I Never Knew You

Lately I have been thinking about what author David Biven terms “the difficult words of Jesus” (if you are interested in Hebraic gems that help illuminate the Gospels, read his book).  I am talking about Scripture passages that people tend to gloss over because they cannot make sense of them.

Matthew 7:21-23 is an example.  Jesus says:

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:

Some commentaries suggest that this passage refers to Christians who were never really saved, which I believe is blaspheme!  For Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us: 

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV)

Once a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and is saved they cannot become unsaved, can they?  That would imply that Jesus “took His free gift back.”  Others state that Jesus was talking to unbelievers.  But unbelievers would never utter the words, “Lord, Lord.” 

The reason this passages does not line up for many is because it refers to soul salvation, not spirit salvation.  When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we receive the free gift of spirit salvation and eternal life.  What we do with this gift determines whether we will receive a reward (Revelation 22:12) when we stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ or loss. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

If our works are deemed to be of gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:10-15), we will receive a reward, which I believe is the salvation of our soul that Paul writes of in Philippians 2:12 (another “difficult” Scripture passage):

¹²Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.  ¹³For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (KJV)

Here Paul must be talking about soul salvation, which we do need to work out with fear and trembling before we appear before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  I believe what is at stake is whether we will rule and reign with Christ during His 1,000-year Millennial Kingdom (Romans 8:17, 2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 20:4).  The types in Scripture (see my earlier post on Entering the Land) suggest that believers who do not receive soul salvation will be on the outside looking in.  They will have eternal life, but will not be able to enter the Millennial Kingdom.

 

When you are able to distinguish between spirit salvation (the free gift) and soul salvation (a reward based upon our works), then Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23 finally begin to make sense.