Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
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. (Mat 7:21-23)

For years I had a fuzzy understanding of that scripture. In times past, people explained this passage to me in several ways: 1) some people fake the gifts and do not really belong to God, 2) some really do have the gifts, but they have fallen away–nevertheless, the “gifts and calling of God are without repentance”, 3) winning souls is more important than gifts, so their focus must have been wrong, and 4) they went where God did not send them.

Let’s look at some things. First of all, there is nothing in this passage to suggest that Jesus accused these ones of faking the gifts. There is also nothing outwardly sinful about these ministers that we can detect. Jesus does not indicate that they betrayed him by not evangelizing instead of healing people and the like. Neither does he say they went where they were not sent. Here is a clue: Jesus introduces this group saying that only those who do the will of the Father enter into the kingdom. Because of this, we have some idea that the real offense of these miracle workers against Christ is that they did not do the will of His Father.

Some commentators, not discerning between the gate of salvation and the narrow path of sanctification, say that these ministering ones never belonged to God on account of Jesus’ words, “I never knew you.” If this were true in the general sense of “knowing”, these ministers could not have gifts of the Holy Spirit in the first place–the Holy Spirit is only given to believers. Therefore, this is not about salvation; it is about the narrow path of sanctification that leads to knowing the Father–well enough to know His inclinations.

But if any man love God, the same is known of him. (1Co 8:3)

What is the nature of this iniquity of which these ministers are accused? How do they get into that condition? We have two good examples of godly men who, for a time, fell into this category themselves. They both knew God, and they had a little knowledge about God and His purposes for them, but they ran off to accomplish these purposes according to their own will–not His.

God promised Abraham descendants (Gen. 12:7), though we are not clear whether any terms were laid down. Sarah, his wife, could have no children, so she gave him her handmaid instead. Whether Abraham was unreasonable to suppose that God would give him children in this manner (the custom of his people), I do not know. There is no record of God specifically promising him a son by a barren wife until Genesis 18. Abraham, during the long wait, came up with his own idea of how to have offspring. He knew the Lord could perform great wonders, but he decided to fulfill the Lord’s promise himself. By following his own will, Abraham produced offspring who have fought with each other for thousands of years.

Moses also set out to fulfill the Lord’s purposes his own way. Moses got wind that he was chosen of God to deliver Israel (Exodus 2) and took it upon himself to kill an Egyptian who was mistreating an Israelite. We next see Moses fleeing into the land of Midian where he is no longer a prince of Egypt but a common, dirty shepherd. There he remained for forty years until he was humble enough to stop troubling God’s people with his own notions about what needed doing.

So who are the “workers of iniquity” today among God’s ministers? Only by their fruit can they be known, and even then it takes a little tasting experience. The issue between them and God is not the gifts, callings, works, or where they have gone, but the “how” of what they do. Let’s look at some examples.

There are many worthy causes a minister may take up. (I use this term “minister” very loosely.) For example, here is one. A minister (usually a man in this case) decries the “Nicolaitan system” of denominational Christianity or possibly avoids large, powerful, and popular ministries because “they serve man and not God”. So, thinking to serve God better than these others, he decides to start a house church or some kind of outreach. Though he asks for prayers, he directs all final decisions. The congregants still listen to a man and not to God.

Or this scenario: a man decides he is called of God. He marries a wonderful Christian woman, has two or three children–but because he feels he has a “calling” his marriage takes a backseat. His wife must sacrifice and get a job because the churches will not support him. Everything she does revolves around his “ministry”. She only serves a function–that of comforting him after a hard day and raising his children. She never gets a break and no one supports her. She is expected to be everyone else’s comfort. One day she burns out and leaves. He wonders why since the Lord has obviously given him immense success–souls are saved, people healed, the dead rise again. He does not see himself as a “worker of iniquity” in his disobedience as a proper husband. His marriage is a travesty. Hence, he has created trouble (iniquity) for his family as a non-husband and a non-father.

There are many good works in the world. More important than the question of whether God has sent us is whether we have done the work according to His will. If He calls us, He will bring everything in our lives to bear upon the end He has in mind. We need to be aware that we are more likely than not to become “workers of iniquity” if we fail to wait on the Lord, to know His desires, and to hear His voice before doing His work in the earth.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge … (Hos 4:6)

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