“I never knew you. Depart from me” (Matthew 7:23). Will Jesus say this to you on that day?
There are some who love the Lord, who are Christians, who have chosen Christ, yet don’t even try to follow His commandments.
It’s true that no one can live up to the standards of Jesus. However, God’s children must do better. So many people who love the lord damage His temple without a care in the world. We eat what we want, drink as much as we want, smoke what we want. After all, we only live once. Life is short, right? Well, our lives will feel very long when the damage we’ve done finally catches up to us.
Our bodies are the temple of God. Jesus lives within us yet we allow worldly pleasures to destroy His house. Does He still love us? Of course, but living in sin is unacceptable.
Our unrepentant sins create most of our misery, ruin our lives, hurt our loved ones, yet we remain in them. Will those who do not repent of their sins still be saved? The Bible says those who believe in Jesus will be saved, but if you believe in Him, you must also believe in His Word, and His Word says to repent, for even demons know Jesus is the Son of God (James 2:19).
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
Do you love Jesus? Do you try to keep His commandments?
When we choose Christ, we should become a new person leaving all our sins behind. Of course there is no way to be perfect while we remain in this fallen world, but we must do better. Lying, cheating, stealing, damaging our health to feed our addictions—all of these must go.
Life may be short, but eternity is long, and it is time to take our relationship with Jesus seriously. It is time to move past our sin and move toward a greater relationship with the One who took our punishment upon Himself.
When we die, Jesus stands between us and God, hiding our sins. But make no mistake, to some He will say, “I never knew you. Depart from me” (Matthew 7:23).
What will He say to you?