But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great. Luke 6: 46-49 NKJV
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!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7: 21-27 NKJV
What does it mean to use the title “Lord”? One definition would be: One having power and authority over others; one that has achieved mastery or that exercises leadership or great power in some area, for example, a drug lord. In the book of Genesis, Sarah, the wife of Abraham, called her husband “lord” (Gen 18:12 and 1 Peter 3:6). I am not sure how often I have used the title about another person; for the most part it is used little in American English. The British use the term more frequently in reference to the House of Lords.
Throughout the Bible, there are several words that get translated “Lord”. Many times, it is a reference about God himself, and, later in the New Testament, we find that Jesus gets referred to as the “Lord Jesus Christ”.
The verses I referred to above (Matthew 7 and Luke 6) are the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount. For me, they are some of the most startling verses in that famous “sermon”. In Matthew 7, Jesus is clearly speaking of a “day of the Lord” or a “day of judgement” where a group of very religious people will be confused because they are turned away by King Jesus Himself. For what reason? Because they called Him “Lord” but didn’t obey Him.
Wait a minute, is that not what Romans 10:9 says we are supposed to do? Yes! When Paul wrote those words, it was in direct defiance of the statement “Caesar is lord”. This is a statement of allegiance and obedience. My calling someone “my Lord” refers to that one as leader, ruler, and authority.
Jesus goes on to give the comparison to the difference between lip-service to the statement and real follow-through and the difference between a solid foundation and a poor one. Even a poor foundation can look good for a while, but in the end, the foundation will be revealed. Jesus says, “great will be the fall of it”.
Jesus makes His point pretty simple: if you are going to call me “Lord”, then treat me as such, in a relationship of faith and obedience.
– Tony High