Concerning the Legalistic interpretation of Matthew 7:21-23,

Your theological summation of Matthew 7:21-23 is incorrect. None of the works performed by those rejected were “lawless” or sinful on their face…Matthew 7:21-23 is NOT about law keeping or works or human effort or quality of work done but Jesus is teaching the necessity of establishing divine, personal, intimate, RELATIONSHIP with the Father through faith in the Son…first.

First of all, what is the “will of the Father?” – the will of the Father “is to believe in the One He has sent into the World” (John 6:29).

Matthew 7:21-23 is about works done in the flesh, self-righteousness, void the Holy Spirit and these works are defined by the Father as a “filthy garment”…literally, in the Hebrew…”a bloody menstrual cloth” (Isaiah 64:6).

In Matthew 7, in context, Jesus is continuing His teaching on “fruit”…divine fruit…works-faithfulness-efforts of obedience that are done through the indwelling Holy Spirit given to all who trust in Jesus as Messiah (Galatians 5:16-23; Ephesians 1:13-14).

Jesus is teaching you that if you desire to please the Father through works of righteousness, FIRST establish New Covenant relationship with Him through faith in His Son, receive His Holy Spirit and walk by the Spirit, daily (Galatians 5:16), thereby producing fruits of righteousness that honor the Father as His child and thereby prove yourself to be an honorable disciple of Jesus (John 15:8) as you are a member of Elohim’s family through faith; this, lest your works of righteousness be in vain and you ultimately hear those tragic words, “Away from Me you workers of lawlessness, I NEVER KNEW YOU!”