Perhaps one of the loudest echoes in the Bible comes from the sobering words of Jesus at the conclusion of his “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 7:
Matthew 7:20-23 “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. 22 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?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
After swallowing hard upon hearing such penetrating words again I can’t help but notice the absence of a key distinctive of Christian faith on the part of these false converts who are damned by the judge. They do not mention their love for Jesus.
This is true of all who will hear similar words by the Savior, for none who love Christ will be damned and none who are damned love Christ. We read in James 1 that the crown of life is promised by God to those who love him (James 1.12). One of the first activities of the Holy Spirit in regenerating a believer is to put in the adopted son a love for Jesus. You may rightly argue that this is a chief characteristic of the one who has been born again (2 Cor. 4.4-6).
My point in writing this little post is to speak truth to you as I do myself in terms of identifying marks of assurance and encouragement. When I begin to examine and question myself too often I find myself responding like those who have been condemned by Jesus rather than those who receive the crown of life. I don’t know about you but I often think of what I have done and as long as I am doing then I am good. However, the problem is that doing is damning when not accompanied by genuine delight. Indeed it will never be said by those whom Christ condemns, “But Lord, I love you!” For none who truly love him will be condemned. Loving Jesus is the one thing that hypocrites cannot fake. They can fake pray, fake kindness, fake giving, fake service, fake religion, fake sing, fake whatever, but they cannot fake loving Jesus.
So as you sit and evaluate your own heart and affections, ask yourself, “Do I love Jesus?” “Is he truly my chief delight?” “What would I keep in favor of him?”
Evaluate your heart, and whether you are a Christian or not, flee to Christ that you might either meet him or be reassured by him. Yes, flee to him that you might not be hearing this echo for all eternity.