25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.'
"But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'
Such solemn words in our Savior’s speech! Jesus addresses this in other passages of Scripture too. We find in Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount:
21 "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. 22 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?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Matt 7:21-23 (NIV)
Plainly, Jesus is giving us fair warning here. Our entry to heaven does not merely consist of our knocking and pleading, crying out Lord, Lord, prophesying, driving out demons or performing miracles – all of which wolves in sheep’s clothing have the ability to do. No, Jesus tells us our entry to heaven depends on if He knows us and where we come from. I am reminded of another passage in Matthew which sheds a bit more light on our topic for today:
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." 48 He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." Matt 12:46-50 (NIV)
“Christianity is not a religion but a relationship of love expressed toward God and men.” Sherwood Eliot Wirt
“Our great honor lies in being just what Jesus was and is. What greater glory could come to any man?” A. W. Tozer
If you are a child of the King then you will bear a resemblance to Him. Just as there is a familial resemblance to our earthly family, there should also be a familial resemblance to our Spiritual family. Do our words and actions point others to Christ? Do we resemble Jesus? Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John:
23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. John 14:23-24 (NIV)
This, of course, is not perfection but a desire of the will to be obedient to His commands and a strong distaste for those things that displease our Lord. Love what He loves and hate what He hates. Any sin we commit represents a nail to Him – it is crucifying His heart all over again. Should we thus treat sin so lightly? It is the work of Satan himself that we are amused with depravity. It is the beginning step in our embracing of it.
“The Holy Spirit gives the soul a natural relish for the sweetness of what is holy and for everything that is holy as it comes into view. He also intensifies a dislike and disgust of everything that is unholy.” Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections
Consider Judas – with a pretense of piety, he did the devil’s drudgery in Christ’s uniform. He walked closely with the Lord Jesus. He ate with Him. He performed miracles in Jesus’ name. Judas called Jesus Lord and was privy to be in His inner circle of twelve. Yet Judas was a turncoat, a deserter, a traitor. His issue was money. In keeper of the disciples’ money bag, he delighted in helping himself to what was put in it:
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. John 12:4-6 (NIV)
Believer, beware of the little foxes in your vineyard! They can destroy a life! Contrast Judas with Moses. Hebrews 11 tells us:
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Heb 11:24-26 (NIV)
“It will do us good to be very empty, to be very weak, and so to go about our Master’s work.” Charles Spurgeon