And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Lu 6:46.

To love God and keep His sayings is building our foundation on the Rock.

How can we pretend to love Jesus and call Him "Lord, Lord," and do not the things which He says? How can we pretend to love Jesus and call Him "Lord, Lord," while we still have, ". . . the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience?" Eph 2:2.

Jesus tells us in M't 7:21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven."

The Word of God tells us in Ro 8:7,". . . the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Therefore as a result of our fallen nature, we are not only unable to please God with perfect obedience; but we hate God and have no desire to keep His sayings.

It is only when we are born of the Spirit that we love God and hunger and thirst after righteousness, M't 5:6, which is "conformity of life to the divine law." We read in De 30:6, "And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul . . ." This is the first and great commandment, M't 22:37-40.

We are not truly born again until we love God, and can rightly call Jesus, "Lord, Lord," bowing to His Lordship by delighting in the keeping of His commandments, Ps 112:1.

We read in I Jo 2:4- 5, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." It says in I Jo 5:3, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."

God created man for His glory, Isa 43:7; and it is only through obedience that God the Father can be glorified. Joh 15:8-10, M't 5:16, I Co 6:18-20. That which the Father looked after and accepted was the eminent obedience of Christ in our human nature. His holy and righteous life together with His painful and cursed death make but one entire piece of perfect obedience.

We read in Ph'p 2:8-11 how the Father did so highly exalt the name of Jesus, ". . . above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord . . . ." The Father was so glorified by the obedience of Jesus being, ". . . obedient unto death , even the death of the cross."

Even after we are born of the Spirit, we all offend in many things, Jas 3:2, Ro 7:15. Therefore, we not only need the blood of Christ to pay the penalty of our sin that we might be, ". . . saved from wrath through him," Ro 5:9, but we need to build our only hope of righteousness upon the imputed obedience and\or righteousness of Christ. "For he hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Co 5:21.

If we are truly born again, the blood and righteousness of Christ becomes the only foundation of our hope for eternity. Even though God requires, and looks, for obedience in the way of repentance, we do not merit anything thereby. All foundations but Christ are swept away.

We can no longer build upon our own doings, our church attendance, our prayers, our repentance, or the good opinion of others or anything else. As sin becomes real; eternity becomes solemn. We begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and Christ becomes our only foundation.

In Lu 6:46-49, our lovely Saviour urges us to build our foundation on a rock. Scripture so clearly teaches us that Christ is that Rock. We read in 1 Co 10:4, ". . . for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." It is upon this Rock that Jesus said He will build His Church, and that the gates of hell should not prevail against it, M't 16:18.

Amen.