Depart from Me, I Never Knew You ~ Meaning of Matthew 7:21-23

[DHC]

The word perfect is often confused in this case the rendering is to mature.If you think you have to be PERFECT as in thinking no mistakes.You have gone down the wrong road and making it impossible on yourself and others.Something is fishy here i gave the correct answer that would explain the original question here why did it not post.the question of Matthew 7:23 this iniquity is the key word.If you are being accused of this would it not be most important to find its meaning and its root word.If you do this it explains itself.This question i have debated with PHDs of linguistics and religion at numerous well known universities UNC,Wake Forest.Duke,Florida ST,Appalachian ST,and many others they all say this is the way to the correct answer.The problem is most preachers do not know why the commandments were given what they are or what there function is.When you know this Romans and Galatians can be read intelligently.Remember he says we MUST worship in spirit AND truth.His spirit is why we simply believe the truth is you had better not take away from it.Even so there is a way that SEEMS right unto a man.A cunningly devised doctrine of man will cost you your salvation with reward ( Holy Priesthood ) or a common salvation applied to all men.Yes you are saved by grace either way.The weeping will be when you see first hand what you could have had.

Hello Mikej.

You raised an interesting point about the correct translation of the word 'teleios' in (Matthew 7:48).

There are occasions where English Bible translations have not been perfect.

You said;

The word perfect is often confused in this case the rendering is to mature. If you think you
have to be PERFECT as in thinking no mistakes.

On checking the Koine Greek, at first glance it certainly would seem you might be correct.

But there is a problem with translating the Greek word 'teleios' straight into the English word
'mature'.

Here Mike, have a look at the verse again with your suggested translation of 'teleios'.

Matthew 7
48 Therefore you are to be 'mature', as your heavenly Father is 'mature'.

Notice the last section 'as your heavenly Father is mature', this is the first problem Mike.

God by definition never matures, God is and always will be perfect. We now have
a serious issue with your plug and play approach to translation.

The definition of 'teleios' and if you are somewhat familiar with the Greek. You should
notice 'tele' in 'teleios' means extending or travelling to a point. Hence telescope means
to travel or stretch to the full range. So we know that 'teleios' means extending to the
full range or full extent, and to the finish!

So when applied to mankind we can translate 'teleios' as 'mature', i.e., travelling to a
point. When applied to God, we use the word 'perfect' of course. Now for the even tougher
area of the translation of this verse, Mike. The context of the verse needs to be considered by
the translators, to grasp the speaker's intended meaning in this verse.

You 'are to be' as your 'Father is', the sentence is instructing the listeners to reflect the
Father, to the full extent of perfection. It is not saying be mature to some undefined level
of goodness. The level is set at the Father's perfect state. You are to be .... as God is ....

You are to be at the extended level as the Father's extended level, which is absolute perfection.

Hence Mike, I am forced to agree with the standard translations of the Koine Greek.

I checked twenty one translations and twenty of these translations use the English word 'perfect'.

Context will and always will, determine the correct translation of any verse in the Bible.
Koine Greek words do change in meaning depending on the context.

 

[DHC]

Jesus explains what he means by the building on the rock metaphor. "Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock". The rock is Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Building on the rock is putting that teaching into practice.

Hello Hekuran.

Do you wish to have another look at what you wrote in post #14 ?

Jesus explains what he means by the building on the rock metaphor. "Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock". The rock is Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Building on the rock is putting that teaching into practice.

Are you sure that you understand what Jesus is saying?

 

[B-A-C]

Like a said a partial gospel. Believing alone is dead. Faith without works is dead. A tree without fruit is dead (and should be thrown in the fire).

Matt 18:8; "If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.

Matt 19:29; "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

Matt 25:41; "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Matt 25:42; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;

According to the passages above, a lot more believing is required for eternal life.

Luke 10:25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
Luke 10:26 And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?"
Luke 10:27 And he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
Luke 10:28 And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE."

John 3:36; "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

Interesting wording in this verse (NASB) if you believe you will have life, but if you do not obey, you won't have life.. so which is it? Perhaps both.
Even if you do obey, you won't be saved without believing in Jesus.

John 12:50; "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."

Matt 19:16; And someone came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?"
Matt 19:17; And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

What is required again for eternal life? Simply believing in Jesus? The Jehovah's Witnesses believe in Jesus, Mormons believe in Jesus, even Muslims believe in Jesus.
The people in Matt 7:21-23 believed in Jesus. They did miracles in His name, cast out demons in His name. They even called Him Lord.

Faith itself leads to and requires obedience.

Rom 16:26; but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;

Gal 6:7; Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
Gal 6:8; For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

There is another requirement for eternal life in the verse above. Sowing to the Spirit, not the flesh.So what is sowing to the Spirit? What is the fruit of the Spirit? (Gal 5:18-24; has the answer)

1Tim 6:9; But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
1Tim 6:10; For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1Tim 6:11; But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
1Tim 6:12; Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

This passage talks about things to stay away from so that you "take hold of the eternal life".
So does the passage below.

1 Jn 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

John 3:16 is a great verse. I's a great start. But it is far from the entire Gospel. In fact the verse says "may be" or "might be" (NASB) or "should (not perish)" (KJV)
None of those versions of the Bible say "definitely will be no matter what"

Jas 2:9; But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Even partiality is a sin.

Jas 2:13; For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Jas 2:14; What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? <= The obvious answer here is "no"
Jas 2:15; If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
Jas 2:16; and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
Jas 2:17; Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Jas 2:18; But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
Jas 2:19; You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Jas 2:20; But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

Faith in Jesus alone, is a partial gospel.

Jas 2:24; You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Eph 2:8-9; is a great passage. None of us will enter heaven by works alone. I can't do enough good deeds or be righteous enough on my own to enter heaven... it's true.
But none of us will enter heaven by faith alone either.

Matt 16:27; "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.

Mark 7:20 And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.
Mark 7:21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
Mark 7:22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
Mark 7:23 "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

John 5:28; "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
John 5:29; and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Repentance leads to eternal life. Non-repentance leads to judgment and wrath.

Rom 2:4; Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
Rom 2:5; But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
Rom 2:6; who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:
Rom 2:7; to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;

Rom 6:16;Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

 

[DHC]

Like a said a partial gospel. Believing alone is dead.
Matt 19:16; And someone came to Him and said, "Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?"
Matt 19:17; And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

Hello B-A-C.

I am surprised that you did not notice the following quotation and what it says?

Matthew 19
17 And He said to him, Why are you asking Me about what is good?
There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.

See if you can follow the logic B-A-C.

If there is only one who is good, then it holds that mankind is not good.
(proof: mankind crucified their creator)

If mankind is not good, then it also holds that mankind cannot obey the commandments.
(When has mankind ever been law abiding?)

If mankind cannot obey the commandments, then no one can be saved by the commandments.
(The law has condemned us all)

Here is the trick B-A-C, because no one is good by nature, then it requires a supernatural
intervention to enable the reconciliation.

You should know better B-A-C.

 

[Travis]

Like a said a partial gospel. Believing alone is dead. Faith without works is dead. A tree without fruit is dead (and should be thrown in the fire).

Hey B-A-C,

I see no need to try and refute what you are teaching that the scriptures are saying here, because the original article by Bob Wilkin posted on this thread has already done so.

That being said, I do feel like saying one thing though. There is no partial gospel. If one presents the gospel lacking any essential part, then it is not the gospel. Also if one adds to the essentials of the gospel, adding further requirements, then it is not the same gospel, it is a new or different gospel. Yet, there is but one gospel. So, when I refer to trusting in the blood of Jesus to save me, and not my own works; that I am justified in His sight and made right with God through only believing in Jesus Christ's finished work on the cross, and that this is by the grace (completely unmerited favor) of God, that is one gospel. If I were to say, "that's only the start, to get me on the road, but to actually attain to eternal life, I need more than the atoning shed blood of Christ, and need keep the commandments and be completely obedient, otherwise I will miss the mark and be cast into the lake of fire," then I am speaking of a different gospel.

Either the first is right and the second wrong, or the first is wrong and the second right, or both the first and the second are wrong. There is no room for them to both be right.

Romans 3 KJV
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, [I say], at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27 Where [is] boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 29 [Is he] the God of the Jews only? [is he] not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 30 Seeing [it is] one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Ephesians 2 KJV
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

James 2 KJV
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

​

On the surface it may seem that these verses contradict each other. But we know that God breathed these scriptures, so there are no contradictions contained in them. So, if we see a contradiction in the scriptures, we must be misunderstanding one or both of the scriptures that seemingly disagree. Who is James' audience and what is James's purpose for saying what he is saying? I think that may be a good place to start when examining those verses.

Grace to you,

Travis

 

[james1523]

Hey James,

I don't really agree with your definition of a believer here, so it makes sense that we would come to differing positions on this topic. I think there are only two types of people in the world, unbelievers and believers. Wise people, and foolish people. Those who are saved, being saved, and will be saved, vs those who are damned simply because they don't believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to save them. Many people have heard of Jesus, have been taught about Jesus, and think that they believe in Jesus, but don't have an ounce of faith in him. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Jesus). Jesus gives men the hearing and the preaching required to have faith. Without Christ opening men's hearts and having His words preaching into them, no man would have any faith (not the kind we are referring to here in the bible at least). Churches across the world are filled with unbelievers who look like believers to the casual observer. The fool says in his heart, 'there is no God.' He doesn't necessarily say it with his mouth though, he may very well say that Jesus is God with his mouth, but in his heart and with his actions he says, 'there is no God." I don't consider wolves to be believers, I consider them to be unbelievers, but yet they come in sheep's clothing, appearing to be genuine sheep. It's because we don't have complete discernment that we often can't tell the difference between who is a believer and who is an unbeliever. Many in both categories seem to appear to be in the other from time to time.

I'm sort of familiar with the doctrine you seem to be referring to in your last post James, I first read about something like this in a book by a proponent of it named Robert Govett, who was a contemporary of Charles Spurgeon. I'm just curious, where did you get some of your ideas regarding 'The Kingdom," and entrance into it based on reward? I don't hear a lot of people talking about this doctrine.

Grace to you,

Travis

Hello. Well the doctrine comes mostly from a literal interpretation of the Bible passages concerning rewards, salvation, the kingdom, and some understanding that the Kingdom of God is not the same as Heaven.

You are right as you say in one of your previous posts that the ones who Jesus denies, are false prophets, where 2 Peter 2 shows that false teachers/prophets are not unbelievers, but believers who have known the way of righteousness, they have known Christ, but have turned their back on Him, by their lifestyle or teaching, but not necessarily their belief and proclamation that He is Lord. Note that 2 Peter 2:1 says that false prophets/teachers are those who deny the Lord who bought them. That is, they are apostates.They left the straight way (verse 15), indicating they were on the straight way at one time. They are or were believers in Christ, but became corrupted (2 Peter 2:20). 2 Peter 2:17 says their punishment is blackest darkness (not hell). Note that Jesus reserves outer darkness as punishment for the unfaithful servants (Matt 25:30), whereas hell is for the unbelievers. The false teachers and prophets are not unbelievers, they are believers who have the Spirit and call Jesus Lord, and can even work miracles, however they have become apostates and deny the Lord by what they do or say. People who are punished, will be crying and gnashing teeth, and will see the faithful believers enjoying the Kingdom of God, but they will be thrown out.
Luke 13:28 "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.

The common theme in Jesus's teachings for unfaithful believers, or false teachers/prophets, is temporal punishment (Luke 12:47-48) weeping and gnashing of teeth, and outer darkness, and being thrown out of the wedding feast. This is contrasted with the burning sulfur and lake of fire for the unbelievers and Satan.

I guess there are 3 main inaccuracies that are taught/believed in Christianity today:
1) The kingdom of God is the same as Heaven - it is not. Kingdom of God can refer to the church, the millennial kingdom, or even the rule of Christ in our hearts.
1) salvation is about getting into Heaven - it is not, it is about entering the Kingdom of God, and Jesus and Paul's gospel was about the kingdom, not Heaven. (For this reason, every gospel that is about getting saved into heaven is not the same gospel that Jesus and Paul preached, but another gospel, Matt 4:23, Acts 28:30-31)
3) Christians go to Heaven for eternity when they die, they don't - they live in Jerusalem (Rev 21).
4) Works don't matter, only belief/faith - but 1 Peter 1:17 says believers, those who have God as Father, are judged for their works. The Bible also says we are judged by what we do, not what we believe.

I agree there are only believer and unbeliever, but let's narrow this down even further to what being a believer really means.
There are only two types of people in the world - people with the Holy Spirit and people without the Holy Spirit.
We know that God gives His Spirit only to those who believe in Christ.
1 Cor 12:3 says that a person who can say that Jesus is Lord, has the Holy Spirit.
Therefore those people who call Jesus Lord, yet He denies, must have the Holy Spirit and must be saved.

Of the people who call Jesus Lord and have the Holy Spirit, there are two types - obedient and disobedient.
Obedient ones are rewarded, and disobedient ones are punished, based upon what they do (not what they believe).
Now if we believe that the reward is Heaven and the punishment is Hell, then we believe in salvation by works, and believe the same as the Catholics do in this regard.
So the only conclusion I can see, is that the rewards and punishments are not Heaven and Hell, but something else, namely, entrance and participation in the enjoyment of the millennial kingdom, with Abraham, Isaac, etc, or punishment in outer darkness.

 

[Joeoboy123]

Why is John 6:28-29 showing that believe in christ that was sent as being a work. Is to believe a work ? Also the scripture says that people like Noah and Job were perfect according to what God said. Did they never sin ? Also scripture talks about doing the work of faith or works of faith. All different type religions the people do works of faith. What is all the works of faith a true believer in christ are supposed to do ?

 

[Travis]

So the only conclusion I can see, is that the rewards and punishments are not Heaven and Hell, but something else, namely, entrance and participation in the enjoyment of the millennial kingdom, with Abraham, Isaac, etc, or punishment in outer darkness.

Hey James,

Thanks for the response. I look forward to one day maybe discussing these things further with you, perhaps in a different or new thread.

Grace to you,

Travis

 

[Joeoboy123]

If it is only unbelievers that are unsaved why does rev 21:8 show unbelievers as unbelief is sin along with other sins goes to the lake of fire ?

 

[Hekuran]

Hello Hekuran.

Do you wish to have another look at what you wrote in post #14 ?


Are you sure that you understand what Jesus is saying?

Hi @DHC I've looked again, and I think the text is clear enough. If you think I have misunderstood something, please point it out.

 

[james1523]

Hey James,

Thanks for the response. I look forward to one day maybe discussing these things further with you, perhaps in a different or new thread.

Grace to you,

Travis

Sure, I may start such a thread soon.

 

[grandmamary1219]

If it is only unbelievers that are unsaved why does rev 21:8 show unbelievers as unbelief is sin along with other sins goes to the lake of fire ?

Read 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

We are washed (cleansed), justified, and sanctified by faith in Jesus. He overcame sin for us!

 

[DHC]

There's one gospel, and none of us has grasped its depth and breadth fully. Our understanding is partial.
@DHC Your interpretation of Jesus words in Matthew 7 rests entirely on importing verses from elsewhere in the Bible. When Jesus says "these words of mine", he must be referring to his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.

Hello Hekuran.

I apologize that I could not reply sooner but I have been very busy of late.

There should be no doubt about what the Gospel really is.

Paul specifically mentions the Gospel to the Corinthians, here have a close look
at what Paul says in the following two verses.

1 Corinthians 15
1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you
received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved...
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures

This is the foundation of the Christian faith, the platform on which we stand in Christ.

Verse three says 'For I delivered to you as of first importance' which therefore implies
that all other teaching in Christ will only ever be of secondary importance. First is the Gospel
and never, never a partial Gospel, as Paul directly tells us what is important above all else.

We are only ever saved by the Gospel above (verse 3), and there is no other way to be saved.

Everything else that is written for our instruction follows on from the Gospel.

I can prove that the full Gospel is verse three above, simply by pointing out that you
must believe the Gospel in the first place to even receive the Holy Spirit. Without the
Holy Spirit you are outside of sanctification and the resulting salvation.

It is the belief in the Gospel (verse 3) that triggers everything else in Christianity, Hekuran.

Ephesians 1:13
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also
believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

It is simply believing in the Gospel that God honors first, by delivering the Holy Spirit which seals
the believer into salvation.

 

[Hekuran]

Hi @DHC

No need for further proofs. There's no summary of the gospel better than 1 Corinthians 15. I'd be interested to know how it affects your understanding of Jesus' "these words of mine" saying in Matthew.

I'm not quite sure if we're having a disagreement here, or just a misunderstanding. If you can see I've got something mixed up, please let me know.

Hekuran

 

[Joeoboy123]

Read 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

We are washed (cleansed), justified, and sanctified by faith in Jesus. He overcame sin for us!

If this is saying Jesus overcame sin for us. Why does rev 3:21 show we are to overcome sin as he overcame sin ?

 

[grandmamary1219]

We are overcomers only in Christ. No amount of trying to perfect ourselves will work. We yield in submission to the Holy Spirit. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. We are not saved by our works! We have no room to boast about any part of the process of salvation, justification, sanctification, or holiness. It is all by the grace of God.

 

[grandmamary1219]

Go to GotQuestions dot org, and query "What does the Bible say about being an overcomer?"

 

[RJ]

Matthew 7:21-23 ....
Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."

It's all about Faith and Works.

1. First it requires Faith , not works to be saved.Ephesians 2:8, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
2. Second, after supposedly being saved but subsequently with out works of the spirit, is proof that you never had the Faith to be saved in the first place. James 2:14-17 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[a] is that?17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

• Many across the world proclaim to be Christians, even many do great things to prove their worthyness. But, Jesus said "Without me , you can do nothing". It is his works through you and not of your own, this marks the true believers. Others, Jesus will say I never knew you you. How could he know you, you were never a part of him.
• Also see Revelation 3:16 ..But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!
• So, it all comes down to true believers and non-believers, those with Christ in them and those who don't.
• When it comes to the end of your time, will Jesus deny you, the way you denied him?
• Does Christ know you?
  

 

[Shutterbug]

I don't have a plethora of Scripture to reinforce my opinion here, but the topic has crossed my mind of late. Many points have been mentioned and are true in their own right: repentance, faith, being a good role model, bringing others to Jesus, and becoming mature in the Spirit. The term 'lawlessness' is not so much about breaking rules, but the nature of the rules becoming the flavour of the day. At what point do we draw the line? The World knows where to draw the line: putting the will of God first in everything is not going to happen. The World is beginning to see the Church as a quiet voice which only makes noise when its freedoms are restricted, not that of others. Again, it gets back to that 'me' thing. I recall a conversation a work regarding Evolution. One chap declared rather loudly that he is a Christian and Evolution was a myth. I almost objected because of his normal character which does not reflect Christian character. He can be a nice guy, but much of his character is more about him than being led by the Holy Spirit. If you prefer to do things your way, then it's going to cause a problem on Judgement Day.

 

[Cosmicwaffle]

Love your post Chad!!!! I read it somewhere before but I forgot where. I completely agree though, the work of God is to believe in the one whom he sent, the blessed Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ!!!