Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

The Question Of All Questions

LUKE 6:46-49 – “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

THEME OF THE DAY. THE QUESTION OF ALL QUESTIONS. There are so many varied forms of spiritual deception in the world today. False teachers abound, deceiving many. False doctrines emerge containing half-truths, but in doing so, lead many astray from the truth. But the greatest form of deception is self-deception. To be a person and think one’s relationship with Jesus Christ is healthy, when it may be just the opposite, is the worst form of deception. And what would that look like in a professing Christian? The answer is found in the words of James, “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). To know truth and not do truth is the height of deception. It’s not the knowing of truth that affirms a person is a Christian. It is knowing and obeying truth that affirms one’s relationship with Jesus Christ is true, alive, and healthy. And that leads to today’s scripture and theme.

Today’s scripture is Luke’s version of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” If we take time to read Matthew 5-7, and then Luke 6:20-49, we will see the commonalities and repetition. And what we find in the opening words in today’s scripture is one of the most spiritually-penetrating and inescapable questions Jesus ever asked His disciples – “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you?” It is also the most spiritually-penetrating and inescapable question Jesus ever asked of us, His 21st century disciples. With that backdrop, let’s look at why this is the most spiritually-penetrating and inescapable question Jesus ever asked of us.

First, the question is exposing to the very core of our being. When God asks a “why” question, it isn’t because He lacks the answer. It is for our profit. As humans, “why” questions are rarely profitable in our horizontal relationships. Just remember how well they work in our parenting. A child does something wrong and we say, “Why did you do that?” Often times, we get the shoulder shrug and “I don’t know.” A better question, not only in parenting but in all relationships strained by sin, is to ask, “What did you do?” and from there, identify the wrongness in light of God’s Word, and then proceed to the “why” which is an opportunity to see our total depravity and bent toward sinful behavior. But in Jesus’ question of “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you?”, He is drawing us to painful exposure and hopefully, purposeful self-examination. And because of His omniscience, there is no excuse or ability to evade the question. It is flat-out all exposing of our very core being.

Next, the question is inescapable and that is easy to see. God is asking the question. The God who is omniscient. The God who knows all things, even the reason for us not doing what He commands. And because of His omniscience, there is no excuse or ability to evade the question. If we are people identified by Jesus’ question, it brings us face-to-face with what is keeping us back from a life of wholehearted obedience to His Word. Yet, there is one more point of application in the question of all questions Jesus asked of us. If we profess “Jesus is our Lord” and not find our lives being transformed by an increase of obedience to His commands, then we are at the height of self-deception. To acknowledge “Jesus is our Lord” is to submit in word, attitude, and deed to His absolute authority in our lives. And such submission is only true by active and intentional obedience to His authoritative Word.

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you?” is indeed the question of all questions. Let’s take time to allow the Lord to use it in our lives to change us, shape us, and lead us into greater and more joyful obedience to His commands, all of them.

PRAYER: “Father, protect me from the greatest form of deception in the world: self-deception.”

QUOTE: “To know truth and not obey truth reveals a disconnect between mere religion and Biblical Christianity.”