“When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:”  (Luke 13:25)

In the last two devotions in this series, One of the Few and The Strait Gate, we asked the question: If there are few that be saved, would you be one of the few? I believe that this is a question that every human being on earth should ask themselves.  We talked about how our good deeds will not get us into heaven. Nor do all roads lead to heaven. We talked about striving to enter in through the strait gate, or the “New Birth,” and what it means to “strive.” We also looked at some Scriptures as to why many will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

But now, what we want to look at is what happens when grace runs out: the End of Grace.  Jesus tells us in verse 25, “When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are”  (Luke 13:25).

Have you ever come home past curfew to find that your parents have locked you out of the house? How did you feel? Were you upset, angry and bitter? Why? There was a period of grace where there was liberty to do whatever it was you wanted to do. But, at a certain hour, you knew that you had to be at home. This was your period of grace. But, when your parents locked the door, grace ran out.

What are you doing with the period of grace that God is giving unto you?

“(4) Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?  (5)  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;  (6)  Who will render to every man according to his deeds: “ (Romans 2:4-6)

Are you despising the goodness (the grace) of God and His longsuffering with you? Do you have a hard and impenitent heart? Do you want to stand before God in that condition? None of us know when we may die; nor do we know the day of the Lord’s return. So let us not be like the five foolish virgins in the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt. 25:1-13). We have to be wise like the five wise virgins, and be ready for the Lord’s return.

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  (10) But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:9-10)

No one knows what hour a thief may come. Let us take notice to the response of those whom Jesus did not know:

“Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.” (Luke 13:26)

If we were to read the four gospels, we would see that one of the twelve disciples, Judas Iscariot, ate, drank, and heard Jesus teach – and yet he still betrayed Jesus; he never recognized Him as Lord. Not once did these people say to the master of the house: we have repented of our sins, and obeyed your teaching; we ate, we drank; you taught.

The master of the house responds again in the negative, “I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity” (Luke 13:27).

In conclusion, these words may seem harsh; but yet just. God desires a relationship and not some religion. Do you have a relationship with Him? What will He say to you? Would it be, “Depart from me, I never knew you”; or will He say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant”?