Luke 6:46 says "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" A number of years ago it struck this writer that there are many folks today who want to claim Jesus as their Savior, but not their Lord! At the end of Peter's first gospel sermon on Pentecost in Acts chapter two, as he was summing up he said, "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified" (Acts 2:36). The original word translated "Lord" in both passages literally means "master, supreme in authority" etc. We asked a young couple years ago, both of whom claimed to be Christians, why they were getting a divorce, contrary to Jesus' teaching (Matthew 19:3-12)? They both claimed to honor Jesus as their Savior and Lord. We often hear of husbands and wives today who are active in their churches, and yet cheat on their mates. Many prominent politicians who claim Jesus as Lord are guilty of the same behavior.
The fact is, if we claim Jesus as Savior and Lord, we are going to do our utmost to obey him in every detail of the gospel. Apparently many folks do not seem to understand that when one is the servant (slave) of another, (Romans 6:16-18) his wish is our command. Jesus also said, "If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). We have spoken many times with those who claim to be Christians and yet they live together without getting married. Yet the scriptures clearly condemn this by saying, "Let marriage be had in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Hebrews 13:4). Our lives must conform to that of Jesus in every way possible. Those who claim to be Christians and yet refuse to acknowledge all of his direction in their lives are considered hypocrites, (Matthew 23:23).
Friend, Jesus' statement in Luke 6:46, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" gets right to the heart of many today who claim to be Christians, but refuse to acknowledge Jesus' rule over them. In Jesus' scathing rebuke of the Pharisees and scribes (Matthew chap. 23) among other statements He said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone" (Matthew 23:23 emphasis mine, ER). In that day the scribes and Pharisees had no difficulty obeying God in the little, less costly things, but when it came to the really important ones, they refused to obey. Many today are going to be lost, consigned to an eternal hell, apart from God and all His saints simply because they refuse to allow Jesus to be LORD of ALL their heart and life!
Edward L. Rodgers, Bellevue, TX, edanddj@att.net
