The Lordship of Christ

The greatest decision that anyone can ever make in life is that concerning their Salvation. Yet through out history we have seen countless individuals gently brush this aside and think nothing else of it. Sad to say, they have just swept away life ever lasting. But those individuals are not the focus of this message today.

In preparing for this coming Sunday’s service I was amazed at the number of people who claim to be born again yet have no fruit in their lives. These so called believers are claiming to have accepted Christ in their lives but nothing is seen by their actions and words that would ever allude to them being a Christian. Jesus says, “every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit…You will know them by their fruits,” Matthew 7:17-18; 20. So if every good tree bears good fruit and every bad bears bad fruit, then how can we have people who claim to be a “Christian” who are bearing very little to no fruit?

The answer is simple. Satan and his wonderfully dim-witted plan that make people believe that they are saved when in reality they are still lost. His plan is simple, crafty and very deceptive. His scheme will have you to believe that you can accept Christ Jesus as Savior without accepting Him as Lord. It is this heresy that is being taught all around the world and by many churches and well know ministers, of whom I am not here to bash. This type of ministry is not new, it has been around for years and is know by the name: Easy-Believism.

It is sad to think that we have allowed the Gospel of our Savior and Lord to be reduced to something that fits our life rather than we conform to the Gospel that Jesus preached. You cannot take Jesus Christ as your Savior and then someday later repent of sin and take Him in as Lord. Either you take it all or you have nothing at all.

Romans 10:9 and 10 is a wonderful testimony to this, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” The message there is very clear; not only do you have to believe in Him as Savior but you must confess Him as Lord of you life. When you “Believe in the Lord Jesus (emphasis mine), you will be saved,” Acts 16:31.

What does it mean to have Christ Jesus as Lord of your life? To answer this we must understand a few terms of the scriptures. The first is a Greek word from where we have our English word Lord and that word is kurios. This Greek word was used in the New Testament times to describe Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Kurios is someone who has authority, absolute power, and an unquestionable right of command. So for Him to be our Lord we must surrender to His authority; His command; His power over our lives. Because we live in a dog eat dog world, one that teaches us to be the best and that nothing else matters, “you are the most important”, very few are willing to turn over their lives in this manner. Not to mention to confess Him as Lord over our life means that we will have to submit to his authority through our obedience to Him.

This thought brings me to my next Greek term: doulos. Doulos is the Greek word that is used in the New Testament and it means slave. In New Testament times slavery was something that was readily accepted. Where ever there was a Lord (kurios) there was always a slave (doulos). As John MacAuthur so eloquently said it, “one term necessarily and axiomatically implies the other.” You will never have one without the other. So to see Christ Jesus as Lord of our life we must see our self as His slave. This is a revolting concept for us because of the history of slavery that we have in America; nevertheless, it is a Biblical truth.

It is from these simple Biblical truths that we have found our churches teaching a misguided Gospel: Easy-Believism. They claim that you do not have to submit to anyone as a slave, just believe and your sins are forgiven, but I disagree. This line of thought has reduced the Gospel of Jesus to a personal relationship without the authority that Jesus is to have over our life. This casual Christianity is nothing more than faith in moderation. It has allowed so many to feel religious without having to place God on the throne of their heart.

Sure these individuals are nice human beings, a great family person, very religious, an exemplary citizen, a reliable employee, a wonderful husband, wife, mother, father and/or child; but their Salvation swings in the balance; so close, yet so far away. One day they will realize that Salvation without Lordship was not enough.