Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV

Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! (Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV)

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I am trying to understand this verse. Can someone
help with its meaning?

Rdg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUKRA6XcsDs

This would be the best sermon on those verses.

christianity is not about what you do or do not do.in john 3:16 there is a mistranslation believe on or in would be thew greek en. the word eos is into Christ.You must give up your identity and rule of your life and give it over to Jesus,(repentance)this begins the love relationship that developes into an intimacy that is called knowing. the importat thing in life is 1. do you know Him? 2. does He know you?

I have always seen it as a rebuke to those that rely on their own Righteousness for salvation. These are going to be the same guys and gals that stand before God and say But I baked cookies for bake sales, I went to church every sunday, and I even said the sinner's prayer TWICE!" etc etc. These individuals are giving reasons why they deserve salvation when in reality a spirit filled believer will say You alone are worthy, I deserve nothing but the deepest darkest corner of hell for my sin against you. A believer when asked Why are you going to heaven? will response because of the Work of Christ, these individuals Christ is talking about is hardly giving God credit for Salvation but tried earning it through works.

Hey

I will check out the teaching thanks for the link. I get what you shared about giving God the credit for our salvation. I agree its not something that we can accomplish but still the last part of that verse troubles me.

Jesus says "depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"

what do you suppose that part means?

rdg

These individuals are notorious for the good checks and balance system, meaning I do something terrible I can balance it out with a good deed. The Pharisees played this game and many people play it still today. While on the outside they may appear Godly, doing good things, but the law of the Lord didn't reside in their hearts, and so they were lawless.

Christ is really trying to press in a complete reliance on Him and really having a relationship with Christ. The problem the Pharisees faced wasn't their public life but their hearts and their private lifestyles. Christ sees the very heart and knows our secrets (kind of a scary thought when really thought about). We can do as many good deeds as we want but they are still filthy rags in the eyes of God. Our righteousness never saves only His. :)