Matthew 7:21-23

[votivesoul]

Originally Posted by Adino

Votive, I guess I can answer this one rather quickly. I believe there are multitudes who can claim to have cast out devils and performed wonderful works in the name of Christ. This doesn't make is so….

Also, I do not think the 1 Corinthians passage speaks of everyone who vocalizes the Lordship of Christ as being empowered to do so by the Spirit. Demons called him Lord and they were certainly not Spirit-filled or empowered by the Spirit to do so in any way. I do believe that no one can say Jesus is Lord "from a genuine heart of faith" without being empowered by the Spirit to do so. The confession "of faith" is itself empowered by the Spirit. This is one of the reasons I hold that an individual who confesses Christ in true faith is to be considered "saved" and welcomed into the Christian community at large.

Christ said it was upon this rock - which I hold to be the confession of his person - that he was to build his Church. The man who believes with his heart unto righteousness [before God] is to then confess with his mouth unto salvation [before his peers]. The Church is to be built upon a confession of Christ. Only those who say that Jesus is Lord from a heart of faith are to be welcomed into the Church.

Sorry, I must run….. enjoy your evening

I see how it may be perceived that the claims were false; that the claimants were liars. But the story is presented as though the claims are factual/accurate (which makes the teaching more alarming, I might add).

The Lord doesn't call them liars and falsifiers, or rebuke them for saying they used His name when they did no such thing.

The Lord rather seems to be making the case that even though what they claimed was true, their personal conduct, by the end of their lives', no matter how they may have been used in temporary situations, was not good enough, since they hadn't done all the will of the Father, even though it's God's will that people prophesy, cast out devils, and perform miracles.

Regarding 1 Corinthians 12:3, it may be so that many who presume to call Jesus Lord, aren't really doing so by an enabling of the Holy Spirit through faith. They are, as called in Scripture, false brethren.

But what then, if, just if, their deeds actually were Holy Spirit enabled.

Cannot some begin in the faith, be used by God, but then fall into error, distortion, damnable heresy, and/or immorality sufficient to lose salvation, even though they had once procured it by grace unto regeneration?