What's Jesus talking about: 'I never knew you' (Matthew 7:21–23)
- How can you tell if your Christian works are genuine obedience or 'works of lawlessness' (Matthew 7:21–23)?
A host asks 'Herrick' (speaker-4) what Jesus is talking about this week, and Herrick teaches Matthew 7:21–23: not everyone who calls Jesus 'Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven; many will cite prophesying, casting out demons, and mighty works, and hear 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' The panel reacts with sober self-examination: one host says it scares him; the group lands on the distinction between facade and fruit — works done to direct the ends and ask God to bless them are lawlessness, while faithfulness in the means lets God handle the ends. References include the Crusades, the seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19), David's prayer 'test me and know my heart' (Psalm 139), and an anecdote about Tim Timmons saying he had 'this Christian thing nailed down' but realized that's not what it's about. Herrick shares that this passage once woke him from a dream realizing he was on the wrong side, and it turned his life around.
More on Discernment
-
'When God is silent': what counts as hearing from the Lord?
- What does it mean to 'hear from the Lord,' and how often should we expect it?
Mike brings a question from his Bible study, whose paragraph heading was 'when God is silent': the author wrote that he experienced God's silence for a couple of weeks and freaked out, and Ben expected a relatable years-long drought story — 'Oh, two weeks.
From No. 603 · Found Out
-
Mike frames the question: are more people hearing from God?
- Does it seem like more and more people are hearing from God — and is that real or a lie and a huge distraction?
Ben asks Mike for a two-sentence framing; Mike says listening to the book of Job while mowing made him furious when Bildad 'received a word from the Lord,' turning a bad human argument into an unarguable divine claim.
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
-
Does God speak more now? Indwelling Spirit versus prophets
- Does God talk to people as much now as he did in the Old Testament or New Testament?
A host asks whether God talks to people as much now as in the Old and New Testaments. Ben's key distinction: the indwelling Holy Spirit means more people can have the experience…
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
-
How to tell your voice from God's: the Bible test and leniency
- How can you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking?
Ella distills the question: how do you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking? Her first answer: we have a Bible — what God is telling you is probably already in it ('Ben's gonna have a proud papa moment').
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God