There are some things in life I don’t know much about. My husband is a master of machines for example. I can nod when he starts telling me about different kinds of metals and how heat affects each one. I just nod and smile. But I don’t know what he’s talking about.
It can be the same in relationships. I might know a pastor’s name, their church, or more details about their ministry. I could even throw out a few facts to make it seem like I know them. But if I found myself in a room with him and he turned to me and said, “Hi, I’m Steve, what’s your name?” the awkward truth would be exposed.
Jesus says there will be people on Judgement Day who will face something that’s sobering. They will stand before God and hear the words:
“I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work iniquity” -Matthew 7:23
These stakes are not embarrassment but it means eternity. This is a heaven or hell issue. It’s something most people will learn too late. The life-defining question becomes:
Do I know who Jesus is?
Does Jesus know me?
There’s a danger of self-deception. Of thinking I’m a good person so God will welcome me into heaven.
Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that “the heart is deceitfully wicked.” We not only face the blinding influence of satan, “the god of this world,” but we also carry within us a capacity for self-deception.
Jesus describes two kinds of people who will be shocked on Judgment Day -not because others deceived them, but because they deceived themselves.
1. The people who say the right things.
In Matthew 7:21, Jesus warns:
“Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
The people who have the correct language. They call Jesus “Lord,” acknowledging His divinity, and even claim Him as their Messiah. They may even quote Acts 2:21, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
But Jesus says it isn’t enough, because they lacked obedience to the Father’s will.
Scripture gives us a clear picture of what God’s will is:
- Believe in Jesus
“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in Him will have everlasting life, and I will raise Him up at the last day” – John 6:40
- Obey His Word:
“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken Him to a wise man, who built His house on a rock” -Matthew 7:24
- Follow His specific leading: God gives us an example of this in Matthew. 12:38-40.
Jesus tells us in John 16:13, that “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.”
2. The people who do the right things
This kind is even more shocking:
“Many will tell me in that day, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophecy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works? Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work iniquity” -Matthew 7:22-23
These people aren’t just talking the talk -they do the right work. Prophecy, Miracles, and casting out demons. Things that look like unmistakable signs of God’s power.
They too are rejected.
Judas was the poster child for empty works.
The Bible gives us a living example of someone who can do God’s work and still not know God -Judas Iscariot.
Judas was personally called by Jesus to be one of the 12 disciples.
He was empowered to preach and cast out demons (Matthew 10:1-8).
He was present for miracles, teachings, and private moments with Jesus.
And yet, Jesus said in Matthew 26:21, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
When Jesus says, “I never knew you,” He doesn’t mean He lacked awareness, it means He never had a relationship with you. He’s omnipresent -He knows every hair on our heads. This means He wants a covenant relationship with us.
In the Hebrew language “knowing’ someonemeans implied intimacy -like a deep bond. A shared life, not just shared facts.
Salvation is not about reciting a prayer or performing mighty works. It’s about entering into a covenant relationship with Jesus through faith and repentance.
Romans 10:9-13 makes it clear:
- Confess Jesus as Lord
- Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.
- Call on His name and be saved
It’s easy to point fingers at Judas, but the danger is closer to home. A modern-day deceiver could be someone who manipulates facts and emotions to gain personal advantage, such as a fraudulent telemarketer, making a fake online persona, to pretend they have excellent knowledge to sell worthless products. They gain trust through fake intimacy or small favors. Now imagine standing before God, having deceived yourself about your spiritual condition.
It would be like buying a safe to protect your valuables. You opted for a less expensive fire safe option over a more expensive model that looks just as good. Then a house fire reduced it to a puddle of melted metal. Everything inside -family heirlooms, legal documents are gone.
You thought you were secure. But you weren’t.
This is exactly what happens spiritually when we rest our eternal hope on the wrong foundation.
- An emotional response years ago without ongoing faith.
- Their family’s faith, as if salvation came with a “family plan.”
- A lifetime of good works, detached from genuine relationship.
When the fire of God’s judgment comes, only an authentic relationship with Jesus will stand.
We can’t just check off a few things and think we’re good to stand before God on judgement day.
So, how do we know if Jesus truly knows us? Ask yourself:
- Do I love the Lord and His ways?
- Am I convicted when I sin?
- Is there evidence of the Holy Spirits work in me?
- Does my life bear the fruit of obedience?
There aren’t a list to check off to earn salvation, they’re the overflow of knowing Jesus.
The words in Matthew 7:23 are meant to shake us, but not to strip assurance from those who truly belong to Him. There’s grace that saves and transforms when He promises in John 10:29, “No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
The good news is that salvation is by grace through faith. Our works matter, but only as evidence of the root, not as the root itself. We are secure not because we said the right words or did the right deeds, but because Jesus died and rose again for us.
Today God calls us to action. Today is the day we need to examine ourselves.
If we realize we’ve only known about Jesus but don’t truly know Him we should delay.
After all the ultimate question is not simply whether we know Jesus -it’s whether He knows us.
On judgment day no amount of religious language or impressive works will substitute for a genuine relationship with Jesus. Saying Lord, Lord won’t be enough.
Only those who know Jesus and are known by Him will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Don’t settle for melted metal safes or false assurances. Don’t live under self-deception.
From Pity to Praise 