by Matthew W. Bassford<\/p>\n
There are many pointed questions in Scripture, but perhaps the most pointed of them all appears in Luke 6:46. Here, Jesus exposes the great contradiction of (self-described) Christianity\u2014the millions upon millions of people who call Jesus Lord but don\u2019t do what He says to do. It is as though they see Jesus as the spiritual equivalent of Queen Elizabeth II\u2014a beloved ceremonial figure who makes speeches from time to time but doesn\u2019t have any real power.<\/p>\n
This clearly is not the way that the Son of Man wants to be perceived. Indeed, in the next several verses, He warns that the difference between the obedient and the disobedient is stark. The former will triumph despite disaster; the latter will be destroyed by it. \u201cWhy do you call me \u2018Lord, Lord\u2019,\u201d then, is another way of saying, \u201cWhy are you rejecting my word even though it is your only hope?\u201d<\/p>\n
There are many ways in which (again, self-described) believers do this. Most conspicuously, they take the things that He and His apostles said not to do and do them. They practice every form of wickedness and, like the corrupt temple-goers of Jeremiah 7:10, they show up at church on Sunday morning and cry out, \u201cWe are rescued!\u201d, only to return to evildoing. Sometimes, their bad behavior is endorsed by the hierarchy of their denomination (many of which have been doing a lot of Bible-rewriting over the past few decades); at others, it is the result of their own stubborn commitment to sin.<\/p>\n
Of a similar stripe are those who take what Jesus said to do and do something else instead. They say He\u2019s Lord, but they act like their ideas are better than His. This spirit is evident in every departure from the simple pattern of the first century.<\/p>\n
Yes, we know that congregations in the first century were autonomous, but we think that banding together in a denomination will help us serve Him more effectively. Yes, early churches spent their modest financial resources on only a few things, but think of all the good we can do if we go beyond that! Yes, early Christians worshiped in song without instrumental accompaniment, but instrumental music is so beautiful and uplifting!<\/p>\n
There are lots of people who think they\u2019re smarter than Jesus. I\u2019m still waiting to find somebody who actually is. If we don\u2019t think that we are, what excuse do we have for exceeding His Lordship?<\/p>\n
If we wish to avoid these errors, we must do so by magnifying rather than minimizing Christ as Lord in our hearts. We must seek to increase rather than diminish the sphere of His authority. In addition to following all of His commandments, we must honor Him in our judgments.<\/p>\n
If we are of a mind to do so, we can justify watching any kind of filth on TV, and if confronted over our preferences, we can indignantly demand book, chapter, and verse showing that we\u2019re wrong: \u201cI know this isn\u2019t the cleanest, but watching it isn\u2019t a sin, is it?\u201d Wrong question. If Jesus is Lord, we won\u2019t seek to expand the boundaries of moral gray areas. Instead, we will seek what glorifies Him.<\/p>\n
The Lordship of Christ is no small thing. It should transform us in every area of our lives. However, we do not yield this service to Him out of fear, but out of love, out of a desire to acknowledge, if not repay, all that He has done for us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Matthew W. Bassford There are many pointed questions in Scripture, but perhaps the most pointed of them all appears in Luke 6:46. Here, Jesus exposes the great contradiction of (self-described) Christianity\u2014the millions upon millions of people who call Jesus Lord but don\u2019t do what He says to do. It is as though they see…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-21543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-obedience"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45648,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-all-who-call-on-the-lord-be-saved-when-jesus-said-that-not-all-who-call-his-name-will-be-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":21543,"position":0},"title":"How can all who call on the Lord be saved when Jesus said that not all who call his name will be saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Recently someone said they found a contradiction in the New Testament. They said Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 say that all who call in the name of the Lord will be saved. Then Matthew 7:21 says that not all who call upon him will be saved. Then in Acts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17673,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-all-jewish-people-be-saved-even-though-many-die-not-accepting-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":21543,"position":1},"title":"Will all Jewish people be saved, even though many die not accepting Jesus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My question is: Will all Jewish people be saved, even though many died not accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior? \u00a0God\u2019s Word says God is not a respecter of persons, and if Gentiles are going to go to hell if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65352,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-heals-the-hurting\/","url_meta":{"origin":21543,"position":2},"title":"Jesus Heals the Hurting","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer The world in which we live is filled with heartache and pain. This is part of the corruption experienced by humanity due to the problem of sin (Genesis 3). 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Could you use this verse to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22186,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-god-choose-the-israelites-as-his-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":21543,"position":5},"title":"Why did God choose the Israelites as His people?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why did God choose the Israelites as His people? They were the only saved people before the death of Jesus Christ. What about others? Why did God has chosen only Israel as His own people? 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