Scary words by Jesus

 THE SCARIEST WORDS OF JESUS IN THE BIBLE:

By Greg Stier

We all love to talk about the hopeful words of Jesus in the Bible. 

I sure do anyway. 

We love verses like John 3:16 and John 14:1-3 (“I go to prepare a place for you.”)

But Jesus said some pretty scary things too.

He talked about hell quite a bit. Of the 12 times the word hell is mentioned in the New Testament, 11 are mentioned by Jesus. 

Read the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 sometime. 

It’s terrifying.

Jesus also talked about judgment a lot.  In Matthew 25 he talked about separating the sheep and goats when he returns to the earth. As he sits on his throne of judgment, the sheep will go to his right side and the goats to his left. 

Speaking of the goats (the unbelievers) Jesus said, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment….” Matthew 25:46

But perhaps the scariest verses in the Bible are to those who CLAIM to be Christians. These terrifying words are found in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

In this scary passage Jesus is contrasting those who PROFESS Christ with those who actually POSSESS him.

Those who just profess Christ focus on what they have done for Jesus. 

In this passage that list of deeds revolves around making prophecies, casting out demons and doing miracles. 

Stop and think about how many TV evangelist-type shysters are all sizzle and no steak when it comes to Jesus.  They cast out raging demons, make wild prophecies and do flashy miracles, but they don’t actually know Jesus.

Jesus will say to them someday, “I never knew you. Depart from me you evildoers.”

But I don’t believe that Jesus is just referring to those obvious examples here. I believe Jesus is referring to anyone who claims the name of Jesus but says “Lord, Lord, look at what I did for you in your Name.” 

That list of deeds could be “I went to church in your Name, gave offerings in your Name, was kind to my neighbors in your Name, walked an aisle in your Name and tried to live a decent life in your Name.”

These are those who professed Christ but did not actually possess him. They said “Lord, Lord” but did not do the will of the Father in heaven.

What is the will of the Father? Jesus tells us in John 6:40, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life….”

Those who just  PROFESS that they are Christians depend on what they do to be saved. They proudly proclaim, “Lord, Lord, look at me and all I have done for you! I deserve eternal life because of all the good deeds I have done in your Name!”

But those who actually POSSESS Christ depend on what Jesus has done for them on the cross, when he died in their place for their sin and then rose victoriously from the dead 3 days later (1 Corinthians 15:3,4.) 

They don’t proudly proclaim but humbly whisper, “Lord, thank you for being merciful to a sinner like me, by dying in my place for my sin.”

When it comes to Jesus, have you just professed him or do you actually possess Christ through faith?

Do the will of the Father in heaven right now by putting your faith in His Son. 

When you do,  you not only POSSESS Jesus,  you become his cherished possession for all eternity.

We’ve been talking about the scary words of Jesus, I’ll finish this post with some encouraging ones, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”Ephesians 1:13-14

Addendum:  Obviously once we POSSESS Christ we should PROFESS him. As Romans 10:9,10 reminds us,

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”