For anyone who believes the Bible, the most frightening words in the Bible are in Matthew 7. They’re part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, but most people forget them. Most people think of the Beatitudes or the instruction to bless those who curse you, but these verses are a part of it as well:
“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!’”
Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
Just picture that scene for a moment. Here is someone in front of Jesus Christ, perhaps in heaven. The person pleads with Christ, calling Him “Lord” and then claiming that he prophesied in Christ’s name, cast out demons in His name, and even performed miracles in His name. (Those things sound good, right?) Christ responds to them with the harshest of judgments: “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” That person, who seemed to be doing good deeds – and even may have believed he was following Christ – is condemned to hell. Jesus Christ refers to that person as an “evildoer,” or as another translation puts it, “you who practice lawlessness.”
What then distinguishes that person who is condemned to damnation from someone who does the same good works but is a true born again Christian? Verse 21 tells us: “‘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.’” That means we as Christians need to be doing God’s will. Part of that is being righteous, which in reality is seeking to bring glory to God’s name. True Christians seek to glorify God in all that they do. Those acts may be good by human standards, but if they don’t bring glory to God’s name, then they aren’t within His will.
In my own personal spiritual journey, I’ve done plenty of good works, but until recently those works were not within the will of God. I taught Sunday School, youth group, and junior church. I sang in the choir. I went out on visitation. I read my Bible and prayed. But it was all a show because I wasn’t doing them to the glory of God. I was doing it more to prove something to myself or perhaps to put up a front for others.
These verses in Matthew 7 are frightening in their implications. They mean that there are many people – millions, I believe – who believe they are saved but really aren’t. These people are good people; that is, good by human standards. The problem, though, is that “good” by human standards is evil by God’s standards. What defines a deed’s true goodness is this singular condition: does this glorify God? If it doesn’t, then it’s lawlessness, and Matthew 7 tells us that that person will hear the words, “I never knew you!”
To me, that’s scary.
