SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                              1362        

“I Never Knew You”

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.

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?’

And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. – Matthew 7:21-23

I have an Atlanta Braves jersey with Jeff Francoeur’s name on it from when he first signed on with the team. I identify with Jeff since we share the same name.  I cheered him on when I watched the Braves play. I do not know Jeff. We have never met, and Jeff does not know me.

What does it mean, then to know Jesus? Knowing Him is much more than self-identifying as a Christian. It is much more than wearing symbols and emblems of Christianity and ‘cheering’ Him on in an occasional worship service as if we were at a ballpark. Let’s unpack our reference Scripture from the Sermon the Mount.

The Will of the Father – The will of God is not about doing Christian things; it is about being born again through faith in Jesus and accepting Him as our Lord and Savior.

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ… – John 6:40;1 John 3:23

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God; Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. – 1 John 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17

On That Day – This is Judgement Day. Regardless as to whether your interpretation is that there are one, two, or three different judgement days, the common denominator for all interpretations is that we all, believers, and unbelievers alike, will stand before Jesus on that final day of judgement.

Unbelievers will have stored up wrath for that day and will receive eternal punishment. But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. – Romans 2:5

Believers will also be judged. Those whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life will receive their rewards. These are those who are born again by the Spirit of God. His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ – Matthew 25:23

Other believers, i.e. Nominal Christians, will hear the worst words that one can hear from Jesus: ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Nominal Christianity – ‘Fake it till you make it’ may get you by in a worldly context, but it is fatally flawed in God’s economy. Nominal Christianity is a minimalist approach to the faith: Do as little as you can to receive a maximum perceived benefit. It is seeking easy Christianity i.e. faith without change or transformation. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:2

Nominal Christians view church membership as evidence of salvation. They straddle the fence between the world and religion. They may self-identify as ‘Christian’ based upon their culture: raised in a Christian family, live in the Bible Belt of the United Sates, etc. but it is superficial.

This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men – Isaiah 29:13

Nominal Christians are falsely confident in a salvation being founded on works righteousness, religious rituals, and a lukewarm, distant relationship with God.

And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: … I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘… I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. – Revelation 3:1, 14-16

But Lord, We Did Works! – Nominal Christians will be devastated by Jesus’ statement even though the Truth of the Word of God made it abundantly clear that a relationship with Jesus was required, not works.

Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. – Galatians 2:16

Relationship not Religion – The key differentiator between Christianity and all other religions of the world is relationship. Specifically, a born-again personal relationship with Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish… that I may know him and the power of his resurrection… – Philippians 3:8-11

This devotional topic is a ‘hard saying’ of Jesus. The good news of the Gospel is that our Father desires that none should perish and that all should reach true repentance. May the Holy Spirit use this Word of Truth to awaken your heart. May He draw you into a personal relationship with Jesus – to know Him and be known by Him.