A lord, by dictionary definition is: “Someone who has power, authority, or influence; a master or ruler, as in, ‘lord of the sea,’ ‘lords of the jungle,’ or ‘our lord the king.’”
“Masters” and “rulers” exercise authority over their citizens or subjects. They expect and enforce compliance.
That concept is somewhat foreign to those of us who live in democratic societies. We expect that our leaders—whom we elect—should serve us. But God’s kingdom is not a democracy; it’s a THEOcracy. It’s a KINGdom. There is a king whom we’re supposed to serve and obey.
The Greek word most often translated “Lord” in the New Testament is kurios, which is defined in Greek lexicons as “supreme in authority.” Kurios is alternately translated in the New Testament as “God,” “Lord,” “Master,” and “Sir.” It is never translated “servant” or “minister.”
In the ancient Greek world, kurios was used to describe a master, slave owner, or ruler. Paul’s words in Colossians 3:22 and 4:1—which contain the word kurios four times—certainly attest to that fact:
Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters [kurios] on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord [kurios]…. Masters [kurios], grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master [kurios] in heaven (emphasis added)
To Paul, Jesus was every bit as much Lord over His followers as was any master over his slaves. Both earthly lords and our heavenly Lord are to be feared and obeyed, he said.
Jesus, who was mentioned as “Lord” more than 600 times in the New Testament, certainly viewed Himself as a master who should be obeyed. For example, He gave commandments (not suggestions, or pieces of advice) that are perpetually binding on every generation of His followers (Matt. 28:19-21).
He told His closest disciples that they were His friends only if they did what He commanded them (John 15:14).
Their love for Him was determined by their obedience to Him. He said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
He also told them, “When you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done” (Luke 17:10, emphasis added).
Jesus once asked, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46, emphasis added). As Lord, Jesus believed He should be obeyed.
And Jesus warned of the dire consequences for not obeying Him. He compared those who don’t do what He says to people who build their house on sand. When the rain falls, the flood rises, and the wind blows, their houses will be completely destroyed (see Matt. 7:24-27).
In the 21 New Testament epistles, we find the phrase “Lord Jesus” almost 80 times. We find the phrase “our Lord” almost 70 times and “the Lord” over 200 times. There is no doubt how the authors of those epistles viewed Jesus. He was their Lord.
It is therefore no surprise that Paul, Peter, James, Jude and John all considered themselves to be “bond-servants” of Christ (Rom. 1:1; Jas. 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:1; Jude 1; Rev. 1:1).
Neither is it any surprise that all of the early Christians also considered themselves to be Jesus’ bond-servants (Acts 4:29; Rev. 1:1; 2:20; 19:5). They knew that He had “bought them with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20), the price of His own blood (see 1 Pet. 1:18-19). Slaves are owned by their masters. Jesus’ followers know that they are “not their own” (1 Cor. 6:19).
In the book of Acts alone, Jesus is referred to as “Lord” over 100 times.
He now sits on a “glorious throne” (Matt. 25:31). Every knee will bow before Him, and every tongue will confess that He is, not Savior, but Lord (Phil. 2:11).
I should add that, in one sense and in only one sense, is Jesus different than all other lords. The New Testament refers to Him three times as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16). In relationship to all other kings and lords, Jesus is King and Lord over them!
Remember, that King of kings once declared that He possesses “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). There is no authority beyond that. Recall that Paul also wrote that “there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God” (Rom. 13:1b). For that reason, Paul said, “every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities” (Rom. 13:1a). If we should be in subjection to governing authorities who all derive their authority from the Lord Jesus, how much more should we be in subjection to the One who grants them their authority!
It is no exaggeration to say that, if Jesus is not your Lord, the New Testament epistles have essentially no relevance to you. They were written to people whose Lord was Jesus. Which is why they are full of admonitions to obey Him. And the Gospels and Acts have very little relevance to you other than the fact that in them you will find repeated calls to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And all of this is to say, when I hear professing Christians say that “Jesus does not need to be our Lord in order for us to be saved,” I’m left speechless. Those who make such outrageous claims usually do so in defense of their odd version of “salvation by grace,” as if Jesus’ grace somehow nullifies His lordship! They reveal, however, that they haven’t reached the most fundamental understanding of salvation, or for that matter, of Jesus. Jesus is Lord! To reject His lordship is to reject Him. To believe in Jesus is to believe in the Lord Jesus (Acts 16:31). His amazing grace in no way diminishes His lordship or His expectation to be obeyed. It does not annul any of His commandments. It does not make Him any less “King of kings and Lord of lords.” Jesus died and rose again to be Lord:
For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living (Rom.14:9, emphasis added).
If Jesus is not your Lord, you have not yet believed in Him. You may have carved an idol whom you’ve named “Jesus.” But your idol is not the Jesus of the Bible—the Lord Jesus.
And that is why believing in Jesus always begins with repentance. Before we repent, Jesus is not our Lord. After we repent, Jesus begins to be our Lord.
And that, in a nutshell, is why so many professing Christians are no different than non-Christians. Jesus is not their Lord. And it shows. They could care less about their lost neighbors, because they are lost themselves. It never enters their mind to support a missionary, because they need a missionary to reach them. They have no concern for the “least of these” because they don’t really love Jesus who lives and suffers in them (Matt. 25:31-46). They spend their time and money, for the most part, just like unbelievers, because they actually are unbelievers. Their values are the same as the world’s values, because they are still of the world.
They imagine that they have “accepted Jesus as their Savior,” yet they have rejected Him as their Lord, all under the guise of “salvation by grace.” But Jesus cannot be divided. He is both “Lord and Savior.” Four times we find Him described that way, and in that order, in the New Testament. If He’s not your Lord, He’s not your Savior.
And why do some of us keep repeating these things, knowing that there are those, including Christian “ministers,” who mock us saying, “They believe in ‘lordship salvation‘”? There are at least two reasons: Because Jesus is our Lord, so we must obey Him. And because we’ve been born again, His indwelling Spirit and love compel us to “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).
Anyone who uses the phrase “lordship salvation” as a pejorative not only demonstrates his utter biblical ignorance, but he exposes himself as being a phony Christian and wolf in sheep’s clothing. Run! Run for your life!
And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9).
