As we look at these two passages, be fully aware that both portions of Scripture are a warning to professing Christians, and not in any way are they a warning to open rejectors of Jesus Christ and His Word. Both passages are the words of Jesus Himself.
I Never Knew You
Matthew 7:21-23, 21“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. 22 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?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you (I don’t know your name); depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Albert Barnes- “I never knew you – That is, I never approved of your conduct; never loved you; never regarded you as my Disciples. This proves that, with all their pretensions, they had never been true followers of Christ. Jesus will not then say to false prophets and false professors of Christ that he had once known them and then rejected them; that they had been once Christians and then had fallen away; that they had been pardoned and then had apostatized but that he had never known them – they had never been true Christians. Whatever might have been their pretended joys, their raptures, their hopes, their self-confidence, their visions, their zeal, they had never been regarded by the Savior as his true Disciples.”
John Gill- “The meaning of Christ here is, I never had any love, or affection for you; I never esteemed you; I never made any account of you, as mine, as belonging to me; I never approved of you, nor your conduct; I never had any communication, nor fellowship with you, nor you with me. From ancient times, or from everlasting; I never knew you in my Father’s choice, and my own, nor in my Father’s gift to me, nor in the everlasting covenant of grace; I never knew you as my sheep, for whom, in time, I died, and called by name; I never knew you believe in me, nor love me.”
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matthew 25: 1-13, 1“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom (Jesus). 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he (Jesus) answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Albert Barnes- “I know you not – You were not in the company of those who attended me to the marriage-feast, and are unknown to me. Applied to professing Christians, having only a profession of Christ, but no real holiness, it means, I do not know or acknowledge you as Christians. I do not approve of you, or delight in you, or admit that you are my Disciples. The word “know” is often used in the sense of approving, loving, acknowledging as real followers.”
John Gill-“Truly, I say unto you, I know you not; which must be understood in consistence with the omniscience of Christ: he knew their persons, conduct, and state; he knew they were foolish virgins, graceless professors, who had made no account of him and his righteousness; but had trusted to, and depended upon, their external profession of Jesus:, he never knew them to believe in him, or love him; nor ever exalt his person, blood and sacrifice, nor do any good work with a single eye to his glory; he never approved of them, liked their persons, or their conduct; or ever owned them as true Disciples, or his bride.”
So, how does this happen? Primarily in two ways: 1) Is what the theologians call, “Cheap grace.” It’s when someone hears of a place called hell and all who go there. This person may not even fully believe in hell, but just in case it’s real, they profess to believe in and follow Christ, in order to get out of hell (or so they think). However, there is no true love for Jesus, because this false belief was centered on themselves and not on the person and work of Christ. They perish because there was no true desire for deep fellowship with Jesus Christ. They simple want heaven, without the Savior, and their lives have displayed that. 2) Is when a person professes to follow Jesus, yet there has never been a transformation from blatant sin to holiness. Sure, they may do many good deeds, but, those deeds are done to build themselves up, and not to glorify God. Jesus calls this, “Bad fruit,” because it doesn’t abide in Him. These people want prestige, position, rank, acknowledgement among God’s people, while never willing to honor and worship Christ in spirit and in truth, as a humble servant. Therefore, they are cast out from the presence of Jesus.
Take note, that in Matthew 7:22, Jesus uses the word many, which in Greek can mean: vast multitude or majority. Notice what the Apostle Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” Which is to say, “You can fool all people, you can put on sheep’s clothing, but, you can never fool God.” We can go to church and talk like a Christian, and walk like a Christian, but is Jesus truly Lord of our lives? If so, then He must have Lordship over our lives. Do we truly love Him? If so, then our love for Him must supersede that of any other love in our lives. So, test yourself to see if your really in the faith, and remember this: A foundation without a finish, was a faulty foundation from the start.
Dan Rodgers