In this portion of the Word, the Lord had warned in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.” Today, even as then, there are those among us who profess to be Christians, some even become Christian leaders, yet they are FALSE. What is on the outside of them, is the opposite of what is on the inside. The Lord warned the hypocritical Pharisees of this in Matthew 23:27, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” This is a perfect description of false prophets. They look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside there is only death. After all, a sepulcher (grave) is just for that…the storage of dead men’s bones.

Now let’s read Matthew 7:21-23, “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 who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” This is a description of those false prophets, false teachers, false professors, etc. when they stand before the Lord. These people may have been revered by others while living on the earth. Perhaps they did a lot of nice things for others. Perhaps they even taught others from the scriptures. However, the outside of them is just the opposite of what is on the inside. We are taught a very valuable lesson in 1 Samuel 16:7, “…the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but THE LORD LOOKETH ON THE HEART.” We have that same truth brought out in 2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, THE LORD KNOWETH THEM THAT ARE HIS. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” The Apostle Peter said to the Lord Jesus in John 21:27, “Lord, thou knowest all things.” Indeed He does!

Although these false professors will point to all the good works they had done in their lives. They prophesied in the Lord’s name. They cast out demons. In the Lord’s name they did mighty works. YET, they did not know the Lord, and He did not know them (in the sense of having a relationship with them). They were STRANGERS to His grace! Notice, too, the specific works of the Lord to these men, “I NEVER KNEW YOU.” These men had NEVER had a relationship with the Lord. They NEVER had expressed “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21) They NEVER knew the intimacy, comfort, and assurance of a relationship with the Lord. STRANGERS!

The harsh sentence of the Lord to them was, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” GET AWAY FROM ME! Notice that they were not rejected because they were simply false professors. They were workers of iniquity, or sin! This is true of EVERY SINGLE PERSON that does not know Christ as their savior. All, who are without faith in Christ are workers of iniquity. What about you, dear reader? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior, or do you fill your days trying to ACT like a believer? Remember…the LORD KNOWS YOUR HEART.

In Matthew 11:28, the Lord Jesus says to all, “COME unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The blessed word to all today is COME. The Lord is calling all to COME to Him for rest, eternal rest. PLEASE do not wait until it is too late to COME to the Lord. If you do, you will hear those awful words from the savior’s lips, “DEPART FROM ME.” (274.6)