Scariest Bible Verse Ever

Are there any verses in the Bible that make you sit up and pay attention? Maybe even say to yourself, "I hope that's me." Or, "I hope that doesn't happen to me."

I heard one passage repeated in sermons which came from different sources over a period of about a month. And with Easter approaching I felt it was time to share it. What are the verses? Matthew 7:21-23. It's a story Jesus told his followers. There will be people trying to get into heaven who say they prophesied and cast out demons, and performed miracles by using the name of Jesus. AND. They won't be allowed in because even though they spoke the name of Jesus, Jesus says he never knew them. OUCH!

Actually the verse has always gotten my attention. For some time I couldn't understand how someone could do all those things in the name of Jesus and not know Him. Can you imagine going to church, traveling on mission trips, participating in church ministries, maybe even being part of a miracle of Biblical proportions and still not get to heaven? To have Jesus say He never knew you? Now did I scare you?

This is why the Bible says that Jesus looks at the heart. Only he knows if the church-going-enthusiast and the stay-at-home-never-setting-foot-in-a-church person are on the same playing field. We don't know what the true relationship is. But, God knows who He knows.

What I find scary is that the people in this passage thought they had performed their way into heaven. They thought acknowledging and working through the name of Jesus was the only proof they needed. They forgot one thing. 'Believing in' is different than 'knowing about' the gift of the cross. Sort of a heart vs. mind understanding -- is Jesus in your mind or does He run your heart?

There's another analogy I heard over Valentine weekend at Bent Tree Church in Carrollton, Tx that made sense to me. With the use of Hebrews 6, Pete Briscoe compared this knowing about Jesus versus believing in Jesus concept in a clever way. A high-dive diving board is the church where someone hears the word preached and even participates in the activities of the church. The water is Jesus and his gift of salvation through the cross. To jump off the board and into the water is the leap of faith all of us must take when we believe and get to be known by Jesus.

So how did the people of Matthew 7 do these wondrous things without being known by Jesus? Because they used the name of Jesus Christ, a most precious and powerful name. When His name is honored things will happen.

On the other hand, when people use His name as an exclamatory they weaken the importance of His name in their lives. It's a spiritual law, one I don't know how it exactly works, but it is a fact. Through the years I have heard reports and stories from people's real life experiences that support this spiritual law. If they don't hold the name of Jesus precious and use it only when giving Him praise then when they need it in a time of prayer requests it holds less power, maybe even no power.

So this week I leave you with this encouragement. Be careful what you say and if you haven't jumped off the high-dive into the water of salvation below, do it.