THE PEOPLE OF MATTHEW 7:21-23

Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

This passage is one of the most frequently twisted scriptures today, and yet it is so very plain. Here we have a group of people being cast into hell, who attempt to appeal to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us analyze what they said:

1. They called Jesus, “Lord, Lord.” Apparently they thought lip service was going to please him.

2. “Have we not prophesied in thy name?”

3. “And in thy name have cast out devils?”

4. “And in thy name done many wonderful works?”

These people boasted of all the wonderful things they did, all the good works they performed. But according to Jesus, they did NOT do the will of the Father. What is the will of the Father? Look at John 6:40:

John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The will of the Father to enter into the kingdom of heaven is to believe on Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son. Let us look again at the people mentioned in Matthew 7:21-23.

They said, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”

They did NOT say, “Lord, Lord, did we not believe on you? did we not receive you as our Saviour? did we not rest in the gospel preached of you?” Their faith was in themselves, NOT the Lord Jesus Christ.

So why did he call them workers of iniquity, even though they did “many wonderful works”? Because they did not have Christ’s righteousness imputed to them by faith. All they had to offer was their own filthy rags.

Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Romans 4:5-8, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

According to Paul and David, a man who has faith in Jesus Christ as his Saviour is forgiven of his iniquities. He is NOT considered a worker of iniquity. The workers of iniquity in Matthew 7:21-23 were so because they did NOT have their sins forgiven; Christ NEVER knew them. How sad! All they had to do was believe the gospel (the death of Christ for our sins, his burial, and his bodily resurrection on the third day).

Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

ZACCHAEUS RECEIVED JESUS CHRIST AND WAS SAVED

Luke 19:9, “And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.”

In Luke 19 we find a little man, Zacchaeus, who was rich and the chief among the publicans. He sought to see Jesus but could not because of the group of people (“press”) and his short stature. He climbed up a sycamore tree and Jesus found him, and told him He must stay at his house that day.

Luke 19:1-5, “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.”

What happened with Zacchaeus? He got saved. We know this to be true because the next verse tells us he received Jesus.

Luke 19:6, “And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.”

This caused the people to murmur, that Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, would be the guest of a sinner! After coming down and receiving Jesus Christ as his Saviour (by believing on Him), Zacchaeus vows to restore fourfold anything he has taken by false accusation.

Luke 19:7-8, “And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”

Finally, Jesus said unto Zacchaeus that salvation is come to his house, and that he was a son of Abraham.

Luke 19:9-10, “And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Why did Jesus call Zacchaeus a “son of Abraham”? Because he received Christ as his Saviour by faith. Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians, affirms that whosoever is born again by faith in Christ is the seed of Abraham.

Galatians 3:6-9, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”

Galatians 3:26-29, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Also note that Luke 19:6 tells us that Zacchaeus RECEIVED Jesus when he came down from the tree. The book of John tells us that they who RECEIVE Christ as their Saviour by faith become sons of God.

John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

In other words, Zacchaeus was not saved because he made promises (giving half of his goods to the poor, restoring fourfold the things he had taken by false accusation), and he was not saved because he called Jesus “Lord” (confession). He also was not saved, according to the scriptures, because he got baptized, went to church, kept sacraments, asked Jesus into his heart, made Jesus Lord, or stopped sinning! He was saved because he received Jesus Christ as his Saviour by faith! Salvation is that simple, because it is a free gift!

Romans 5:12-18, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”

It was the Lord Jesus Christ who did all the hard work of sinlessly keeping the law and sacrificing Himself for us, that our sins could be forgiven and we could have eternal life. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day for our justification. That is the gospel of salvation that we must believe to be saved; our works WILL NOT save us from eternity in the lake of fire! Only Jesus can save us if we believe His gospel!

1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST

According to the scriptures, it is the blood of Christ that redeems us, not our good works, nor baptism, nor faith in God’s existence, nor church attendance/membership, nor any other tradition of man.

The scriptures also tell us that God’s plan of salvation was planned before the foundation of the world: God planned for His Son Jesus to redeem the world with His blood.

1 Peter 1:18-21, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”

It is in Christ’s blood that we are washed from our sins; not loosed, nor freed, as claimed by the modern perversions, but WASHED. We will get to this later.

Revelation 1:5-6, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

In Hebrews 9, we learn that the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ was pictured in the Old Testament by the high priest applying the blood to the mercy seat in the Holiest of all once a year. Christ is our high priest, who offered Himself for our sins, and applied His blood to the mercy seat in heaven.

Hebrews 9:2-14, “For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

The Lord Jesus paid for our sins with His own blood, and He only did it once. According to the scriptures, He is the propitiation for our sins. Christ is the justifier of them that believe on Him by believing the gospel of His death for our sins, burial, and resurrection.

Romans 3:19-26, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

To God be the glory, great things He hath done! What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus Christ!

Now we are going to see how the modern perversions corrupt the doctrine of Christ’s blood sacrifice by denying that we are WASHED in His blood and even omitting the blood entirely in a few scriptures.

The King James Bible states that we have redemption in Jesus Christ through His blood; our sins are forgiven if we have faith in His blood sacrifice.

Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;“

Colossians 1:12-14, “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”

The modern perversions corrupt Colossians 1:14 by omitting the blood. We are going to see how this scripture is rendered in three popular versions.

Colossians 1:14 (ESV), “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Colossians 1:14 (NASB), “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Colossians 1:14 (NIV), “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Most modern perversions retain the blood in Romans 3:25, but not The Message. The Message mentions the sacrifice, but leaves the blood out, which begs the question: what did Jesus sacrifice, if not His blood?

Romans 3:25, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”

Romans 3:25 (MSG), “God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public - to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured.”

Do you see how The Message completely confuses the teaching of Jesus Christ being the propitiation for our sins through faith in His blood? This is the work of Satan, not God. God is not the author of confusion.

1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

Many of the modern perversions retain the mercy seat in Hebrews 9:5, but the NIV and the NLT do not. This is a leaven that leaveneth the whole lump.

Hebrews 9:5, “And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.”

Hebrews 9:5 (NIV), “Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.”

Hebrews 9:5 (NLT), “Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.”

Finally, the modern perversions deny that we are WASHED from our sins in the blood of Jesus Christ, saying instead that we are loosed or freed. To use the latter terms implies that born again believers do not sin anymore, which is not true. But if we are WASHED from our sins in the blood, God does not impute sin to us, and our transgressions are blotted out.

Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”

Romans 4:8, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

Here is the evidence of the modern perversions denying that we are WASHED in Christ’s blood. The King James Bible says we are washed!

Revelation 1:5, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”

Revelation 1:5 (ASV), “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood;”

Revelation 1:5 (ESV), “and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood”

Revelation 1:5 (NIV), “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,”

With the doctrine of the blood of Christ being attacked in the modern perversions, is it any wonder that most preachers today talk only superficially of Jesus Christ’s blood? Is it any wonder that the mercy seat is not mentioned? Is it any wonder how they can preach on the blood of Christ but still teach Lordship Salvation? This proves once again that the modern perversions are the root of many heresies being taught in the churches today. Truly, the King James Bible is the only blood-sprinkled book we have today. Get back to the King James Bible!

Exodus 24:6-8, “And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.”

Hebrews 9:19-20, “For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.”

EPISCOPALIAN “HOLY BAPTISM” REFUTED

I hold in my hands a booklet titled, “What every Episcopalian should know about the sacrament of holy baptism” (2007 edition). This booklet teaches that a person receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of being baptized in water, and that said person receives eternal life after doing so.

Friends, neither of these things are taught in the scriptures. Water baptism is documented in scripture, yes, but NOT as a means of receiving the Holy Ghost OR eternal life.

Looking through the booklet, you might notice that NOWHERE in the booklet is the gospel of Christ preached, nor is it stated that eternal life is a FREE GIFT, bought and paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us analyze the booklet step by step.

The first part of the booklet opens with the question, “What is the sacrament of baptism?” Sacrament is defined at the bottom as, “an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace” (according to the Book of Common Prayer). To start with, the word “sacrament” is not found anywhere in the scriptures, not even in the modern perversions.

Secondly, grace is defined in the dictionary under Christianity as, “the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.” That right there proves that sacraments do not bring grace: sacraments are WORKS, and the scriptures are clear that works and grace are separate and cancel each other out if mixed together.

Romans 11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Now, I am not going to quote every single statement in the Episcopalian booklet, but I will show and refute the dangerous ones that will lead a person to hell.

“Through Baptism, a person… is adopted as a child of God and made an inheritor of heaven.”

Nowhere in the scriptures is it taught that a person becomes a child of God by water baptism. In fact, many scriptures say that we receive the inheritance by FAITH (in other words: TRUST), by which we are sanctified forever. Here is one such scripture, quoting Jesus.

Acts 26:18, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

The next question asked is, “Why is it important to understand the Sacrament of Baptism?” The answer given is, “The newly baptized person receives the gift of the Holy Spirit - a gift that enables growth in Christian life and faith. Baptism brings the person out of sin - into everlasting life.”

Firstly, water baptism does NOT bring the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is proven by the words of Peter twice in the book of Acts.

Acts 10:45-47, 15:7-9, “And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?… And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.”

In Acts 10, Peter asks for the new believers to be baptized in water AFTER they received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Would Peter have them be baptized in water twice if baptism brought the Holy Ghost? No, that would be stupid. In Acts 15, Peter said that people received the Holy Ghost by God after they believed the gospel being preached. He did not mention baptizing them in water at all. This means that the baptism referred to in Acts 2:38 is a SPIRITUAL baptism, NOT a physical one.

Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Secondly, baptism does not bring anyone out of sin and into eternal life: only faith in Jesus Christ as your Saviour does. Remember, the true gospel that saves is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for our sins.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

In the section on the history of baptism, it is claimed that “The history of the sacrament is remembered in a prayer thanking God for the water of baptism.” Friends, there is no such example in scripture of a person thanking God for water baptism, nor is there a command to do so. This is an example of rejecting the word of God in favor of keeping one’s tradition, which Jesus Christ Himself rebuked.

Mark 7:9, “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”

According to the Episcopalian baptism booklet, “the meaning of baptism… signifies… birth into God’s family, the Church, Baptism initiates us into the community of the one, holy catholic, and apostolic Church.”

Firstly, the words “catholic” and “apostolic” are not found in the scriptures, not even in the modern perversions. Secondly, we become children of God by receiving Jesus Christ as our Saviour by faith in the gospel, NOT water baptism.

John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

“The meaning of baptism… signifies… forgiveness of sins. Through Baptism, we are given God’s grace and cleansed of our sins.”

Wrong, wrong, wrong. This is, again, not taught anywhere in the scriptures. In fact, the scriptures tell a different story. According to the scriptures, we are forgiven by faith in the blood of Christ, which cleanses us from sin.

Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

Romans 3:24-26, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

There can be no denying it: the Episcopal Church teaches a false plan of salvation straight out of the pits of hell. Not once are we told in the scriptures that water baptism saves a person or brings them the Holy Spirit. None of the Old Testament saints or the thief on the cross were baptized. According to the Episcopal Church, they were not saved and were not children of God. This contradicts what Jesus said to the thief on the cross.

Luke 23:39-43, “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

Either Jesus was telling the truth, or the Episcopal Church is. I am willing to bet my life that Jesus was telling the truth and the Episcopal Church is lying. According to the scriptures, ANYONE who preaches a false gospel is accursed. This means that the Episcopal Church is a false church, not of God. If you are an Episcopalian and you are reading this, I do not hate you, nor do I condemn you, but the facts are clear: the Episcopal Church did not base the teaching of holy baptism on the scriptures, but on religious manmade traditions. Do not trust in water baptism!

Galatians 1:9, “As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”