"Not everyone who calls me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of my heavenly Father." Matt. 7:21, N.E.B.

The name Jesus has become in our time a popular name to use. There is a tremendous vocal enthusiasm for Jesus, with a repetition that might be either real or assumed. The name Lord conveys the idea of rightful ruler, master, sovereign. The point of the text is that if we call Jesus Lord and do not what He says, then we do not accept His claims upon our lives. We are just pretending. We are phonies.

There is a new type of "Christian" attracted to the name Jesus without being attracted to His character and His teachings. We must not silence the truth while using His name. Much of the difficulty in getting to know Jesus is that His professed followers know little or nothing of the Word of God and feel no loyalty to it.

What it amounts to is this: "Let us call on the name, Jesus, but not get specific as to what it means to follow Him. Do not bother doing what He says, or keeping His commandments. Let us do good and love everybody, but do not trouble us with moral standards." This permits much of life to remain remote from His control and direction.

An easy use of His name without accepting His claim as Lord of our lives carries with it great peril. "I never knew you," said Jesus. "Out of My sight." Much of modern religion has lost its grip on Jesus Christ. The commanding note that compels obedience to Him has faded. We can be sure that the devil approves of a religion that uses the name Jesus but leaves people with only a good feeling.

If we are to be the elect of God it will not be because we use His name frequently or plaster Jesus slogans on our cars or on the rocks along the highway. Jesus is both Saviour and Lord because He so profoundly and completely deals with man's experience as a sinner. Jesus is more than a name, more than some magic word. What does Jesus require us to do? How does He require us to live? Many do not put into this word the truth that it stands for. Following Jesus Christ is a completely new life-style in terms of moral and spiritual transformation.