[Gamecock]

***...After all—you’re a Christian....”I never knew you!”***

Nope.

That is not at all what the passage in question describes.

In the passage the person is appealing to his good works as the reason to let him in. His faith is not once used as a claim. Reliance on works is the road to damnation.

Matthew 7:22 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; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

[DouglasKC]

In the passage the person is appealing to his good works as the reason to let him in. His faith is not once used as a claim. Reliance on works is the road to damnation. Matthew 7:22 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; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

The scripture you posted clearly says that those who were turned away worked "lawlessness". This is and can only be a willfull disobedience to the laws of God. In other words, these folks claimed Christ and believed they were following Christ but their beliefs and actions told Christ otherwise

[af_vet_1981]

Re your Post #12, the passage does not refer to good works as they are commonly known. It refers to evidentiary works of power performed in Jesus' name. It is as if he were saying his faith was demonstrated by the works of faith.

[GarySpFc]

In the passage the person is appealing to his good works as the reason to let him in. His faith is not once used as a claim. Reliance on works is the road to damnation.

Faith is an act, or a readiness to act, based on the confidence one has in the object of their belief. Basically faith is a verb. That said, in that light how do you define works? Let me suggest you might want to be very careful.

[editor-surveyor]

>> “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” <<

.
Yes being without Torah. - Are you without Torah?

That is what Yeshua demanded of us, that we keep his commandments, his Torah. (Not the ‘oral’ torah of men, which was defeated at the cross)

[Hoodat]

It is clear from that passage that those referred to in Matt 7:22 recognized Christ as 'Lord' and acted out based upon His power. The thing they lacked was relationship which is what God has sought from us since the very beginning.

When God gives us the power of healing, prophesy, and deliverance, He doesn't take it back. God is not a micromanager. But we are to be aligned with Him under His authority when we utilize that power. The ones referred to in this passage did not align themselves, but instead acted on their own accord. That is why Jesus rejected them. They never bothered to take the time to get to know Him.