Those who pretend to know God and yet disobey His commandments, scripture says “is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4), irrespective of any appearance to the contrary. We look at
Matthew 7:23 "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." which gives us a clue, lets look at how other translations have it.
KJV "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
ESV "And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
NIV "Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
NASB "And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; LEAVE ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
CSB "Then I will announce to them, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers! '
NLT "But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.'
The phrase in KJV "ye that work iniquity," literally means "you who break the law." So what does that mean for a Christian?
Dear Hobie,
You asked:
The phrase in KJV "ye that work iniquity," literally means "you who break the law." So what does that mean for a Christian?
When a believer is
converted, they are no longer under the Law. And if they are no longer under the Law, they cannot break the Law and be lawless.
In the verse you quoted, the "lawless" believers whom Christ is referring to are
unconverted believers who remain under the Old Covenant of Law. This is true because these believers have only received the
Early Rain of the Spirit.
The Early Rain is the
Holy Spirit of Promise and is ONLY the down payment (earnest amount) of the full payment a chosen believer will receive when they receive the Latter Rain of the Spirit and are converted.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance UNTIL the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
After a believer has received both the Early Rain (Holy Spirit of Promise) and the Latter Rain (Day of Redemption), they will come out from being under the Law and will produce the spiritual fruit Christ requires of His children:
Jam 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receives the EARLY and LATTER RAIN. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Christ taught this truth in "type" by the events recorded in John 8:3-10:
In the story, the "woman" represents mankind and the scribes and Pharisees represent the Old Covenant of Law.
John 8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
In the first three verses of the story, a woman (mankind) is said to have been caught in the act of adultery. This event “typed” when Adam & Eve were caught in the act of adultery with Satan in the Garden of Eden.
The woman was then delivered to the scribes & Pharisees who were responsible for the administration of the Law. The Law says that the penalty for her adultery is death. When Adam & Eve committed adultery in the Garden of Eden, they, too, were judged by the Law and were given the penalty of death (both spiritual and physical).
However, since Christ is now ready to restore His marriage relationship with the woman (mankind) under the New Covenant, He will gather her with “
great mercies”:
Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. 6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. 7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
John 8:6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
Christ’s act of writing in the ground represents Him giving the
Early Rain of the Spirit to the woman. By doing this, He is writing His Law of the Spirit in her heart.
This verse applies:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
The verse above is referring to the New Covenant of Grace through Faith which is Christ’s spiritual covenant. Under the New Covenant, Christ will perform all the necessary “works” to restore the woman to Himself. And since it is a spiritual covenant, He will write his Law of the Spirit in the heart of the woman.
John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
After Christ first writes in the earth, the Pharisees
continue to accuse the woman. They do this because the woman still remains under the Law after having received the Early Rain of the Spirit (the down payment). She remains under the Law because the Early Rain is not sufficient to stop her from committing adultery with Satan. In other words, she does not have the ability to approach Christ strictly by faith alone yet. She is still compelled by her carnal nature and the deceptions of Satan to mix in her own “works” with faith. She tries to serve two masters, both Satan and Christ (
Mat 6:24).
The Doctrine of Free Will is the primary lie which Satan uses to cause a believer to mix their own 'works" with "faith". When a believer accepts Satan's lie, they are committing adultery with him just as Eve did in the Garden of Eden.
By continuing in her adultery with Satan, the woman falls away from faith and remains under the Law.
Gal 5:3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Even just mixing in one "work" will cause a believer to fall from the grace of the New Covenant.
For this reason, the Pharisees do
not drop their stones but continue to accuse the woman.
John 8: 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
In verse 8, Christ stoops down a second time and writes His Law of the Spirit in the heart of the woman again. This act represents the
Latter Rain of the Spirit.
It is at this point that Christ heals the woman’s spiritual blindness (
Mark 8:21-25) and she comes out from Satan’s deceptions. At this time, she begins to walk by faith alone and as a result,
the Law can no longer accuse her. After this change from the Old Covenant of Law to the New Covenant of Grace through Faith,
the Pharisees drop their stones and leave.
The woman (the Elect) has now been made into a Chaste Virgin again and is ready for the wedding to Christ to take place (Parable of the Ten Virgins). This is the Day of Redemption when a believer is converted.
Joe
