'I Never Knew You'

The Tragic Expectation of the Religious Lost

Probably the most terrifying words in the New Testament were spoken by none other than our Lord Jesus Himself as He taught a Sermon on the Mount. The Apostle Matthew wrote: 

“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’” (Matt. 7:21–23).

A multitude, not a few, will see their bubbles burst on that day; expecting to hear "well done, good and faithful servant" end up hearing the exact opposite: 'I never knew you.' Who are they? These people whom I would compare to Judas, 'it would be better if they had not been born.' They are the people who publicly profess Christ in their mouths but they possess not Christ in their hearts. They love the benefits of the Cross but never reach the foot of the Cross. They give glory to God but they also drool over it themselves. They love to please the crowd more than the Master above. They are the hearers of the Word, not the doers. People who are clean on the outside, but full of filth on the inside. No sense of sin and deep hatred for it, no real faith in Christ, and no pleasure in holiness and longing for more of it. They are, in Scripture language, dead, asleep, and blind. Holding to a form of godliness but denying its power (2 Tim. 3:5). Such a poem written by Jeff O'Hara suits them perfectly,

“Why call Me Lord, Lord and do not do the things I say?
You call Me the Way and walk Me not! 
You call Me the Life and live Me not!
You call Me Master and obey Me not!
If I condemn you blame Me not.

You call Me Bread and eat me not!
You call Me Truth and believe Me not!
You call Me Lord and serve Me not!
If I condemn you blame Me not.”  

Profession of faith in Christ does not guarantee real faith in Christ. Genuine faith is a life of private fruits of a holy life to affirm the grounds of justification, and at best it is not foretold by the person but seen in his life. In an age like this, it is well to ask: "Do you possess saving faith?"