Is He Lord?

Is He Lord?

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

In this age of tolerance and rejection of absolute truth, there is a widespread belief that anyone who is sincere in their faith will go to heaven. Even many professing Christians hold to an inclusive view of the gospel. God, they maintain, will accept those who are sincere in their religious commitment, even if they never leave their false religions, or profess faith in Jesus Christ. But the gospel is uncompromisingly exclusive. Jesus declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). The early Christians proclaimed the truth that “there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

 

So, you might ask how I know I am saved. We know we are His when we have a deep desire to obey what God commands us to do. Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? makes clear, that the multitudes that He was teaching failed to obey Him. Submission to Jesus Christ as Lord is a non-negotiable part of true salvation. Romans 10:9 says plainly, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. Saving faith is obedient faith. If you love Jesus you will keep His commandments. On the other hand, “He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

 

One clear way you can tell if you belong to Him is when it comes to forgiveness. God commands us to forgive. Here are just a few of those commands:

  • Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
  • Matthew 18:21-22 “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”
  • Colossians 3:13 “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
  • Mark 11:25 “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

 

Paul wrote to James, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves,” warned James (James 1:22). To have God on your lips but not on your heart is a sign you are not His.

 

Your shepherd, Pastor Mark

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