If your faith were measured by what you actually do rather than what you say, what would the verdict be?

Rick did not soften this one, and he told the church up front that he would not. "I will do nobody any favors this morning if I smooth this over with a series of qualifications." Here is the first thing to see, and it changes everything about how you read the passage: Jesus is not talking to irreligious people. Not atheists. Not agnostics. Not pagans or heretics. He is talking to the devoutly religious. People who use his name. People who show up. People, as Rick put it, who look like all of you, and who look like me. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven." The problem is not that they said the wrong words. They said exactly the right words. The problem is that words were all there was. This is not a passage designed to make you anxious. It is des

Is your assurance resting on things you have done for God, or on the fact that he knows you? How would you tell the difference?

The most frightening sentence in the Bible may be four words long: "I never knew you." Not "you didn't do enough." Not "you fell short." Never knew you. And it is said to people with an impressive résumé — prophecy, deliverance, mighty works, all of it in his name. They are trusting in performance instead of a person. That is Rick's line and it is the hinge of the whole passage. Everything on their list is something they did. Nothing on it is a relationship. You can build a life of religious activity around someone you have never actually met. Serve on the team, know the songs, hold the opinions, and never once come to him for mercy. The alternative is not doing less. It is coming to him. Being known is not something you achieve; it is something you receive from a person who already in

When Jesus' friends heard that one of them would betray him, each one asked 'Is it I?' rather than pointing. What would it look like to ask that question about yourself this week?

Rick pointed at Judas, and it is hard to argue with the example. In a couple of weeks the church would be celebrating Easter, and one of the central figures in that story is a man who was on the inside of everything. Think about how the other disciples felt about Judas right up until the moment he walked into Gethsemane at the head of an armed crowd. Nobody suspected him. When Jesus said one of them would betray him, they did not all turn and look at Judas. They each asked, "Is it I?" He kept the money. He was trusted. He was there for the miracles and the teaching and the long walks between towns. And he betrayed the Son of God with a kiss and the word "Rabbi." Appearances can deceive — including, and this is the uncomfortable part, our own. The lesson of Judas is not mainly that ther

What is one thing you have heard from Jesus repeatedly and not yet done? What would doing it this week actually look like?

Now the good news, because this passage does not end in warning. Two builders, two houses. From the outside they may look identical — same neighborhood, same square footage, same curb appeal. The difference is entirely invisible until weather arrives. One is on rock. One is on sand. The rain falls on both. The floods come to both. The winds beat against both. Notice that: the storm is not the test of whether God loves you. Both houses get the same storm. The difference is what is underneath. And Jesus is remarkably specific about what the rock is. Not sincerity. Not intensity. Not how strongly you felt about it. "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them." Hearing plus doing. A faith that has made it as far as your Tuesday. Storms do not build foundations. They reveal them.

Where are you treating the words of Jesus as advice to consider rather than the speech of a King with authority over your life?

The Sermon on the Mount ends and the crowds are astonished — not at the content but at the voice. He taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. The scribes taught by citation. Rabbi so-and-so said this; the tradition holds that. Jesus never does that. He says, "You have heard it was said... but I say to you." No footnotes. No borrowed authority. He speaks as though the words are his to give, because they are. Rick's point was simple and serious: a King has spoken. He has been speaking through every message of this sermon — about anger, lust, money, worry, judgment, prayer, and now about the two ways to build a life. And the conclusion he wanted the church to reach was that rejecting or shrugging at what this King says is a very bad idea, with eternal consequences.

Read Matthew 7:21-23 aloud. Rick pointed out that these are not atheists or pagans — they are fervently religious people, and three times they say "in your name," but every time the word "we" comes first. What do they bring to Jesus, and what do they never once mention?

Discover the shocking truth about false faith and religious deception in this powerful biblical teaching from Matthew 7:21-29. Jesus warns that many religious people who prophesy, cast out demons, and…

In the parable both men hear the same words, both build, and both get hit by the same storm. Rick said the difference between them is invisible until the weather arrives. Looking at verses 24-27, what actually separates the two builders?

Discover the shocking truth about false faith and religious deception in this powerful biblical teaching from Matthew 7:21-29. Jesus warns that many religious people who prophesy, cast out demons, and…

Rick pulled a book off his shelf from 1661 by Matthew Mead called The Almost Christian Discovered — the argument being that if you are almost a Christian, you are not one at all. What do you think "almost" looks like in a real person's week?

Discover the shocking truth about false faith and religious deception in this powerful biblical teaching from Matthew 7:21-29. Jesus warns that many religious people who prophesy, cast out demons, and…

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When Religious People Go to Hell · Resources

Matthew 7:21-29

Rick Closius Sunday, March 22, 2026

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Summary

Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with a warning rather than a welcome: some people who call him Lord will hear him say, "I never knew you." Rick Closius walks through Matthew 7:21-29 and asks the one question a storm will answer for you — what is your life actually built on?

Sermon Outline

1

Reading: Matthew 7:21-29 ▶ 0:00

The congregation stands for the closing words of the Sermon on the Mount, and Rick prays that God would lay bare every false foundation.
2

"It's My Sacred Duty to Preach the Whole Counsel of God" ▶ 4:11

Rick says plainly that he will not soften Jesus' warning with qualifying statements, and lays out three sections: a confession that fails, a foundation that stands, a voice that carries authority.
3

A Confession That Fails ▶ 6:56

Verses 21-23. Jesus is not addressing atheists or pagans here. He is addressing devotedly religious people who are convinced they are on the road to heaven.
4

The Almost Christian Discovered ▶ 8:40

A 1661 book by Puritan pastor Matthew Mead: many appear righteous but are only righteous in appearance, and if you are almost a Christian you are not one at all.
5

Agonizomai — Strive to Enter ▶ 11:48

Luke 13:24 uses a word that means to agonize, an athletic contest against temptation and apathy. Not salvation by works, but total dedication to Christ.
6

Three Times They Say "In Your Name" ▶ 12:58

They are orthodox in speech, active in ministry, fervent in service — and their entire appeal rests on what they have done. They never plead his righteousness.
7

The Engraving at Lübeck ▶ 17:07

Words carved inside a 12th-century German cathedral: you call me master and obey me not, you call me light and see me not.
8

A Foundation That Stands ▶ 18:14

Verses 24-27. Two builders, two houses, and one storm that strikes them both.
9

The Worst Storm You Have Ever Been Through ▶ 18:58

Hurricane Andrew, August 24, 1992, a direct hit — and even that is not the storm Jesus means. He is warning about the final judgment.
10

Sand Is Everything Else ▶ 24:39

Human opinion, tradition detached from Scripture, self-will, self-sufficiency, whatever works. Sand is easy: it requires no digging and no self-examination.
11

A Voice That Carries Authority ▶ 29:47

Verses 28-29. The crowds were astonished because Jesus quoted no rabbi and appealed to no tradition. The King has spoken.
12

Belong Before You Believe — and Then What? ▶ 32:17

Rick takes the church's own invitation seriously and presses it: your next steps depend on whether you have been born again.

Key Points

Jesus' warning in Matthew 7 is not aimed at atheists or pagans. It is aimed at devotedly religious people who are deluded about where they stand.
The people who say "Lord, Lord" appeal three times to their own works. They never plead Christ's blood or his righteousness — and that is the tragedy.
"I never knew you" is not a gap in Jesus' knowledge. It means there was never a saving relationship to begin with.
Both builders hear the same words and face the same storm. The difference is not access to revelation, it is response to revelation.
Building on the rock is obedience flowing from faith — not obedience as the ground of justification, but saving faith is never alone in the person who is justified.
Sand is anything other than Christ: human opinion, tradition cut loose from Scripture, self-righteousness, whatever works.
Easy believism — quick professions without repentance, assurance without examination, decisions instead of disciples — makes collapse inevitable.

Quotable Moments

“Not perfection in this life, but definitely a direction.” ▶ 15:13

“The difference is not access to revelation. It's response to revelation.” ▶ 20:24

“The question is, on what are you building?” ▶ 28:46

“It is possible to be moved but never converted.” ▶ 31:47

Take It With You

Admiring Jesus is not the same as submitting to him. It is possible to be moved and never converted.
Examine yourself now. The two houses look identical until the storm arrives, and then the difference is unmistakable.
If you are in Christ, your next step is obedience. If you are not, your next step is not refinement — it is repentance.
Digging to bedrock costs something. That is exactly why so many people build on sand.

The study guide above (summary, outline, key points, quotes, questions) was generated from the sermon transcript with AI and reviewed by our team. Spot something off? Let us know.

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When Religious People Go to Hell · Resources

Matthew 7:21-29

Watch & Listen

Summary

Sermon Outline

Key Points

Quotable Moments

Take It With You

Related Reading

How to Recognize False Prophets: Following the Right Voice

Loving Muslims, Following Jesus: A Pastor and Army Chaplain on Islam

Building Your Life on the Right Foundation: A Warning About False Faith

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