Matthew chapters 5–7 are a unit; they are treated as one long speech called the Sermon on the Mount. I believe the end of the speech is a unit consisting of 7:13-29. We’ll understand the question after we consider the flow of the chapter, and thus the flow of thought and how the 7:23 quote above fits in.
After everything Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, He urges His hearers to enter the kingdom of heaven (the subject of the Sermon and of the gospel of Matthew) through the narrow way that is hard (vv. 13-14) and not the broad way that is popular. Then He tells them to beware of false prophets, which can be known by their fruit, whether of good or bad fruit (vv. 15-20). Then He tells them, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (vv. 21-23).
We can stop right there and ask ourselves, “Will the people who enter the broad way be those who are doing the will of God the Father in heaven?” The answer is no, for they are going in the way of destruction; so we know the people of vv. 21-23 are those going the broad way, and they are not doing the will of God (because Jesus rejects them).
What about the fruit? Are they good prophets or bad prophets? We ask, “Will the people who bear bad fruit be those who are doing the will of God?” The answer is no, because Jesus rejects the bad fruit; so we know the people of vv. 21-23 are not bearing good fruit, they are “false” (Greek, “deceitful”) in their speech, and they will be cast into the fire (v. 19).
According to His words, the main thing the Lord has against these people is not what they say and do, but what they do not do. What they say sounds like they’re good people, but since they are not doing the will of God, their fruit is bad. Their words are deceitful. So they are rejected.
Jesus makes this even clearer with the final section of His sermon, in 7:24-29. He taught the difference between those who heard the sayings of the Sermon on the Mount and does them (vv. 24-25), and those who heard His words and did not do them (vv. 26-27). If the words of the Sermon on the Mount are followed, the house will stand. If not, it will fall.
If Jesus says, “I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!” (v. 23), then are the hearers obeying the words of the Sermon on the Mount, or not? You should not expect Jesus to say those words to those who heard Him and followed through in faith and obedience.
The whole point of the Sermon on the Mount is to give us an understanding of the people who are in the kingdom of heaven. Those who have received Jesus as Lord and believe He rose from the dead are going to receive the Holy Spirit by God’s grace. They will be born again. Those who hear the word and obey it will grow in their faith. They will, with perseverance against the world, the flesh, and the devils, produce the good fruit of the kingdom of God, which are the character traits found in the Sermon on the Mount, such as the Beatitudes. This fruitful outcome, a house that stands firm, is for those who believe and follow through. It’s not for those who merely think about it and make up their own thoughts and theories and never get around to putting their whole trust in God. We see it in their bad fruit of ruined homes and lives.
If you are calling Jesus your Lord, make sure you are in the Word of God, reading it carefully to see what He is trying to say to you, and are following through because you believe God spoke to you. Don’t be an armchair Christian who never gets around to living out the faith. Don’t be the person who schemes of doing things for God, yet never quiets his heart before the Word to get direction from there. Re-read the book of Acts and you’ll see the Spirit is in action and guiding His servants on almost every page.
Those who do not obey are showing that they do not believe, and are therefore not in God’s family and not in the kingdom.
Christ said to them, “I never knew you” (v. 23). One sense of the Greek word for “know” (“ginosko”) means “to become acquainted with, to know.”) In Psalm 138:6 we learn, “The proud he knows afar off.” The liars in 7:23 were proud and far from God. Nahum 1:7 says, “And He knows those who trust in Him.” Since Jesus did not know these men, they were not those trusting in Him. They were trusting in themselves, not Him. The proud are not trusting in God but boasting in their own works.
Review the Sermon on the Mount. See where you have strayed from the kingdom traits of those who believe and obey Him. All who truly believe and obey Him are developing kingdom traits. The Holy Spirit is opening the Word of God to them and speaking to their hearts and minds because they are humble (not proud). They are going the narrow way of seeking God in the Word, and trusting Him because they have lost trust in themselves. Jesus is their source of life and purpose.
If you can point to any work you’ve done to make yourself worthy before God, you’ve called God a liar and rejected the sacrificial offering of His Son for your sins. You are proud and God knows you afar off. The rejected men are pointing to their works as reasons to be accepted. But Romans 1–3 show us that we are unrighteous sinners who are already under condemnation, and the only way to receive His acceptance is by receiving salvation from Christ by faith, as a free gift by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Because all have sinned and fallen short, and all of our good works are as filthy rags, and all are guilty and under condemnation, God turns His backs on our works and accepts us only when we receive Jesus (John 1:12). We are justified–declared righteous and no longer guilty–by faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24, Romans 4:5, Romans 5:1). All that we do from that point should rest on this foundation, of righteousness by faith, then we show that faith with obedience to the Word, not good deeds of our own.
