In a previous blog I stated that “We need a Savior and Lord!” However, what
does it really mean to have a “Lord?” In
the Old Testament we see God’s name (YHWH; Yahweh) given and translated into
English with the use of all capital letters as ‘Lord.’ We often confuse the name of Jesus with this
and think His name is Lord Jesus Christ.
To be very brief and overly simplistic; Jesus is His name, and Lord and
Christ are titles given to Him (though I realize Romans 10:13 is used as a name
in reference to Joel 2:32). Jesus is the
‘Christ’ or the ‘Messiah.’ The Lord is
who Jesus should be to you. So what does
it mean to make Jesus “The Lord” of your life?
In the “We need a Savior and Lord!” blog,
Romans 10:9-10 was used where Paul writes, “9 If you confess
with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing
in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with
your mouth that you are saved.” I have
personally read those verses many times during my life. Even for the other blog, I was using the
verses for the idea of our need for a Savior and believing in Him to be saved. After I posted that blog, I read it out loud
again and I caught it. I am fearful to
say most people miss it too because we are all looking for a Savior and not a
Lord. The beginning of those verses
reads, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord…”
Still being very simplistic; the word
“Lord” is translated from the Greek word “kurios.” To make him Lord, then I must make myself his
“slave,” translated from the Greek word “doulos.”
The issue has never been if you are a slave or if you have a lord. The issue is who are you a slave to and who
is your lord? “Don’t you realize that
you become the slave of whatever you
choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which
leads to righteous living [Romans 6:16].”
We cannot break free from the power of
sin with our own strength and self-discipline.
We need a Savior to set us free from the chains of sin in our life that
holds us captive to its will and its way of doing things! “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life
through Christ Jesus our Lord [Romans
6:23].” This free gift is here for
anyone who will accept it. Our Savior
Jesus accepts everyone right where they are.
However, the Lord Jesus has no intention of leaving anyone there. “Now you are free from your slavery to sin,
and you have become slaves to righteous living [Romans 6:18].” We have been set
free from the power of sin in order to live our free life in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ.
After you have asked Jesus to be your Savior;
make certain to declare Him the Lord of your life and not just a consultant in
your life. So... have you confessed with your
mouth that Jesus is your Lord? If so,
then “let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that
so easily trips us up [Hebrews 12:1]." If
not, then don’t wait another moment longer.
“Confess with your mouth that Jesus
is Lord…”
In Christ Alone and continuing in
prayer,
Chad (Senior Pastor, Henderson General
Baptist Church)
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