In my opinion, Matthew 7 verses 21 thru 24 are the scariest verses in the bible.
“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. 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?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
What’s scarier than thinking you are living your whole life for Jesus and finding out in the end that you were deceived the whole time?
What is God’s issue in this verse?
Notice that he says “I never knew you”. He doesn’t say “you never knew me”. He says “I never knew you”. Christians talk a lot about knowing God (as they should) but you don’t hear a lot of talk about God knowing us.
So the question is, “How does God know us?”
1 Corinthians 8:3 gives us the answer. It says, “if anyone loves God, he is known by God.”
God will never say, “I never knew you” to those who love God, because those who love God are known by God.
What is love for God?
1 John 5:3 says, that “this is love for God: to obey his commands.” Therefore those who obey God are known by God. This is why he said, “why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46 NIV)
If you love God by obeying his commandments, you never have to worry about God not knowing you.
Those who love God are known by God.
Does God know you?
“If you love God by obeying his commandments, you never have to worry about God not knowing you.” eeep, that’s pretty scary. it sounds like you just that if we don’t sin, then we are assured of salvation. so, if we do sin…i don’t like where this is going. sounds a lot like salvation by works.
Hey kat, thanks for your comment. We’re definitely not saved by works. We’re saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8). The bible sums it up in one verse: Galatians 5:6, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Love is the evidence of saving faith (James 2:18). If my faith doesn’t express itself in love, it doesn’t count and I’m nothing. (1 Cor 13:2).
I don’t obey to be saved. I obey because I’m saved. (1 John 4:19, 5:3)