Young Men and Women, Consider the Lordship of Jesus

“Christ died and rose again for this very purpose –
to be Lord both of the living and of the dead”
(Romans 14:9, NLT)

Here Paul claims that our Lord Jesus Christ died and came to life again for one main purpose – to establish His lordship over dead and living. This is in keeping with the crucial sentence of the Pentecostal sermon by Peter: “[God] has made this Jesus, who you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” (Acts 2:36). We, as Christians – Christ-believers – must emphasize that Jesus who died for us lives to rule in the lives of those He has redeemed.

It is tragic that while many Christians verbally acknowledge Christ’s lordship, they do not display it in the day-to-day practice. They are willing to grant Him the position of constitutional Sultan (or Monarch), as long as they can remain prime minister (or president). Like Peter when God instructed him to eat, they reply Him back, “No, Lord” (Acts 10:14). Do we ever say “no” to Him? He moves us to pray in prayer meetings, but we say “no, Lord.” He calls us to service or witness and we say “no, Lord.” To such Jesus says, “Why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

It is possible to accept Christ as Saviour and to reject Him as Lord. But the truth is: He cannot be divided. We cannot accept Him in one position and reject Him in another. Hudson Taylor was right when he said, “If Jesus is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.” In almost the same way, A.W. Tozer writes, “It is altogether doubtful whether any man can be saved who comes to Christ for His help, but with no intention of obeying Him.” Jesus’ reign in our hearts is very practical and extends to every area of life. If we disobey Him, all our recognition of His lordship is nothing… useless. The test is not what we say but what we do. What we perform always speaks more loudly than what we profess. Isaiah puts the situation very abruptly, “O LORD our God, others have ruled us, but you alone are the one we worship” (Isaiah 26:13).

So now, how can we acknowledge Jesus’ lordship? We MUST do the following: 1) Understand that we are saved by His grace alone and so we worship Him gladly and freely; 2) Make a break with the past and vow that other ‘lords’ shall no longer rule in your life; 3) Decisively renounce all known sin or disobedience toward God and others; 4) Enthrone Christ alone and refuse to acknowledge any other name; and 5) Depend on the Holy Spirit – “No one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).

Jesus is Lord! Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.