What Did Jesus Mean by “Lord, Lord”? (Matthew 7:21)

[David]

Jesus ends Matthew 6:25–7:14 with a warning aimed straight at religious people who assumed their words proved their faith. He exposes unbelief not as open rebellion but as divided loyalty. When Jesus asks, “O ye of little faith” ~Matthew 6:30, anxiety is revealed as mistrust. When He says no man can serve God and mammon ~Matthew 6:24, He draws a hard line that leaves no room for shared authority. God does not accept partial allegiance.

Jesus then exposes hypocrisy by condemning those who judge others while ignoring their own sin ~Matthew 7:3–5. He warns that fruit, not profession, reveals the tree. “A good tree bringeth forth good fruit” ~Matthew 7:17. Claims mean nothing if the direction of a life contradicts them. Religious activity does not equal submission.

Then comes the warning many try to soften. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” ~Matthew 7:21. These words are not spoken to atheists but to people who thought they belonged. Jesus ends with two gates, one wide and popular, the other narrow and costly ~Matthew 7:13–14. Scripture is clear that faith without obedience is dead ~James 2:17.

Full study: Know the Bible

Question: What was Jesus warning about when He said many who call Him “Lord, Lord” will not enter the kingdom of heaven?

 

[Walter Gabriel]

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” ~Matthew 7:21.

Scripture is clear that faith without obedience is dead ~James 2:17.

I agree with you and these scriptures.

 

[bobinfaith]

View attachment 251

Question: What was Jesus warning about when He said many who call Him “Lord, Lord” will not enter the kingdom of heaven?

Hello David;

We should not be ashamed of Jesus nor saying His name with all our hearts.

Every day is a building relationship with the Lord, being in the center of lives, therefore, the mention of Lord will be in our conversations.

Though many Christians may say it but sounding shallow or hollow. After they say it, is it a sense of duty, is Jesus still on their minds as they get on with their day, or is their mind on something else? Do they really mean it? Jesus' warning is directed at our daily lives but is there a spiritual life?

In all I do daily I can't do a checklist and figure I'm good with the Lord. So during my daily good morning prayers to God and additional prayers throughout the day and night, Matthew 7:21 is one of my theme passages.

I'm not saying I'm beyond perfect. I do shudder at the very thought that Jesus would go to the Father and say I never knew Bob. YIKES!

My post is pretty brutal but with good reason. I would be devastated going through my life and fooling myself.

We must pay heed to Jesus' warning.

God bless you, David.

Bob

 

[David]

Hello David;

We should not be ashamed of Jesus nor saying His name with all our hearts.

Every day is a building relationship with the Lord, being in the center of lives, therefore, the mention of Lord will be in our conversations.

Though many Christians may say it but sounding shallow or hollow. After they say it, is it a sense of duty, is Jesus still on their minds as they get on with their day, or is their mind on something else? Do they really mean it? Jesus' warning is directed at our daily lives but is there a spiritual life?

In all I do daily I can't do a checklist and figure I'm good with the Lord. So during my daily good morning prayers to God and additional prayers throughout the day and night, Matthew 7:21 is one of my theme passages.

I'm not saying I'm beyond perfect. I do shudder at the very thought that Jesus would go to the Father and say I never knew Bob. YIKES!

My post is pretty brutal but with good reason. I would be devastated going through my life and fooling myself.

We must pay heed to Jesus' warning.

God bless you, David.

Bob

Bob, I appreciate you saying this plain and honest. That kind of trembling at Jesus’ words is a good thing. Scripture says to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling ~Philippians 2:12, and that is not panic, it is reverence. None of us should read ~Matthew 7:21 at a distance, as if it were meant for someone else. I know it gets my attention every time I read it, and I am glad it does. A man who never pauses at “I never knew you” is a man not listening.

You’re right that this is not about running a checklist or coasting on Christian talk. Jesus said the one who enters is the one who does the will of the Father ~Matthew 7:21. That drives us back to daily dependence, not self-confidence. None of us stands here claiming perfection. We stand here clinging to Christ and wanting our lives to line up with what we say we believe.

Thank you for the reminder to keep this personal and not theoretical. The road Jesus talked about is narrow for a reason ~Matthew 7:14. It keeps us close to Him, watchful, and honest before God.

 

[mailmandan]

Matthew 7:21 - 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. John 6:40 - For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. What did these many people in Matthew 7:22 believe in/trust in for salvation? WORKS and NOT in Jesus Christ alone, which is not the will of the Father. Hence, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. (vs. 23) Notice that Jesus did not say I once knew you, but I don't know you anymore. He clearly stated I never knew you which means they were never saved.

Either we practice righteousness because we are children of God or else we practice lawlessness because we are children of the devil. (1 John 3:7-10) There is no middle ground. These many people in Matthew 7:22 had the wrong foundation. They were trusting in their works for salvation (Lord, Lord, didn't WE accomplish this, this and this) and not in Jesus Christ alone. The correct answer for these many people would have been, "Lord, Lord, didn't YOU die for our sins, were buried and rise again the third day to provide for us eternal life. We trust in YOU alone for salvation/we trust in YOU as the ALL-sufficient means of our salvation.

 

[David]

Matthew 7:21 - 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. John 6:40 - For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. What did these many people in Matthew 7:22 believe in/trust in for salvation? WORKS and NOT in Jesus Christ alone, which is not the will of the Father. Hence, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. (vs. 23) Notice that Jesus did not say I once knew you, but I don't know you anymore. He clearly stated I never knew you which means they were never saved.

Either we practice righteousness because we are children of God or else we practice lawlessness because we are children of the devil. (1 John 3:7-10) There is no middle ground. These many people in Matthew 7:22 had the wrong foundation. They were trusting in their works for salvation (Lord, Lord, didn't WE accomplish this, this and this) and not in Jesus Christ alone. The correct answer for these many people would have been, "Lord, Lord, didn't YOU die for our sins, were buried and rise again the third day to provide for us eternal life. We trust in YOU alone for salvation/we trust in YOU as the ALL-sufficient means of our salvation.

I think that is a great way to put it. Matthew 7 has always stood out to me because Jesus did not say He knew them before and then rejected them later. He said, “I never knew you.” That is a serious difference.

They had the words. They had the activity. They even called Him Lord. But when it came down to it, they pointed to what they had done instead of resting in Him. That is a scary place to be.

John 6:40 really does bring it back to the main point. The Father’s will is that we look to the Son and believe on Him. Good works matter, but they are not the foundation. Christ is.

I totally agree with your point. The true believer is changed by God and will not be comfortable living in lawlessness, but his hope is still not in his own works. His hope is in Christ alone.

 

[Yesua888]

Bob, I appreciate you saying this plain and honest. That kind of trembling at Jesus’ words is a good thing. Scripture says to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling ~Philippians 2:12, and that is not panic, it is reverence. None of us should read ~Matthew 7:21 at a distance, as if it were meant for someone else. I know it gets my attention every time I read it, and I am glad it does. A man who never pauses at “I never knew you” is a man not listening.

You’re right that this is not about running a checklist or coasting on Christian talk. Jesus said the one who enters is the one who does the will of the Father ~Matthew 7:21. That drives us back to daily dependence, not self-confidence. None of us stands here claiming perfection. We stand here clinging to Christ and wanting our lives to line up with what we say we believe.

Thank you for the reminder to keep this personal and not theoretical. The road Jesus talked about is narrow for a reason ~Matthew 7:14. It keeps us close to Him, watchful, and honest before God.

Only yesterday I was thinking, enemy I am NOT in fear of you, but I am in fear of God the Father ... this is something personal with me:

Then I thought what is FEAR?
Is fear the opposite of Love?
Should I be using the word "Respect"?
Yet, that is not enough for my God (Father, Jesus or Holy Spirit).

REVERENCE is the word I was looking for ...
However, my feelings towards Father. is more than just a "bow" or "curtsy" (that is used for man's choice of revering an important man : )

 

[by grace]

. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven”

plainly said not everyone who says they are saved is not

 

[HeldByGrace]

This reminds me of my son. We had been in our first church for about 6 years. He went to youth group, was part of a smaller discipleship group, went to church every Sunday, went on youth camps, prayed so well, he would say he was a Christian. Was there fruit? No. We left that church when we moved away, he was 15, and God used that time as a great reset. God allowed us to have conversations that helped him come to the realisation that he wasn’t a Christian And that allowed him to start his journey for real.
You’re either all in or you’re all out, there is no in between.
“But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬

 

[bobinfaith]

This reminds me of my son. We had been in our first church for about 6 years. He went to youth group, was part of a smaller discipleship group, went to church every Sunday, went on youth camps, prayed so well, he would say he was a Christian.

Was there fruit? No. We left that church when we moved away, he was 15, and God used that time as a great reset. God allowed us to have conversations that helped him come to the realisation that he wasn’t a Christian And that allowed him to start his journey for real.

You’re either all in or you’re all out, there is no in between. “But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬

Good morning, HeldByGrace;

It's Sunday morning, 8am in California and I'm just checking in before we scoot to Worship service. I came across your testimony which led me to respond.

In the first bracket your family was truly blessed. The seeds were planted within your son. It reminded me of our experience at Church of a large children and youth group. They were visible each week, got involved serving and went to camp. A group of the teens accompanied our Pastor, a youth Mom and myself on a mission trip to Central America. This was during the mid 1990s.

When many of the children and teens turned 18 they stopped going to Church, started to sample the world (life) as a young "adult", one or two got pregnant.

In the second bracket, may I ask, when your son reset, does this mean he began his journey by sampling the world, without any connection to Christianity and Church? Is he an older adult today?

Many young Christians will "free fall," spread their wings and drop out of their faith. But once that seed was planted, early, many will at some point in their lives will remember Christ. Many return reference Hosea 14:1-2 and 1 John 1:9 and Psalm 51.

In the third bracket, Revelation 3:16 was not an end to a means but a warning from Jesus to the Church in Laodicea, having ears to hear and a call to repentance.

HeldByGrace, I don't pretend to know your son or your family. But from reading your testimony I am led in my heart to pray for him, that one day (between him and God) he will come back into the heart of worship and relationship. God waters those seeds but only in His time do they come to fruition.

God bless you, sister.

Bob

 

[HeldByGrace]

Thank you Bob for taking the time to respond and to share. When I say "reset", he could stop pretending and we could stop responding to his sin as though he was a Christian, and instead lead him as someone who was unsaved. It wasn't pretty, I'll admit. There were many tears, and many prayers.
One day when I thought I couldn't do it anymore I sat at the dining room table and read Scripture (which is so alive), and determined to not let Satan have my son. I picked a few very trusted friends and asked them to pray for him, and over the course of a week I was able to report back daily to each of them positive changes we were seeing in him. On the Sunday there was a guest pastor at church, my husband and I were on Sunday School, and my son sat alone in church for the sermon. After the service we had people coming up to us ecstatic because our son had put his hand up to follow Jesus that morning. He was baptised about a year later.
I wish I could say it's all been sunshine and roses since then We had a 'hiccup' at church, which involved the pastor and our son. And as a result he stopped attending church. He's finished school, spends less time at home, and the world is very shiny at the moment. But I know the Holy Spirit is in there, and I continue to pray for the Lord to draw him closer and not let him go. He still listens when I talk, and he is still convicted of sin, deep down I know he still desires to please God, but he is walking quite a distance away from Him.
I appreciate your prayer Bob.

 

[Yesua888]

Good morning, HeldByGrace;

It's Sunday morning, 8am in California and I'm just checking in before we scoot to Worship service. I came across your testimony which led me to respond.

In the first bracket your family was truly blessed. The seeds were planted within your son. It reminded me of our experience at Church of a large children and youth group. They were visible each week, got involved serving and went to camp. A group of the teens accompanied our Pastor, a youth Mom and myself on a mission trip to Central America. This was during the mid 1990s.

When many of the children and teens turned 18 they stopped going to Church, started to sample the world (life) as a young "adult", one or two got pregnant.

In the second bracket, may I ask, when your son reset, does this mean he began his journey by sampling the world, without any connection to Christianity and Church? Is he an older adult today?

Many young Christians will "free fall," spread their wings and drop out of their faith. But once that seed was planted, early, many will at some point in their lives will remember Christ. Many return reference Hosea 14:1-2 and 1 John 1:9 and Psalm 51.

In the third bracket, Revelation 3:16 was not an end to a means but a warning from Jesus to the Church in Laodicea, having ears to hear and a call to repentance.

HeldByGrace, I don't pretend to know your son or your family. But from reading your testimony I am led in my heart to pray for him, that one day (between him and God) he will come back into the heart of worship and relationship. God waters those seeds but only in His time do they come to fruition.

God bless you, sister.

Bob

Hi Bob,
Your response to HeldByGrace has brought up a very REAL and VIVID scene for me in my earlier youthful years.
Neighbours used to take us to Sunday School, and occasionally to church (which was under sufference for me).
The neighbour's father tried to abuse me ... that was probably when my Spiritual Schooling paused.
My life went on, and under a difficult upbringing (good Mother and bad father), like many youngsters, I ventured out, and followed the crowd.
Later in life, once back on The Path, I looked back back and saw how important it is to know from an early age, that there was a Good side to Life and a bad one. That knowledge never left me ...
I pray that every person that God created has the opportunity to know Christ, or at least be introduced to Him xxx