“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?”

Luke 6:46

There may be some who will be offended by my remarks in this blog. I assure you, I have no desire to be offensive in any way. My desire is to speak the truth in love. With that in mind, I am going to begin this week with my conclusion so you may be able to see where I’m going.

I am concerned that there are multitudes of people who are not prepared for what the future holds. I’m not speaking of “future” in the sense of next week, month, year, decade, or even century. I am speaking of their future. Of your future and my future. And I have an obligation as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and as a proclaimer of the message of His redeeming love, to try to help people be prepared in the face of an uncertain future.

Now, let’s go back to the beginning. As I read and study the writings of the New Testament, and as I consider the descriptions of believers in the early church, I am becoming more and more convinced that many who profess to be believers show no behavioral evidence of their profession. Please take a moment to reread the verse at the beginning of this blog. Jesus calls us to submit to His lordship over our lives. If He is Lord, then our lives will be different from the lives of non-Christians. But sadly, there are so many who are more under the lordship of other things – self, the world, peers, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, etc. – that we might never guess they are followers of the Lord Jesus.

The lives of believers should show a close, familial likeness of Jesus. The reason I make that statement is because we are encouraged to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. We are to look like Jesus! Of course, we are not to think of this in physical terms. But we are to bear the likeness of His person, His work, His ministry, His words. We are to look like Jesus in all these ways.

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

Romans 8:29

It may sound judgmental, but it seems to me that there are many who make a profession, but whose behavior patterns, lifestyle choices, business practices, are more in alignment with the way the world operates than the Word of God teaches. Jesus had much to say about this matter. The following quote, spoken by Jesus Himself, is a powerful indictment against hypocrisy.

“Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'”

Matthew 15:7-9

Please allow the voice of the Lord to speak directly and deeply into your heart, mind, and soul as you read these words. Read them again. And again. And once more. We can’t possibly overemphasize the importance of these words. Meditate on them for a few more moments. Now, do these words resonate deep inside you? Do you feel like the Holy Spirit is speaking directly to you, convicting you, calling you to repentance for your life of pretense? Are you the hypocrite Jesus speaks of here?

A hypocrite is one who pretends to be something other than what he really is. Jesus is simply, yet powerfully, saying that those whose worship is not genuine, and whose life is based more on the commandments/teachings of men rather than the Word of God, are just pretenders. They are not for real!

This is without a doubt one of the most important blogs I have ever written. Why? Because our eternal destination is at stake! What does your future look like? Not tomorrow, or next week, or month, or year, but your eternity? Do you know beyond any doubt whatsoever that you are prepared for eternity? Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?

Now, here is the crucial question: Is He your Lord AND Savior? So many place emphasis on Jesus being their Savior but seem to miss what the Bible teaches about Lordship. Read carefully these words from the Apostle Paul:

“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart‘ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:8-9

We have all probably heard the saying, “If Jesus is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.” I would suggest that you go back one more time to the statement of Jesus quoted above. Then, I would suggest that you sit in silence for a few moments, listening for that still, small voice of God to speak directly to your heart. Ask Him to confirm your salvation or convict you of being a sham.

World events would lead us to believe that the Lord’s return could be drawing near. But even if His return is still hundreds, or even thousands of years away, your life’s end could be drawing near. None of us knows the day of our impending death. It could be at any moment. Are you prepared? Or is your profession nothing more than empty, meaningless words?

Don’t be that hypocrite Jesus spoke about. Don’t be one of those whose worship is nothing more than lip service. Make sure today, right now, that you are for real. Nothing is more important than this.

Are. You. For. Real.

I love you all, and hope to see you all over there!