Expert: Rev Philip Dacre - 11/1/2006

Question
how do you explain this portion? It appears to me that Jesus is condemning certain Christians, Why?

Answer
No, he is not condemning certain Christians. let's look at the passage:

Matt 7:21-23

21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
NKJV

What he is saying is that there will be those who use His name, who claim to be Christians, and who may even do various miracles and good works but who have never accepted Him as Lord and Saviour. As a result, those people are in fact doing those miracles, not with God's blessing, but are doing so with occultic power.

We see in Thessalonians that the antichrist will come working false signs and wonders also.

2 Thess 2:6-12
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
NKJV

We even see today people who are teaching false gospels and false theology and point to a different Jesus and a different gospel but appear to be having supernatural manifestations. This is saying that the supernatural appearing manifestations and miracles is not proof that these people are following the true God.