This testimony comes from a man named Klint, who became convicted of his false convert status in July when TLC Ministries ministered at his church.
I Never Knew You
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matt. 7:21-23)
This described me. I said the “Sinners Prayer” when I was seven or eight years old and then I was baptized. I thought I had everything right with GOD but I always felt something was missing; I just couldn’t figure out what. If you read the words of the Matthew 7:21-23 you can see that GOD can still use you whether or not you’re saved and that’s what happened to me for the past thirty years.
When we moved up here God convicted me to stop playing church, so about four years ago I became involved in a youth ministry. I was the assistant youth leader for three years. Then about a year ago our pastor left unexpectedly which left us without a leader. One of the deacons of the church stepped up and by default became the leader. He was doing everything including Sunday school; the only thing he didn’t do was preach. GOD convicted me with a lot of pushing and shoving to take some of the burden off of the deacon, so I started teaching Sunday school. We did a bible study by Henry Blackaby that was titled “Experiencing GOD”. Through the preparation for the lesson God really started working on my heart. I started getting closer to GOD and wanted more. During this time I was asked to be a deacon in the church and I accepted. I continued to teach for the next eight months until the study was over.
My wife & I had been praying for spiritual growth for ourselves and the church for many months. Almost to the day that the bible study was over God convicted us to find a church with a good youth program and that was growing. Well the obvious choice was Delhi Community church since the kids had been going to youth group here for a couple of years. So in the beginning of July we resigned and left the church and started attending Delhi Community Church.
I believe that God wanted us to leave because I had grown as much as was possible in that church and he wanted me to hear a sermon. The second week we were there a guest speaker came to the church to preach and share his ministry.
The man was Jon Speed he started talking about false conversions. I though, “I’ve never heard this before. I had better listen.” The man went on to talk about being a preacher, witnessing to people, and doing everything that made him appear to be a man of GOD.
As he went on talking, God convicted me that this man is describing me! At that point I started to pray and ask God, “Is this really me?” and the answer I got was unmistakably YES. At that moment I did say the sinners prayer for the second time in my life, only this time I said it from my heart. At that moment I found what I had been missing and searching for all my life, it was the peace that only GOD can give.
If God is speaking to you about similar circumstances I urge you to forget about your pride or about what people will think and get right with GOD.
I enjoyed reading this, because it is a good reminder that we should all examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith:
2 Corinthinans 13:5: 2Cr 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
I don’t know If I am a false convert
how do I tell?
This interpretation of Matt. 7:21-23 is incorrect.
Did you ever prophecy in the name of Christ? Did you ever cast out demons in the name of Christ?
Regardless, if you ever did any of these things (if you even believe in current prophecy), then you are still incorrect because it is “LAWLESSNESS” that Jesus was speaking about; it was doing things in his name WITHOUT his approval to do them.
When CHRIST tells you this during judgment, it will be because you did not respect his law and government, just like a well-meaning civilian impersonating a police officer when a Judge will fine you and sentence you to some time behind bars.
Reading the sum of Matt: 7:21-23 it appears that the article “A False Convert Soundly Saved” is right:
I Never Knew You…
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matt. 7:21-23)
In the first part, it says clearly not everyone who says to me Lord Lord, so those are people who call him Lord, but he is not their Lord, they are false coverts. What about these false converts if we read the next part, they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So who will enter the kingdom of heaven, read on, those who do the will of the Father, as Christ always did the will of the Father, as these are fruits of a real Christian. Then you can read the rest of the verse that proclaims what the false converts will proclaim ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ This is where the Lord tells the false converts they are wrong “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ They are lawless because of prophesy in Christ name, or casting out of demons in Christ name, or many mighty works in Christ name, this part is true, but we should not miss the first part. They called him Lord Lord, but he was not there Lord even if they would have never done any works they still where never know by Christ. These will be guilty, just as Judas was guilty, and Judas may have done several of these things when he was sent out by Christ, his Lawlessness was the fact he was and still is an un-forgiven sinner. False converts are workers of lawlessness in all their deeds and in their very proclamation of Christ as Lord, for they are not in Christ and Christ is not in them, they are liars. If Christ says he never knew them, it does not matter if they call him Lord or do many works in his name it wont matter if they don’t do what he said to do to be saved.
Psalm 118: It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Luke 6:46: And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Romans 2:13: (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
James 1:22: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
John 3:3: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:5: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Matthew 12:50: For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
By Grace