It is possible to be deeply religious but not know Jesus. Or to be more accurate — for Jesus not to know you.
In Matthew 7, at the end of his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus pronounces an unexpected warning.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 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 perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Wait a minute. Jesus mentions folks who seem to be the most zealous, not the least. If anyone is doing the will of the Father, wouldn’t it be those who prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles?
How can Jesus say, “I never knew you” to people who not only were spiritually super committed but addressed him with dual emphasis, “Lord, Lord?”
Should this raise concern for you and me?
I think so.
Whenever Jesus throws down a warning, each of us should pause for evaluation.
No one should assume.
Even the apostle Peter challenges us to be honest about the condition of our relationship with Jesus, saying, “Be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 2:10).
Maybe the reason Jesus responds in Matthew 7:23 with the terse “Away from me, you evildoers” is because they assumed their relationship with the Lord was dependent upon their works for Jesus. The problem wasn’t the works themselves. The problem was they were standing on them.
In verse 22, “On that day” refers to the day of judgment, when all mankind will stand before the throne of God to plead a case for why they should enter the joy of God’s eternal kingdom.
Some will say, “Look at what we did!”
According to Jesus, that is the wrong answer. Doing the will of God is not primarily about moral obedience but gospel obedience. When he came preaching, “Repent and believe, for the kingdom is at hand,” Jesus revealed the essence of gospel obedience.
Paul called it “the obedience of faith” in Romans 1:5.
In other words, doing the will of God is first and foremost about abandoning trust in what we do for God as the basis of our righteousness (repentance) and trusting instead in what Jesus did for us as our sin-substitute (faith).
This means the correct answer when we stand before the throne is not look at what I did for Jesus but look at what Jesus did for me.
So, what will Jesus say to you on the last day?
It depends where you are standing—whether on your works or on his. You can’t stand on both.
Maybe this post is the excuse you need to shift your weight.