Why Christ Tells Some People, “I Never Knew You.”

Let's discuss Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

1. “Lord, Lord” -- they greeted Jesus thinking He was their Lord and Savior.

2. “in Your name” -- They felt the ministry they did was done in Christ. 

3. “evildoers” -- Jesus calls them this because they had an outward “form of godliness,” but they never gave their hearts to Him and refused to repent of lifestyle sins such as those listed in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. 

Christ never knew them and they never knew Christ. But they thought doing ministry in His name was enough.

Jesus wasn't saying genuine Christians must be perfect, or we'd all be lost! But “no one who continues to sin” (living a lifestyle of unrepentant sin) knows God (1 John 3:6). 

This passage need not concern any who have truly given their lives to Christ. Their respect for God's Word proves that they take their relationship seriously (Philippians 2:12-13; John 14:23; 1 John 2:5-6; 1 John 3:24).*   

But let's warn those who think they're saved while continuing in unrepentant sin.

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Please take time to do the Bite Size Bible Study for this devotion: When Jesus Tells Professing Christians “I Never Knew You.”

Also see Lessons We Learn from Secret Sinful Lives about a prominent Christian personality who lived in sin for 20+ years. 

Check out these reviews of Lies in Disguise 🠞

from the son of a martyr, a seminary professor, and a gifted Christian author.

* Note: Genuine believers disagree about whether a person can lose their salvation, but this devotion is true no matter your view. People who are truly saved accept and seek to obey God's Word. If they appeared to be following God for part of their lives and then began living immorally, the one view says they were never truly saved and the other view says they walked away from God. Either way, we must admit that a person who doesn't respect God's Word is not saved even if they made a profession of faith (1 John 2:3-4; John 15:10).

 

Enjoy God's Love: 5 Encouraging One-Minute Devotions

Enjoy these five one-minute devotions that share different aspects of the wonderful love we enjoy.

 

"We'll Take Her!"   

Why would anyone love this neglected little child? She wasn't pretty to look at, and she wasn't healthy. But Kacy's story is a wonderful illustration of God's love.

 

Cartoons and Cinnamon Rolls 

My grandchildren so often teach me important truths about God. This fun situation helped me better understand God's love.

In View of God’s Mercy 

This one-minute devotion reminds us of some wonderful truths about God's love and mercy. 

 

 

Fact: God Loves His Children 

If you ever start to wonder about God’s love, read through these passages and get your facts straight. 

 

 

God’s Love ~ He’s Always With Us 

This one-minute devotion helps us understand that nothing can separate us from God's love. 

 

 

Why I'm Addressing Talarico's Claims

Some have asked why I'm picking on a Democrat when there are also Republicans living ungodly lifestyles. See my answer below the devotion.*  And please note: I'm using “A” in this devotion instead of a word that social media sources often block. 

Some who call themselves Christians are the weeds Jesus describes in Matthew 13:24-43. They appear to be Christian but have very different goals.

We can't know if a person is intentionally or ignorantly acting like a weed, but we can recognize weedy propaganda.

For example, James Talarico (2026 U.S. Senate nominee from Texas) claims there’s no biblical or historical basis to condemn “A” (source/YouTube). Either he's lying, or he's never read the Bible and never studied history. 

The Bible:

✞ God creates us in our mother’s womb (e.g., Psalm 139:13-14; Isaiah 44:24). 

✞ God ordains our life before we're formed (Jeremiah 1:5). 

✞ God hates murder and commands us to rescue the innocent from slaughter (Proverbs 6:16-17; Proverbs 24:10-12). 

History: Ancient child sacrifice is recognized as evil. Surgical methods of child sacrifice are just as evil. Killing innocent children has always been motivated by personal gain, either gaining something from a pagan god or bowing to the gods of convenience, comfort, financial gain, etc.(1)

Bible: God calls child sacrifice a detestable abomination that profanes His name and pollutes a nation (Jeremiah 32:35; Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:31; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Psalm 106:37-38, etc.). 

History: “A” was against the law in America until 1967, and then allowed only in limited cases.(2) But even if it had been approved, that wouldn't make it right. It is God who determines right and wrong, not history. 

“A” murders a child for his parents' sins. Those who support “A” must use propaganda to describe it (e.g., “reproductive health”) because calling it what it is reveals how evil it is (Romans 1:20). If you're pro-“A”, I'm praying you will honestly consider the biblical truths in this devotion so you never hear the words of Christ described in Matthew 7:21-23.

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If you can remain pro-“A” after understanding what Scripture teaches, please be honest and admit you are not a Christian. Christians believe God's Word (2 Timothy 4:1-4; 2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:13). 

If you've had an “A”, I encourage you to make Christ your Lord and experience His forgiveness. And seek out resources to help you heal. For example: "A" Regret and Post-"A" Help.

For a thorough look at all of the excuses for “A” (e.g., rape, incest, life of the mother), see Would You Have Justified Slavery?

In addition, my book Lies in Disguise covers this subject. 

(1) Talarico and the Democratic Party demand unlimited access to “A” and use rape, incest, or the life of the mother as examples. But these examples account for only 1.5% of “A”s, and they don't require unlimited access to “A” as the Democrats demand. Please click each link to hear true stories of women who have experienced these three things and are grateful they didn't kill their child. 

(2) Pro-“A” groups fictionalize history to make “A” sound normal and accepted. Planned Parenthood publishes Historical "A" Law Timeline: 1850 to Today, and they claim to know that the reason the AMA fought against “A” in the 1800s was that doctors were male chauvinists who were greedy for the business of female midwives who did “A”s. This is extreme, unprovable propaganda. To verify this fact, PP would have to have 175-year-old written interviews from the majority of doctors in the AMA. And they would have to have thousands of verifiable proofs that many midwives were doing “A”s. They have neither.

Planned Parenthood also claims “the AMA was composed of physicians who lacked expertise in pregnancy and reproductive health.” This unprovable claim is probably true because Planned Parenthood uses “pregnancy and reproductive health” to mean ending pregnancies by killing babies. Pro-“A” propaganda always avoids actual descriptions of “A” because they know how evil, merciless, cruel, and torturous the procedure is. 

But (even though they can't prove it), I'm sure most doctors in the 1800s didn't have expertise at killing unborn babies. And please note: in making this second claim, they contradict their first one—if doctors weren't doing “A”s, their income wouldn't be affected by midwives doing them.

Here's the proven truth: In 1873, the Comstock Act was passed by the U.S. Senate, making “A” illegal. “In 1967, Colorado became the first state to decriminalize “A” in cases of rape, incest, or in which pregnancy would lead to permanent physical disability of the woman… By the end of 1972, 13 states had a law similar to that of Colorado, while Mississippi allowed “A” in cases of rape or incest only and Alabama and Massachusetts allowed “A”s only in cases where the woman's physical health was endangered...The legal position prior to Roe v. Wade was that “A” was illegal in 30 states and legal under certain circumstances in 20 states.” (source) 

In addition, the biased PP article references the pro-“A” Guttmacher Institute, which offers stats on back-alley “A” deaths without any proof or verification. In Shattering the Back Alley "A" Myth, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, a former “A”ist, admits that he and other pro-“A” advocates promoted false stats about deaths from back-alley “A”s. And he should know, because before Nathanson became pro-life, he was co-founder of the National “A” Rights Action League (NARAL). 

Using back-alley “A”s to justify legal “A” is like saying we should make robbing banks legal because bank employees and bank robbers often suffer from being shot or put in prison. 

I want to add that American Christians are doing a great job of setting up crisis pregnancy centers, which offer free services for women with problem pregnancies.

* My purpose is not to examine the corrupt lives of politicians on either side of the aisle. My purpose is to address those who spread propaganda claiming God's approval of immoral public policies. And since the Democrats passionately promote the most ungodly policies, they are more often the source of this propaganda. I make my decisions about politicians by their platform, not their personality or personal lives. If there is a creep who wants to limit “A” and a nice guy who wants to promote it, I'm voting for the creep. In fact, I have a hard time seeing anyone as a nice guy who promotes the killing of the unborn. My goal isn't to approve the lifestyle of a candidate. My goal is to vote for the platform that will save the most innocent babies from death. Am I a single-issue voter? No, but I am a voter who prioritizes policies biblically, understanding that the sin of “A” is corrupting the conscience of America and damaging the well-being of our nation like no other sin.

Pictures of Talarico are Creative Commons.  

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The Freedom of a Slave

There was a decorative design carved in the floor of the church. It cleverly hid breathing holes for the secret passage below the church...the passage that led slaves to freedom as part of the Underground Railroad.

When my husband and I visited this church twenty years ago, I was saddened that my African-American brothers and sisters had once been denied basic human rights. But I was inspired by their courage and faith.

The slaves who carved this floor trusted Christ in the midst of their oppression. 

I wondered why they weren't tempted to blame God when some of their harsh mistreatment came from slave owners who called themselves “Christian.”

Their secret: they didn’t let their circumstances change their view of Christ—they let Christ change their view of their circumstances.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

If we apply this principle to our lives, we will also find the courage we need in the midst of difficult circumstances. We will understand how God can use bad things for our good (Romans 8:28). We'll be able to bless those who curse us and refuse to take revenge (Romans 12:14,17). 

Despite our circumstances, we will experience “freedom” in Christ:

“You are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians 4:7

💙 💙 💙

To read a four-minute devotion I wrote about this church, read Slavery Is a Black and White Issue.

Note: Just as genuine Christians fought against slavery in the past, genuine Christians must fight against the new bigotry of CRT. See Are You Awake to Biblical Teachings or Are You Woke? and Christian Critical Race Theory Isn't Christian. 

 

FREE SUBSCRIPTION: Would you like a devotion like this sent to your email each weekday? Subscribe HERE.

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Making Sin Sound Moral and Morality Sound Sinful

Beware of “Christian” rhetoric that makes evil sound attractive (2 Corinthians 11:12-15). 

 

I don’t know if Texas politician James Talarico is simply Bible illiterate or intentionally seeking to deceive people. But his rhetoric is a good example of propaganda.

 

So let's look at five sentences of a speech he made recently (source):

1.“In Scripture, Jesus befriended people that others called sinners.”

 

Christ calls all men sinners and wants all to repent and be saved (Luke 24:46-47; Romans 3:23).* 
 

2.“The only people in the Bible that Jesus condemned were religious leaders who used religion to hurt others.” 

 

Jesus said the “world” hated Him because He exposed their evil deeds, and all men are condemned if they reject Christ (John 7:7;  John 3:18).* 

 

3.“Being a Christian is about loving thy neighbor, not bullying LGBTQ people.”

 

Propaganda exaggerates. By “bullying,” he means believing God's Word and sharing God's loving warnings to save people from Hell (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).*

 
4.“Being a Christian is about loving thy neighbor, not chasing pregnant women across state lines.”

 

More exaggeration. Christians aren't chasing women to another state so they can kill their babies. Christians are seeking to rescue babies from merciless slaughter (Proverbs 24:11-12).*

 

5. “Being a Christian is about loving thy neighbor, not harassing librarians, silencing teachers, and defunding our schools.” 

  

More exaggeration. By “harassment,” he means protecting children from porn and drag queens in libraries and defunding propaganda in colleges (Ephesians 5:3-13).* 

Talarico's words represent popular rhetoric. Let’s prepare ourselves to discern and refute these lies in disguise!

 

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We'll discuss another statement from Talarico on Friday. You may ask why I'm spending time on this candidate. I'm simply using him as an example to help us discern fake Christian rhetoric when we hear it. He is certainly not the only one speaking these lies. Nor is this simply about politics...it's about propaganda that denies moral and biblical principles, and it's present in most nations around the world. We must discuss it and learn discernment.

 

* For each sentence, I offer these devotions below that fully refute Talarico's claims with Scripture, not human opinions. 

 

1.  Did Jesus Hang Out with Sinners?

2. True or False: Christ Didn't Call Out Sinners, Only Pharisees  

3. Who Determines Your Morals?

4. Satan’s Tactic: Use Lies to Scare People

5. Clean Vision 

Also check out The World's Definition of Loving Others and God's Definition. 

For a thorough and thoughtful understanding of these issues, check out Lies in Disguise. It will give you the courage and the tools to speak up for God's truth in a world filled with propaganda.

 

Images of Talarico are Creative Commons. 

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