The Danger of Being Spiritual and Not Being Saved!
Mt 7:21–23 (NKJV) — 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
The above reference gives us one of the most terrifying warnings in Scripture – Jesus will tell many who call him Lord, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Think of that! I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Meaning we may know him, or think we know him, but he says he doesn’t know us.
He also says, “Many will say”, not just a few, but MANY who call themselves Christians will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.
This includes many people who consider themselves spiritual. They have a knowledge of God. They may practice religion, they may sing in the choir, they may treat people right, they may be trying to live the right life. They may have talked about Christ, but He will say, I never knew you!
They may have thought they were doing right, but they were deceived.
Being deceived is nothing unusual. Satan is the master of deception. That is how we wound up in this situation in the first place. Remember, Satan deceived the woman, and she ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thinking it was safe to do.
This passage is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew chapter 7 He talks about false prophets (7:15-20), false disciples (7:21-23), and false foundations (7:24-27). These verses serve as a warning that not all who claim to know him will enter His kingdom. There will be many wolves and sheep’s clothing leading the people the wrong way.
Speaking of these people he says how we can recognize them, Mt 7:20 (NKJV) — 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
See, just because someone may call Jesus Lord, it does not guarantee them salvation! Jesus states that only "he who does the will of My Father" will enter the kingdom.
A confession of faith without obedience is worthless! True faith results in obedience!
These people practiced religion, but did not practice righteousness! They were involved in prophesying, exorcism, and miracles, yet they were not saved. They did what they thought was right, but they were not doing what was right.
Sometimes we can do what we think is right, but in the end, it will only lead to death!
The fact that Jesus said, “I never knew you” means they were never truly saved. Jesus never had a relationship with them!
How can this be that many who are calling themselves Christians or trying to be spiritual will not enter the kingdom of God?
There are two conditions listed here as to why they could not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Today I’m going to help you confirm whether you are going to enter the kingdom of heaven or not. Whether you are saved or not.
I am going to help you avoid being one of those many people who think they are living right because you call yourself a Christians or think of yourself as spiritual but will onlyl find yourself in hell.
Let’s start with the fundamentals where Jesus talks to a truly religious spiritual person so we may understand that being religious is not enough.
Jn 3:1–6 (NKJV) — 1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
This man was a religious leader! Certainly he practiced all of the right things and attended to all the ceremonies to be considered a religious leader.
He even spiritually enough to recognize Jesus as a teacher from God and went to learn from him like many people come to church. But just recognizing Jesus is not enough. Even demons recognize Jesus!
2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
Obviously, he is a spiritual person! He can recognize the Jesus has God with him.
Jesus is not impressed with his spiritual credentials. He does not care that he is recognized as a ruler. Jesus strikes at the heart of what is really necessary.
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Here Jesus makes it clear that just because you are religious, it doesn’t mean you can make it into heaven. You can do many Christian or spiritual good works or even be a leader of people, but that does not mean you will enter into heaven.
Jesus tells him, you must be born again, before you can even see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Here is a spiritual person, a religious person, but he cannot understand the things of the spirit because he has not been born of the Holy Spirit.
Many people may consider themselves spiritual, but they are not spiritual enough to be Holy enough to see God.
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
What is the absolute necessity Jesus says for one being able to enter the kingdom of God? They would have to experience an action of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was speaking about the action of regeneration. I told you about this last month.
The prophet spoke of this in…
Ezekiel 36:25-27 (NKJV):
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”
And we talked about this in January.
Titus 3:5 (NKJV):
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus goes on to say…
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to do the will of God. No man on his own can do the will of God. Zechariah has told us, Zec 4:6 (NKJV) — 6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.
Keep in mind that:
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saying you are a Christian, or you are spiritual will not get you saved from the wrath of God.
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There is a danger of mistaking religious practices, spiritual experiences, or good works for true salvation.
In DADS class I do an extensive teaching about the necessity of the Holy Spirit to give you the power to do the will of God.
Jn 15:8 (NKJV) — 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
The Father’s will is that you bear much fruit to the glory of God!
Many people think they are born to live their lives for themselves. This is not true!
We are born to live our lives for the glory of God. How do we do this? We produce fruit to the glory of God!
Jn 15:8 (NKJV) — 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
Bearing fruit proves you have a relationship with Jesus as his disciple. As you are his disciple, he knows you.
Important point:
Fruit does not come of man’s labor. Fruit is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Fruit bearing is the only true indication of salvation!
Lk 6:44 (NKJV) — 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.
Listen, God expects you to do more than just attend church and call on his name. He expects you to bear fruit by abiding in him and he in you by his Spirit and then produce not just fruit… but much fruit!
Let us read the full context and see how fruit is produced and Christ comes to know you.
Jn 15:1–8 (NKJV) — 1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
It should be clear now that the one thing that God is looking for is that you bear much fruit!
You cannot bear fruit unless you have a relationship with Jesus!
Ga 5:22–23 (NKJV) — 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
If a person has been born again of the Spirit and has a relationship with Christ they will exemplify a lifestyle full of the fruit of the Spirit.
What does the scripture say is the fruit of the spirit?
Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control
Note: This is not 9 possible things or choices, it is not “Fruits” of the Spirit, but “Fruit” (singular) that produces 9 attributes.
Meaning everyone of us who truly have been regenerated and born again as a new creation is able to have all of these attributes clearly manifesting in our life!
A born again child of God manifest all nine attributes as fruit!
ALL OF THEM!
Now listen carefully. This cannot be done by any human being, not one of us can have all of these attributes, we can’t! Not by ourselves.
But if we abide in Christ, He in us and we in Him continually daily to submit to the Holy Spirit, we will exemplify all of these traits to various degrees until they are overwhelmingly manifest in our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit!
Then, Romans
How is this possible? Let me show you something.
At the end of chapter 14, what do we see as Jesus last sentence at the communion table to his disciples before he goes to the cross is?
[Note: Let someone look it up and read it before displaying it]
Jn 14:31 …..Arise, let us go from here.
He had been talking to them earlier about his death.
Jn 14:25–26 (NKJV) — 25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
He said these things while seated at the communion table where he was discussing his death and his suffering. They had just taken of his body and his blood in the communion meal.
Then he says, “Arise, let us go from here.”
This is symbolic of his resurrection from the dead and then he says,
Jn 15:1 (NKJV) — 1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
What we see as revealed by the way this is organized by the Holy Spirit, is that there must be a death and resurrection to the new life by the Spirit before there can be Fruit of the spirit.
Jn 12:24 (NKJV) — 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
We are seeing very clearly spiritually by the order of these words, Christ must die for the Holy Spirit to come, and likewise we also must die to the flesh and deny ourselves to be born again of the spirit in order to produce the Fruit of the Spirit.
It is the number of a new creation, a new beginning, and resurrection.
We now come to understand the truth of the matter that many miss seeing.
Only win a person experiences a new beginning can they produce fruit!
Fruit bearing can occur after the death of the seed and a new beginning occurs as a new creation.
1 Cor 15:37
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
We see it multiple times in the first 10 verses.
“Abide” has reference to fellowship with Christ.
Fruit bearing is conditioned upon abiding.
Only those who have been born again of the Spirit can have fellowship with Christ and the Father.
As the vine (Jesus) and the branches (us), become one by abiding together, the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the new creation.
This represents us becoming one with God. It represents a common life with the Father and the Son. We in Him and He in us and the fruit will be produced!
If we are one with the father and son, then the command to love one another becomes an imperative. It is a demand!
To not work to love as Christ loves is to reject or quench the Holy Spirit.
The major indication of one who is born again is abiding in the word and bearing fruit of the spirit which is summarized by one word -- love.
We must ultimately learn to love one another.
When we don’t have love for all people with no exceptions, it is an indication of the absence of abiding in the word to be able to have the Holy Spirit produce the fruit of the spirit in our lives which ultimately is love.
Without the Holy Spirit, we prove that we have no relationship with Christ and we have no ability to do the will of the father.
Therefore, without the Holy Spirit, we are unable to produce the Fruit of the Spirit, as
Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control
Conclusion
Mt 7:21–23 (NKJV) — 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Salvation for entry into the kingdom is not by works or spiritual acts but by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
Spirituality might comfort the flesh, but only salvation transforms the soul.
The end result of not submitting to the Holy Spirit is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and therefore…
In that final day, we will say ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
We will hear him say… I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
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