I always knew you"
   • Psalm 1:6 — "The Lord knows the way of the righteous"
   • 2 Timothy 2:19 — "The Lord knows those who are his"
   • Ephesians 1:4 — chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world

II. Heed the Danger of Self-Deception

A. The danger is real and specific

1. The self-deceived person checks many Christian boxes and by all external accounts looks like a disciple
2. Martin Lloyd-Jones calls these the most solemn and solemnizing words ever uttered in this world

B. The danger of self-deception by right doctrine

1. The self-deceived calls Jesus "Lord, Lord" — showing some theological recognition of who Christ is
2. A person can know and profess all right things about Christ and yet not be profited by it
3. The danger: grounding assurance in the act of believing rather than in the object of belief

C. The danger of self-deception by good deeds

1. The self-deceived parades great deeds done in Christ's name — prophecy, casting out demons, mighty works (Matthew 7:22)
2. Good moral living, religious habits, and ministry triumphs can become the ground of false assurance
3. The danger: finding assurance in our activity rather than in the one who demands our activity

D. The danger of self-deception by mere decisionism

1. When the church waters down the gospel to a single decision or prayer, many are led into self-deception
2. The danger: grounding assurance in a past decision rather than in Christ himself

E. The remedy: self-examination — 2 Corinthians 13:5, 1 Corinthians 11

1. Examine your doctrine — Who do you say that Christ is? Hold your doctrine up to the light of Scripture; seek better doctrine, not less
2. Examine your deeds — Even demons believe and shudder (James 2); new life shows itself in signs of life — godliness, holiness, good fruit; examine yourself by the Beatitudes and the whole Sermon on the Mount
3. Examine your devotion — Jesus asks for more than a one-time decision; he wants your heart, your love, your treasure (Matthew 6:19-21); doctrine and deeds without devotion are self-serving and self-deceiving

F. The posture of self-examination

1. The disciples' response at the Last Supper: "Is it I, Lord?" — filled with sorrow yet turning to him (Matthew 26:22)
2. The psalmist's prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart… lead me in the way everlasting" — Psalm 139:23-24
3. The Spirit convicts and comforts the conscience by the light of the word

G. The purpose of Christ's solemn warning

1. Not to cause us to stagger in faith, but to drive us to Christ — the founder and perfecter of our faith
2. The goal: to be found complete not in a righteousness of our own, but in the righteousness that comes through faith in the Son of God