Judgment Day Surprise - Matthew 7:21-23 Series

Matthew 7:21 "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!'

Introduction

Well, I guess Harold Camping was wrong…again. For the tenth time now he has predicted the arrival of Judgment Day and was wrong. This time the prediction was that yesterday we would all meet our Maker and be judged. But if you want to know about Judgment Day, instead of asking a false prophet like Harold Camping, why not look to the words of the Judge Himself? We have been studying verse-by-verse through the Sermon on the Mount, and we are looking at Jesus’ closing words at the end of that sermon. And if you take a look at verse 22 you will see that little phrase on that day. That day is a reference to Judgment Day. And unlike Harold Camping, you can rely on what Jesus says about Judgment Day because Jesus is the Judge who is in charge of that Day.

John 5:22 the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.

I think most people laugh at Harold Camping. And I doubt very many people in our culture spend much time thinking about Judgment Day. But no matter what efforts they have made to push it out of their thoughts or ignore it or mock it or forget about it, deep down everyone knows that Judgment Day is coming someday.

The Bible speaks a great deal about that Day. In Genesis 18:25 God is called the Judge of all the earth.

Psalm 96:13 He will judge the world in righteousness

Acts 17:30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Romans 14:10 …we will all stand before God's judgment seat. … 12 each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Matthew 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him … 34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. … 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. … 46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence … 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. … The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. …15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Nothing is more certain than the fact that Judgment Day is coming.

Hebrews 9:27 man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment

And, as you can imagine, there will be some surprises.

Not everyone will be surprised. Millions of people – as soon as they see who the Judge is, will immediately know they are doomed. As soon as they see it is Jesus Christ there on the bench they will say, “Oh boy, I know where I’m going. I spent my life hating Him, mocking Him, rejecting Him. My friend at work told me to bow the knee to Him and confess Him as Lord, but I refused.” And when the condemnation comes for those people who refused to confess Jesus Christ as Lord - it will not be any surprise.

The surprise comes in verse 21.

21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven

That is shocking because you cannot be saved without confessing Jesus as Lord.