They believe He knows them.

Rom 16:17  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 

Rom 16:18  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Php 3:18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ

Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) 

Php 2:21  For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.

2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 

2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

You can have the FORM of godliness OR have the POWER of godliness.

You can give really great uplifting speeches but still NOT serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

You can seek things for your own pleasure OR seek the thing which are Jesus Christ's.

You see, I've said it before and I'm going to say it again- TRULY if we are LOVERS of pleasures MORE than lovers of GOD, we will NOT BE GOD'S no matter what we think! No matter what superior form of supposed Christianity we take, we are NOT God's if we seek pleasure over seeking God. What PLACE does God hold in our lives? Is He first and foremost in our lives or have we regulated Him to another rank in our life? Do you suppose if He is even one rank under first that we are His? People want to believe this it truth, but it isn't.  People want to believe if they just accept God without any of God in their lives that they are saved. People want to believe that if they are doing good works in His name that they are saved. He tells us differently. He tells us that He needs to know us.  If you say that He knows you simply because He is a God and knows all, then I say you're wrong again.

He spoke these words of truth-

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

Jesus is going to tell MANY that He never knew them and He won't be speaking to the professed atheists, or religious unbelievers of Him. Jesus is going to be speaking to those who use HIS name.

THEY USE THE NAME OF JESUS! THEY BELIEVE HE KNOWS THEM!

This will mean all the difference in the world -  Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 

HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF THE FATHER- these are the ones that Jesus Christ will know!

Joh_6:38  For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

Joh_6:40  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

How many DO things with the belief- however small- that the things they do qualify them for salvation? Are these the people our Savior doesn't know because they haven't truly believed in HIS SAVING POWER, a power ONLY HE possesses and is found in nothing else? Or do they hang on to even the tiniest sliver of their OWN power for salvation? If we believe even a little bit that our actions beyond believing are what save us then we are NOT honestly, and fully believing in the grace of our Savior.   The acts we commit after we believe should NOT be done in order to save us, but as extensions of the truth in CHRIST's sole ability to save.  WE are able to do the tiniest bit of good only because of HIS saving power, not because we possess some power of our own to add to His redeeming of us.  We can NEVER add points to a chart that doesn't exist and it doesn't exist because we can't work our way to salvation. The ONLY chart would have one point if it existed and that point would be BELIEVING IN CHRIST!

We STOP believing in the redeeming power of our Savior when we start working our way there. We may say we don't but we do.

It's NOT that we shouldn't behave in certain ways, we have to behave as Christ behaved loving the Heavenly Father and loving others and doing works accordingly but we do that because we are SAVED, not to be SAVED.

Daily we need to pick up our crosses and these crosses are but reminders through and through of the cross of Calvary.

Luk_9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

And notice… let him deny himself AND take up the cross daily.

We take up the life and death and life again of Christ daily, knowing the walk He walked is ours to walk as well. He SAVED us so we can live for HIM and if living for Him means being persecuted all the way to our deaths, we die FOR Him because He FIRST died for us.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 

THIS is TRUTH!

The cross represents the LIFE Christ lived - His ministry that led to His crucifixion. The cross represents His blood spilled in sacrifice for us. The cross represents His rising from the grave to live for us once again. The cross represents all these things and we take up a cross daily to represent that we are LIVING with CHRIST LIVING IN US.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory

Christ's power is alive in US this is the power we dare not deny. We have no godliness of our own, but we have Christ's.

May we NOT be consumed by self-serving, may our bellies not be our gods! May we truly have GOD in our lives fully, wholly in us all through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR now and forever!!!!!!!