Matthew 7:21-23: Look What I Did!

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 7:21-23

It’s going to be a sad day for some people when they stand before God expecting to be welcomed into heaven but instead they are condemned. It’s interesting when you think about the arguments they use to justify themselves:

We prophesied in your name.
We cast out devils.
We did good works.

These people believe they should get into heaven because of all the good things they did. But Jesus doesn’t seem to think their works were good but rather calls them workers of “iniquity.”

Some people argue that the people mentioned here are Christians who lost their salvation. That's a mistaken notion. Jesus clearly says, "I never knew you." The word "never" in that passage is the Greek word, oudepote. This is a compound word: oude, meaning "not even" and pote, meaning "ever." Jesus is saying, "I did not know you - not ever." They aren't people who believed and fell away; they never trusted Jesus as their Savior. They trusted in their own works to save them.

Jesus said that only he that does the will of the Father will enter the kingdom of heaven. But what is the will of the Father? Isn’t it to do good things? Jesus actually tells us the Father’s will in John 6:40:

“And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

God doesn’t require us to earn our own salvation by good works. His will is simply that we believe in the Son and have eternal life.