Spiritual Pretenders

Well, it has been an interesting week. I’m sure that you have all heard about the financial collapse of the New Era Foundation. It has been front page news all week long in the Wall Street Journal, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the New York Times.

What everyone thought to be a reputable charitable organization was apparently an elaborate pyramid scheme. Millions of dollars from Christian schools, colleges, mission agencies, and churches that were to have been matched by the foundation are probably going to be lost, including the money that we submitted from our church’s Growth Fund for our building project.

I’ll be updating you on more of the details tonight. But on Wednesday night, as the story was still breaking, I listed some of the evangelical Christian ministries that were affected.

Our three CB agencies have been hurt. They released an official statement which I had Dennis Baker’s office fax to me. I’ve made copies of it available for you on the table in the Narthex. CBInternational may lose as much as $4 million.

Focus on the Family, Campus Crusade, Westminster Seminary, Messiah College, CCEF, Biblical Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Seminary, Seminary of the East, PCB, Lancaster Bible College—the list goes on and on of the ministries that stand to lose millions of dollars. It seems as though almost everybody in the evangelical Christian world was caught up in this thing.

For some of them, like ourselves, this will be just a setback, not a catastrophe—a detour, not a disaster. But for others, it’s a matter of life and death.

Last Sunday, I stood before you and made the statement “Things are not always what they seem to be—especially when it comes to spiritual things.” Little did I realize how true those words were going to prove to be!

We became involved in the New Era foundation believing that it was a sound, reputable organization run by Christians who wanted to further the cause of Christ. But it didn’t turn out to be that, and now we’re left picking up the pieces.

In Matthew 7, Jesus said that there will be people who will make tremendous claims, and do amazing things in His name who do not, in fact, belong to him and will not be part of His kingdom. They are great pretenders. Let’s read those verses in Matthew 7:21-23:

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!’

There are four important lessons that Jesus has for us in this passage.

Lesson 1. A person can claim to be a Christian without being one.

Notice the emphasis in this passage. It is on what these people say to God about themselves. “Not everyone who says to me…” (v.21) Many will say to me…” (v.22) They come to Jesus with several claims about themselves.

And they are very fervent, and very respectful in the way that they address Jesus. They call Him “Lord”. That was a title of respect and honor. They even say “Lord, Lord” to show how earnest and sincere they are.

One of the things that everyone has been saying this week about Jack Bennett, the man who headed this New Era Foundation, was how sincere he seemed to be. He was sincere, but he was lying.

One of the lessons of this passage is that the fervency, and sincerity, with which a person professes Christ does not indicate that he really knows him or belongs to Him. Look at how Jesus responds to these people. He says “I never knew you.” and he calls them evildoers. That’s quite a contrast, isn’t it?

Notice the deep irony that Jesus is getting at here. These people are calling Jesus “Lord”, even though they are really “evildoers” who don’t know him at all.

The title “Lord” is a title of authority. It is a title which implies obedience and submission. There’s a vertical relationship implied in that title. In the first century a slave would call his master “Lord”. A student in a Jewish yeshiva would call his teacher “Lord”. A Roman citizen would call his emperor “Lord”.

The title “Lord” was never used when two people who were equals spoke to each other. It was reserved for situations when the lesser spoke to the greater.

Now if these people, who were really evil-doers—who were really doing their own will rather than the will of the King—come before the King and make a big show of bowing and scraping before him and calling him “Lord”, you can see the deceitfulness that is in their hearts. Their use of the word “Lord” is really a mockery.

They don’t really think that Jesus is Lord because if they did, then they would stop doing evil.

There are many people today who claim to be Christians—to be followers of Christ. They say it very sincerely, and they speak glowingly of what Jesus means to them.

But when you look at their lives, you realize that there are many areas where Jesus is not Lord. Many areas where his authority is not being acknowledged, and his commands are not being obeyed.

As you look at your own life, might that be true of you? Do you find yourself saying “Lord, Lord…” here at church on Sunday, while you are basically running your own life, and doing your own thing, and engaging in evil behavior the rest of the week?

Paul challenged the Corinthians to examine themselves, on the basis of their overall conduct, to see if they were really in the faith. In John 14.21, Jesus said “The person who really loves me is the one who keeps my commands.”

Jimmy Johnson, the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was always fond of saying “You can talk the talk, but you gotta walk the walk.”

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

Fervency without faithfulness is fraud. We’ve been hearing a lot about fraud this week. The New Era Foundation was supposed to be helping Christian organizations, but behind the scenes, it was a fraudulent operation. It was based on false claims.

There’s only one way to measure sincerity—it’s not by claims; it’s by actions. Actions speak louder than words. It doesn’t matter how you talk; it’s how you walk that proves whether you really belong to Jesus.

Lesson 2. A person can do remarkable spiritual things without being a Christian.

According to Jesus, there are people who will do great things in his name who will not even be Christians. Are you surprised at this? Don’t be—the Bible is full of examples of this very thing.

Remember Balaam back in the OT? The Lord spoke to the children of Israel through Balaam, even though Balaam was not a man of God. Remember the high priest Caiaphas in the NT? The Lord spoke prophetically through Caiaphas even though Caiaphas was not a believer. The ability to communicate the Word of God does not make you a child of God.

Up in Canada, there is a fellow named Charles Templeton. He’s a radio commentator, but he used to be a preacher. As a matter of fact, he was a contemporary of Billy Graham back in the days of the great YFC rallies in the late 40’s and early 50’s.

Many people thought that Charles Templeton was going to be a better preacher than Billy Graham. Through his ministry, he brought thousands to Christ. But then Charles Templeton turned his back on the faith. He became an agnostic; and an outspoken critic of the church.

But what about miracles? Surely a person cannot perform miracles unless God is with him? Don’t be too sure.

What about the magicians of Egypt in Pharaoh’s court? They performed miracles but they sure weren’t on God’s side. What about the 7 sons of Sceva in Acts 19, who went around casting out demons. They weren’t believers.

What about the false prophets and false messiahs that Jesus warned us would come in the last days, and perform great signs and miracles? What about Judas Iscariot? He went out with the Twelve and cast out demons and did miracles, but he was a son of perdition.

Miracles, and prophecy, and mighty wonders don’t make you a child of God.

Have you ever seen a counterfeit bill? It looks an awful lot like the real thing, doesn’t it? It fools a lot of people. But it’s phoney.

Now let’s suppose that somebody gives you a counterfeit $20 bill. You don’t realize that it’s counterfeit, and you use it to pay for some gas so that you can drive a car full of kids to a youth retreat.

The gas station owner doesn’t realize that it’s counterfeit, and he uses it to pay one of his employees. She takes it to the grocery store and uses it to buy some formula and diapers for her newborn baby.

The grocery store clerk gives the $20 bill to another customer as change, and that person puts it in the offering plate at his church on Sunday. The church includes it in a love offering to a visiting missionary, and he uses it to buy a new Bible at Hackmans to take back to the mission field with him.

But then Joe Hackman takes that $20 bill to the bank to deposit it, and the teller looks at the bill and says “I’m sorry Joe, but this is a counterfeit bill.”

That bill can do a lot of good while it’s in circulation, but when it arrives at the bank, it is exposed for what it really is—a phoney, a fraud. In the same way, a counterfeit Christian may do many good works—many spectacular and wonderful works even—but still be turned away from the kingdom of heaven.

Because what it all boils down to is not what you look like, or what you claim to be, or what you do in public in Jesus’ name. It’s what’s going on in your life. And that gets us to the third lesson of this passage:

Lesson 3. A true Christian does the will of God.

Does this mean that our salvation is based on works? No. How you live isn’t what gets you to heaven. But how you live proves whether or not you’re going there. There’s a difference.

It’s important that you understand this. The Bible talks about two great spiritual concepts: justification and sanctification.

Justification is when God declares a guilty sinner righteous when he puts his trust in Jesus Christ. If you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, then as far as God is concerned, it is just as if you had never sinned. Let me illustrate this for you:

Before he became mayor of New York City, Fiorello LaGuardia was a judge. One day, as he was presiding at police court, a poor man who had stolen a loaf of bread was brought in. This happened during the Depression years, and the man had lost his job and was having trouble feeding his large family.

The evidence was presented and the judge reached his verdict: “You’re guilty, and I’ve got to punish you,” said LaGuardia. “The law makes no exceptions. I have to sentence you to a fine of ten dollars.”

But no sooner had he said that than LaGuardia reached into his own pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. He tossed the bill into his hat, and said “There’s the ten dollars to pay your fine.

“Furthermore, I am hereby going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a man has to steal bread in order to feed his family. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.”

They passed the hat and gave the proceeds to the stunned man, who left the courtroom with forty-seven dollars and fifty cents in his pocket!

Jesus Christ, the righteous judge, stepped down from the bench and payed for your sin when he died on Calvary. God applies that payment to your account when you accept Him as your Savior. That process—that spiritual transaction—is what the Bible calls justification. That’s what your salvation is based on, and nothing else.

But the Bible goes on to say that when you are justified—a work that God does on your behalf—then you will begin to experience a spiritual process called sanctification. The word “sanctify” means “to make something holy” . We call this room the “sanctuary” because it is a room devoted to holy use. It’s not a playroom, it’s not a work room, it’s a room for worshiping God. It has a holy purpose.

Sanctification is when God begins to transform your life to bring it into line with his standards, his values, his vision of what your life should be. He begins to make you holy. He begins to work on your attitudes, on your desires, on your priorities. He begins to work on your choices, on your relationships, on your lifestyle. He undertakes a massive renovation project in your life.

That work that God does in your life is what the Bible calls sanctification. God is in the process of making you holy.

Now here’s the kicker: Every person that God justifies, he also sanctifies.

Philippians 1:6 he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

The beginning of the work is justification; the completing of the work is sanctification. If there has been justification, there will also be sanctification. But if there is no sanctification taking place in a person’s life, it’s because there was no justification to begin with.

That is what is true of the people Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7. They are people who sound as though they’ve been justified. They call Jesus “Lord, Lord”. But what do you see when you look at their lives? You don’t see a process of sanctification taking place—you see evildoing. Their fruit reveals their root.

1 John 3:6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him… No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

…and God is doing the work of sanctification in his life.

Lesson 4. Our destiny is determined by Jesus’ opinion of us, not ours.

These people in Matthew 7 regarded themselves as being fit subjects for the kingdom of heaven. As far as they were concerned, they qualified. They called Jesus “Lord”. They did great and mighty things in His name. In their way of seeing things, they had all the right credentials to get into heaven.

But where did these impressive, sincere, religious people end up? They ended up separated from God forever. Why? Because they didn’t have the proper credentials to get into heaven.

A few months ago, Jon St. George told me an interesting story that I knew I would sooner or later use in a sermon. So here it is!

A couple of Jon’s friends were attending a PGA Golf Tournament. Now the tournament was being covered by CBS Sports. And all the people who worked for CBS Sports, and many of the golf pros in the tournament were wearing CBS Sports baseball caps.

Jon tells me that a CBS Sports baseball cap is pretty hard to come by. So it’s a very prestigious, desirable item. Anyway, Jon’s friends managed to somehow get hold of a couple of CBS Sports baseball caps.

And they found, to their delight, that just by wearing those caps, they could get into places that they otherwise wouldn’t have been allowed. And they managed to get past the first ring of security, and then the second ring of security.

And they were just about to enter the VIP tent where they could enjoy all that free food and hob-nob with Fred Couples and Greg Norman and all the other golf pros, when they were stopped by a security guard who asked them for their credentials.

The CBS Sports caps got them right up to the door of the tent, but no further. They didn’t have the proper credentials. So they were turned away.

Jesus said “Depart from me. I never knew you.” Jesus examined their credentials and he turned them away. It is Jesus’ estimation of us, not our estimation of ourselves, that will decide our eternal destiny.

Many people, when they think about where they are going to spend eternity, put on a CBS Sports cap and hope for the best. They indulge in an optimistic exercise in self-evaluation. They say “Well, I’ve tried to be good. I’m not perfect, but I’ve tried to do my best.”

And they fail to come to grips with the fact that none of us has “tried to do our best”. We’ve all failed miserably to measure up, even to our own standards, let alone God’s standards.

No, our own estimate of ourselves does not constitute the proper credentials for getting into heaven. We need credentials that only God can give us. And thankfully, when you accept Jesus, he gives you those credentials.

John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

When you, by faith, accept Jesus as your Savior, you become one of His sheep. He identifies you as one of His sheep. He puts his brand on you; he writes his name on your life. He puts his seal on you—the seal of the Holy Spirit—and that is His mark of ownership.

So when the time comes for you to stand before God, you don’t have to come as a pretender—like these folks in Matthew 7— pretending that you’re good enough, or you’ve done enough to get into his kingdom. All you need is Jesus’ mark of ownership on your life. That’s the only credential that will get you in.