They sound super spiritual in their double acknowledgment of calling Jesus, “Lord, Lord.” They’ve operated in the power of the Holy Spirit. They’ve legitimately prophesied, casted out demons, and performed signs and wonders. And yet, shockingly, Jesus says he doesn’t know who they are.
This may forever be one of the most intense passages in the Bible for me, for it remains a warning of final judgment upon the ones that we all felt pretty good about. They believe in Jesus and they operate in the Spirit. How could they have missed the mark? Jesus answers this question with two statements: (1) They didn’t do the will of God and (2) they lived lawlessly.
Conviction falls on us all. The gospel we typically preach is “believe in Jesus and all is good,” but these double-acknolwedgers had that down pat and all was not good for them. They were happy to live in the power-dimensions of the “Lord, Lord,” but they did not live in the fruit-dimensions of the “Lord, Lord.” They were content to slide by in the faith, unconcerning themselves with obedience to their “Lord, Lord.” They lived wicked lives and did lawless things, despite the fact that their “Lord, Lord,” was the fulfillment and definition of the law.
It sounds crazy, but many of us have seen this before. We have all met people who refuse to make Jesus “Lord, Lord” of their faith, even when we can clearly show them that they’re off-base. We’ve seen it at the top of the church hierarchy, and we’ve seen it in our own lives.
“Lord, Lord,” is nothing more than “words, words.” Jesus does actually expect our actions to line up with our faith. The altar is not the endgame of Christianity. The baptism of the Spirit is not the endgame of Christianity. As great as these things are, our faith must continue forward to greater heights.
*This devotional was created out of the themes of Matthew 7:21-29 found in today’s reading at CommonPrayer.net. Below are the various AI-created pictures I typed into existence via Mid Journey to mock up artwork for today’s post.
Jamin Bradley 