What did Christ mean in Matthew 7:21-23?

Heb 13:8 · December 11, 2018

It's proving that we can't work our way into heaven.

Ezek 13

“ ‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, 11therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?” 13“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it b falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.” ’

Matt 7

15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it

Ezek 13

“ ‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, 11therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?” 13“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it b falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.” ’

Matt 7

15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

john1 · December 13, 2018

On ‎12‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 10:37 PM, Pollycy said:

What I find so disturbing is the idea that someone could be such a devout Christian that they could cast out evil spirits and perform miracles in Christ's name, and yet be named as "evildoers" by Christ, and for Him to say that he wanted them to get away from Him.

This is what I think it's talking about, because anyone can pray to God and get something, if they keep asking, you don't have to be anyone special to have God answer a prayer.

Matthew chapter 25 verses 31-46
When the Son of Man comes" in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and got visit you? The King will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.They also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you? He will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Pollycy · December 15, 2018

I appreciate the many valuable insights everyone has provided. Still, I must confess, I remain uncertain exactly how a person can actually perform miracles in Christ's name and still be considered 'evil'.

In my simpleminded approach to this, I think I'll try to remember the admonition to TEST THE SPIRITS. Then, in theory, it would not be possible to be mislead by any of them, or to do the will of an evil spirit, even if it seemed to be an act of goodness.

1 John 4 New International Version (NIV)

On Denying the Incarnation

4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

⁴You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.This is how we recognize the Spirit^[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Pollycy

Michael37 · December 15, 2018

3 hours ago, Pollycy said:

I appreciate the many valuable insights everyone has provided. Still, I must confess, I remain uncertain exactly how a person can actually perform miracles in Christ's name and still be considered 'evil'.

In my simpleminded approach to this, I think I'll try to remember the admonition to TEST THE SPIRITS. Then, in theory, it would not be possible to be mislead by any of them, or to do the will of an evil spirit, even if it seemed to be an act of goodness.

1 John 4 New International Version (NIV)

On Denying the Incarnation

4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

⁴You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.This is how we recognize the Spirit^[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Eph 4:14 ... that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
It is an error to trust in works for salvation, which is the case in Matthew 7:21-23 and also among many practitioners today.

Christine · December 16, 2018

On 12/7/2018 at 3:37 AM, Pollycy said:

Like most Christians, I try to live by what we are taught in the Holy Bible, and especially the teachings of Jesus Christ.

But it is very confusing to me, and almost terrifying in a way, to read what is written in Matthew 7:21 - 23:

Matthew 7:21-23 New International Version (NIV)
True and False Disciples
21 “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. 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

What I find so disturbing is the idea that someone could be such a devout Christian that they could cast out evil spirits and perform miracles in Christ's name, and yet be named as "evildoers" by Christ, and for Him to say that he wanted them to get away from Him.

I am nowhere nearly devout or "good" enough to cast out evil spirits or perform miracles, although Christ has been very, very good to me, and has blessed me greatly in my life. But, if He wanted nothing no association with people who obviously were 'stronger' in the faith and more 'productive' in the faith, what must the Christ of God think of people like me?

I am deficient, obviously, but I don't even really know where to start to correct this situation. BTW, I've read Matthew Henry's commentary on these verses, and I still don't have a good understanding of the issue. How can you perform miracles in Christ's name and yet be repugnant to Christ?

'Not every one that saith unto me," Lord, Lord,"
.. shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
.... but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day,
.. "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
.... and in thy name have cast out devils?
...... and in thy name done many wonderful works?"
And then will I profess unto them,
.. "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."'
(Matthew 7:21)

Hello @Pollycy,

These verses are not intended to make comfortable reading. They were intended to cause those listening to stop and consider. So it is no wonder that we feel uncomfortable with them. These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ while on earth, but the epistles, written by His Apostles, are equally from Him and of equal value with the words which were spoken by Him while on earth. He made it quite clear, also that He spoke only what He heard from the Father: His words are spirit and they are life.

The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has no reason to fear these words in Matthew 7, for they will never apply to him. For He is accepted in the Beloved, and declared to be Holy and without blame before the Father, not because of any righteousness of his own, but because of the righteousnes imputed to Him by God, on the basis of the finished work of Christ, who paid the penalty for our sin, by dying in our place.

There are those who give verbal assent to the things of God, but whose hearts are far from Him, and He is not deceived concerning their hearts condition. He knows those who are His.

You are His workmanship Polly, and greatly loved.

In Christ Jesus

Chris

frienduff thaylorde · December 16, 2018

2 hours ago, Christine said:

'Not every one that saith unto me," Lord, Lord,"
.. shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
.... but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day,
.. "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
.... and in thy name have cast out devils?
...... and in thy name done many wonderful works?"
And then will I profess unto them,
.. "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."'
(Matthew 7:21)

Hello @Pollycy,

These verses are not intended to make comfortable reading. They were intended to cause those listening to stop and consider. So it is no wonder that we feel uncomfortable with them. These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ while on earth, but the epistles, written by His Apostles, are equally from Him and of equal value with the words which were spoken by Him while on earth. He made it quite clear, also that He spoke only what He heard from the Father: His words are spirit and they are life.

The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has no reason to fear these words in Matthew 7, for they will never apply to him. For He is accepted in the Beloved, and declared to be Holy and without blame before the Father, not because of any righteousness of his own, but because of the righteousnes imputed to Him by God, on the basis of the finished work of Christ, who paid the penalty for our sin, by dying in our place.

There are those who give verbal assent to the things of God, but whose hearts are far from Him, and He is not deceived concerning their hearts condition. He knows those who are His.

You are His workmanship Polly, and greatly loved.

In Christ Jesus

Chris

ONLY GOD HIMSEFL can shed HIS LOVE upon our hearts . YES grace .

SO its real easy to understand WHY many will say to HIM in that day , LORD didn't we prophesy In YOUR NAME

didn't we do lots of good works IN YOUR NAME

and STILL they get told I NEVER KNEW YOU . Workers of inquity.

Right now some might be scratching their skulls and thinking what on earth does this man mean its real easy to understand .

SIMPLY THIS , IF WE HAVE the LOVE OF GOD on our hearts , WE WOULD LOVE JESUS . IF WE LOVE JESUS WE WOULD LOVE AND DO ALL HIS SAYINGS

and not bend ortwist or omit them for mens doctrines and so we can have our sin and feel saved . WE WOULD JUST LOVE JESUS SAYINGS AND DO THEM .

Now here is ONE of HIS sayings that might scare the light of day outta folks , but here it is any way . HE WHO PUTS away his wife and marrys another

COMMITS adultery , and whoever marrys her that is put away commits adultery . WELL save for fornication or death .

I been a single man with great joy for not remarrying BUT staying single . BUT THEN JESUS WORDS are true . HAPPY IS THE ONE who hears and DOES my sayings .

THAT IS HOW come many are going to here I NEVER KNEW YOU , they went around his sayings and found pastors who agreed with their hearts desire .

AND he had many sayings . HOW do we deny the faith . For even JESUS said many said IN HIS NAME .

For I see many who say HIS NAME . LET paul say it , HE who provides not for his own , specially those of his own household , HE HAS DENIED THE FAITH

and is worse than an infidel . DIDNT JESUS SAY if a man keeps not my sayings HE HATES ME . YEP and as I said HE has many sayings .

IF WE ARE OF HIM we WOULD LOVE THEM and DO THEM . HIS SPIRIT WOULD BE IN US and would not a saying would be grievious , IT WOULD BE JOY and HAPPY is the one who

deos them . I imagine I just scared a whole lot of folks . BUT BETTER I POINT to JESUS and remind in hopes some repent and fast .

Edited December 16, 2018 by frienduff thaylorde

R. Hartono · December 16, 2018

On 12/7/2018 at 10:37 AM, Pollycy said:

What I find so disturbing is the idea that someone could be such a devout Christian that they could cast out evil spirits and perform miracles in Christ's name, and yet be named as "evildoers" by Christ, and for Him to say that he wanted them to get away from Him.

Look at youtube for this video where someone change water into wine:

Yif Magic水變酒 [官方HD] Water to Wine

If he does it in the name of Jesus it will be like this :

Look at youtube : Shocking miracle !!! Water turned into wine, history has been repeated.

Youtube keywords : Wow a pastor makes money to appear in people's accounts and wallets

Those miracles was made with a purpose to imitate Jesus, to gain fame from people. God doesnt make miracle to people who are not in NEED of it. Jesus refused to change stone into bread because nobody will gain advantage from it other than for his showing off.

Christine · December 18, 2018

On 12/16/2018 at 3:11 AM, frienduff thaylorde said:

ONLY GOD HIMSEFL can shed HIS LOVE upon our hearts . YES grace .

SO its real easy to understand WHY many will say to HIM in that day , LORD didn't we prophesy In YOUR NAME

didn't we do lots of good works IN YOUR NAME

and STILL they get told I NEVER KNEW YOU .   Workers of inquity.

Right now some might be scratching their skulls and thinking what on earth does this man mean its real easy to understand .

SIMPLY THIS , IF WE HAVE the LOVE OF GOD on our hearts , WE WOULD LOVE JESUS .   IF WE LOVE JESUS WE WOULD LOVE AND DO ALL HIS SAYINGS

and not bend ortwist or omit them for mens doctrines and so we can have our sin and feel saved . WE WOULD JUST LOVE JESUS SAYINGS AND DO THEM .

Now here is ONE of HIS sayings that might scare the light of day outta folks , but here it is any way . HE WHO PUTS away his wife and marrys another

COMMITS adultery , and whoever marrys her that is put away commits adultery . WELL save for fornication or death .

I been a single man with great joy for not remarrying BUT staying single .   BUT THEN JESUS WORDS are true . HAPPY IS THE ONE who hears and DOES my sayings .

THAT IS HOW come many are going to here I NEVER KNEW YOU   , they went around his sayings and found pastors who agreed with their hearts desire .

AND he had many sayings .   HOW do we deny the faith .    For even JESUS said many said IN HIS NAME .

For I see many who say HIS NAME . LET paul say it ,    HE who provides not for his own , specially those of his own household , HE HAS DENIED THE FAITH

and is worse than an infidel .    DIDNT JESUS SAY if a man keeps not my sayings HE HATES ME .    YEP and as I said HE has many sayings .

IF WE ARE OF HIM we WOULD LOVE THEM and DO THEM . HIS SPIRIT WOULD BE IN US and would not a saying would be grievious ,   IT WOULD BE JOY and HAPPY is the one who

deos them .   I imagine I just scared a whole lot of folks . BUT BETTER I POINT to JESUS and remind in hopes some repent and fast .

Hello @frienduff thaylorde

Your words bring to mind the words of Ephesians 5:6, 'Let no man deceive you with vain words: ' which needs to be read along with the rest of the practical section of this epistle, chapters 4, 5 & 6. We must be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, thus deceiving ourselves (James 1:22)

In Christ Jesus

Christ

Edited December 18, 2018 by Christine

Unfailing Presence · December 18, 2018

On ‎12‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 10:37 PM, Pollycy said:

Like most Christians, I try to live by what we are taught in the Holy Bible, and especially the teachings of Jesus Christ.

But it is very confusing to me, and almost terrifying in a way, to read what is written in Matthew 7:21 - 23:

Matthew 7:21-23 New International Version (NIV)
True and False Disciples
21 “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. 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!

Because someone professes something does not make it truth . I do not believe it was Jesus' intention to imply that the claims were true , only to illuminate the fact that so dark is the human heart that even " on that day " people will attempt to lie when face to face to the Son of God .You would think all bets would be off at that point . But such is our nature .

It is very much like when Jesus quoted the Phraisee in the Temple praying to God that he was , " ..not as other men are ." ( Like 18 : 11 ) .

Just because Jesus quotes this man saying to God that he is " not as other men are " does make it true .

Jesus is merely pointing out the obvious .

Edited December 18, 2018 by Unfailing Presence

JustPassingThru · December 18, 2018

On 12/6/2018 at 5:37 PM, Pollycy said:

Like most Christians, I try to live by what we are taught in the Holy Bible, and especially the teachings of Jesus Christ.

But it is very confusing to me, and almost terrifying in a way, to read what is written in Matthew 7:21 - 23:

Matthew 7:21-23 New International Version (NIV)
True and False Disciples
21 “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. 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 in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

What I find so disturbing is the idea that someone could be such a devout Christian that they could cast out evil spirits and perform miracles in Christ's name, and yet be named as "evildoers" by Christ, and for Him to say that he wanted them to get away from Him.

I am nowhere nearly devout or "good" enough to cast out evil spirits or perform miracles, although Christ has been very, very good to me, and has blessed me greatly in my life. But, if He wanted nothing no association with people who obviously were 'stronger' in the faith and more 'productive' in the faith, what must the Christ of God think of people like me?

I am deficient, obviously, but I don't even really know where to start to correct this situation. BTW, I've read Matthew Henry's commentary on these verses, and I still don't have a good understanding of the issue. How can you perform miracles in Christ's name and yet be repugnant to Christ?

The key to understanding is when does this take place?

On that day is referring to the Great White Throne Judgement, all those He is referring to will have died and went to the place of the dead in the center of the earth to await their judgement, because of man's twisted, evil and prideful heart, the time spent there will be a preparatory time to build their case and rebuke the Judge, ...just turn on the TV and you will see many examples of these money hungry charlatans.

Precious brother, Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote, ...if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved, apparently you believe this and are doing it now, here on this site, now, look beyond the fact that Paul put it to paper and realize that the Holy Spirit was talking to you personally, confess to Father you doubts and ask Him to appropriate it into the very fabric of your soul!

Lord bless

Sign In

Join Worthy Christian Forums today!

What did Christ mean in Matthew 7:21-23?

Recommended Posts

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

George

missmuffet

Adstar

Posted Images

On Denying the Incarnation

On Denying the Incarnation

Look at youtube for this video where someone change water into wine:

Yif Magic水變酒 [官方HD] Water to Wine

Youtube keywords : Wow a pastor makes money to appear in people's accounts and wallets

Recently Browsing 0 members

Our picks

Picked By

Picked By

Picked By

Picked By

Picked By