Believers and non believers; what's the difference?

Good day, Luigi!

The clue to understanding why Jesus will say "I never knew you," is found right in the context. Below is the scripture:

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ "

When they find out that they cannot enter into the kingdom, their response will be "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in you name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?"

Their own response reveals why they won't be able to enter in, which is because they will have been trusting in their own works for salvation. They demonstrate this by saying "Did we not." The will of the Father is for us to believe in His Son. We are saved by grace through faith and this not by our own efforts. The right answer would be "Lord, Lord, did you not shed your blood for us?" Of course, if they believed that, then Jesus would be saying to them to depart from Him.

Therefore, if anyone is trusting in anything other than the shed blood of Christ as means of obtaining eternal life, they will not be able to enter in.

And what does Romans 10.9+10 say the will of God is for everyone today ?

Multiple things were different before that day in my 56th year.

I started writing my answer to you, and it turned into a book, so I just moved it to my diary and wrote the following:

1. I deeply loved Father, a Christian minister in our church, and hated Mother, a professed witch who was very active in that church. The hatred, not the love, affected everything in my life.
2. The pastor we had from my birth delighted in raging and snarling from the pulpit until his face literally turned purple and his neck turned deep red. He unnerved me, as did the church's use of "tongues."
3. In spite of my love for Father, there was no stability, nothing to trust in, at home, school, or church, but there Mother's abuse at home. Abuse for all of us.
4. Regardless, I started thinking about G_D at 14 and decided I wanted to be a believer because maybe G_D could make me nice. As I had been told to do, I went to their altar to pray, but when I heard Mother's voice, I claimed I was "saved," got up and left.
5. I did, however, start being interested in the Bible and asked one of the ministers (what I see now as a very simple question) about several verses in Genesis, and he acted like he'd never seen them, then said he didn't know the answer. Putting a lot of things together, I realized the leaders were completely biblically uneducated.
6. Three married pastors were inappropriate with me, increasing my disgust and distrust.

What set me up for being a believer was that the church kicked me out for refusing to remove my wedding ring, so I started attending a place I had already investigated and attended a few times over about 3 years. One night, during a class, I suddenly realized how filthy I was in spite of my confession. I nearly passed out on the floor, but with great effort, kept my seat and kept my face away from the other attendees. But I was changed. Completely. I felt like I lived the next weeks with my mouth hanging open, in shock, at the "new me": my attitudes, my responses, my thoughts!

What's your story?

No this is not how someone is saved today. Like not even close . I don't think any response to the question " what must I do to be saved ?" was ever met with " love God " .

Do you understand that anyone without any true faith in God and His Christ who is love can mouth the words: "Jesus is Lord", and not mean it.
They who confess with their mouths the Lord Jesus, who are saved in Romans 10:9-10, are they who believe love (who is Jesus), being predominant in their hearts. These individuals (like the Samaritan in Luke 10, and the sheep in Matthew 25:33-40, who were unaware of their faith in loving their neighbor, being faith in God and His Christ who is love), profess their faith in Christ as Lord through love for their neighbor.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Someone who wants to be saved, wants to be saved from their carnal inclinations to this world. We want to exchange our being servants to the flesh to being servants to the Spirit.
While the Samaritan in Luke 10, the sheep in Matthew 25:33-40, and many others throughout the millennia, may not have been saved from all their carnal inclinations while they were on the earth; their love for their neighbors will have covered up a multitude of their sins (1 Peter 4:8), so that are still awarded the kingdom of heaven.

I love hearing these stories, stories of new birth. So exciting.
My story?
I always had an interest, a draw if you will, to God and Christianity but wasn’t raised in church, not one of my family members went to church. Ever. I tried a few times throughout the years but always went back to filth.
At 38 I was living with the girl of my dreams, we were set to marry, dream job, money in escrow on our dream home but one day I said to her let’s start going to church. She went with me the first Sunday but I went the following 8 by myself. That 8th Sunday night I lay in bed tears streaming down my face as she slept. I knew I wasn’t living right and I simply prayed Father, what do you want me to do.
The next morning she said to me I think we’re drifting apart, I want to go home to visit my Dad. (You would have to know her to realize this was very uncharacteristic of her, throughout the years she had followed me into the deepest darkness without ever batting an eye.)
To me this was an answered prayer, I was ecstatic, overcome with joy 😂 Came home from work that day, moved all my things out...
Continued going to church, men’s prayer and men’s bible study. One day I came home from work opened my bible to Matthew and by the 18th chapter I was prostrate, overcome with simultaneous sorrow and joy. Sorrow for sinning against my perfect father and joy in realizing I truly believed in him.
Over the next year I read cover to cover multiple times while being amazed at the changes occurring. Changes I tried so hard to make all those years but could never quite grasp, now had become my new nature...

I’m very thankful for how my transition occurred because it left no room for questioning if I had been born from above.
Ive often wondered if those who profess faith at a young age, but actually get saved later, will realize when salvation truly occurred.
Guess you answered my question. Thanks @Beez

The verse is not broken . It reads plainly. Why don't you believe it ?

You keep going back into the old testament, then you quote a verse from the new as if it supports what your saying . Quoting verses before Jesus dies for the sins of the world ,is a monumental transition in the bible. You keep working backwards before the cross ,back under the law . Why ?

I do believe what Romans 10:9-10 state. I see its spiritual meaning, whereas others see it superficially. Those who see it superficially, can include anyone who does not believe, to utter the words that Jesus is Lord.

The only law is to love God and our neighbor, which complies with all the law.

None of what your saying is the Gospel . Like literally.

Ok let's imagine God is quite capable of having the most important instruction there could be known to man , how to be saved . Let's imagine he'd want us not to be confused.

Let's read slowly .
8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Good day Ahwatukee, They to whom the Lord will proclaim never having known are at the judgment seat, where they are making their case; appealing with: "Lord, Lord...". These are then cast out into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, with no further room to appeal the verdict.

I agree! I was just pointing out why they are unable to enter in and that because by their response it shows that they will have been trusting in their own works and which is why they will not be able to enter into the kingdom.

There are two types of people; those who believe IN God and His Christ, and those who do not believe in God and His Christ. Within these two groups, however, are those who believe themselves to be believers in God and His Christ, who in fact do not believe, to whom Christ will profess never having known them (Matthew 7:23); and there are those who do not believe themselves believers in God and His Christ, to whom Christ will award the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 25:34). So what is the difference between these two latter groups of individuals? The difference is in the interpretation of what it means to believe IN God and His Christ. To one individual to believe in God and His Christ means only to believe that God exists and that Jesus is Gods son. Even the devils are aware of this type of believing in God and His Christ (James 2:19), and it does them no good, because they do not believe IN God and IN His Christ. The 2nd of the two latter groups of individuals in Matthew 25:33-40, whom the Lord refers to as His sheep, who did not recognize their faith IN God and His Christ, the Lord explains their faith IN Him through their actions in Matthew 25:35-40. These individuals believed IN loving their neighbor, and thus believed IN God who is love (1 John 4:7-8 & 16), and IN His Christ.
Within the body of Christ today, are both the wheat and the weeds. The weeds are they in Matthew 7:23 whose faith in God and His Christ is superficial and made. These weeds are they, who as the Lord commences to shake the earth, will be shaken out from those who truly believe IN God and His Christ, so that the wheat may remain (Hebrews 12:26-27).
So, do we honestly love God, His Christ, and our neighbor?

You never heard that love fulfills the Law?

Romans 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Faith means to believe. So believe is what we must do.

They in Matthew 25:33-40 believed IN loving their neighbor, and thus believed IN God and His Christ, even though they did not recognize their faith in love as such. In contrast, those in Matthew 7:23 who did many good works, cast out demons, and proclaimed Christ, did in fact not believe in loving their neighbor, and thus Christ declared to them that He did not know them, as they did not know love.