“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? - Luke 6:46
In our title verse, Jesus is clearly linking the word, “Lord” to doing what He has told us to do, to following His commands. This is “the Lordship Doctrine” of Christianity. You cannot have Christianity without the Lordship Doctrine. It doesn’t work. What people who call themselves Christians have if they don’t prescribe to the Lordship Doctrine isn’t Christianity. I don’t know what it is but I know what it is NOT! It’s not Biblical Christianity and if it isn’t Biblical Christianity, it isn’t Christianity at all! I don’t know where these folks get their idea or concept of Jesus, but if it isn’t from the Bible then it’s wrong because there is nowhere else we can possibly get the revelation about Jesus than in the Bible. We don’t find Jesus in the Hindu Upanishads. We don’t find Jesus, the Son of God, in the Quran. And we don’t find Jesus, the Messiah in the Buddhist Tripitaka. Jesus can only be found in the Bible. Period. So if we really want to know what Jesus thought and said, we need to rely on the Bible as our only source.
Now how can we define a righteous relationship with Christ? What are the characteristics of a righteous relationship with Jesus Christ? The only way that we can have a righteous relationship with Jesus Christ is if we “do what He tells us to do.” Are we going to get it right every time? Of course not. Will we fail on occasion? Of course, we will. But what we lack in perfection, we achieve in direction. This is why the Lordship Doctrine is so vital to salvation.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” - Matt 7:21. Seriously, can Jesus put it any plainer than that? Is there some confusion here as to the will of God? Christ made this point of true saving faith clear to the young ruler - “So He said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.’”- Matthew 19:17. The life Jesus spoke of is ‘eternal life.’
It becomes apparent even to the Scripturally unschooled when the words of God are put before us. The authority of God is unmistakable. It is clear and refreshing as the morning rain when we hear Jesus explicitly state - “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” - John 14:21
The true church of Jesus Christ has come too far since Calvary to be diluted by the assertions of those who claim Christ’s salvation and not His ultimate Lordship. Truly, He is both Prophet and Priest to His followers but He is also King! God has placed His only begotten Son as Ruler of all creation - “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”- Philippians 2:9-11
It is this Jesus that speaks to the world and all in it. It is this Jesus who sacrificed His life on the cross so that many would be saved. It is this Jesus who declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6. There simply is no other way!
We who claim the mantle of “followers of Christ” have a responsibility if we are to make that assertion in all its truth. We cannot lay claim to the glory that Christ has promised us with empty words and praises. We cannot lay hold of the salvation Jesus has provided for us with a mere profession of faith. There is more than just idle talk; there is action to be taken - “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." - James 1:22.
What is the righteous relationship with Jesus? “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” - Romans 10:10.
Heartfelt belief in and personal confession unto Christ is by its very definition the righteous relationship.
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