"Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ "
-- Matthew 7:22-23
"How could such people--leaders full of power with effective ministries and dynamic preaching, who affirm Jesus' divinity--be excluded from His Kingdom ? Why would Jesus ever say to such people, 'Away from Me' ?" -- Skye Jethani, What If Jesus Was Serious ?, p. 163
The Greek word Jesus uses, egnōn, is a tense of γινώσκω, "to know." Strong's glosses the word as "intimate knowledge." That's why when the angel tells Mary she's pregnant with The Messiah, she asks how that can possibly be, since she'd never "known a man" (Luke 1:34).
How does anyone know Jesus (or anyone else, for that matter) ? Spending time with someone is the only way to intimately know them.
Skye Jethani's doodle for his chapter shows a Christian's check-list. "Right Theology," "Bold Preaching," "Fights Evil / Injustice," and "Performs Miracles" are all checked "A+." Only "Communion w/ God" is marked "F."
Jethani titles his check-list "How to Fail The Final Judgement."
