Matthew 7:7 - 8:4 Evangelicalism Is Growing, But It Is Also Dying.

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Transcript:

When a church is growing numerically, most church members conclude their church is healthy. When new churches are being planted within a society, most Christians assume Christianity within that society is doing well. Over the past several decades, American evangelicalism has seen an explosion in the size and number of large churches. Many evangelicals believe this growth is good.

Jesus made some statements during His Sermon on the Mount that question those conclusions. Numerical growth and American evangelicalism may not be as healthy as we think.

The fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Matthew record the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon contains Jesus’ teachings on the Mosaic Law, storing treasure in heaven, worry, and hypocrisy. Today’s passage concludes the Sermon on the Mount.

Matt. 7:7 ¶ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matt. 7:8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

It is tempting to look at this as a blanket promise that we will receive anything we ask for. However, we need to interpret this in the context in which is was spoken.

Earlier, Jesus had taught His disciples how to pray. Next, Jesus encouraged His disciples to store up treasure in heaven. Then He commanded them not to worry because our heavenly Father knows what we need. He told them to seek the Father’s kingdom and their needs would be provided.

Now, Jesus told them to ask, seek, and knock. Looking at the context, He was promising that if they asked for their needs, and pursued the Father’s kingdom, they would receive both.

The Bible promises that God will supply our needs, but we should still pray and ask God to provide our needs.

Matt. 7:9 Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?

Matt. 7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?

Matt. 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

Matt. 7:12 ¶ “Therefore, in all things, whatever you want people to do for you, so do for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Matt. 7:13 ¶ “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

One of the reasons numerical growth is not always healthy is because many churches pursue growth by watering down the gospel. They try to make it easy for people to become a Christian.

This is happening in many mega churches in America. Those mega churches tell people all they have to do is ask for salvation and they will have it, but they don’t talk about the need for repentance, belief in Jesus, or making Jesus the Lord of their life.

Matt. 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

There is a narrow path to eternity in heaven.

Matt. 7:15 ¶ “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

There are many leaders in evangelical churches, particularly mega churches, who appear to be good pastors because their congregation is growing; however, they are preaching a false, watered-down gospel which means they are a false teacher. In addition, some of them are abusing people, skimming money from the church, or engaging in sexual promiscuity. That makes them ravenous wolves.

Matt. 7:16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?

Matt. 7:17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.

Matt. 7:18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

Matt. 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matt. 7:20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.

In recent years many pastors of mega churches have been forced to resign after they were exposed for abusing their staff, having affairs, or doing something else immoral. Some of them have been doing this for years while they were supposedly building a church. What is their true fruit? Was their fruit good? Were they really converting people to true Christianity? Is their so-called church actually a real church in the eyes of God?

Matt. 7:21 ¶ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Romans 10:9-10 tells us to confess Jesus as Lord and believe He rose from the dead in order to be saved. However, Jesus warned that not everyone who says Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Just because someone refers to Jesus as Lord does not mean Jesus is actually the Lord of their life.

Matt. 7:22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name did we not prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many miracles?’

Notice the phrase “in Your name” was repeated three times. All three of these items were being done in the name of Jesus.

Jesus used the word many. He did not say a few or some. He said many.

Matt. 7:23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Just because people appear to be doing ministry in the name of Jesus does not mean the people doing ministry are actually saved and are actually making true disciples of Jesus. How many pastors and congregants in evangelical churches have to be unsaved in order for Jesus to use the word many in verse 22?

Matt. 7:24 ¶ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Matt. 7:25 And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and fell against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

Matt. 7:26 And everyone hearing these words of Mine and not doing them, may be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

Matt. 7:27 And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

A wise man will conform to the words of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount. A foolish man will not.

Matt. 7:28 ¶ Now it happened that when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at His teaching;

Matt. 7:29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

If a championship-winning football coach teaches other coaches how to coach, he can use himself and his own experiences as proof of the value of what he is teaching. If a non-coach teaches coaches how to coach, he would have to cite other coaches who had been successful in order to give validity to his teaching.

When Jesus taught, He did not need to cite scripture or other religious leaders because He is God. He simply declared how things should be. The scribes were not able to do that. They needed to cite something else when they taught because they were not God.

Matt. 8:1 ¶ Now when Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.

Matt. 8:2 And behold, a leper came to Him and was bowing down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Matt. 8:3 And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matt. 8:4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

It is interesting that Jesus told the leper not to tell anyone. I assume He did that because the crowds were already too large and Jesus did not need more publicity.

Many Christians assume numerical growth is a good thing and that American Evangelicalism is healthy because of it. However, Jesus taught in Matthew 7:22-23 that many people who claim to be saved are not actually saved. Romans 10:9-10 tells us there is a narrow path to being a true Christian. Jesus must be Lord of your life and you must believe Jesus rose from the dead. Is your church teaching the true gospel or a watered-down gospel?

Thanks for visiting Bible Mountain. Tomorrow I will start reading at Matthew 8:5 and draw a contrast between a common misunderstanding of faith and the Biblical definition of faith. That post is for paid subscribers only, so if you are not a paid subscriber, please subscribe now. In order to subscribe, go to Bible Mountain dotcom and click on Subscribe. Once again, thanks for visiting Bible Mountain.

“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”