In the Bible, it says God knows everything about us- intimately. So, if He KNOWS us, how could He NOT know us and tell us to depart from Him? I'm so confused. I thought I was saved, been to church, pray, speak to Jesus and pray to Him CONSTANTLY. But lately I've been feeling abandoned by Him and it has caused me to completely lose faith in Him. Feels like He couldn't be farther from me and like He doesn't love me. I have been so hard on myself and really spent a lot of time in introspection trying to figure out what I could be doing wrong. I'm not perfect, but I've left so much of my sinful ways behind. I also wonder if I truly am saved. Do Christians absolutely HAVE to be baptized? Maybe that's my problem- maybe I need to get baptized(?) I just don't understand why I'm feeling this way. I hope someone can give me answers to all my questions because I'm desperate for answers. TIA and God bless.
Your "tell us to depart from Him" comes from Matthew 7:23. But notice what the beginning of the speech says:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ — Mat 7:21–23
In other words, it's not enough to simply go through the motions of being a Christian; one must truly do the will of the Father.
To expand on @adam's answer, about believing and loving, there is one obvious sign that we are following that advice:
… But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” — Mat 19:17
If you love Me, keep My commandments. — Jhn 14:15
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. — Jhn 14:21
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. — Jhn 15:10
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. — 1Jo 5:3
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. — Rev 14:12
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. — Rev 22:14
The answer to your question is rather simple... Paul answers this question beautifully in Acts 16...
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved" (Acts 16.31)
And of course, the gospel of Mark has another gem...
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”(Mark 12:30-31)
non-christianstag actually means (like so many others, it has no description). But really, any question asked on this site should be asked in a way that it can be answered by a non-Christian (which is why this current question is perhaps unsuitable in its current form). My own answer for instance is simply an objective explanation of the "depart" reference in the question, not requiring any specific belief on my own part. – Ray Butterworth Nov 18 '20 at 20:23