What did Jesus mean, when He said in Matthew 7:23 “I never knew you; depart from me”? What Jesus is referring to here is not an intellectual knowledge but a relationship.To understand a verse, we always have start with the context.  Jesus is wrapping up His Sermon on the Mount with a final warning.  Jesus foresees that false prophets will be coming as wolves in sheep’s clothing. (Matthew 7:15)  They may appear to have religious authority, but they will not belong to the Lord. Matthew 7:21-23“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” The phrase “In that day” is used throughout the Bible to refer to a future time of judgment.  A day when people – but not all – will stand before God and be judged.  I say, not all – because this judgment will not include those who have been saved through their belief on Jesus Christ.  The judgment for those believer’s eternal destiny was done on the cross.  Their sins were laid upon Jesus who paid the penalty for them.  When we repent and trust in Him – we receive forgiveness of our sins and His righteousness is imputed to us. (2 Corinthians 5:21).  We also receive the gift of eternal life (John 3:16) and the gift of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. (John 16:13) We are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30). So, this judgment spoken of in Matthew 7 is the Great White Throne Judgment written about in Revelation 20:11?That’s right, Elder.  It is a judgment of non-believers – AND it’s a judgment of works.  Those who think their good works will merit salvation – who place their faith in the “many wonderful works” of their flesh – will be judged according to those works.But for the believers who trust that it is by Jesus’s work – not ours – they will have been made worthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.    When Jesus spoke those words in Matthew 7:21-23, he had just finished talking about how we can judge false prophets by their fruit. (Matthew 7:15-20)  The passage is very clear.  It speaks of wolves that look like sheep, thorns that look like grapes, and thistles that look like figs.  Jesus spoke of the contrast of good or fruitful trees and corrupt trees with bad fruit. Man’s fruits are his works.  We cannot judge the heart of man, but we can judge his works.  Both the profession of faith in Christ and the evidence of the fruits of faith and love should be apparent in every believer’s life. It seems that those in the Matthew 7 passage have evidence of good fruit – but are denied by Jesus.  That seems confusing.

Read More

 Let me clarify it for you.  Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the WILL of my Father which is in heaven.”  We have to ask – What is the will of the Father?Since Jesus was obedient to the Father’s will – by living a perfect life and atoning for our sins on the cross – couldn’t we say that salvation is the will of God the Father?     Exactly!  Only, those who do the Father’s will – by accepting Jesus’ work – will be known by God and be allowed to enter heaven.The people spoken of in Matthew 7:22 are those who are numbered in the group Jesus spoke of in verse 21.  They will not enter the kingdom of heaven because they have not done the Father’s will.  They have not trusted in Christ.  Therefore, God does not know them.  It says in verse 22 that Jesus will judge them by their words and their works.  So, in that day of judgment they will call upon Jesus as Lord.  Bu