A listener named Lawrence writes in to ask about two seemingly conflicting Bible passages,

he asks.

First Corinthians 123 says that no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

Parallel verses in 1 John 4 verses 2 to 3 say the same.

However in Matthew 7 verses 21 to 23, Jesus says that there will be many who will say to

him, Lord, Lord, to whom Jesus will reply, I never knew you.

Professor John, how are we to understand these two statements as true?

So the issue here is the tension between two texts and really texts and our experience

as well.

And there are more than just these, and I'll probably point out one.

First Corinthians 123 says, no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Spirit.

Where is text?

We are so dead and so resistant to the Lordship of Jesus, we can't say Jesus is Lord except

the Holy Spirit worked that in us.

But Lawrence points out, Matthew 721, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter

the kingdom of heaven.

But the one who does the will of my Father.

So there's a tension.

It sounds like, whoa, they called him Lord and it wasn't by the Spirit because of their

kind of parish.

They don't, they're not even doing the will of God.

So how do the two texts fit together?

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