Few passages in Scripture have gripped my heart as deeply as Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23.
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?… And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (KJV)
Every time I read those verses, I pause. They are sobering. They are not directed toward atheists or people who never claimed to know God. They spoke to people who believed they were serving Him. They prophesied. They cast out demons. They did many wonderful works. Yet Jesus tells them, “I never knew you.”
Recently, those verses have been speaking to me in a deeper way. I began praying, “Lord, give me revelation concerning this passage. Who are these people? How do we make sure we’re not among them?”
I certainly do not believe I have exhausted the meaning of this Scripture. The Word of God is far deeper than any one person can fully understand. Every time we study it, God reveals another layer. What I’m sharing is simply the portion He has revealed to me so far. As we obey the truth He shows us, He often opens our understanding even further.
The Context Jesus Sets Up
The first thing I realized was that we cannot isolate these verses from the rest of Jesus’ message. We have to look at what He said immediately beforehand.
Jesus first spoke about the narrow gate. He said that few find it while many travel the broad road that leads to destruction. Then He warned us about false prophets, describing them as wolves in sheep’s clothing. After that He began talking about fruit.
He said a good tree produces good fruit, while a corrupt tree produces corrupt fruit. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit, and a good tree cannot produce bad fruit. Then, without changing the subject, He immediately says that many will stand before Him claiming all the religious things they accomplished in His name.
That connection is important.
The issue was never their religious activity. The issue was their fruit.
That caused me to ask another question: What exactly is the good fruit Jesus is talking about?
The Fruit of Obedience
I believe the answer is found throughout His own life. Jesus repeatedly said that He did nothing on His own initiative. Everything He did came from the Father. He said He only did what He saw His Father doing. He only spoke what His Father told Him to speak. His entire earthly ministry was built upon complete obedience to God.
That was His fruit.
His miracles were the result of His obedience, not the definition of it.
“Hearer and Doer’s”
Then another passage came to mind. On one occasion, Jesus was surrounded by such a large crowd that His own mother and brothers could not reach Him. Someone told Him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside looking for You.”
Jesus answered in a way that surprised everyone. He said that His mother, brothers, and sisters were those who hear the Word of God and do it.
Notice He didn’t simply say those who hear. He said those who do.
Obedience identifies those who truly belong to Him.
The Parable of the Two Sons
Another example is Jesus’ parable about the two sons. A father instructed both sons to go work in his vineyard.
- One son immediately refused, but later repented and went.
- The other son said all the right words and promised to go, but never actually obeyed.
Jesus then asked which son did the will of his father. The answer was obvious.
It wasn’t the one who made the promise. It was the one who obeyed.
A Personal Conviction
That lesson speaks loudly to me. There have been things God has impressed upon my heart to do that I have delayed. Some things I have postponed. Some things I have simply not completed.
That conviction is personal.
Thankfully, God is merciful. When we repent, He forgives us. His grace is greater than our failures. But forgiveness should never become an excuse for continued disobedience.
When King Saul chose to partially obey God’s command, the prophet Samuel delivered one of the strongest statements in Scripture:
“To obey is better than sacrifice.”
God desires obedience more than religious performance. That was the pattern Jesus lived every single day. He obeyed the Father. That obedience produced good fruit.
Redefining Corrupt Fruit
As I continued studying this passage, another thought became clear. Many of us define corrupt fruit only as obvious sin. Adultery, drunkenness, stealing, lying, or other outward acts of rebellion. Certainly, those things are corrupt fruit.
But there is another kind of corruption that often goes unnoticed.
It is knowing what God has asked us to do and continually refusing to do it. Disobedience is still disobedience, even when it doesn’t appear scandalous.
It reminded me of the verse in Song of Solomon that says, “It is the little foxes that spoil the vines.”
Sometimes it isn’t the dramatic failures that damage our walk with God. Sometimes it is the little acts of delayed obedience:
- The phone call God asked us to make.
- The person He told us to forgive.
- The ministry He asked us to begin.
- The neighbor He told us to witness to.
- The habit He told us to surrender.
- The act of generosity He placed on our hearts.
We keep saying, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Tomorrow becomes next week. Next week becomes next year. Eventually, we convince ourselves that partial obedience is enough.
But Scripture never teaches that.
An Everyday Picture
Imagine an employer who repeatedly gives an employee specific assignments. Instead of completing those assignments, the employee decides to work on whatever interests him that day. Even if he stays busy, he is not doing what he was hired to do.
How long would that employer continue keeping him on the payroll?
Probably not very long.
The issue isn’t whether the employee stayed active. The issue is whether he was obedient.
The same principle applies spiritually. God has a purpose for every believer. He gives us assignments. He speaks through His Word. He prompts us through His Spirit. If we continually ignore what He says while choosing our own agenda, we should not be surprised that Jesus places such a strong emphasis on obedience.
A Healthy Fear of the Lord
This also reminds me of another warning Jesus gave:
“Fear not them which kill the body… but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
Those are serious words.
Our culture often emphasizes God’s love while neglecting the healthy fear of the Lord that Scripture repeatedly teaches. God’s love and His holiness are not opposites. Both are part of His character.
Two Builders, One Foundation
Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with another illustration that ties all of this together. He spoke of two builders:
- One built his house upon the rock.
- The other built his house upon the sand.
The difference wasn’t that one heard His words and the other didn’t. Both heard. The difference was that one acted on what he heard. When the storms came, the house built on obedience remained standing. The house built on disobedience collapsed.
That is the foundation Jesus wants us to have.
Closing Thoughts
As I reflect on these passages, I don’t write this article pointing fingers at anyone else. I write it because God has been speaking to me. He has shown me that good fruit is not merely staying busy with religious activities. Good fruit is a life that consistently responds with, “Yes, Lord.”
The people Jesus says, “I never knew you,” may have had impressive ministries and remarkable accomplishments, but somewhere along the way they lost the one thing God desired most.
Obedience.
That is the lesson I am taking from this passage.
My Prayer
Lord, help me obey You quickly. Help me do what You ask instead of merely intending to do it someday. Help me become a tree that bears good fruit because my life is surrendered to Your will.
That is my focus. That is what God is working on in me.
And I pray it becomes the desire of your heart as well.
Shawn Grigs