The parable of The Wise Man and the Foolish man clearly teaches us that if we call Jesus Lord we must obey Him. Further, it teaches that we must build our lives on hearing and doing the will of the Lord. What if I call him Lord, and don’t do his commands? What if I confess that he is Lord (Romans 10:9) and don’t build my life on him? In the Matthew account of the parable Jesus tells us that if we call him Lord but do not follow his will in the judgement he will tell us, “I never new you”.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23
Jesus told the foolish virgins in Matthew 25, “I do not know you”, teaching us that only those that Jesus knows are allowed into heaven. On judgement day, which will the Lord say; “well done good and faithful servant”, or “I do not know you”? Matthew 7 tells us that the response is based on whether or not we have lived our lives true to the confession that he is Lord. We are plainly taught that, if we confess that Jesus is Lord we must do his commands. To do otherwise is to live a life that denounces the confession. If we live a life that proclaims by action that Jesus is not our Lord, will we enter heaven? No. Jesus said simply in John 14:15; “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” If we live a life that proclaims we do not love the Lord, will we enter heaven? No. James 2:26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
Confessing that Jesus is Lord means that we must live our lives according to that confession. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23 If we hold fast to our confession we will enter heaven. But, we must build our lives on the practice of hearing and doing the will of the Lord.
The other interesting thing about the message of the wise man and foolish man is that it is clear instruction in black and white at the end of a sermon that Christ gave that required deeper thought to understand. Christ mixes basic principles that followers must embrace with contrasts explaining God’s desire for followers to go beyond the letter of the law and obey spirit. Then he breaks it all down; we choose whether we will be wise or foolish. The wise choice is sustainable and the foolish choice results in destruction.
“For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.” Rom. 2:13The law Paul is referencing is the gate. Obey it and be granted the grace to enter. Disobey it and be cut off from life forever.