Rom 10-Is Jesus Lord

| Is Jesus Lord?! Romans 10:5-13

October 7, 2007 New Living Translation 5For Moses wrote that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. 6But the way of getting right with God through faith says, “You don’t need to go to heaven” (to find Christ and bring him down to help you). 7And it says, “You don’t need to go to the place of the dead” (to bring Christ back to life again). 8Salvation that comes from trusting Christ—which is the message we preach—is already within easy reach. In fact, the Scriptures say, “The message is close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.”9For 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. 10For 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. 11As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who believes in him will not be disappointed.” 12Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They all have the same Lord, who generously gives his riches to all who ask for them. 13For “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” PRAY Scripture Memory:How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Rom. 10:14 (NIV)) Intro:If you are here this morning as one who is confident that you know Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior, what difference does that make in your life…? Lordship SalvationLordship LivingGospel Living 1. Lordship SalvationEither Jesus is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all. – Do you agree with this?The question of “Lordship” salvation – Can a person be a Christian and not acknowledge that Jesus is Lord? – My testimony Why some oppose this teaching:E   PerfectionismE   Righteousness which is by the lawE   The basis of assurance The truth:E   Jesus is Lord.E   Becoming a believer involves both faith AND repentance. (Those who oppose this say that the repentance is a change of attitude towards Jesus. But if that is true, what attitude has changed if…They say that acknowledging that Jesus is Lord, means to acknowledge that He is God. – How is this different from acknowledging that we owe Him both allegiance and accountability? “When you begin to strip away the implications of this word, instead of adding to them and developing them, even the minimum amount you want to affirm becomes meaningless.” (James Boice) E   Becoming a Christian means becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of God.·      The Kingdom of God: At one level: everything and everyoneAt another level: where the authority of the King is acknowledged.Entering the Kingdom of God means going from being a rebel to a follower, from being an outlaw to being citizen, from being an enemy to being a friend…The 1st Christian creed: Jesus is LordPhil. 2:10-11 – Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord1 Cor. 12:3 – No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.Kurios – Greek translation of Yahweh (in Septuagint) – This is why most of our English translations of the OT use Lord to translate Yahweh.The reason many early Christians were martyred:·      There is one Lord1 Corinthians 8:4-6 (NASB)  4Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. Eph. 4:4-6 (NIV) – 4There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called—  5one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  2. Lordship LivingA saving faith is a living faith that inevitably leads to right conduct. It involves substantial content, personal heart response, and commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. It is FAR more than merely intellectual consent…It is heart surrender – Jesus, in the gospels, is always calling people to “count the cost” of following Him. He NEVER separates submission and turning from sin from following Him. A.W. Tozer: Years ago no one would ever dare to rise in a meeting and say, “I am a Christian” if he had not surrendered his whole being to God and had taken Jesus Christ as his Lord as well as his Savior and had brought himself under obedience to the will of the Lord. It was only then that he could say, “I am saved.” Today we let them say they are saved no matter how imperfect and incomplete the transaction, with the proviso that the deeper Christian life can be tacked on at some time in the future. Can it be that we really think that we do not owe Jesus Christ our obedience?If Jesus is Lord, then that implies that He rules over those who are His people. Question: Does He? That is a personal question.Question: What difference does it make? That is a practical one.☞ Our minds – Do we fill our minds with the Word? Or do we fill our minds with this world? – the problem of desensitizing ourselves - ☞ Our ethics – “Discipleship implies obedience, and obedience implies that there are absolute moral commands that we are required to obey.” (John Stott)☞ Our careers – ·      Are you bent on pursuing success in business? Or are you bent on serving Christ wherever He puts you? ·      Do you have a job? Or is your job merely one more place to serve Christ…?   |   | ·      Are you committed to improving your status at work? Or are you committed to improving your WITNESS at work? ·      Are you content with your position, gratefully acknowledging God’s provision? Or are you discontent, feeling like you need to be more appreciated and rewarded for your labors? ·      Is your desire to move up, a desire to honor God more, or to be more honored? ☞ Our churches – ·      Are our labors here at Hope done grudgingly, because SOMEONE has to? Or are they a means of worshipping your Lord and Savior? ·      Do we support the work of the church as much as we are able? Or merely when it is convenient? – NOTE: our attitude in this says volume about WHO’s church it is. ☞ Our evangelism and Missionary work – “The Lordship of Jesus is the most powerful of missionary incentives.” Also, if Jesus is who He claims to be, the most important thing ANY of us can do in this life, or in the one to come, is to be sure that we are right with Him. 3. Gospel LivingMore on this next week, but we need to remember that there are two parts to the definition of a Christian in our passage this morning: Confessing Him as Lord, but also believing in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead.9For 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. 10For 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.Obeying Jesus in matters of life will never gain us a place in God’s Kingdom. Being a citizen of that Kingdom will only happen when our obedience flows from our faith, and that only by God Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) – 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.We need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily…Obedience to God that is acceptable to Him MUST flow out of gratitude and faith. We must not only acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. We must also believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead.This means constantly remembering ☞ the cost of our disobedience—the blood of Christ☞ The stamp of God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice which is seen the fact of the resurrectionThe resurrection shows us that His sacrifice on the cross on our behalf was completely acceptable and accomplished everything it was intended to accomplishThe resurrection is the proclamation of the fact that God is fully and completely satisfied with the work that his Son did upon the cross. D. Martyn Lloyd Jones☞ The fact that because Christ rose and is seated at the right hand of the Father, we also rose with Him.Colossians 3:1-3 – Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. 2Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. 3For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.The problem of leaving Christ on the cross…The object of our faith MUST be Jesus Christ—crucified and resurrected.Christianity is Jesus Christ. So anything that detracts from Him or His work is a false religion. James Boice   Summary / Review:Either Jesus is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all. Becoming a believer involves both faith AND repentance. It means becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of God, freely and fully acknowledging that He is my absolute and unquestioned master and Lord.A saving faith is a living faith that inevitably leads to right conduct. It involves personal heart response, and commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. It is FAR more than merely intellectual consent. The question is not so much do we want God’s mercy as are we willing to count the cost of acknowledging His Lordship in all of life.If Jesus is Lord, then that implies that He rules over those who are His people. Question: Does He? If so, what difference does it make? Yet, even as we wrestle with the ramifications of obedience to God and surrender to Jesus as Lord, we MUST never forget that the power to do this comes from Him, through His grace and flows from His death and resurrection for us.We MUST preach the gospel to ourselves daily.Obedience to God that is acceptable to Him MUST flow out of gratitude and faith. We must not only acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. We must also believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead.A Truth to Remember: Jesus IS Lord, and He DID rise from the dead, and He IS coming again to take all those who are His to Himself. A Challenge to Consider:Is Jesus your Lord in practice as well as in word? Would those who really know you agree? One thing I heard this morning was…      |