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RE: June 12th, 2017 - Daily Bible Inspiration
I believe there is a caveat somewhere there. You must truly know the Lord, and the Lord knows you. Matthew 7:22 says "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?'"
verse 23:
then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’…
Some will do things for the Lord, in the Lord's name, but in the end if the Lord doesn't know you (as His), it's in vain.
Yes, I agree. I should have cautioned what I meant by doing things for the Lord, and what Scripture tells us to caution for when people profess it (a la Matthew 7:22).
I think this starts with relationship building and getting to know people intimately. Without a deeper relationship with others - to the point of knowing them completely inside and out - there will be no way for humanity to determine the integrity of one's actions. I think that's what makes Christ's sovereignty so unique and supreme because He knows thoughts and actions beyond our comprehension.
Of course, people can live as facade all their lives, but as a Christian, I think we shouldn't be as cynical. It is quite obvious that people are unreliable based off of our sinful natures alone; but, I think giving everyone a chance to bear fruit is something that we can all be encouraged about.
And I think to tie altogether, it does go back to what you said - truly knowing the Lord. Without the intimacy of Christ in our lives and the Holy Spirit working in our hearts to refine and transform us, we are just mockers and pagans practicing fruitful works.
Thank you for addressing the issue @cryptokash! I'm glad you mentioned it. God bless!
You hit the nail in the head there. It's bearing fruit. It's loving one another. By these we know we are truly His disciples. The ones referred to by Jesus in Matthew 7 were probably doing the "ministry" but were not bearing fruit. Another take away from the verse is that the name of Jesus is so powerful, that even those that are not His true followers can use it and perform miracles.
You're exactly right! And I think the type of fruit that we bear should be deeply rooted in Christ. What I mean by that is even through trials and hardship, we could still bear the fruit of Christ because it is in our DNA, it is what we become. It is not because we want to look like we are Christians or act as if we're holy. Those motives are dry and limited.
And I definitely agree with that takeaway, and I've actually been witnessed this firsthand at my old church. Many pagan worshipers who are doing the work of the Lord, which is glorifying and purifying; yet, in the same token, they themselves are not really bearing fruit outside of the realms of their called ministry. It seems hypocritical, but who are we to understand the works of the Lord? I think He can - and will - use anyone to bring Himself to glory! That's how powerful our God is.
Amen! and amen. Keep posting bro.
Thanks for your kind words, @cryptokash! Definitely helps encourage and motivate me to put out more content :)