Why Do You Call Me Lord?

Luke 6:46, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

There are some Biblical terms that are not common in our normal conversations. Lord is not a common title in our society. What do I mean when I call Jesus Lord?

The Oxford Dictionary defines lord as “someone or something having power, authority, or influence, a master or ruler.”

Merriam-Webster defines lord as a man of rank or high position: such as

a: a feudal tenant who’s right or title comes directly from the king.

b:a British nobleman: such as a hereditary peer of the rank of marquess, earl, or viscount

c: the son of a duke or a marquess or the eldest son of an earl

d: a bishop of the Church of England

In summary, a lord, by definition, is a master or a ruler who has power and authority over those under him. Is that what I mean when I call Jesus Lord? Do I accept His total authority over my life? Is Jesus my Lord and am I His servant. Paul often calls himself a bondservant. Oxford Dictionary defines bondservant as “A person bound in service without wages, a slave or a serf”. When Paul says that he is a bondservant of God, he is saying that he is willingly self-committed to permanent service of the Lord. Does that describe me?

Jesus said in Matthew 7:24-27, the passage called “The Wise and Foolish Builders”-

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

“These words” He is referring to is His teaching at the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 thru 7). He said if I put God’s Word into practice in all parts of my life, I lay the foundation of my life on the Rock, Jesus, and when the storms of life come, He will be there to walk through them with me. But if I ignore what God’s Word says, or worse yet never read it, I am building my life on a foundation that will collapse in the storms of life.

Just before the parable of the builders, in Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus makes a statement that shakes me to the core. He repeats the same thoughts again in Matthew 25 sub-titled separating the sheep and the goats. Jesus is talking to people who think they are following Him.

²¹ “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. ²² 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?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ That is a sobering thought. That brings us back to Matthew 7:24-27. These are the words Jesus said that build the foundation of our faith on the Rock, Jesus Himself. So, He asks me, why do you call Me Lord? Am I totally surrendered to His authority? Do I let the words He spoke guide my life? Do I read His Word as a guide to my life? These are questions with eternal consequences.