“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
-Matthew 7:21-23
The following experience has been on my heart so I feel that I should share it with you, blog readers. At work a few days ago, I waited on a middle-aged couple. The entire time they were dining, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They weren't overly kind or friendly and they did not make any effort to talk to me aside from ordering their food.
Later as I was clearing their table off, I saw that they had left their tip tucked inside a pamphlet. On the cover of the pamphlet was a photo of a beautiful sunset with the words, "Are you going to Heaven?" across the top. The restaurant was busy at the time so I quickly opened it up and skimmed what it had to say. It was a watered down list of steps to explain how to "get into Heaven". I don't remember the exact steps, but it was basically to admit that you are a sinner and pray a sinner's prayer.
I almost laughed out loud after looking at it. It was a perfect example of what I had just read the day before in the book Radical by David Platt. In one part of the book, David writes about how we have watered down Christianity to a series of steps and sales pitches that will assure we "get into heaven." In the book David writes, "I invite you to consider with me a proper response to this gospel. Surely more than praying a prayer is involved. Surely more than religious attendance is warranted. Surely this gospel evokes unconditional surrender of all that we are and all that we have to all that he is."
David goes on to quote Matthew 7:21-23: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ David explains that in this passage, Jesus was not talking to non-believers. He was talking to very religious people. People that thought they were headed to heaven. People that thought because they prayed the sinner's prayer and they were 'good people' they were going to be ok.
Platt also writes, "The danger of spiritual deception is real. As a pastor, I shudder at the thought and lie awake at night when I consider the possibility that scores of people who sit before me on a Sunday morning might think that they are saved when they are not. Scores of people who have positioned their lives on a religious road that makes grandiose promises at minimal cost. We have been told all that is required is a one-time decision, maybe even mere intellectual assent to Jesus, but after that we need not worry about his commands, his standards, or his glory. We have a ticket to heaven, and we can live however we want on this earth. Our sin will be tolerated along the way. Much of modern evangelism today is built on leading people down this road, and crowds flock to it, but in the end it is a road built along sinking sand, and it risks disillusioning millions of souls."
It is so sad to think that I know more than a few people that fit into that description. They call themselves Christians, but their lives do not model that of a follower of Jesus. It is true that "it is by grace we are saved and not by works (Ephesians 2)" BUT we are called to live a new life, turn from sin, to pick up our cross, and follow Christ.
While I do not want to condemn/judge anyone for the way that they evangelize, I am seeing now why so many Christians seem to be hypocrites. They have been sold a lie. Being a follower of Christ on the "narrow road to heaven" is going to be difficult. We have to give up OUR dreams for His. We have to die to ourselves. God promises that as followers we will be persecuted, and crushed down but not destroyed.
As I reflect back on the couple from the restaurant. I wonder if maybe they are unaware of some of these Biblical truths. Maybe they were also deceived about what it means to follow Jesus. Nothing about them showed me their love for Christ. If I were a non-believer, that pamphlet would have been scoffed at and thrown in the trash. If I were a non-believer, would that pamphlet have shown me God's love? That couple did not seem to care about me or have any overflowing joy in their lives. Why should I bother to accept their God if their life is no different than mine?
The situation has caused me to take a look at my own self. While I have never handed out an "Are you going to heaven" pamphlet, I know there are many times that I have taken the easy way out. Instead of stopping for the person in front of me, talking to them, giving them the time of day, loving them, showing them Jesus in my life, or sharing the gospel, I walked right on past...or even worse, I might not have even noticed them at all. While God might still somehow use an "Are you going to heaven" pamphlets for his purpose, I don't think that is how he intended us to share his gospel. I believe that we are to be a bold living example.
**I would like anyone reading this post to know that although I wrote this, I was convicted by the words on this page just as much I think some of you might be.
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