“I Never Knew You” — The Warning Every Professing Christian Must Hear

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven… And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

— Matthew 7:21–23 (ESV)

I have been sitting with these verses for years. They unsettled me the first time I read them, and they have never fully let me go.

Because Jesus was not talking about atheists. Not open rebels. He was talking about people who prophesied, cast out demons, and performed mighty works — all in His name. People who called themselves His disciples. Active. Devoted. Confident they were His.

And He said: I never knew you.

I wrestled with this passage through some of the hardest seasons of my life, asking the same question over and over: who is Jesus actually warning here? The more honestly I looked, the more uncomfortable the answer became. The people He was addressing looked a lot like me. Maybe a lot like you.

Doing vs. Knowing

This is the most dangerous counterfeit in the Christian life: doing things for God while never truly knowing God.

We can fill our social media with Scripture, lead Bible studies, post encouraging content and feel spiritually productive while the actual relationship with Christ goes quietly unattended. We mistake fluency in the language of faith for the life of faith.

Notice what Jesus does not say. He does not say “I once knew you.” He says “I never knew you.” These people were not backsliders. They were never His to begin with. Their works were real. Their relationship was not.

At the heart of it, I believe it comes down to motive. Why are you doing what you do? Is your heart genuinely oriented toward God, or are you — if you are honest — mostly trying to feel good about yourself? Jesus was plain about what He requires: love God with everything you have (Mark 12:30), abide in Him (John 15:4), and keep His commandments — not as religious duty but as the natural overflow of genuine love (John 14:15). Knowing God is not an achievement to unlock. It is a living, transforming relationship. And no amount of activity substitutes for it.

The Question That Kept Me Up at Night

It was in my own crucible that the Word of God cut through like a sword.

For a stretch of my life, things were going well professionally. I was succeeding largely on my own ability, and that success made it easy to coast spiritually. I was doing enough to feel like a Christian — but not enough to truly pursue God first. Then the worst trials of my life arrived all at once. In that place, where my own competence was useless and no human voice could reach me, God confronted me through His Word. As I examined myself against Scripture, I could not look away from what I saw. A quiet, nagging awareness that I was not putting God first became — in that pressure — a whole-hearted pursuit.

Before I ever wrote this for you, I had to ask it of myself. It was not comfortable.

Not “Am I doing enough for God?” but “Does Christ know me — and do I truly know Him?”

There is a difference between a faith that looks right from the outside and one that is alive from the inside. Attendance is not intimacy. Serving is not surrendering. Knowing about Jesus is not knowing Jesus.

So ask yourself honestly: When you are alone — no audience, no performance — is there genuine love for Christ? Are you drawn to Scripture out of hunger, or only obligation? Does obedience feel like the response of someone who loves God, or the habit of someone maintaining appearances?

Think about what love actually looks like in practice. If you genuinely love someone, you are drawn to what they care about. You seek out others who love them. So why would someone who truly loves God not hunger for His Word — not as a chore but as the first place they turn? Why would worship feel more like a task than like coming home? Why would they not gravitate toward believers who take their faith seriously — not just on Sunday mornings but throughout the week? Why would they not want to go deeper, understand more, love Christ better?

When those desires are absent — when the Bible feels like homework, worship feels like duty, and Christian community feels like a social obligation — that absence is worth examining. Not with panic, but with honesty.

If these questions sting, that sting is grace. It means you can still hear Him.

There Is Still Time

Jesus spoke this warning before that Day — which means it is not a verdict. It is an invitation.

If you have read this and recognized that God has not been getting your best — that your faith has quietly become mostly external — you can turn. Not by doing more, but by returning to Christ Himself.

“You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Come to His Word to meet a Person, not complete a plan. Pray to speak to your Father, not maintain a discipline. Walk with believers who are serious about following Jesus. Saturate yourself with teaching that points you to Christ — in the assembly, outside it, and in the quiet moments in between. And examine your life honestly: is the fruit of the Spirit actually growing? Are you becoming more like Christ, or simply more comfortable in Christian culture?

Don’t Be Surprised on That Day

Those who truly know Him — and are known by Him — will hear something very different:  “Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21). That is what is at stake. Not your reputation. Not your ministry record. Your soul. Don’t let activity replace intimacy. Don’t settle for a faith that costs you nothing.

Pursue Christ — not His works, not a comfortable version of Him.

Pursue Him.

— Earnestly Pursuing God Ministries

 Read the full original article: Sleeping in the Light: Are We Truly Awake? | Earnestly Pursuing God Ministries

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