The horrifying prospect of self-deception
Two of my friends recently posted some of their thoughts on Matthew 7:21-23. That intrigued me since I had already been planning for several weeks to write about the same passage.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read those words of Jesus, but I find them as gripping now as ever. They are in fact terrible, haunting words:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
The words paint a frightening picture of those who spends their entire life thinking they’re following Christ, fatally unaware until the day of judgment that they had been deceiving themselves all along.
Self-deception. Have you ever really thought about what that means?
If you have successfully deceived yourself, it means that you’ve actually believed your own lie. And if you truly believe your own lie, you have effectively closed the door on any possibility of knowing the truth. That is a sobering thought and a frankly terrifying prospect. And it is also exactly what the Bible says some people do.
So how do we avoid the kind of damning self-deception Jesus was describing? In light of Jesus’ words the answer to that question is a matter of life and death eternal.
The two friends I mentioned at the beginning of this post help shed some light on that question and on Jesus’ words. To begin with, Ron points out that those who are commanded to leave the presence of Christ…
…are attempting to stand before the Messiah on the basis of their efforts, even efforts done in the name of Christ. It seems they are attempting to stand on a sorely and absolutely insufficient foundation of works righteousness before the Holy One who spoke the universe into existence from nothing.
Now, when I read and ponder on this verse, I will consider even more carefully and understand more dearly and rejoice more heartily in the fact that I bring nothing to the table. We in Christ have nothing of our own to offer our Redeemer than our weakness, our brokenness over sin and our brokenness by sin, a heart that, quickened by God’s sovereign work of grace, becomes more repentant over time as we grow increasingly aware of how miserably far we fall short.
You and I have nothing to offer Christ but our sin and brokenness. Never ever imagine otherwise.
My other friend, David, looks at the same passage and asks a simple question–How can I know that I am saved? Is there a more important question than that? David’s post is part one of a series.
Can you know that you’re saved, and not merely deceiving yourself into thinking you are? The answer, thankfully, is yes. Just make certain that you don’t assume too much. Jesus gave us warnings like this for a very good reason.
Barry Wallace
theoparadox
pijohnson
Ah, a terrifying bit of Scripture if there ever was one. I lived a life of hypocrisy for many years, even spent two years in Bible college, assured I was a Christian. It wasn’t until the time of my conversion that I ever began to doubt my salvation. Now, from time to time I still do, always because I’m horrified by the sin that still remains. And like David I’m wondering again, “How can I know that I am saved?” and running back to the cross, the only place of refuge I can find.
Laurie,
My experience has been very similar to yours. I believe those doubts are actually designed to do the very thing you just described–send us running back to the cross. There, and there alone, are salvation and assurance to be found.
I pray that every person who finds their way to this page would ultimately find their way to the cross of Christ. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
I think if we have doubts that may actually be a healthy response-we know we are sinners and can do nothing to save ourselves.
If we do not doubt the Lord’s ability to pay for our sins, but doubt ourselves only, we may stay more focused on Him and not on thinking of anything we can do to merit salvation.
I do not know if this makes sense to anyone, but if our doubt or ourselves drives us deeper into His arms, His love, to look for our salvation, it almost feels like the right thing.