Matthew 7: 21-23  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Good morning!

These passages may be some of the most humbling, sobering, and surprising verses in the Bible. What a way to start a Monday morning….
I don’t believe we can understand these verses properly without the broader context of the previous verses. As we saw Friday, Jesus has just finished warning his followers about false prophets. He goes on to say that we will know them by their “fruit!” Which begs the question- what is good fruit? I’d make the argument that in this context, it’s simply doing the will of God. Again, this is the key to understanding this passage…

Growing up playing sports, I’d often hear the phrase, “if you talk the talk, you better walk the walk.” In other words, if you’re going to run your mouth, you better be able to perform. Not to sound like an old grump, but our social media culture has not done us any favors in this area… Anyone and everyone can have a platform. We can hide behind screens and announce to the world our opinions, abilities, and so on without having to perform. If you have enough followers, the reality is you will be seen as an expert on whatever you’re talking about. This is tragic….

This is what Jesus is warning us about! People who claim to speak for God, but don’t do what He teaches is in fact a false teacher. And Jesus says their eternal fate is at hand… Notice how he uses the word “Lord” twice at the beginning of the passage. He is pointing towards their emphatic insistence of knowing God…. However, this doesn’t cut it! Why? Because actions speak louder than words! And the truth Jesus is teaching is that if we don’t follow the implicit teachings revealed in scripture, we’re not true followers of Jesus! We’re false teachers… False prophets… talking the talk while forfeiting our walk…

As a pastor, this passage is indeed sobering because it’s clear that even those who participate in ministry can be blinded from the true mark of a disciple… Notice in the passage the group responding to Jesus in verse 22. “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” This group of people clearly thought they were a part of the team because of the great deeds they thought they had performed… But the truth is- great deeds, ministry, emphatic insistence, etc. is not the litmus test to truly knowing God.

It’s really knowing Jesus in the most personal way… it’s striving to do God’s will… No, we won’t always get it right, but our hearts should be striving to know God deeper and to be in His will. It’s central to knowing God!
Again, this is a sobering passage where we see the need-to-know Christ. We cannot go through religious routines expecting to have a different outcome on the day of judgment.

If your heart does not resound right now with a yes, I know Jesus, then I encourage you to simply stop where you’re at and do some honest inventory of your life. If this is you, please reach out to one of us! As Tim often says, “we’d come running” to come alongside of you!

-Taylor