Many who lack obedience are not trying to be rebellious. They are simply listening to attractive, articulate leaders. They are imitating role models that appear to be wonderfully spiritual. When asked about salvation, these leaders cannot bring themselves to answer as Peter did in Acts 2. They prefer to quote Acts 16:31, then tend to ignore the rest of the account. One engaging book on Romans basically bypasses the beauty of Romans 6:3-4. One popular topical Bible, under the subject of “works,” offers absolutely nothing… except this re-direction: “Works. See Salvation, Not By Works.” Nowhere is the Bible’s major matter of “works” given even one Scripture reference, and James might as well not exist. No wonder their followers are plagued with imbalance in this matter. But that should not surprise us, because Jesus forewarns us in the Sermon on the Mount.
Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Jesus addresses how we “enter” His kingdom (Matthew 7:21). This matter of how to start is crucial. If we miss this, we miss everything, which is exactly the point. The “many” who receive such a shocking judgment think they have lived for Christ. The truth is that they never started. How do we know this? By listening carefully to Jesus. According to Matthew 7:23, Jesus sends the condemned away with the words: “I never knew you!” Jesus obviously knew of their existence. “Know” is a word for friendship or relationship. Therefore, Jesus is saying, “I never had a relationship with you.” If they thought there was a relationship, they were deceived. Where there is no relationship with Jesus, there is no justification. Thus, these confessors never received God’s gift of salvation. The glorious race they ran beside Jesus, well, that was all in their imagination. In reality, they didn’t even get off the starting block.