📎 Presentation: Why Do You Call Me Lord, Lord?
Source: View original Google Doc Converted: 2026-04-22
The Question
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” — Luke 6:46
This is one of the most confrontational questions Jesus asks — addressed not to the Pharisees or the crowds, but to His disciples. It is a question about the gap between what we confess and what we do.
Context: Luke 6 (Sermon on the Plain)
Luke 6:20–49 is Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has just given the Beatitudes, the commands to love enemies, and the golden rule. The question comes at the end of this teaching — as a warning to those who have heard it all and nodded in agreement.
The parallel in Matthew 7:21–27 (Sermon on the Mount) makes the stakes explicit:
“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.” — Matthew 7:21
Three “Lord, Lord” Passages
1. Matthew 7:21–23 — The Workers of Lawlessness
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” — Matthew 7:22–23
These people were active in Christian service — prophesying, casting out demons, doing mighty works. The problem was not inactivity. The problem was that they never truly knew Christ, and Christ never truly knew them.
Saying “Lord, Lord” and doing things in His name is not the same as doing His will.
2. Matthew 25:1–13 — The Ten Virgins
“And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’” — Matthew 25:10–12
The five foolish virgins were at the right place (waiting for the bridegroom) but unprepared (no oil). Showing up is not enough. The lamp must be lit and burning.
3. Luke 13:25–27 — The Closed Door
“When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’” — Luke 13:25
These people ate and drank with Jesus — they had access, proximity, even intimacy. But intimacy without transformation is not salvation.
The Problem: Compartmentalization
The common thread in all three passages is compartmentalization — the practice of keeping faith in one compartment and life in another.
A compartmentalized Christian:
- Prays on Sunday but does not live Sunday’s convictions on Monday
- Confesses sins but returns to the same patterns without battle
- Calls Jesus “Lord” in church but treats their own will as lord in the home, workplace, and private life
- Serves in ministry but is not being transformed by the One they serve
“Lord” (Kyrios) is a word of authority and ownership. To call someone “Lord” is to acknowledge their right to command. If we call Jesus “Lord” and then disregard His commands, we are using the title falsely.
Faith Without Works (James 2)
“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” — James 2:17
“Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” — James 2:18
James makes the same point as Jesus, from a different angle. Faith that does not produce obedience is not real faith — it is intellectual assent, possibly emotional connection, but not the living trust that reshapes a life.
This is not salvation by works. It is the insistence that genuine faith necessarily expresses itself in action. A tree that bears no fruit is not an unbearing fruit tree — it is something else entirely.
Patristic Commentary
“He said ‘Lord, Lord’ — he said it twice, to show earnestness. But the Lord answered: ‘I never knew you.’ Note that He does not say ‘I have forgotten you’ or ‘I have abandoned you’ — He says ‘I never knew you.’ The point is not that the relationship deteriorated; it never existed.” — St. John Chrysostom
“What does it profit a man to confess Christ with his lips while denying Him with his deeds? The confession of the mouth must be confirmed by the testimony of the life.” — St. Augustine
“The word ‘Lord’ implies servitude. If He is Lord, we are His servants. A servant who does as he pleases and not as his master commands is not a servant — he is a rebel wearing a servant’s uniform.” — Origen of Alexandria
“It is not the one who begins the race who wins the prize, but the one who finishes it. ‘Lord, Lord’ is the beginning of the race. Doing His will is how it is finished.” — St. Cyprian of Carthage
“Call Him Lord by your works, not only by your words.” — St. Clement of Alexandria
The Two Builders: The Parable That Follows (Luke 6:47–49)
Jesus immediately follows the question with the parable of the two builders:
“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.” — Luke 6:47–48
“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.” — Luke 6:49
Both builders heard. The difference is not intellectual — it is not even religious. Both attended. Both listened. Both said, in their own way, “Lord, Lord.” The difference is: one did.
The flood does not test knowledge; it tests foundations. The storm of trial, suffering, temptation, and death will test every house. Only obedience builds on rock.
Practical Application
- Name one area of compartmentalization in your life. Where do you call Jesus “Lord” in church but live as your own lord elsewhere?
- Lordship is not just positional — it is practical. What is one thing Jesus has told you to do that you have not done?
- Hearing is the beginning, not the end. What is your plan to move from hearing today’s lesson to doing something differently this week?
- The storm will come. What is the foundation of your house right now — on rock or on sand?