Let me add something on works. Works are something that have to be done throughout the saved individuals lifetime. One can not give a cup of cold water in the right manner and then live like a heathen the rest of their life and expect to be well rewarded.
Entrance into the kingdom is about a lifetime of running the race. What you are describing is there are some people that will jump off the starting blocks and then just quit that will receive a prize. Or someone that runs a quarter of the race and then quits and will still receive a prize, or halfway or three quarters of the way. But that's not how it works. One has to "finish" the race before a prize is awarded.
Works should be thought of in this manner.
If a Christian produces just one piece of fruit in their lifetime the will receive what is coming to them, which will not be positive, but it won't be as bad as the person that did nothing.
We can't say that just because someone did "one" thing in their lifetime that they are going to rule and reign with Christ. That makes no sense on so many levels.![]()
The kingdom is another topic and you should start a thread on it because it is not talked about much. I think you would get a huge response.
However, this is about the words of Christ "I never knew you" and you declaring that it is speaking about our (the saved) relationship with Christ viewed only through worthy works.
You can keep your salvation of the soul doctrine and still abandon the clear error in this view of Matt 7. However, i know that when a passage must be abandoned it does begin to raise questions about the whole. This is why we resist abandoning a passage so fervently.
God Bless!