I notice you have to piece those scriptures together out of context. Instead of obeying the teachings of Christ, you reduced it all you do is giving mental ascent to a theological position leaving the behavior fully intact. You do not follow a teaching to its end in context.
Read the following verse “whoever puts my words into PRACTICE...” which means DO what he teaches, not merely agree He saved them. This you reduce to just thinking.
I did not interpret those scriptures out of context and I also properly harmonized scripture with scripture before reaching my conclusion on doctrine.
Matthew 7:21 - Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who
does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
John 6:40 - For
my Father’s will is that
everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
These many people (unbelievers) in Matthew 7:22 had the
wrong foundation. They were
trusting in their works to save them and NOT IN CHRIST ALONE. Jesus
NEVER knew them which means they were
NEVER saved. Their hearts were not right with God, so their "attempted external obedience" (apart from the righteousness of God which is by faith and the blood of Christ) was stained with sin. Seeking salvation by works is not the will of the Father.
John 17:3 - And
this is eternal life, that they may
know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. The term "know" implies intimate, experiential knowledge, through a relationship with Him, not merely theoretical knowledge. These many people were not true converts.
Matthew 7:22 - And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
PRACTICE lawlessness’... in contrast with
putting the words of Jesus into PRACTICE. (Matthew 7:24) As we read on from Matthew 7:24 through verse 27, we find
two different foundations with two different results, and not salvation by works, as some would suppose. Each house has a different material upon which its foundation is laid, and each house has a different final outcome. One house is built by a wise man upon a
rock and it
stands. The other is built by a foolish man upon the
sand and it
collapses. The rock the wise man builds upon is true righteousness found in Jesus Christ alone. The sand the foolish man builds upon is self-righteousness. Only those who
truly believe in Him (demonstrative evidence) are wise and hear the words of Jesus and properly act on them.
Knowing God will not happen for those who refuse to obey Him.
Refusing to obey God is the (demonstrative evidence) that we have not yet come to know God.
Jesus said if you love Him, you will keep his teaching (doing what he taught) and those the Father will love and come and make His home in them. I know simply believing you’re going to heaven is a lot cheaper, but those are His conditions for knowing Him.
You must not confuse conditions for coming to know Him/keeping His teachings with actions that demonstrate we have already come to know Him. You also must not confuse "descriptive" passages of scripture with "prescriptive" passages of scripture. The end result is salvation by works.