Matthew 7:21-23
NOT EVERYONE GETS TO GO TO HEAVEN
Intro: You might not think it, but our world is very
heavenly minded. That is a strange statement
considering just how wretched and wicked our world is,
but in a recent CNN poll, it was discovered that 81% of
the people asked believed in a literal heaven where
people lived with God after death. 81%! 61% of those
polled said that they believed they would go to Heaven
immediately when they died. Another 88% believed
that they would see departed family and friends when
they arrived in Heaven.
I find these numbers astonishing in light of the
wickedness that fills our society, don't you? Of course,
there is another side to this story. Of all those polled,
6% believed Heaven could be reached by doing good
works. Another 57% believed that Heaven was
available to all who place their faith in God and did good
works and 34% believed that Heaven was for those who
had faith in God alone. Now, here is where a problem
begins to be seen. A full 63% of those who responded
believed they were going to Heaven, but they cited the
wrong reason for getting there. The other 34%, who
believed that Heaven came to those who placed their
faith in God, may be just as wrong as those who believe
salvation comes s a result of works.
I want you to know this morning that not everyone
goes to Heaven when they die! I know we want to
believe they do, but the fact of the matter is, not
everyone who thinks they are going to Heaven really is.
In what is, without question, the most important area of
any person's life, most people, are sincerely wrong
concerning what they believe about salvation.
As Jesus drew near to the end of the Sermon on the
Mount, He takes the time to remind men of the
seriousness of their salvation. He wanted all who heard
Him to be sure that they were genuinely converted.
That is my desire for each of you this morning. I would
like for us to spend a few minutes with these words of
Jesus and notice some thoughts that come from this
passage. I am going to preach this morning on the
thought "Not Everyone Gets To Go To Heaven."
It is my prayer that you will allow the Spirit of God to
speak to your hearts today. It may be that there are
some here this morning who have never been truly
saved. Perhaps this is the day when you will meet
Jesus as your Savior. Maybe there are those who think
they are saved, but in truth, you're not. I am praying
that God will speak to your heart today! Perhaps there
are those who know you have never been converted.
There is no better time than right now to get that taken
care of. Let's join Jesus as He teaches us the truth that
"Not Everyone Gets To Go To Heaven."
I. V. 21a A STARTLING COMMUNICATION
A. Jesus makes one of the most startling statements
in all the Bible. He says that not everyone who
claims Him as Lord will be saved! He is telling
us that there will be some people who will think
they are saved, but who, in fact, are still lost and
headed to Hell!
B. Jesus makes it clear that not all who profess Him
possess Him!
C. A mere profession of Jesus as Savior is not
enough to save! A person may believe in the
doctrines of the faith. They may be sincere and
good. However, merely saying you know Jesus
is not enough to save your soul. Belonging to
the church, being a good person, doing religious
things, etc, are all good, but none of them can
save the soul! Salvation come only through the
new birth, John 3:3, 7.
D. I think it is clear that Jesus is telling us that there
will be some who will think they are saved and in
reality they are deceived. Why would I believe
this? Because the Bible has much to say about
this matter.
1. "For many are called, but few are chosen.",
Matt. 22:14.
2. The parable of the Wheat and the Tares, Matt. 13:24-30; 13:36-43.
3. Paul also knew that there would be some in
the church who would be fooled by their
profession. "Examine yourselves, whether
ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.
Know ye not your own selves, how that
Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be
reprobates?", 2 Cor. 13:5
4. Simon Peter also mentioned this
phenomenon, "Wherefore the rather,
brethren, give diligence to make your
calling and election sure: for if ye do
these things, ye shall never fall:", 2 Pet.
1:10.
E. Why is this such a major concern? Because
without Jesus, there is no hope for salvation.
There is hope for nothing but Hell fire! Sadly,
there are too many in our day who base their
"salvation experience" on what their mother or
daddy told them happened. Too many are
trusting a time when they had a strange
experience. What we need to get firmly nailed
down this morning is that there are many people
who are trusting in some "fuzzy" experience to
get them to Heaven. Friend, you had better be
sure where your faith is today! Why? Your
eternity depends on what you trust in!
Remember, not everyone gets to go to Heaven!
I. A Startling Communication
II. V. 21b A SIMPLE CONDITION
A. Here, Jesus clears up the matter of what brings
salvation to a life. He says that people are
saved by "doing the will of His Father." Does
this mean that people are saved by works? Of
course not! Eph. 2:8-9. If we are going to
understand this verse, we are going to have to
find out what the will of the Father is.
B. According to John 6:40, this is the will of God,
"And this is the Father's will which hath sent
me, that of all which he hath given me I
should lose nothing, but should raise it up
again at the last day."
C. So, the Bible makes it clear that salvation comes
to those who see the Son and believe in Him.
The bottom line? Salvation is by pure faith in the
finished work of Jesus on the cross. If you can
come to the place where you are trusting nothing
but the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to
save you from your sins, that is biblical salvation.
It is stated as simply as possible in Romans
10:9-10, "That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession is made unto
salvation."
D. God has made salvation so easy to receive that
He is able to invite anyone who thirsts to come to
Him for salvation, John 7:37; Rev. 22:17.
Salvation is simple, "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved...", Acts 16:31.
E. Where is your faith this morning? It had better
be in Jesus because not everyone gets to go to
heaven!
I. A Startling Communication
II. A Simple Condition
III. V. 22 A STUNNED COMPLAINT
A. When these people hear the requirement for
salvation, they begin to recount all the things
they have done in life. They had done some
pretty impressive stuff! They had preached the
Word of God! They had cast out devils! They
had done many wonderful works! And, they had
done it all in the Name of Jesus!
B. You see, they were sincere! They were busy!
They were doing good stuff in a good Name.
They were making a difference. They were so
busy working for the Lord that they never took
the time to get to know Him personally!
C. These people appealed to their works to save
them. They even call Him Lord, but they do not
know Him! If this verse teaches us anything at
all, it teaches us that salvation cannot be
produced by works! My friends, you can do it all!
You can work and give and visit and preach and
teach and go to church and on and on and on,
but the truth still remains. Salvation is by "grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Not of works lest any man should boast."
D. Do you hear these boasting? Notice that their
whole claim to Heaven rests in what "they" have
done! The focus is on them and not on the Lord.
May I just remind you this morning, your
salvation will never be about you? It will never
be about what you have accomplished or what
you may have done. Salvation is all about Jesus
and what He did when He went to the cross and
took the sins of the world on Himself at Calvary.,
2 Cor. 5:21. Salvation is about Him! Salvation
is about the One Who suffered, bled and died to
accomplish what a million lifetimes of religious
works can never do, Ill. Heb. 9:12-14; Heb.
9:25-28; Heb. 10:10-14! (Ill. The awful
sufferings of the cross, Isa. 52:14; Isa. 53:4-11!
Glory Hallelujah!
E. Because of all this, I am glad that I can tell you
this morning, "It is done, and there is nothing
for you to do, but accept Jesus and His plan
for your salvation!" If you have received Him
and His plan, then praise the Lord. If not, then
you need to realize that not everyone gets to go
to Heaven!
(Ill. One day, a king died. His servants spread
the unbelievable news all over the palace. He
had died in his bed of natural causes.
"Where has he gone?", asked one of the king's
wisest counselors
"Why, to Heaven of course!", answered all the
others.
"No", said the other gravely, "I served this king
for many years and traveled with him to many
places. He loved to travel and would go over the
details of each journey. Every element was
planned and anticipated. But I have never heard
him say a word about traveling to Heaven. It is
a journey for which I saw him make no
preparation. I am quite sure he did not go to
Heaven." What about you? Have you made the
right preparations?)
I. A Startling Communication
II. A Simple Condition
III. A Stunned Complaint
IV. V. 23a A SHOCKING CONFESSION
A. As those people stood before the Lord, surely
they were shocked at what they had already
heard. Now they are about to hear something
that will forever seal their destiny. He tells them,
"I never knew you." They had claimed to be
working in His name. They had claimed that
they knew Him. They had professed a
relationship, but Jesus tells the truth. He tells
them that at no time in their lives hd He ever
known them!
(Ill. Of course, Jesus is God! He knows
everything. He knew who they were and He
knew their hearts. What He means here is that
He had never known them in a personal
relationship. These people had never been
saved!)
B. There are those who feel that this passage is
speaking to backsliders. Some feel that these
people were once saved and now, for whatever
reason, they are lost again. Of course, Jesus
says that He "never" knew them. If He ever
knew then He cannot say that He never knew
them! These aren't backsliders! These people
are just plain lost in their sins!
(Ill. By the way, I am convinced that many who
appear to be "backsliders" in the church are
really people who were never been saved in the
first place, 1 John 2:19.)
C. The whole point of this verse is this,
"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth
them that are his.", 2 Tim. 2:19. If Jesus ever
knew you, He still does today. If not, then you
might be in this crowd that gathers on that day
and finds they have no future in Heaven. Not
everyone gets to go to Heaven!
I. A Startling Communication
II. A Simple Condition
III. A Stunned Complaint
IV. A Shocking Confession
V. V. 23b A SUDDEN CONDEMNATION
A. These lost ones are ordered to leave the
presence of the Lord! There is only one place in
the universe where men can be free from the
manifest presence of God and that is in the fires
of Hell, 2 Thes. 1:8-9, "In flaming fire taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ: Who shall be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence of
the Lord, and from the glory of his power;"!
B. My friends, we need to remember that there is a
vast difference between Heaven and Hell!
1. Heaven is described as a place of endless
bliss and eternal glory, Rev. 21:4; John
14:1-3.
2. On the other hand, Hell is described as:
A. Unquenchable Fire - Mark 9:43
B. A place of memory and remorse - Luke
16:25; 27-28
C. A place of thirst - Luke 16:24-25
D. A place of misery and pain - Luke 16:24-26; Reb. 14:10-11.
E. A place of frustration and anger - Matt.
13:25; Matt. 24:51
F. A place of endless separation - Rev.
21:8; 2 Thes. 1:8-9
G. A place of undiluted divine wrath - (Ill.
Hab. 3:2, There will be no mercy for
those who go to Hell!)
(Ill. It is clear to see that there is no comparison
between Heaven and Hell. Which one do you
want to go to when you die?)
C. I think the saddest words in all the Bible will be
these words recorded here, "I never knew you,
depart from me." These are people who
expected to hear the Lord welcoming them into
Heaven. They were sincere. They thought they
were saved. They knew all the catch words and
the right things to say. They knew "Gospel
speak". Why then will these people hear these
words? Because they are basing their hope of
salvation on their own works and goodness.
Because they have failed to place their faith in
the finished work of Jesus on the cross. They
will go to Hell because they chose their way over
God's way. I wonder, what will Jesus say to
you? Remember, not everyone gets to go to
Heaven!
Conc: 81% of Americans believe in the existence of a
real literal Heaven. Almost that many expect to go
there immediately when they die. Will they? Only if
they have trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Unless they come to God through Jesus Christ, they will
never be saved, John 14:6.
This morning, I want you to know that I do not have
the ear of 81% of Americans. However, I have had your
ea this morning. Where do you stand with the Lord
Jesus? Do you think you are saved? Do you hope that
you will do to Heaven when you die? What are you
basing that hope on this morning? If there is the
slightest doubt in your heart that you are saved, you
need to come and get that things settled right now.
Some of you are lost. You need to get out of your seat
and make your way to Jesus right now. He is calling will
you come?
I remind you again, not everyone gets to go to
Heaven! Will you?
