The Doom of the False Christian

I recently said to somebody, “Many Christians pay more attention to their shampoo than to the matter of their eternal salvation.” Michael Green, a New Testament scholar, made this statement: “I fear that so much that passes as Christianity will shrivel up in the day of judgment and be found to be bogus and worthless” (Michael Green, The Message of Matthew, The Bible Speaks Today, New Testament [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000], 109). No wonder the Bible tells us repeatedly to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith.

Jesus warned about bogus Christianity many times. In Matthew 7:15 he said, “Watch out for false prophets.” He was speaking not about false prophets in the world but about false ministers in the church.

False prophets are ministers who preach a gospel of deception and lies. As agents of Satan, they speak lies and contradict the word of God at every turn. They are dangerous, like ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing. False prophets can be recognized by their fruit.

Sadly, today’s evangelical church has many such false ministers who are not called by God, do not have God’s word in them, and do not care for God’s sheep. We are told about these false prophets throughout the Holy Scriptures. They always preach a message of optimism, especially when there is nothing to be optimistic about. False Christians love false prophets and their teachings.

The Problem of False Prophets

In the book of Jeremiah we find several references to false prophets. In Jeremiah 5:12 we read, “They have lied about the Lord; they said, ‘He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.'” What are they saying? “No harm! No judgment! You don’t have to listen to the covenant Lord and his stipulations. Nothing is going to happen to you. Do whatever you want.”

In Jeremiah 6:14 God says, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” False prophets never speak about man’s sin, the wrath of God, or the coming judgment. Their mission is to put band-aids on people’s serious wounds, covering them up rather than dealing with them.

In Jeremiah 23:16 we read, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you will false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.'” False prophets have no word of God. They are not at all inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. In verses 17-18 we read, “They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?” In verse 21 the Lord exposes the presumption of the false prophets: “I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.” In verse 25 the Lord says, “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name,” meaning lies of optimism and peace. “They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!'” And in verse 26 God asks, “How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets who prophesy the delusions of their own minds?”

False Christians will eagerly listen to false prophets, but avoid any real preaching of the word because it makes them uncomfortable. They don’t like the preacher who preaches the law, sin, and the wrath and judgment of God. True ministers of the gospel are not in the business of dressing serious wounds lightly with band-aids. They will never say smooth things and presenting cheap grace. But in Jeremiah 6:14 we read that the false prophets dress the wounds of the people as if they were not serious by saying there is no sin and therefore repentance is not necessary for salvation.

In Jeremiah 5:31 God says, “The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.” People prefer the lies of optimism over truth. But notice the last line of verse 31: “But what will you do in the end?” The end is hanging over our heads every day. Will the lies of optimism help us? No. All who do not love truth will perish.

The Character of False Prophets

God said his people will not put up with the word of God, which is like a two-edged sword that cuts and exposes the thoughts and intents of men’s hearts in order to heal them. They prefer the preaching of false prophets.

What characterizes false prophets’ preaching? Instead of preaching about sin, judgment, hell, wrath of God, repentance, or saving faith, or saying the cross is necessary for salvation, they say God loves and saves all people. In fact, they warn, “Watch out for the minister who says the broad way leads to destruction and that only the narrow way of Jesus Christ will lead to eternal life. It is not true! The narrow way leads to destruction; the broad way, to life.”

The evangelical world is full of broad-way ministers who say that holiness and obedience are not necessary. They may even declare there are many ways to heaven. They say God is love, so if we believe in Jesus, we do not have to live a holy life. They speak about cheap grace: forgiveness without repentance, salvation without the Savior, discipleship without denying oneself, a crown without the cross.

False prophets have only one thing in mind: “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain” (Jeremiah 6:13). In 2 Peter 2:1-3 we read, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you. . . .” Such “ministers” have no interest in your salvation. They are only interested in what will benefit them.

The Character of False Christians

False Christians are those in the church who enjoy and believe the preaching of false prophets. Refusing to believe the true preaching of the word of God, they cannot stand the idea of sin, repentance, the wrath of God, the kingdom of God, righteousness, or holiness. They don’t even want to hear these words! They want the preachers to say that people can be saved while continuing in sin. They are always looking for happiness, not holiness. Such people are always optimistic, rejecting the “negative” doctrine of sin and the word of the Lord that tells them to repent.

Jeremiah spoke about the nature of false Christians and their response to the word of God: “To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it” (Jeremiah 6:10). The word of God is pure joy to a believer. In Matthew 4:4 Jesus Christ declared, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (KJV). In Psalm 16:11 we read, “In thy presence there is fullness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (KJV). But to a false Christian, it is offensive.

False Christians love a “positive” gospel, an easy cure for their serious disease of sin; thus, they love those prophets who entertain them and preach what they want to hear.

We find false prophets and those who love them throughout the Bible. Wicked King Ahab of Israel kept four hundred of them in his court. Whenever he wanted advice, they would say whatever he wanted to hear, not wanting to disappoint their employer.

Paul spoke much about false prophets and false Christians. For instance, in 2 Timothy 3:1-7 he wrote, not about people in the world, but about those in the church:

But mark this: there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who work their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.

I challenge you to see whether you are a false Christian. If so, I pray you will repent and ask the Lord to come into your heart, that you may be saved.

Foolish Builders

False Christians are also foolish builders. Jesus Christ spoke about wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7. It is very simple to find out which builders are foolish and which are wise. The foolish builder never obeys and submits to Jesus Christ, never takes the word of God seriously, and never acknowledges that Jesus Christ is truly King of kings. He is truly a fool, who, according to the biblical definition, lives as if there is no God. People may go to church all their lives yet remain false and foolish.

In Matthew 7:24-25 Jesus spoke about wise builders, saying, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” But in verse 26 he identified foolish builders, saying, “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Foolish builders hear the word of God but do not think they have to obey it.

Most people consider religion to be a very private matter, something that should make them feel good, but not make any big difference in their lives. They do not show much concern about the state of their souls. The same people show great diligence about the state of their physical bodies, examining themselves regularly and immediately seeking medical tests if they find something wrong.

Most so-called Christians also take great pains concerning their physical life, but treat religion as an appendage that can be put on or taken off at will. They think mental assent to God’s word is all that is necessary and that faith without works is all that is required. They reject the notion of denying oneself, taking up the cross, and following Jesus Christ. They want to experience the feast of the kingdom of God without submitting to the rule of the King.

Such people are building according to their own ideas rather than the pattern God gave. They enjoy the word of God as entertainment, something that makes them feel good, but fight against obedience and holy living. The problem is that such people will not be saved. That is why we say false Christians are foolish builders.

The Naked Guest

The third point is the naked guest. In Matthew 22 we read about a great wedding banquet a king gave for his son. When the invited guests did not come, the great king invited the miserable wretches of the highways and byways to enjoy this wonderful feast, which speaks about salvation. “Everything is ready. Come!” his servants said, and the people came. But when the king entered the wedding hall, he noticed one guest was not wearing the wedding garments he had supplied.

This guest wanted to enter the kingdom of God on his own terms. “I don’t worry about wedding garments. I am going to go my way,” he told himself. I have met many people who adhere to this philosophy: “I will go to heaven on my own terms. I do not want the wedding garment of salvation through Jesus Christ which is freely given by God. What is wrong with my way?” Such people are like Cain, who knew that the right way to approach God was through blood sacrifice. By faith Cain’s brother Abel did the right thing, but Cain said, in essence, “I am not going to offer blood sacrifice. I am going to offer what I want to offer, and God should just accept it and bless me.” To Cain’s dismay, God did not accept his offering and cursed Cain instead.

The guest who entered the hall without proper wedding garments is a type of the false Christian. Such a person will come into a church, but will not repent and trust in Jesus Christ alone. He refuses to receive God’s free gift of righteousness, and will even challenge God, saying, “I want to come the way I am. What’s so wrong with that?”

What is wrong with this man’s way of salvation? He was coming into the banquet clothed in the filthy rags of his self-reliance and arrogance. In Isaiah 64:6 Isaiah says, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” Yes, we are impressed with them, but they are stench in the very nostrils of God. We are so fascinated with our sin, guilt, and unrighteousness that we do not find any problem with them.

But God has other garments for us. In Isaiah 61:10 we read: “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.” We receive this free garment of salvation when we come to God in humility, repentance and faith.

This wedding guest was refusing to honor God. He wanted the joy of the feast without honoring the King, who is God, and his Son, the heavenly Bridegroom. But we can never enjoy the feast of eternal life if we do not honor him who offers to clothe us with the free gift of salvation. This man displayed tremendous arrogance by thinking he could come to God this way.

The Foolish Virgins

In Matthew 25 we read about five wise and five foolish virgins. They represent people, who, by their presence in the church, are saying they are all true Christians on their way to heaven. But Jesus tells us it is not so.

Both the wise and foolish virgins expected the bridegroom to come sometime in the night, so they took lamps along with them. PGM But the foolish virgins did not take oil. Such virgins are like false Christians-they look like true Christians but in the hour of crisis their true nature is revealed. Like the false builders, they lack the inner reality of regeneration; therefore, they lacked saving faith. The foolish virgins hoped to feast with the bridegroom, but by the time they went to get oil and came back, it was too late and their hopes were dashed. In the same way, false Christians will think they are going to heaven, but will find out too late they are not.

The Defense of False Christians

In Matthew 7:22 we find the defense false Christians presented to God on the last day. There we read, “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?'” We must note that Jesus was clearly describing churchgoing people, not pagans, for pagans would not say these things. Note also that Jesus says that many will come and say these things.

Jesus will be the judge on the last day, so in this passage we find false Christians making their defense before him. Jesus said, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord. . . .” The use of “Lord, Lord” tells us that these people had orthodox doctrine. No one will go to heaven without orthodoxy, but not everyone who is orthodox is going. We cannot enter the kingdom of God without proper doctrine, especially as to the person and work of Jesus Christ. But orthodoxy alone will not get us in. These people correctly confessed, “Lord, Lord,” and the repetition shows their urgency as well as their presumption of closeness with Jesus Christ.

Not only did these people make the proper confession, but they also appealed to their ministry. They told Jesus, “In your name we prophesied; in your name we cast out demons; in your name we performed many miracles. Not only we are orthodox in our confession, we are also proper ministers. In fact, some of our miracles were spectacular and supernatural like yours. Don’t we deserve entrance into the kingdom of heaven?”

Jesus the judge sees through all the defenses of false Christians. Remember how the king in Matthew 22 noticed the guest without the wedding garment? In Matthew 22:11 we read, “But when the king came to see the guests. . . .” but in the Greek text it is, “The king came to inspect. . . .” God sees and knows everything. In Hebrews 4:12 we read that the word of God is living and active, cutting through and exposing the thoughts and intents of the human heart. Read the first three chapters of the book of Revelation. There we read about the church and the Lord of the church, whose eyes are like flaming fire.

The king immediately noticed a person in the hall who was self-sufficient. What was the man’s response when the king asked him how he got in without a wedding garment? He had none.

The Final Doom of False Christians

In Matthew 7 we read that Christ the judge heard the defense of these people. He heard the orthodox doctrines and saw the grandiose ministry. But the Lord ends this section with a sobering description of the final doom of false Christians.

Did Jesus understand the defense of these false Christians? Oh, yes. But he was not impressed as we would be. We are fascinated with the big, the beautiful, the grand, and the glorious. We don’t worry about the centrality of the Bible in the normal Christian life and about whether or not a church conforms to the pattern shown in the Bible. When we see a ministry, we look at its size and the number of programs it has. We notice that the annual budget is $85 million. We see that they have programs every day, for every possible age and interest group. We observe the large, beautifully furnished building they meet in, and the many ministers or priests, who wear robes and jewels. Then we see a small gathering in the name of Jesus Christ who come together to read the word of God and worship God in spirit and in truth. What is that compared to all the glitter and pomp of the false Christians’ great churches?

But he to whom all judgment is given is not impressed by the externalities cited in defense of false Christians. So in Matthew 7:23 we read Jesus’ concluding statement to the false Christians. “Then I will tell them plainly I never knew you.” There will be no further appeal.

In John 10:14 Jesus Christ said, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” So when he says, “I never knew you” he means, “You are not my sheep.” Then he reveals the nature of these people. The nature of a tree determines its fruit-a good tree brings forth good fruit but a bad tree can only bear bad fruit. The one with eyes like flaming fire looked deep into the heart of these people and exposed their nature. Despite their profession, false professors are unregenerate people who can only bear bad fruit. So Jesus concluded the matter by saying, “Away from me, you evildoers!”

The kingdom of God is characterized by law of the King. Jesus was telling these people, “Hoi ergazomenoi tên anomian,” which means “You are continually working lawlessness.” Such people have nothing to do with the kingdom of God. That is why they suffer the doom of false Christians. God is not impressed by their works, for they are workers of iniquity.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:8 we find a statement about the antichrist. He is described as ho anomos, which means the lawless one. Jesus Christ was telling these people, “You are the children of the lawless one always practicing lawlessness.” But the kingdom of God is characterized by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The Final Word

The final word of Jesus Christ in Matthew 7 was “Away from me, you evildoers!” What is the king’s final word in Matthew 22? “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (v. 13). These are descriptions of final doom. What about the foolish virgins? They came back and knocked, saying, “Open the door for us!” But there is a short statement, full of pathos: “The door was shut.” And then the bridegroom said, “I tell you the truth, I don’t know you” (Matthew 25:10-12).

There is a final doom. Jesus Christ himself spoke more about hell than anyone else, as we read in Matthew 8:12; Matthew 13:42, 50; Matthew 22:13; Matthew 24:51; and Matthew 25:30. Inside is the party, representing eternal life with its unspeakable joy. Outside is the misery and pain of eternal hell.

What will be the word you hear on the final day? Two words will be given, which we find in Matthew 25. First, in verse 41 we read, “Then [the King] 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.'” Depart from me! Oh, how many people, including many in the evangelical world, will hear those words! Jesus said many are called but few are chosen. This is the shocking, final doom of people who were careless and unthinking about their eternal destiny.

In verse 34 we find the second word: “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.'” Come! Enter into blessing, in other words. What is this kingdom? If we study Matthew, we learn that kingdom means feast, eternal life, salvation, fellowship, and life with God. The very purpose of God’s creating and redeeming man is that man may live in perpetual and unceasing joy with God himself.

Does He Know You?

What will Jesus tell us on the last day? Will he say, “I don’t know you. You are not mine,” or will he say, “Come, blessed of my Father: Enter into my rest”?

In 2 Timothy 2:19 we find a word to those who think they are his. There Paul writes, “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.’ False Christians have the correct confession, but they lack holiness. The Bible tells us, “Without holiness no one shall see God.” Yes, we must have proper confession but we also must have proper conduct. Authentic salvation always results in true submission to Jesus Christ. To separate holiness from confession is foolish, yet the evangelical world is loaded with people who have nothing to do with holiness, but readily make the right confession.

I just read about a forty-eight year old man who was always taking responsibility for himself because he didn’t want to make trouble for anyone else. He decided to buy a cemetery lot for himself and his wife. Then he said, “Hey, wait a minute. We need tombstones.” So he bought tombstones for the two of them, and everything was written on them except for the date of death. As we said before, many people are very careful about their physical lives. They will get their colonoscopies and cholesterol counts and mammograms. They will have their wills, their trusts, the executors of the trust, their plots, and their tombstones. They will have everything ready way ahead of time.

After doing these things, this man went out to his plot one day. While he was clearing some debris, he died. And when his wife heard of his death, she died too! Both were buried in that plot and the final date was put on the tombstone.

People make every preparation they can in this life, except for the most important one. They refuse to do the only thing that is needful. As we said at the beginning, people spend more time thinking about their shampoo than their salvation. But Jesus Christ said only one thing is needful-our eternal salvation.

I pray that we will examine our Christianity and see whether it is simply empty profession or whether we embrace the kingdom of God and its law. We may want God to rule us without laws, but without holiness no one will see him.

In Luke 13 we read that someone came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” Jesus replied, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door” (vv.23-24). We must work hard and strive to enter the kingdom of God. In the Greek the word is “agonize.” We must think seriously and put forth all our effort in terms of this eternal matter. If we do so, this Savior tells us, “Whoever comes to me, I will never drive away.”

Are You a False Christian?

Think it through. Foolishness will never help us, because, according to the Bible, foolishness is rejection of God as king-rejection of his law, rejection of his plan, and rejection of his way. We must enter into the narrow gate, who is Jesus Christ.

I was in an airport a few days ago, and there was a turnstile through which we could go only one at a time. This is the way we enter the kingdom of heaven. We can only enter through Jesus Christ, the new and living way. We enter through his blood and then continue in the narrow way. At the end he will say to us, “Come, blessed of the Father, enter! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.”

Are you willing to forsake autonomy, disobedience, self-centeredness? Are you willing to be ruled by Jesus Christ? If so, I urge you to pray even now and tell God that this is what you want to do. Amen.