At first, Saul (later Paul) shared the same picture of God. His evangelistic methods showed that he, too, had been deceived. He saw nothing wrong in using force or fear to win converts to the kind of God he worshiped. And he was not alone in this. Jesus had very serious words for hard working evangelists and soul-winners who portray a false picture of God. What a devastating thing it will be for evangelists to find out later that this is what they have been doing:

When the Judgment Day comes, many will say to me, “Lord, Lord! In your name we spoke God’s message, by your name we drove out many demons and performed many miracles!” Then I will say to them, “I never knew you” (Matt 7:22-23, GNB).

In other words, Jesus is saying, “We were never friends. You never really knew the kind of person I am. By the way you represented the truth to people, you actually supported Satan’s charges against Me and My Father.”