Lesson Seven: I Never Knew You
Devotion #4: Everyone Will Face Jesus
Sierra Combs
There are many songs I love to sing that center around an upcoming day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every time I ponder these words, words given to us straight from Scripture, I rejoice that I will one day get to come face to face with my Savior. I rejoice on behalf of my brothers and sisters in Christ who truly know and love the Lord and how we will all get to live in paradise with Him for eternity. However, I shudder to think of everyone else. Philippians 2:9-11 excludes no one. One day, every single person will know that Jesus is Lord, and they will bow down. Then, they will either be given eternal access to the Kingdom of God or be told to depart from His presence forever.
I hesitatingly admit that I am a sucker for reading internet article comment threads. I do not really know why; they pretty much only waste my time and make me angry and sad. It seems as if the algorithm always puts articles in my feed with comment sections sprinkled with a couple of good-hearted Christian grandmas, internet evangelists, and apologists, and then five times as many God-hating atheists and people who just like to mock Christians. It is a sobering reminder that one day, these same people will be in that judgment line. While absolutely devastating, it is not that surprising that the God-hating atheists will be told to depart from God’s presence because He did not know them. However, they will not be the only ones. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says what I believe to be some of the most terrifying words in the whole Bible, “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.’” The atheists will certainly be regretful of their life’s decisions, but they will not be surprised. However, Jesus says that many people will go to Him on judgment day completely expecting Kingdom access, and they will be denied. These are people who claim Christianity, preach about Jesus, tell others about Him, and even do things that appear spiritual and miraculous. They claim to know Him, but Jesus says, “Depart, I never knew you.”
You could do every good work you could think of, follow all of the rules, look like a perfect Christian, read the Bible a hundred times, and know all of the stories. You could build world-famous ministries that center on healing the sick and performing miracles. You could know all about Jesus and still not truly know Him. Good works are great, and they are a very important aspect of sanctification (fruit that comes after salvation), but they cannot save you. Studying Scripture and learning about God is important but does not equate to truly knowing Him and having a relationship with Him. You may be able to fool everyone else, perhaps even yourself, but you cannot fool God. You may think that you know Him, but does He know you? Just saying you are a Christian is not enough, and relying on your own works to save you is exactly the opposite of where true salvation comes from.
So what must we do to be saved? Jesus says that it is those who do the will of the Father who will be saved. It is His will that we put our faith completely in Christ, trusting that He alone can save us. It is only through the blood of Jesus that we can know and be known by God.