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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." Matthew 7:22–23
D.L. MOODY
It has been said that there will be three things which will surprise us when we get to heaven—one, to find many whom we did not expect to find there; another, to find some not there whom we had expected; a third, and perhaps the greatest wonder, to find ourselves there!
ERWIN LUTZER
“I was capable of anything. I had not the least fear of God before my eyes…I not only sinned with a high hand myself, but made it my study to tempt and seduce others.” Those are the words of John Newton, an atheist who, after surviving a great storm at sea, came to faith in Christ and would later write the words to the hymn, “Amazing Grace.”
The way in which you perceive yourself will depend on the way in which you view grace. The better you think yourself to be, the less grace you think you need. But the Bible tells us that we were all dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). We’ve all met people who live a decent, moral life, but they are not saved; they will not be in heaven because they think they do not need much grace. But when God reveals their sin to them and their desperate need for grace, they then can believe the gospel and be saved.
I think Moody’s point is that we often cannot tell who is saved and who is not. When Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray Him, despite three years together, the disciples didn’t know it was Judas because he had played the game so well. They asked the question all of us should ask: “Is it I?”
So, I ask, “Is it you?”
PRAYER
Father, search my heart, let me examine myself. Reveal to me the true state of my heart.REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Do you have a tendency towards pride, thinking you don’t need God’s grace?
How would seeing the most vile individual in heaven highlight God’s grace and mercy?