There are few passages in Scripture more sobering than Matthew 7:22-23. Jesus himself speaks these words:
“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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Notice what these people are not saying. They’re not saying, “Lord, I knew I was living for myself.” They’re not confessing that they ignored Jesus or didn’t care. They are genuinely shocked. They believed – apparently with great confidence – that they were serving God. And they were wrong.
That is the quiet horror of self-deception. It doesn’t feel like deception at all.
Why Self-Deception Is So Dangerous
Self-deception isn’t lying to others. It’s arriving at a false conclusion about yourself and then believing it completely. And when it comes to our spiritual lives, the stakes couldn’t be higher. We live in an age – perhaps the very Bible times the book of Revelation describes – when religious performance is easy to come by. Platforms are large. Audiences are wide. It is entirely possible to do impressive-looking things in Jesus’ name while the heart remains untouched by genuine saving faith.
The people in Matthew 7:22 didn’t lack activity. They lacked a relationship. “I never knew you,” Jesus says. Not “I knew you once, but you fell away.” Never. The works were real. The delusion was more real.
The Antidote Hidden in Plain Sight
Earlier in the same sermon – in fact, just a few paragraphs earlier – Jesus gave us the Beatitudes. And I believe the first three in particular are a mercy to us, a God-given diagnostic for the self-deceived soul.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
Poverty of spirit is the opposite of spiritual pride. It means you see yourself clearly – not as a spiritual high-achiever, not as someone God is lucky to have on his team, but as a sinner utterly dependent on grace. The person strutting around claiming to heal the sick and cast out demons in Jesus’ name does not look poor in spirit. Genuine faith begins with an honest reckoning with our own bankruptcy before God. And it’s not a reckoning that can be abandoned. If we forget our poverty of spirit, we’ve forgotten who we are.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
This mourning isn’t grief over life’s hardships. It’s grief over sin – our own sin. When was the last time you were genuinely grieved over your own failings, not just embarrassed by them? A soul that never mourns its sinfulness is a soul that has perhaps never truly seen it. The person who is deceived about their spiritual state tends to be much better at spotting the sins of others than their own. And, clearly, our comfort comes from the fact that Jesus has taken the punishment for our sins upon Himself – an act for which He deserves our eternal gratitude.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)
Meekness isn’t weakness. It’s power under control – a willingness to be corrected, to submit, to hear the hard word. The self-deceived soul is rarely meek. It tends toward defensiveness, to explaining itself, to doubling down when challenged. Genuine meekness keeps the door open for the Holy Spirit to convict and correct us.
Praying the Prayers That Keep Us Honest
If the Beatitudes are a diagnostic, the Psalms offer us the medicine. David – a man who knew something about self-deception, having convinced himself that his sin with Bathsheba could be covered up – prayed these words after his reckoning:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)
And perhaps the most dangerous and necessary prayer a believer can pray is found in Psalm 139:23-24:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
This is the prayer of someone who knows they cannot fully trust their own self-assessment. It’s an invitation – to the only One who sees us completely – to show us what we cannot or will not see on our own.
A Word of Genuine Reassurance
If your heart is troubled by Matthew 7:22-23, that trouble is itself a hopeful sign. The people who should be troubled are those who never think about it at all. The very fact that you’re asking, “How can I be sure?” reflects a seriousness about your relationship with Christ that is characteristic of genuine faith, not its absence.
Examine yourself in light of Scripture. Come poor in spirit. Mourn honestly. Pray dangerously. And rest in the One who truly knows you – and loves you anyway.
(For a related deep dive into how false spirituality shows up in dramatic, high-profile ways today, you might enjoy my earlier post on Costi Hinn’s book, God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: Costi Hinn on the Prosperity Gospel.)
We are living in remarkable days, days that the writers of Scripture anticipated. If there is ever a time to make sure our faith is genuine and not a performance, it is now. The One who is coming back is not coming for those who did impressive things in His name. He is coming for those He knows, and who know Him.
***
Audiobook
Here are links to my blog indexes, so please click one and keep reading!
My Books, Workbooks, and Fun Books
Knowing the Unknowable One
Opening the Treasure Chest
Walking Heart-to-Heart with God
Walking Heart-to-Heart with Each Other
Fighting the Good Fight of Faith
Christian Mysteries: Why I Love Them!
List of Some Nonfiction Books You Don’t Want to Miss
Index of Assorted Topics