God of Promise -- Holiness

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' Matthew 7:21-22.

In addition to Hebrews 6:4-6, I use to worry about the Matthew 7 passage above. I read these verses to mean, Jesus was saying you can never have assurance of salvation. Even if you have prophesied in the Lord's name, cast out demons, and done many mighty works that may not be sufficient. How could I have hope of salvation when I had done so little comparatively?

I read it differently from a Reformed perspective now. If you look closely, the folks in this passage are not saying have mercy on us because we are wretched sinners. Rather, they are saying look at OUR good works -- look at what WE did for you Lord. Surely, we DESERVE to enter the kingdom of God. Patently bad answers! Are we not lost unless we rest on the complete and finished work of Christ? His sheep have no room to boast.

Michael Horton writes on holiness:

"Jesus made it amply clear that the sheep will be distinguished from the goats on the last day by the marks of their profession (Matthew 24). It is important to remember, however, that the sheep are apparently unaware of their having fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and cared for the poor and those in prison, while the goats insisted that they had. Holiness, which is defined by love of God and neighbor, is usually something that is seen by others rather than by us [Matthew 25:34-40]." God of Promise P. 182.