The Sermon on the Mount is one of the scriptural passages that progressive christians love to cherry pick and use to support their social agenda. Often choosing to ignore the non temporal aspects of this sermon, in favor of proof texting their commitment to secular social justice.
But, as with many of Jesus' teachings there are parts that get ignored.
"Towards the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives warning after warning. The final one is sharp.
Not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom. Some will stand before Him, listing their works—preaching, casting out demons, performing miracles. But Jesus will say, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
It is a gut punch. A moment of reckoning.
Jesus has been clear. The easy road leads to destruction. The hard road leads to life. Few find it. Wolves come dressed as sheep. They sound right. They look right. They deceive others. But the greatest danger is not false teachers. It is self-deception.
False teachers lie to you. False believers lie to themselves.
There are liars in the pulpit and liars in the pews.
Jesus contrasts two types of people: those who say and those who do. Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter, but the one who does the will of the Father.
Their profession is orthodox in words, but false in life. They call Him Lord, and He is. Their theology is correct, but their hearts are far from Him. They are passionate, saying “Lord, Lord.” They emphasize it, repeat it, speak with fervor. Passion is good, but passion is not proof.
They point to their public works—prophesying, casting out demons, miracles. They were known. Respected. Successful. But their success was no sign of salvation.
Apparent spiritual activity does not equal spiritual reality.
God is so good that He sometimes works through the hands of evil men. Judas preached. Judas performed signs. Judas cast out demons. The disciples returned amazed—“Even the demons are subject to us in your name!” Jesus replied, “Do not rejoice that the spirits obey you. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
That’s the key. Not the works. Not the words. The name written in heaven.
Jesus ends with His own public declaration: “I never knew you.”
Imagine hearing those words. Not “You lost your way.” Not “I used to know you.” But “I never knew you.” They were never His. They were in the house of God but not in the family of God. Their faith was a performance, a self-deception, a lie.
Goats look like sheep. But goats do not follow the Shepherd. They follow their hunger, their will. They are stubborn, self-willed, independent. They think they are His. They are not.
This is a warning against trusting in outward things—in right words, right affiliations, right actions—while your heart remains unchanged.
The danger is real. A man can be a preacher, a miracle worker, a missionary, and still be unknown by Christ.
A church can be full of passionate people, reciting creeds, singing psalms, preaching truth—and still be a wreck.
Because saying isn’t doing. Passion isn’t proof. Success isn’t salvation.
In the end, there will be two kinds of people—those who do the will of the Father, and those who only say they do.
The question is not merely, Do you call Him Lord?" The question is, "Does He know you?"m Lord?" The question is, "Does He know you?""
Reverend Michael Foster
Personally, I question whether anyone who anchors their theology/worldview in their won personal experience and feelings would probably get a no on that last question.
