I Never Knew You

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ - Matthew 7: 21-23

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We make a lot of assumptions in church, looking out over our friends and loved ones filling up the surrounding pews. 

We assume the people sitting around us all know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, we assume they are trying to live their life to honor Him, we assume they believe in the entirety of scripture, and understand what it says. We assume they have good healthy relationships with their friends and families, we assume they are secure, we assume they are like us. 

We assume. We assume. We assume. 

But how often do we really get to know the people we rub shoulders with at church? Do we see how they live behind closed doors, do we ask them about their life, or do we just let them be, content to not see beyond the surface of their life, and content to not let them see past the surface of yours? 

This is truly sad, and very serious stuff. Do you know why? Because while we are sitting in our own pew, assuming that the person next to us has it all together, they may be falling apart, they may be broken, and worse, they may not be saved. They may be sitting inside your church every Sunday, inches from Jesus' face, but miles and miles away from knowing and accepting His truth. 

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Today's scripture warns us: Not everyone who says My name will enter Heaven. Not even if they preached My name. Because words are meaningless, and remember: God knows our true hearts. 

The reason God is warning us here about false disciples, is that, people around us will look, and sound, and appear to know Jesus…but they don't. They know the words, they know what to say, but they have no personal commitment to Christ. They have never bowed the knee, and acknowledged Christ as LORD. 

We need to understand that God knows our inner hearts, our unspoken thoughts, our unseen life. He knows it all, and just because we sit in church, in our pretty little dresses and neat bow ties on Sunday morning, that doesn't "get us into" Heaven. Just because we speak The Name of Christ, does not get us into Heaven. Our heart must be changed before God, there must be true repentance, and salvation from Jesus must be sought. There is no other way. No matter how many Sunday services you attend, and no matter how pretty you look doing it. An ugly heart is an ugly heart before God, and the heart is what matters. 

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The reason we need to understand this scripture, is because this is happening in your life. There are people in your church that are just putting on a show, completely lost in their own lie. There are people in your family who may even think they're saved, may even claim Christ as Savior, but have never allowed The Holy Spirit to penetrate their hearts and change their lives. This is happening, and it's happening to those we love. 

We have a responsibility to see these people, and come along side them in love, and draw them in. We have a responsibility to speak truth into their life, to speak words of life into their hearts, and pray for them to be moved by The Holy Spirit to a place of true repentance. These people in our lives need us to love them, to help them, to pray for them, and in some cases, perhaps even confront them. 

We are talking about peoples souls here...do we really want to take a chance? 

This may even be a time for you to examine your own heart. Have you truly given your heart and life over to Jesus, or are there parts of you that you're still holding onto, places you're unwilling to give to God? Are you sitting under a preacher every Sunday, hearing The Word, but rejecting it with a cold heart? 

One day we'll all stand before our Savior, and how much it will break your heart to hear: "Away from me, I never knew you"…

And how much will it break the heart of God for Him to have to say…

God is warning us here, so that that doesn't have to happen. We are being told to be aware, to be on the look out, and to make it right. 

Don't be this person God warns of, don't live your life not knowing Jesus.