“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matt 7:21-23
Do you ever worry about being one of those that say, “Lord, Lord”?
The works of these people seem legit – prophesy, casting out demons, and wonders.
Yet, Jesus declares two things about them.
First, He never knew them. They never knew Him either and for whatever reason their Christianity was a pretense. The prophesy is false, the exorcism is a ruse, and the wonders are fake.
Jesus also says they practice lawlessness, which KJV calls “workers of iniquity”. In other words, they continue in sin.
One cannot continue in sin and make a pretense of Christian spirituality. The two do not mix. (James 3:10-11)
The harsh portion of this scripture is when Jesus says, “Depart from me!” This is certain death – the second death (Rev 20:14; 21:8)
You cannot just declare you are Christian. It is a lifestyle that begins in your soul and spirit and manifest outward. Salvation is something you feel and others see.
Your life is to do the will of the Father.
An important and timely warning.
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Amen. If someone knows Jesus as Savior you’ll see evidence in their lives. Although I remember a time when I even forget His name. For seven years I was so shut off to Him. But God never shut Himself off to me. There were always “strange” people in my life. After I gave my self to Him I realized those strange people where His. I’m so thankful Jesus never gave up on me.
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