"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that Day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we expel demons in your name? Didn't we perform many miracles in your name?' Then I will tell them to their faces, 'I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!'" (Matthew 7:21-23, Complete Jewish Bible)
Saying, even proudly declaring, that 'Jesus is Lord' is not enough. There are many, many Christians all around the world who profess to be lovers and followers of Christ, yet fail to understand the significant meaning of what the Lord Jesus Himself said in the passage above. In it, He declares that lip service and mere church membership isn't enough.
Why It Isn't Enough
Humans as we are, we often tend to rely on our own capacities. Some of us are masters at political correctness, thinking that we have it all covered since we know how to speak right. We know religious jargon and Christian terms such as "hallelujah" and "hosanna," and because we spend much time in church or in small group, we think we're fine.
No we're not.
Yes, only the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross in Calvary is enough to satisfy the requirements for our salvation. Yes, salvation is by grace through faith, and it cannot be attained by any human effort whatsoever. Yes, salvation remains a gift that is given to us only through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
However, merely stopping at salvation is not enough. We must decide to go further by denying ourselves and taking up our crosses to follow Christ, whom we so boldly declare our Lord.
"But I've Done so Many Things for Christ!"
We might say to ourselves that because we've served God and spread the gospel of Christ, we're doing well. What we fail to understand is that Christ's saving grace is not given for us primarily so that we could do things "in Jesus' name." Rather, Christ's saving work saves us from the corruption of this world, and makes us decide to be set apart for Him – inside and out.
Consider what the apostle Paul said in Romans 7:21-25:
"I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."
From this passage we realise that we are truly sinful and have no hope in ourselves: No matter what we do, we end up sinning because we are under the law of sin.
Christ, however, broke the power of sin and has freed us, wretched men! Because of what He has done, we can "delight in the law of God" and do what pleases Him. Friends, this is what we should realise: Christ's salvation doesn't just make us want to do good; It changes us from the inside out.
We are a new creation in Christ, and therefore we will commit our lives to following Him, and not living the same way we did before He saved us: as a lawless people.
Calling Jesus as "Lord" simply means denying yourself, ridding yourself of the old you, and pressing on to Christ-likeness. Talk is cheap. Let's follow Christ with all that we have and are.
