"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 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 deeds of power in your name?' Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers!’”—Matthew 7.21-23
In this passage, Jesus predicts that in the future, many people will profess faith in him but fail in doing the will of God. Although they may self-identify as followers of Jesus, Jesus explicitly states that this is not enough. This prophesy extends to today, and I believe Jesus would maintain that it’s not enough to simply attend church, be baptized and even pray on a daily basis. Doing things in the name of the Lord, and calling yourself a “Christian” is not a guarantee of doing things in accordance with God’s will.
In this passage, Jesus is talking about judgment and authenticity of faith. Although some Christian sects debate doctrine and renounce other sects’ validity, I think this passage makes clear that authenticity is not found along denominational lines. Today’s lection is fairly unambiguous that the labels we put on things – saying “Lord, Lord!” and doing deeds of power “in your name” – are not valid indicators of an authentic Christian heart. Fundamentalist, orthodox, progressive, liberationist; the differences in these theological movements are not trivial, but authenticity isn’t to be found in the labels.
So where then is authenticity found? I see two specific things that Jesus is valuing in this passage above acts of piety and confessions of faith: doing the Lord’s will and being in relationship with him. The first is obvious and explicit: “only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” will enter the kingdom of heaven. Interestingly, Jesus does not equate the work of zealous followers – casting out demons and delivering prophesies – with doing the will of God. In fact, this quote immediately follows a warning against false prophets, who are “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” In this context, Jesus this passage can be seen as passing judgment on only those who insincerely claim to be religious leaders.
But I think this passage has implications for all followers of Christ, not just those who claim to be prophets and leaders. Jesus is making it clear that people can claim – and even believe – that they are doing things in his name when in fact those actions are in vain. Jesus emphasizes the importance of actually doing the Lord’s will as opposed to lip service, but discerning God’s will isn’t always easy, and there are many conflicting ideas about what exactly constitutes “God’s will.” In the passage, Jesus says he will declare to those who profess faith in the Lord but fail to do God’s will, “I never knew you.” While it is possible to interpret this differently, I think this statement implies a correlation between a relationship with Jesus and doing God’s will.
As a religious pluralist, I think it is possible to do God’s will and work in the world without being a Christian and professing faith in Christ. However, personally it is my understanding of the resurrected Christ who dwells in the heart of believers that I use to discern God’s will. My relationship with the living Christ is my compass for how I live out my faith, so the words “I never knew you; go away from me,” speak loudly to me. It is when I ignore this relationship with Christ that I stray most from God’s will.
However, in general I think the spirit of this passage is emphasizing sincerity and genuineness over actions and confessions. Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount (which this passage comes from) Jesus encourages the crowd to be discreet in their fasting and prayers, and avoid the public piety displayed by hypocrites who seek social approval over God’s (Mt. 6.5-18). Although a prophesy of judgment, at its heart I think this passage is a similar warning about the vice of religious posturing, which is almost always at the expense of genuinely seeking God.
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