Arminianism Examined:  Matthew 7:13-29

Jesus said, "I never knew you"

"13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 "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. 22 "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?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' 24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall." 28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes."

There are those (Five Point Arminians) who teach that Christians can lose their salvation and attempt to use Matthew 7:13-27 to prove their point.  However, when these Scriptures are examined in context then it is plainly clear that the opposite is actually the case.  Notice the context of these verses as Jesus concludes speaking to all those listening. (disciples and the crowds) Jesus wants them to be very serious about what they hear and act upon in their lives and He warns those listening about two paths.  One path is the narrow gate that is the way for salvation, namely a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, the true Foundation. The other one is the wide path that leads to destruction, namely all other ways that people add by teaching works, having to join a certain Church for salvation, liberalism, etc.  The contrast is simple.  Jesus then continues on warning those listening to be careful of false prophets (those who claim to speak or represent God's truth) and He points them to examine their fruits.  Some people believe these fruits are good works verses bad fruits, but this is not the case.  If you look at verses 21-22 it is clear those who Jesus rejects had some amazing works but yet they were denied entrance into heaven.  This is not because of their lack of doing things that would be considered good but actually because they were doing things from a false pretense and in the end not representing Jesus in truth, thus practicing lawlessness.  This is a serious warning today for those who claim to be Christians, whether within Christian denominations or those of other religious backgrounds. (Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Oneness Pentecostals, etc)  The fruit that is being addressed in these verses are in reference to that which they represent.  In other words, the fruit reflects it's foundation.  What are we founded upon or rooted in?  Jesus did not reject the things that the people claimed to have done, He rejected them as not knowing them personally, and that is the key of these Scriptures.  Jesus did not say the following:  I used to know you; I knew you 10 years ago when you were walking in the faith; I knew you when you were living a godly life;  No, Jesus said, "I never knew you", period!  These are the 4 scariest words I believe in the Bible, especially to those who think they are saved.  These verses rattled me years ago and I thank God for them because it woke me up the reality of what it means to know Jesus personally and hope important that truly is. 

The other side has the positive point.  These verses also confirm the fact that if you truly are of Christ, born again, child of God, believer, then you are saved!  This is the eternal promise we have as believers in Christ, namely that we have eternal life.  Jesus knows those who truly are His, therefore be of courage and hope.  There are many verses that are plain, simple, black and white, therefore trust in the eternal truth's of God's Word. (John 1:12-13, John 5:24, John 10:1-18, John 14:1-6, John 20:31, Romans 1:16-17,  Romans 3:19-31, Romans 4:1-6, Romans 8:1, Romans 10:9-13, Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 1:6, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 Peter 2:21-26, 1 John 1:7&9, 1 John 5:10-13)

There are those of the Arminianism beliefs that are not hardcore on this but simply go to the point of believing that if a person rejects Jesus and leaves the faith, then that person loses their salvation.  However, there are those who are very arrogant and legalistic to the point of teaching that if Christians fall into sin they will lose their salvation unless they repent of it immediately.  Our purpose in this information is to give an answer to those who use Matthew 7:21-23 inaccurately and to give an accurate presentation of what it states in context.  If you have any questions about what was written here please contact us.  If you want to know more about what we believe concerning Arminianism and Calvinism then check out our article called Calvinism, Arminianism, and Biblicalism