Title Many Believers Falling to Hell
“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 perform many mighty works in your name? I can’t do it, you who practice lawlessness, depart from me.” (Matthew 7:22,23)
Jesus said that although they follow him, there will be many wrong followers, and although such people will be active in the realm of Christianity and show their power, they will be expelled from heaven on the day of judgment. The expression “I never knew you” is an idiomatic expression used to expel certain criminals, meaning that all relationships are permanently denied.
How is this even possible? First of all, when the message delivered, the contents of the prayer, and the purpose of the ministry are correct, it is done in the name of the Lord, so you can make fruit appear even for that name. In other words, it is to show how noble and powerful the name of Jesus is to the target of the ministry, that is, ordinary believers, regardless of the minister's own faith and spirituality.
In other words, even Satan is capable of doing good works in the name of Jesus, performing miracles, even proclaiming the kingdom of God and condemning sins. So, did God just ignore or at least cooperate with Satan's installations as he pleases? no. This is also for ordinary believers, and it means that lay people should have spiritual discernment for God's work and those who performed it. Because there are bound to be workers like wolves in sheep's clothing, we should not follow them simply by looking at their appearance.
But Jesus said, “Only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven” can enter the kingdom of heaven, and “you will know them by their fruits.” This does not mean, however, that we must simply do good deeds to be saved. Even if you simply think about it, didn’t it say that those who said “Lord, Lord” in the text also bear much fruit, but are judged? Then why did Jesus tell us to see the fruit and to say that only those who do the will of God will go to heaven?
In connection with the other records of the Gospels (especially John 15), fruit is necessarily produced according to the type of tree, not the type of tree being changed according to the fruit. All believers, including ministers, must first change into people of God before starting work. There is no guarantee that the person has already changed into a person of God just because they do the ministry and the fruits appear.
In the same vein, following God unconditionally and doing God's will are different. Do not think that God's power will be revealed if you follow all the patterns of Christianity and only do it in the name of Jesus. In other words, those who aim only for the good results that God's power, precisely because of that power, will bring to them, are using the Christian style and the name of Jesus more diligently as a means to achieve it.
Following God completely and following His will are different only in expression, but there is no difference in content. Likewise, the saying to judge by the fruit coincides with the saying that you can know a tree by its fruit. In other words, it is possible to take the image of completely following God without following God's will, and good fruit can be produced from other trees. Unlike trees, humans can pretend to be hypocrisy.
In terms of the text, there is a standard for self-checking whether a believer is really born again and has the salvation to go to heaven. It's not about speaking in tongues, praying for healing, repenting of your sins, or understanding God's Word. After believing in Jesus, I am frankly examining whether I sincerely want to live according to God's will for the rest of my life no matter what happens, or if I hope that, having believed in Jesus, I can now rely on God's power to solve any difficult problems.
Of course, among the problems to be solved, ministers and believers are bearing good religious fruits and their names are raised. His name, which had been low for a while, has now been raised, so he has solved his problem regardless of God. The more people who have not been praised by people or who want to hear is the most important personal matter to them, the more diligent they are in the church, the more they pretend to be godly.
It is said that if you believe in Jesus, you will go to heaven. In reality, there are too many people who are far from heaven in today's churches. John Piper said in his book "The Purifying Power of Living by Faith in Future Grace": "The hypocrites had a kind of security in God's protection. The security that comes from saving faith should be a real rest, satisfied with God's beauty, not simply safety from hell or evil forces."
Now that I have believed in Jesus, I have the protection of God, and it is not faith that I want to rely on that power. It is simply a human attempt to choose Christianity by judging by oneself and earnestly work hard to obtain the many benefits of that religion. It has nothing to do with God. On the day of judgment, you will hear from the Lord, “I never knew you.”
When a believer believes in Jesus, he has already decided to live according to God's will and becomes a man of God who dedicates himself to it. Therefore, faith means realizing that there is a wonderful mystery in God's providence that works throughout our existence, life, and life, and we enjoy the joy of knowing God anew every day. Naturally, you always want to taste that joy and share it with others. And the joy you shared is the fruit of your ministry. Only when the fruits of ministry are produced, joy and blessing do not return from the Lord.
Of course, only I know that the believer is living a different life, becoming a completely different person than he was before, even if he is slow to do so and sometimes returns to his old, sinful ways. That's why I always try to correct mistakes and faults. However, those who believe in Jesus with the goal of His protection and power only give thanks for a moment when there is such grace, and there is no commitment to change their life according to His will. There are times when he is swept away by the atmosphere in the church and decides to live like that, but very rarely, his existence itself has not changed yet, and it quickly ends in a fire.
In short, faith begins with complete conviction that Jesus knows him well. If you have any doubts that Jesus doesn't know you well, or if you are hesitant to be completely naked in front of Him, you are wrong. No matter how much you say Lord and Lord, you are bearing the fruits of good and spiritual work in His name.
7/11/2006