21 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.
22 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?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Doesn't sound like to me that they were workers of iniquity, does it to you? Can we relate to the many hours we've spent "churching" every single day or a day every single weekend? We use our gifts of time, talents and money and we think it's what we're supposed to do. But isn't that exactly what these folks thought as well? Didn't they doeth the will of their Father? Obviously not.
What if we look at the context of the passage and try to understand Yeshua a little better. First He tells us a few verses earlier that deception over what it means to be saved is going to happen. He explains that those in the majority (of thought) are not the ones who actually "know" Him. Of the masses of church people who think their works, service, offerings, etc are what it means to be "known" by our Savior, FEW will be those who actually are known by Him.
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
So how can our service to our Father be "iniquity"? Have we misunderstood? Is He labeling our service as iniquity or something entirely different? If we are (vs 16) "known by our fruit" then what is the fruit He's talking about? I think we can obviously rule out our service as iniquity since they were active in service. Obviously serving is NOT "doething the will of My Father" that Yeshua is talking about. So lets delve into exactly what He IS talking about. What is "iniquity"? This is what Strong's says and I've copied it so you know it is exactly what is written. In fact, taking it a step further, John confirms what Y'shua says.j
INIQUITY
Outline of Biblical Usage
the condition of without law
because ignorant of it
because of violating it
contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness
1John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
To then rephrase what Yeshua is telling us in Matthew 7, 21 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.
22 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?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (condition of being WITHOUT the law)
1John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin (iniquity - condition of being without the law) transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Transgression of the what????????......................"of the law"...........Now I didn't say this, He did. Yeshua isn't saying that He doesn't "know" them because of their works/service. He's saying He doesn't "know" them because they are WITHOUT THE LAW. People hear in their churches that following the law is "legalism" and therefore, it would be sin to follow the law. In essence, they are saying that following the law (the opposite of iniquity) is to be in SIN (breaking the law); following the law is breaking the law. Does that make sense to anyone. And then Paul brings an argument to the Romans that following the law never saved anyone. He's right. But what is the key?
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. (faith is a gift from God, imparted by His Spirit Eph 2:8, Titus 3:5) So the question is....do we have His Spirit?
If we do....
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish (Strong's definition (g2476) - to make stand, to make firm, to be fixed, be kept intact, to keep it's place) the law.
Why then......are so many people.......so hostile to the law? Why do people get so angry when this subject is discussed? Is it our culture? Our comfort? Our inability to understand? Our unwillingness to change anything about our life? I think it might be all of those things. But really, is it too much to ask of us to sacrifice a few things in our lives that will make us stand out from our culture? After all He has sacrificed for us, is it too much to ask? Is giving up certain things we put in our bodies really asking more of us than we're willing to give? Is giving a day to our Father (the one He commanded, not the one Constantine legalized) asking too much of us? Those are the questions we each need to ask of ourselves. The answer might just be the difference between the narrow way and the broad. It might be the difference in those who are "known" by Y'shua and those who just think they are. It certainly might be the opportunity now to get it right before it is too late and we possibly hear those dreadful words from our Savior.
I'll leave you (AND ME) with these words to think about. It is always a good idea to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Scripture commands that we do so. Do not rest in a decision you made at some point in your life or a prayer you prayed or a feeling you had. Your very eternal soul depends on getting this answer right. If your Father has not been able or cannot make known to you what His Word is saying (because you're rejecting it) and you continue down a path of "lawlessness" (iniquity, not being "known" by Him, a condition of being without the law, contempt for the law or violating the law) by ignoring His true Sabbath and ignoring what He requires to be a holy temple, as well as all His commands, you are in grave danger, I fear. If you have His Holy Spirit, you will hear from that Spirit. If you don't have His Holy Spirit, you are on a broad road along with many many deceived "church" folk who are following a man centered doctrine that is leading people to "depart from" Him in the end, "ye that work iniquity lawlessness".
Romans 8: 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
