TO WHOM WILL JESUS SAY, I NEVER KNEW YOU
Eau Claire, WI, USA
Shortly into the Sermon on the Mount Jesus told His audience, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law.” He then warned that they should not “break one of these least commandments,” and that if their righteousness did not “exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees” they would not “enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-20). “Law,” in this context, was the Law of the Lord, the moral compass used by Jesus, and that which He will use to govern the kingdom of heaven upon His return at the end of the age. We are not expected to obey these laws perfectly. Jesus did this for us. The requirement is that we follow His example by using them as our moral compass, “for sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4).
For the purpose of this article, it will be stated that the “kingdom of heaven”– is not in heaven. “Of” does not mean “in.” It means the same as “of” in “the kingdom of God,” the term used by the other Gospel writers. A comparison of Matthew’s “kingdom of heaven” in 8:11-12 to Luke’s “kingdom of God” in 13:28-29 will reveal both writers-as describing the same kingdom, and that its location is on earth. Supporting this is that “things that offend, and them which do iniquity” (Matthew 13:41) are in this kingdom and will be removed upon Christ’s return.
The question then is, what are “things that offend,” what is “iniquity,” and is there a connection between these and the people to whom Jesus will say, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23)? The prophecy reads as follows .
Not everyone 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 cannot be emphasized too strongly that the “many” in this prophecy are not Muslims, Hindus, or Jews. The context identifies them as Christians, as a certain type of Christian. Also, it seems to be describing their pastors and leaders. Christ has returned, and they are asking Him why they are not entering the kingdom as are other yet-alive Christians.
Having taught, and done wonderful works in His name, they cannot understand why they do not qualify as having done “the will of my Father.” They plead their case before King Jesus, but only to hear Him say, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Psalm 40:8 and other texts, tell us that the will of God is found in His law : “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” The apostle Paul alluded to this when he spoke of God, saying, ”And knowest his will … being instructed out of the law” (Romans 2:18). So God’s will for Christians includes the obeying of his law. Also repeating this truth was the apostle John when he defind sin as ” the transgression of the law .” As a follow-up, he stated that “whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin … because he is born of God” (v. 9). John was not saying that born of God/born again Christians will not sin (they do), but that they will not make a practice of transgressing the law. Also known as repentance, this tells us that truly born again (from above) Christians will not practice a particular sin, or sins, even when their government makes it legal to do so. For example , induced abortion, once illegal, was made legal by the US Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade in 1973. Its legality would be one of the aforementioned “things that offend” in the parable of the tares. Government leaders who create policies that “offend,” and those who sin by taking advantage of them, are both in the category of “them which work iniquity.” It does not take a rocket scientist to understand this, neither the fact that induced abortion is not the only sin made legal by government in recent times.
As of this writing, Jesus is yet sitting at the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for the saints. But according to His I never knew you prophecy, there is a type of Christian in whom the Holy Spirit does not abide, and who our Lord does not acknowledge. He does not, apparently, hear their prayers. Is it because they have not asked Him into their heart, or into their life (terminology not in the Bible, but used by most evangelical leaders)? No! The reason stated is that they “work iniquity .” The Greek dictionary in Strong’s Concordance tells us that “iniquity” is translated from #458, anomia, and that it means lawlessness. Jesus does not acknowledge this type of Christian for the reason stated in Proverbs 28:9, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” This puts today’s grace only type believers in the I-never-knew you category. They have twisted Romans 6:14 (“ye are not under the law, but under grace”) into the idea that, because we are not under the penalty of the law, that the entire law was replaced by some other moral code. As a result, they are not using the moral compass used by Jesus, and are working iniquity / lawlessness.
Sins Corrected by Ezra and Nehemiah, but Rampant in Today’s Church
 In the books of Ezra and Nehemiah there are three different sins described in detail. On the subjects of money, marriage, and the Fourth Commandment, these sins are rampant in today’s church. That the laws of God which prohibit them were once both statutory law and Christian cultural custom seems not to bother most evangelicals. Usury for example, God’s law prohibiting the collecting of interest on money was upheld by the church until about the 15th Century. Gradually abandoned due to the love of money, usury is now widely practiced by Christians. One of the many symptoms of this sin is the burden of annual interest on an unpayable $20 trillion national debt. In Matthew 25:26-27, Jesus compared usury to reaping where one has not sown.
God’s law prohibiting unnecessary commercial activity on the Sabbath was honored in Christendom, well into the 1900s. (The apostolic church observed Sunday as the required, one day in a cycle of sevens.) But as the number of Christians in government declined, – Christian Sabbath is now one of the busiest days for store and restaurant chains. However, and to their credit, the Christian owned and operated, Chick-fil-A restaurants, and the Hobby Lobby stores do not open on Sunday.
God’s law prohibiting mixed marriage was also, both statutory law and Christian cultural custom until recent decades. But in the case, Virginia v. Loving in 1967, the US Supreme Court declared that good was evil by striking down all state laws prohibiting this sin. Since then it has increased tenfold as most pastors, unwilling to be persecuted for righteousness sake, abandoned this law of God for political correctness. These are the church leaders who join hands with Hollywood, the ACLU, and the Southern Poverty Law Center by labeling the few Christian organizations which speak against this sin, as “racist,” and “hate groups.”
In 2015 one sin begat another when Virginia v. Loving was used as a case precedent by LGBT groups. They argued that state laws prohibiting same sex marriage should also be struck down. As a result, this type of “marriage” also has legal protection, and is being normalized by the social engineers in Hollywood, public education, and mainstream news outlets. In another generation, it too, will be a sin few pastors oppose.
In an attempt to excuse their flocks from politically incorrect laws of God, most evangelical pastors will say, “That’s not for us, the law was given to the Jews.” But this is a big mistake because the law was given to Israel, of which 1st Century Jews were only a small portion. For example, about 20 years before the Jews were scattered in AD 70, James addressed an epistle “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1). Also in contradistinction to those not yet scattered, is that these Israelites (and yes, they were racial Israelites) were accepting Jesus and the New Covenant. James was writing to the greater, non-Jew portion of Israel, those whose ancestors were scattered, and who remained abroad after the 7th and 6th Century BC, Assyrian and Babylonian invasions and deportations. The lost tribes of Israel, it was they who were the “other sheep I have which are not of this fold.” (Jesus: John 10:16). The Jews knew them as “the dispersed among the Gentiles,” and “the children of God that were scattered abroad” (John 7:35 , 11:52). They were also the Christians called Gentiles in Paul’s epistles. These were the Israelites among whom the Gospel traveled, from the Mediterranean area to Western Europe. We, the people of historic Christianity (Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Germanic, Scandinavian and related Europeans) are their descendants. We are Israelites, the people of whom Isaiah prophesied, would be “called by a new name … by another name” (62:2; 65:15). That name is “Christians” (Acts 11:26), and history tells us that Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled over 1000 years ago, when the last of Western European nations became known by Israel’s prophesied new name. We are racial Israelites, the people whose responsibility it is, to walk in the Law of the Lord. As professing Christians we must make an honest attempt to obey these laws. To not do so, will put us in the category of those to whom Jesus will say those awful words: “I never knew you.”
