The pain in her voice was almost palpable as she asked if activities have anything to do with getting to heaven. By that, she meant church activities and this is not the first post on this blog to downgrade church activities. It is not likely to be the last and that is because of the words of Jesus. He called some very active church people lawless laborers. That is another way of saying workers of iniquity. He also charged them to get away from Him. May that not be our portion in the matchless name of Jesus.
It is therefore hard for me to get those words out of my head. So, allow us to keep coming back to this theme, albeit from different angles. Why is this so important? Because Jesus allows the tares and the wheat to keep growing together. He does not differentiate between the good workers and the lawless laborers until the last day. And by then, it will be too late. So, we have to exhort one another while it is still day.
We take a look at these people to learn a few points about them. Not to emulate them but to try and avoid their mistakes. They were churched, very much so. Please note I did not say they were saved. The Bible does not say but you know that not all in the church are saved. Jesus even said so, “Not all who call me Lord, Lord shall enter into heaven.” Anyway, these people in this bible account were members of the church.
Lawless Laborers Showed Real Results
What was more, they were not benchwarmers or occasional members. The lawless laborers were active members, extremely active. And while there are some active members in the church today who don’t seem to accomplish much, these achieved much. They even achieved more than many of us can ever imagine. For instance, how many prayer warriors today have done many wonders? These lawless laborers not only worked hard, but they also showed results.
They prayed; actually, they must have been real prayer warriors since casual prayers have never achieved many wonders. That means in praying, they were better than, say 80% of us today. These lawless laborers were busy in the deliverance ministry, casting out demons right, left, and center. As for prophecies, they were high up in the category of “thus saith the Lord.”
Without a doubt, these were more productive than any of us could ever hope to become. And yet Jesus refused to accept them into heaven, calling them lawless laborers. Ouch! The Bible does not say who their master was that was using them to perform those miracles. But if we are to go by what other scriptures say, they might have been serving the other master, satan.
Take the instance of Simon the sorcerer as an example. In the eighth chapter of the Book of Acts, we read of how he astonished the people of Samaria. He claimed he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest. The city said he was the great power of God. And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time.
Jesus Did Not Know Them
With this comparison, are we saying lawless laborers are like sorcerers since they did not have Jesus? You be the judge. All we know is that Jesus did not know them even when they were performing wonders, just like this Simon. Perhaps that was why Jesus’ reaction to them was so harsh. “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Another ouch!
Naturally, just as the whole city knew Simon, the leader of these lawless laborers knows them. All the church members too would be aware of all the good deeds they do in the church. Perhaps there are some church members who envy them and wish they were like these workers. Everybody in the church gave them the highest recognition and honor. But Jesus did not know them. And yet the bible is clear that Jesus is the only way to the truth and life. Every other way leads to death and eternal damnation, where these lawless laborers ended.
What a pity! To have labored so hard in this life only to miss heaven because they never accepted Jesus as Lord. After this discussion, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know you need Jesus like you need oxygen. Please don’t do another day of work in the church until you get right with Jesus. Once you invite Jesus into your life, you can start working and zealously too.
Then and only then will you hear the good response from Jesus. “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” I pray that you and I will hear these words on the last day.
Maranatha!
