Who Or What – Part 6

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’  (Matthew 7:21-23)

What is the Lord, Jesus, saying in the text here? How can you do all the things these people claim to have done and still not be right with God? The answer comes down to two questions;

“Who is it that provides the power to do these things?”

“Is there a difference between who someone is and what someone is?”

We need to know that it is God Who empowers people to work His works, and not we ourselves. It is the name of Jesus, and not our own, which commands fear among demons. If we fail to understand this truth then bad things are likely to ensue. Here is an example of what I’m talking about;

Acts 19:11-16

Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying,  “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

Notice that the passage states there were more than just these ‘sons of Sceva’ who were using the name of the Lord Jesus to cast out evil spirits. This practice was going on by others besides the men mentioned in this passage. These particular men became famous because of the response they got from one of the evil spirits they tried to exorcise. How can this have happened? Because the power to do such things is found in the name of Jesus, not in the people who use it. The evil spirit realized they did not believe in the name of Jesus, and so felt no compunction to obey.

Another example of this is found in Judas Iscariot. This man was numbered with the other Apostles and did all the same things that they did. He healed the sick. He cast out demons. He preached the Word of the Lord. The critical difference is that he obviously did not believe that Jesus was the Christ, or if he did he was willing to settle for money instead of salvation (thus knowingly and willfully ‘crucifying Christ’ Hebrews 6:4-6). This is a perfect example of what a person is (he was an Apostle) versus who a person is (he was an unbeliever/traitor).

How does this apply today?  Well, if you know of a homosexual, murderer, blasphemer or some other sinner, is it possible for God to love that person?  HE ABSOLUTELY DOES.  Why?  It is because they are human beings and because God loves people.  He knows that they are what they are (sinners) because of who they are (lost, spiritually dead and separated from God’s life and nature). Does He accept them for who they are if they are willing to seek him?  HE ABSOLUTELY DOES, because God accepts anyone who comes to Him.  Does He accept what they do?  HE ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT.  It is because what they do is in direct violation of what He has declared to be righteous behavior.  So how do we reconcile the difference?  Through the Person of Jesus Christ!  By coming to God in obedience to His Word, through faith in Christ we are born again and receive the nature of God.  We are made new, which changes who we are.  We are newly created on the inside, which changes what we are (what we do on the outside).  It is up to each and every individual to accept or reject this truth.  There is no middle ground with this decision. The decision to accept God’s provision has consequences, just as does the decision to reject it.